At the beginning of Crito, Athens has just condemned Socrates to death, and he is calmly sleeping in his cell when his friend Crito arrives. Crito informs Socrates that he and his friends have a plan to break Socrates out of prison and shuttle him to safety! Except strangely, Socrates wants no part in this daring plot. An argument ensues. Crito obviously cannot understand why Socrates would want to stay and die. Crito pleads with Socrates, telling him that he doesn't want to lose a friend, and that people will think he let Socrates down if they don't escape. Socrates quickly puts that argument down, saying that it's stupid to obey the whims of public opinion. But then Crito says that given Socrates’ current predicament, it would seem that a lack of public favor can be dangerous. Socrates jumps at this comment, …show more content…
The argument now centers around the fact that Athens has given Socrates everything he needed to succeed, so Socrates owes Athens anything they request, even his life. Socrates, (as Athens), also reminds himself that if he had a complaint about the city’s laws, he could’ve voiced his concerns, left the city, or argued for a sentence of exile. In short, he had plenty of other options, but he picked this one! Now he's got to follow through. Lastly, Socrates reverses Crito's reputation argument from the beginning on page 91, and seems to say that if he's going to die, he's going to die with honor. After all that, Crito has “nothing to say” to him (92, 29). Just like that, one of the greatest minds of western civilization saved himself from escape and delivered himself to death by his own argument. Plato, through Socrates and Crito, tells us that revenge isn't part of natural law. He also concludes that saving your life in a situation like this fractures the soul and ruins the conscience. Everything is owed to the state, including one’s own