Plato’s Dialogue #3: Crito
[This blog is the third in a series I’m writing based on the four dialogues of Plato leading up to his death. You can find the first blog here. You can also read the full text of Plato’s Crito, for free, here—it is in the public domain.]
What would you do if you were sentenced to death?
Would you stay up all night worrying? Say a prayer? Break out of prison? Call your attorney?
If you were Socrates, you would roll right over and go back to sleep.
That’s how Crito, a friend of Socrates, found his buddy early one morning, before his execution: sound asleep.
When Crito comments on how shockingly calm Socrates is in the face of death, the philosopher replies that at his age (around 70), death isn’t something he loses a lot of sleep over, because it’s basically coming for him anyway.
This is funny, but also central to Stoic philosophy. Stoics believe we should not fear death, because it is a natural part of life. So, it is not just that Socrates is an old man. He also is not worried about death because he is not worried about where he is going when he dies. But more on that later.
Crito is here to tell Socrates that a certain ship from Delos will likely arrive today, meaning that tomorrow, Socrates will die. However, Socrates had a dream, wherein “the likeness” of a beautiful woman came and told him that the ship would be late, giving him a little more time. [Aside: As a woman, I love when ancient sources attribute powerful roles like this to women, even if the authors are often backhanded. Later in these dialogues, Socrates ushers his wife out of the room pretty summarily, and he doesn’t seem to hold women in as high regard as men, which is what I would expect for this time period, but it’s encouraging that a woman is coming to him as a messenger from beyond. An angel or otherworldly messenger? Plus, let’s not forget the Oracle of Delphi, also a lady. I’m just saying, we get no respect, but sometimes we get a little respect…)
Moving on. Crito tries to talk Socrates into a rescue plan, and he offers several arguments:
People are going to think that Crito was not willing to pay enough money to bribe the jailers and get Socrates out of prison. Crito has the money, and is ready to spend it! Other friends have said they will pony up, too. Socrates, are you really going to make your buddies look cheap?
Are you afraid of the risk, Socrates? Your friends aren’t. They’re willing to take the risk, and want to be thought of as brave, not scared to take action.
If Socrates is worried about how he’ll hold up in a new place, he can relax. Crito has a friend in Thessaly who will take great care of him.
What about your KIDS, Socrates? Who is going to raise them? (Good point, Crito.)
Socrates takes a logical approach and examines Crito’s argument, noting that he is mostly worried about what other people (the many) will think of him. Socrates is not worried about what the many think, because they may be wrong. Rather, he is concerned with the one who is right, just, honest, good and honorable. I can’t argue with that, Socrates. With this in mind, the only argument is whether he would be doing the right thing by escaping, or doing the wrong thing. Socrates believes he must do no wrong. So how can he know if he is doing wrong or right? Here’s where it starts to get interesting.
Can we argue with the law if we don’t agree with it?
Should we? What would that do to our democracy?
I’ve gotta quote Socrates here. He suggests a scenario where he disagrees with the law, and the government replies,
“Are you not going by an act of yours to overturn us—the laws, and the whole state, as far as in you lies? Do you imagine that a state can subsist and not be overthrown, in which the decisions of law have no power, but are set aside and trampled upon by individuals?’ What will be our answer, Crito, to these and the like words? Anyone, and especially a rhetorician, will have a good deal to say on behalf of the law which requires a sentence to be carried out. He will argue that this law should not be set aside; and shall we reply, ‘Yes; but the state has injured us and given an unjust sentence.’”
OK, so we can’t just overturn laws because we want to, but what if they are unjust? Socrates reflects on this some more in a really interesting way, imagining the State asking him questions, just as he (Socrates) loves to ask questions. Here are some reasons Socrates is grateful to Athens, and does not wish to go against its authority, which would threaten its existence:
The State is responsible for his existence, via the marriage of his father and mother.
Laws regulate education, which taught him gymnastics and music, helping to bring him up.
Athens is, to him, like his father and mother, but demands even more respect.
“Has a philosopher like you failed to discover that our country is more to be valued and higher and holier far than mother or father or any ancestor, and more to be regarded in the eyes of the gods and of men of understanding”
Because the State has “brought you into the world, and nurtured and educated you, and given you and every other citizen a share in every good which we had to give” and because Athenians citizens have the right to leave if they disagree with the government, they enter into an implied contract by choosing to live in Athens, and follow its laws. Socrates also could have chosen exile, but he said he would rather die than leave Athens. Based on this argument, Socrates advises himself, in the voice of the State, “Do not make yourself ridiculous by escaping out of the city.”
Socrates then considers what would happen if he did defy the law. He would drive his friends into exile, and make an enemy of any city to which he escaped, subverting its laws as well.
“Will you then flee from well-ordered cities and virtuous men? and is existence worth having on these terms? Or will you go to them without shame, and talk to them, Socrates? And what will you say to them? What you say here about virtue and justice and institutions and laws being the best things among men? Would that be decent of you? Surely not.”
What about his children? If he defies the Athenian law, they will lose Athenian citizenship.
“Listen, then, Socrates, to us who have brought you up. Think not of life and children first, and of justice afterwards, but of justice first, that you may be justified before the princes of the world below.”
He ends saying, “Leave me then, Crito, to fulfill the will of God, and to follow whither he leads.”
Gotta say, I admire this message. Socrates does not run from his accusers, or try to escape, because of his loyalty to Athens. He loves his city so much that he is not willing to defy its laws. If Athens has sentenced him to death, he will follow the laws of Athens rather than put his beloved city in jeopardy.
I found this section in Crito surprisingly moving. I guess I feel similarly about my city, Plano (Don’t laugh! I LOVE it here!) and of course, the USA… our government is not perfect, but think about all that it does for us. We have good schools, and libraries. Plano has public parks and Rec centers. We have the police department to fight crimes like murder and theft, the justice system to provide citizens with fair trials, fire departments to protect lives and property. The military to protect our country. There are roads which allow us to travel, clean water to drink and bathe, and sewage services, electricity, utilities… so many things that we take for granted. Not every city or country has these things. There are so many more services, too. Our national, state and local governments make these possible. Everyone loves to hate the government, and it does have its problems, but when you stop for a moment and think about all it provides…well, I, for one, am grateful.
Following Socrates’ line of thinking, if you have a good and just government, you should abide by its laws and be grateful for what it offers. The parks, the libraries, the police force, the firefighters and first responders…the schools, all these things fill me with gratitude and a sense of civic pride. It is because of the wisdom and goodness of others, who have acted in service to our society as a whole, that we enjoy the quality of life we do today. Well, that’s what I get out of Crito. What about you? Comment below.