§67ΦΑΙΔ.
εἰ γὰρ μὴ οἷόν τε μετὰ τοῦ σώματος μηδὲν καθαρῶς γνῶναι, δυοῖν θάτερον, ἢ οὐδαμοῦ ἔστιν κτήσασθαι τὸ εἰδέναι ἢ τελευτήσασιν·
Phaedo: "For if it is impossible to know anything purely in company with the body, one of two things must be: either it is nowhere possible to acquire knowledge, or it is possible for those who have died.
τότε γὰρ αὐτὴ καθ’ αὑτὴν ἡ ψυχὴ ἔσται χωρὶς τοῦ σώματος, πρότερον δ’ οὔ.
For only then will the soul itself exist by itself apart from the body, but not before.
καὶ ἐν ᾧ ἂν ζῶμεν, οὕτως, ὡς ἔοικεν, ἐγγυτάτω ἐσόμεθα τοῦ εἰδέναι, ἐὰν ὅτι μάλιστα μηδὲν ὁμιλῶμεν τῷ σώματι μηδὲ κοινωνῶμεν, ὅτι μὴ πᾶσα ἀνάγκη, μηδὲ ἀναπιμπλώμεθα τῆς τούτου φύσεως, ἀλλὰ καθαρεύωμεν ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ, ἕως ἂν ὁ θεὸς αὐτὸς ἀπολύσῃ ἡμᾶς·
And while we live, we shall, as it seems, be nearest to knowledge in this way, if we associate as little as possible with the body and have no commerce with it, except where there is absolute necessity, and if we are not infected by its nature, but keep ourselves pure from it, until God himself releases us.
καὶ οὕτω μὲν καθαροὶ ἀπαλλαττόμενοι τῆς τοῦ σώματος ἀφροσύνης, ὡς τὸ εἰκὸς μετὰ τοιούτων τε ἐσόμεθα καὶ γνωσόμεθα δι’ ἡμῶν αὐτῶν πᾶν τὸ εἰλικρινές, τοῦτο δ’ ἐστὶν ἴσως τὸ ἀληθές· μὴ καθαρῷ γὰρ καθαροῦ ἐφάπτεσθαι μὴ οὐ θεμιτὸν ᾖ.
And being thus pure and freed from the foolishness of the body, we shall, in all likelihood, be with those who are like us, and shall know through ourselves everything that is pure, and this is perhaps the truth; for it may not be lawful for the impure to touch the pure.
τοιαῦτα οἶμαι, ὦ Σιμμία, ἀναγκαῖον εἶναι πρὸς ἀλλήλους λέγειν τε καὶ δοξάζειν πάντας τοὺς ὀρθῶς φιλομαθεῖς.
Such things, I think, Simmias, must of necessity be said and believed among themselves by all who are rightly lovers of learning.
ἢ οὐ δοκεῖ σοι οὕτως; παντός γε μᾶλλον, ὦ Σώκρατες. οὐκοῦν, ἔφη ὁ Σωκράτης, εἰ ταῦτα ἀληθῆ, ὦ ἑταῖρε, πολλὴ ἐλπὶς ἀφικομένῳ οἷ ἐγὼ πορεύομαι, ἐκεῖ ἱκανῶς, εἴπερ που ἄλλοθι, κτήσασθαι τοῦτο οὗ ἕνεκα ἡ πολλὴ πραγματεία ἡμῖν ἐν τῷ παρελθόντι βίῳ γέγονεν, ὥστε ἥ γε ἀποδημία ἡ νῦν μοι προστεταγμένη μετὰ ἀγαθῆς ἐλπίδος γίγνεται καὶ ἄλλῳ ἀνδρὶ ὃς ἡγεῖταί οἱ παρεσκευάσθαι τὴν διάνοιαν ὥσπερ κεκαθαρμένην. πάνυ μὲν οὖν, ἔφη ὁ Σιμμίας.
Or does it not seem so to you?" "Most certainly, Socrates." "Then," said Socrates, "if this is true, my friend, there is great hope that when I reach the place to which I am traveling, I shall there, if anywhere, sufficiently acquire that for the sake of which we have made so much endeavor in our past life. So this journey which is now appointed for me is made with good hope, as it would be for any other man who believes that his mind has been prepared, as if purified." "Very much so," said Simmias.
κάθαρσις δὲ εἶναι ἆρα οὐ τοῦτο συμβαίνει, ὅπερ πάλαι ἐν τῷ λόγῳ λέγεται, τὸ χωρίζειν ὅτι μάλιστα ἀπὸ τοῦ σώματος τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ ἐθίσαι αὐτὴν καθ’ αὑτὴν πανταχόθεν ἐκ τοῦ σώματος συναγείρεσθαί τε καὶ ἁθροίζεσθαι, καὶ οἰκεῖν κατὰ τὸ δυνατὸν καὶ ἐν τῷ νῦν παρόντι καὶ ἐν τῷ ἔπειτα μόνην καθ’ αὑτήν, ἐκλυομένην ὥσπερ δεσμῶν ἐκ τοῦ σώματος; πάνυ μὲν οὖν, ἔφη.
"And does not purification turn out to be this, which has been spoken of for a long time in our discourse, namely, to separate the soul as much as possible from the body, and to accustom it to gather and collect itself together from all parts of the body, and to dwell as far as possible, both in the present and in the future, alone by itself, released from the body as if from fetters?" "Most certainly," he said.
οὐκοῦν τοῦτό γε θάνατος ὀνομάζεται, λύσις καὶ χωρισμὸς ψυχῆς ἀπὸ σώματος; παντάπασί γε, ἦ δ’ ὅς.
"And is this called death, namely, the release and separation of the soul from the body?" "Entirely so," he said.
λύειν δέ γε αὐτήν, ὥς φαμεν, προθυμοῦνται ἀεὶ μάλιστα καὶ μόνοι οἱ φιλοσοφοῦντες ὀρθῶς, καὶ τὸ μελέτημα αὐτὸ τοῦτό ἐστιν τῶν φιλοσόφων, λύσις καὶ χωρισμὸς ψυχῆς ἀπὸ σώματος· ἢ οὔ; φαίνεται. οὐκοῦν, ὅπερ ἐν ἀρχῇ ἔλεγον, γελοῖον ἂν εἴη ἄνδρα παρασκευάζονθ’ ἑαυτὸν ἐν τῷ βίῳ ὅτι ἐγγυτάτω ὄντα τοῦ τεθνάναι οὕτω ζῆν, κἄπειθ’ ἥκοντος αὐτῷ τούτου ἀγανακτεῖν; γελοῖον· πῶς δ’ οὔ; τῷ ὄντι ἄρα, ἔφη, ὦ Σιμμία, οἱ ὀρθῶς φιλοσοφοῦντες ἀποθνῄσκειν μελετῶσι, καὶ τὸ τεθνάναι ἥκιστα αὐτοῖς ἀνθρώπων φοβερόν.
"And, as we say, those who philosophize rightly are always most eager and indeed are the only ones who endeavor to release it, and this is the very study of philosophers, the release and separation of the soul from the body; or is it not?" "So it appears." "Then, as I was saying at the beginning, would it not be ridiculous for a man who has prepared himself during his life to live as close as possible to being dead, to be vexed when this death comes to him?" "Ridiculous, of course." "In truth, then, Simmias," he said, "those who philosophize rightly practice dying, and to be dead is to them least of all men a thing of fear.
ἐκ τῶνδε δὲ σκόπει.
Consider it from this."