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Section 46

CRITO. A man should choose what a good and brave man would choose, especially one who claims to have cared for virtue his whole life. For my part, I am ashamed both for you and for us, your friends; it will seem that this whole affair concerning you has happened through a certain cowardice on our part. First, the case coming to court when it need not have come; then the conduct of the trial itself, whatever that was; and now, to crown it all with this absurd conclusion, that we appear to have let the opportunity slip away from us through our own lack of courage and cowardice, since we did not save you, nor did you save yourself, when it was possible and feasible, if we had been of any use at all. See to it, Socrates, that these things do not turn out to be disgraceful as well as bad, for both you and us. So consider the matter—or rather, the time for consideration is past, and only one decision remains. Everything must be done tonight; if we wait any longer, it will be impossible and no longer achievable. By all means, Socrates, obey me and do exactly as I say.

SOCRATES. My dear Crito, your zeal is highly valuable if it is accompanied by some rightness; if not, the greater it is, the more difficult it is to deal with. We must examine whether this should be done or not. For it is not only now, but always my way, to obey nothing else in me but the argument which, upon reflection, seems best to me. And the arguments I spoke in the past I cannot cast aside now, just because this fate has come upon me. They seem to me to be much the same as before, and I reverence and honor the same ones I always did. Unless we can find better arguments in the present moment, be assured that I will not agree with you, not even if the power of the multitude were to threaten us like children with more boogeymen than it already does, inflicting imprisonments and deaths and confiscations of property. What then would be the most reasonable way to examine this? Should we first take up this argument you mention concerning opinions? Were we right or wrong to say every time that we should pay attention to some opinions, but not to others? Or was it right before I was condemned to die, but now it has become clear that it was said in vain, for the sake of argument, and was really just child's play and nonsense? I desire to examine this together with you, Crito, to see whether the argument will appear different to me now that I am in this situation, or whether it remains the same, and whether we should bid it farewell or obey it.