And for this reason I was not at all filled with pity, as might seem natural
when I was present at a scene of mourning; nor on the other hand did I feel
pleasure because we were occupied with philosophy, as was our custom—and
our talk was of philosophy;—but a very strange feeling came over me, an
unaccustomed mixture of pleasure and of pain together, when I thought that
Socrates was presently to die. And all of us who were there were in much the
same condition, sometimes laughing and sometimes weeping; especially one of us,
Apollodorus; you know him and his
character.
To be sure I do.
He was quite unrestrained, and I was much agitated myself, as were the
others.
Who were these, Phaedo?
Of native Athenians there was this Apollodorus, and Critobulus and his father,
and Hermogenes and Epiganes and Aeschines and Antisthenes; and Ctesippus the
Paeanian was there too, and Menexenus and some other Athenians. But Plato, I
think, was ill.
Were any foreigners there?
Yes, Simmias of Thebes and Cebes and
Phaedonides, and from Megara Euclides and Terpsion.
What? Were Aristippus and Cleombrotus there?
No. They were said to be in Aegina.
Was anyone else there?
I think these were about all.
Well then, what was the conversation?
I will try to tell you everything from the beginning. On the previous days I and the others had always been in the
habit of visiting Socrates. We used to meet at daybreak in the court where the
trial took place, for it was near the prison; and every day we used to wait
about, talking with each other, until the prison was opened, for it was not
opened early; and when it was opened, we went in to Socrates and passed most of
the day with him. On that day we came together earlier; for the day before,
when we left the prison in the evening we
heard that the ship had arrived from Delos. So we agreed to come to the usual place as early in the
morning as possible. And we came, and the jailer who usually answered the door
came out and told us to wait and not go in until he told us. For,
he said, the eleven are releasing Socrates from his fetters and giving
directions how he is to die today.