The Dialogue

The introduction establishes that the Crito aims to portray Socrates not as a philosopher serving a divine mission, but as a good citizen willing to obey the laws even unto death.

The introduction explains that Socrates faces imminent execution, warned by a dream and Crito's visit, and that Crito has come to convince him to escape with friends' financial help.

The introduction describes Socrates' lifelong commitment to following reason and expert judgment alone, rejecting popular opinion, and insisting that a just life is the only thing of value.

The introduction previews Socrates' argument using a personification of Athens' laws to demonstrate that escape would violate his implicit contract with the state.

The introduction outlines how the Laws argue that escape would harm Socrates' reputation and his children, and that he would be unwelcome in other states.

The introduction concludes by presenting the Laws' final appeal for Socrates to prioritize justice and innocence over life, with the threat that violating their agreements will anger both the laws above and below.

The introduction explains that Plato wrote the dialogue to defend Socrates' reputation for citizenship against lingering suspicions from his association with problematic pupils and his political neutrality during Athens' civil strife.

The introduction raises doubt about whether Crito's visit and escape proposal are historically real or artistically invented by Plato.

The introduction concedes that philosophers might reasonably disagree about whether an unjustly condemned person should escape, citing Shelley's contrary opinion that Socrates should have lived.

The introduction clarifies that Plato aims to illustrate the ideal of patient virtue and the paradox of following reason alone, not to answer a practical question of political obligation.

The introduction praises the Crito as a perfect dialectical piece where the conclusion follows necessarily from granted premises, noting the effective use of dream imagery and the bold personification of the Laws.

Socrates greets Crito, who has arrived before dawn, and expresses surprise at the gatekeeper's leniency.

Crito explains he came early but waited to let Socrates sleep, marveling at Socrates' peaceful demeanor despite his imminent death.

Socrates reasons that an old man should not lament approaching death, though Crito notes that other elderly men do indeed grieve their fate.

Crito delivers the distressing news that the ship from Delos has been sighted and will likely arrive today, meaning Socrates' execution is scheduled for tomorrow.

Socrates describes a dream of a fair woman quoting Homer's prophecy that he will go to Phthia on the third day, inferring the ship will not arrive until tomorrow.

Crito urgently begs Socrates to escape, arguing that Socrates' death will harm Crito's reputation, suggesting people will think Crito valued money over his friend's life.

Socrates argues that only good men's opinions matter, not those of the masses, and questions why Crito would care what the many think.

Crito counters that the opinion of the many must be regarded because they have shown they can inflict the greatest evils, as demonstrated by Socrates' current fate.

Socrates insists that while the many can kill, they cannot make a man wise or foolish, and that whatever they do is merely chance, not genuine harm.

Crito asks whether Socrates fears that his escape would endanger his friends, putting them at risk from informers and losing property.

Crito assures Socrates that escape is easily and cheaply accomplished with money provided by himself, Simmias, and others, and promises safety with friends in Thessaly.

Crito argues that Socrates' escape is also wrong because he abandons his children, and that choosing death over life demonstrates cowardice rather than virtue.

Crito claims he is ashamed that Socrates' death will make it appear that his friends lacked courage to save him, calling it a crowning folly.

Crito concludes his appeals by emphasizing the urgency of the moment and begging Socrates to make the decision to escape this very night.

Socrates declares that he has always been guided by reason alone and that he will not repudiate the principles he has honored throughout his life, regardless of threats.

Socrates suggests they examine whether the old principle about the selective valuation of opinions still holds given his changed circumstances, or if it was merely childish talk.

Socrates explains that some opinions are valuable while others are not, and asks Crito to confirm whether this principle was correctly maintained before his condemnation.

Crito affirms that only good men's opinions and the wise men's opinions should be valued, while the unwise should be disregarded.

Socrates draws a parallel to athletics, where a trainee should only regard the opinion of the single expert trainer, not the many, when making decisions about training and diet.

Crito confirms that an athlete should attend only to the expert trainer's judgment and fear only their censure, not that of the masses.

Socrates argues that just as physical training requires following the expert's opinion, questions of justice and virtue require following the wise man's opinion, not the many's.

Socrates demonstrates that disobeying the expert's advice destroys the body through poor health, and similarly disobeying the expert in justice destroys the soul, which is more valuable than the body.

Crito confirms that the principle governing justice and morality is more important than the body and more honorable than physical health.

Socrates concludes that he must follow the wise man's judgment on justice, not the many's opinion, even though the many can kill him.

Socrates asks whether the principle that a good and just life is more valuable than mere life itself still holds, and Crito confirms it does.

Socrates states that given these two unshaken principles, he must now determine whether escaping would be just or unjust, and that worldly considerations about money and children are irrelevant to this determination.

Crito acknowledges that Socrates is right and asks how they should proceed with the inquiry.

Socrates asks Crito to attempt to refute his arguments or cease trying to persuade him to escape, emphasizing he values reason above friendship.

Socrates affirms that injustice is always wrong and dishonorable, and questions whether he and Crito are now abandoning the principles they held before his trial.

Crito affirms that injustice is always evil and that they must not do wrong under any circumstances.

Socrates argues that even when injured, one should not injure in return, as this violates the principle that one must never injure anyone.

Socrates questions whether the common moral opinion that one may return evil for evil is just, establishing that it is not and that doing evil to another is the same as injuring them.

Socrates warns that the principle of non-retaliation is controversial and rarely held, and asks Crito whether he genuinely accepts it as the foundation for their argument.

Crito confirms he has not changed his mind and continues to hold that one should not retaliate with evil for evil.

Socrates poses the question of whether a man should do what he believes to be right, or if he may betray justice, to establish the framework for applying these principles.

Socrates inquires whether his escape would wrong the Athenians or violate the just principles they had agreed upon, asking Crito to consider this carefully.

Crito confesses he cannot determine whether escaping would violate the just principles, saying he does not know.

Socrates suggests they imagine that the laws of Athens come to question him about whether he intends to overturn them through his escape.

Socrates asks what answer he and Crito should give to the Laws' challenge that his escape would overturn the authority of legal sentences in Athens.

Crito acknowledges it would be a good response to tell the Laws that while they have injured Socrates with an unjust sentence, he had made an agreement with them.

Socrates anticipates that the Laws would challenge his claim by asking what agreement he refers to and whether he was bound to obey their sentences.

Socrates imagines the Laws asserting that they brought Socrates into existence and educated him, asking what complaint he could have against them to justify destroying them.

Socrates concedes in his imagined response that he has no objection to the laws that regulated marriage and his education.

Socrates dramatizes the Laws' argument that since they created and educated him, he is their child and must not do to them what they do to him.

Socrates imagines the Laws claiming that as their creation, Socrates is not on equal terms with them and cannot claim the right to retaliate against them as a child cannot against a parent.

Socrates dramatizes the Laws' claim that Athens is more worthy of respect than any parent or ancestor, being more sacred in the eyes of gods and wise men.

Socrates imagines the Laws insisting they must be obeyed and reverently entreated when angry, much more than a father, and that punishments must be endured silently.

Socrates dramatizes the Laws' conclusion that just as one cannot do violence to parents, one certainly cannot do violence to one's country.

Socrates asks Crito whether the Laws' claims about the superiority of country and the prohibition against harming it are true.

Crito agrees that the Laws' arguments about the state's superiority and his duty to obey it are correct.

Socrates dramatizes the Laws explaining that they allowed Socrates freedom to leave Athens if he disliked them, and his long residence constitutes an implied agreement to obey their commands.

Socrates dramatizes the Laws claiming that disobedience is threefold wrong: as disobedience to parents, violation of education, and breach of an explicit agreement.

Socrates imagines the Laws pointing out that they permitted any Athenian who disliked them to leave with their property, but Socrates never chose to do so.

Socrates dramatizes the Laws offering citizens a choice: obey their commands or attempt to persuade them that their commands are unjust.

Socrates imagines the Laws noting that Socrates will face these accusations especially because he, above all Athenians, has acknowledged the agreement most clearly.

Socrates dramatizes the Laws providing evidence that Socrates loved Athens by noting he never left the city except for military service or the Isthmus games.

Socrates imagines the Laws observing that Socrates never traveled abroad to see other governments and laws, unlike other men.

Socrates dramatizes the Laws pointing out that Socrates' having children in Athens demonstrates his satisfaction with the state.

Socrates imagines the Laws reminding him that during his trial he could have proposed exile as his penalty but instead stated he preferred death.

Socrates dramatizes the Laws accusing him of having forgotten his professed preference for death and now acting like a slave attempting escape.

Socrates imagines the Laws questioning whether Socrates admitted to being governed by them in deed as well as in word.

Crito concedes that they must acknowledge the Laws' claim that Socrates agreed to be governed by them.

Socrates dramatizes the Laws accusing him of breaking agreements made at leisure over seventy years, when he was free to leave but chose to stay.

Socrates imagines the Laws noting he praised Lacedaemon and Crete for good government but never left Athens, proving his preference for it.

Socrates dramatizes the Laws observing that no one, not even the disabled, remained in Athens as steadily as Socrates did.

Socrates imagines the Laws cautioning that if he escapes, he will face serious consequences affecting both himself and his friends.

Socrates dramatizes the Laws warning that in other well-governed cities, he will be seen as a corrupter of laws and treated as an enemy by patriotic citizens.

Socrates imagines the Laws challenging whether Socrates could decently speak about virtue and laws to citizens of well-ordered states after violating the most sacred laws.

Socrates dramatizes the Laws painting a picture of Socrates living in disordered Thessaly, entertaining hosts with an amusing tale of his escape, living as a flatterer and servant.

Socrates imagines the Laws asking where his fine sentiments about justice and virtue would be if he fled to Thessaly.

Socrates dramatizes the Laws asking whether taking children to Thessaly would benefit them by depriving them of Athenian citizenship, or whether leaving them behind would result in better care.

Socrates imagines the Laws asserting that true friends will care for his children whether he lives in Thessaly or the underworld.

Socrates dramatizes the Laws urging him to prioritize justice over life and children, so he may depart innocent as a sufferer rather than a doer of evil.

Socrates imagines the Laws warning that if he breaks agreements and returns evil for evil, they will be angry while he lives and the laws below will receive him as an enemy.

Socrates concludes his dramatic presentation by describing the Laws' voice as constantly murmuring in his ears like the sound of the flute for mystics, preventing him from hearing other arguments.

Socrates acknowledges he knows any further argument from Crito will be in vain but invites him to speak if he wishes.

Crito concedes that Socrates' arguments have convinced him and he has no further words to offer.

Socrates bids Crito farewell and resolves to fulfill the will of God by following where he leads, accepting his fate with equanimity.