In 399 BC, Socrates was sentenced to death.
The reason for all this was that he loved truth and wisdom more than life, and he debated with the citizens in the streets of Athens what was right to think and do.
In search of correct thought and behavior, Socrates disgraced the rulers, silenced the poets, and said worthless what the rich merchants were pursuing.
When he followed the truth of heaven, he sinned against the world.
He was taken to court on the grounds that he corrupted the good youth, reversed right and wrong, and did not believe in God.
But Socrates always felt that he had done nothing wrong, so when the judges told him that he could spare him if he gave up the pursuit of wisdom, Socrates decisively refused.
On the day of his execution, Socrates and his friends discussed the immortal soul, the truth of the world, and the question of life and death, he examined the whole life, and finally calmly waited for the arrival of death.
His words and the entire process of dying were compiled into a text, which is "Phaedo".
01
After several rounds of trials, Socrates was sentenced to death and executed at a later date.
On the day of his execution, Socrates' friends and disciples accompanied him and listened to his teachings, and they found that Socrates had no fear before death, and he was almost waiting for death with noble feelings.
Of course, he did not sit idle, but talked about philosophy with everyone, and his wife was grieving, and Socrates asked someone to send her home, because he felt that crying was unhappy.
Socrates sat up, fisted one leg, and stroked it with his hand, the leg was chained, there was some pain, but after stroking, the pain was gone, and with it, pleasure followed.
The pain and pleasure of life are always inexplicably connected, but no one can meet pain and pleasure at the same time, when a person is in pain, happiness is far away, and when a person is happy, pain is gone.
If Aesop were alive, he would have written a parable based on it.
After being imprisoned, Socrates translated Aesop's fables into poems, and also wrote poems in praise of the god Apollo, many people do not understand, Socrates never wrote poetry, why in prison, but wrote poetry?
Socrates said that he had repeatedly heard a voice in his dreams telling him to write poetry and make friends with the goddess of literature and art.
In Socrates' view, this may have been a divine revelation, and he was afraid that he had neglected some responsibility for his life to find out what this dream meant.
So, he tried to write poetry.
Throughout his life, Socrates often heard such voices, which he felt urged and encouraged him to delve into philosophy, to which he had already devoted.
He devoted himself to philosophy, and in the end he was sentenced to death for the misfortune of his love of philosophy, but he did not regret it, on the contrary, he felt that philosophy was a preview of death.
And today, he will follow death and leave this world, which is the command of the Athenians.
Socrates thought this might be a relief.
In the general view, death is the end, and it is unreasonable for a person to face death without feeling miserable, but Socrates felt that life is a disease, and man is a prisoner in prison.
And death is to free people.
Confucius said:
Unknown life, know death.
Death is not a denial of life, but a practice of life, and Socrates devoted himself to philosophy, in his view, death is not a return to nothingness, but an escape to another wider world where more secrets await him.
02
While Socrates was talking to his friends about death, the prison officer came, and he warned Socrates to talk as little as possible, because talking too much would affect the onset of toxicity.
If the poison attack is not good, you may have to drink the poison two or three times.
But Socrates was determined to tell his friends what he knew, and he asked the inmate to do his own thing and prepare a second poison.
He told his friends that people who have pursued philosophy all their lives are relaxed and happy when they die, and are convinced that they will be happier in another world after death.
Many people know philosophy, but they do not understand philosophy, and the real pursuit of philosophy is nothing more than learning death.
Some people ridicule Socrates, thousands of people in the world, if they hear your description, they will definitely think that you are right, because they feel that they have seen through philosophers, and philosophers are damned.
However, these people do not understand what kind of death the philosopher is asking for.
What is death?
Death is the separation of the soul from the body, the soul leaving the body to exist alone, and the body leaving the soul to exist alone.
Only when the soul and body become one and live in harmony can man be called alive.
But there are too many people in the world, only concerned with external enjoyment, they crave the pleasure of eating and drinking, enjoy the stimulation brought by the senses, and neglect the care of the soul in the unexpected beauty.
Philosophers care more about their souls than these people, they care more about truth, and they are more willing to pursue absolute beauty and fairness.
In Socrates' view, the flesh is an obstacle to the soul's quest for something better, and when we occasionally have time to study philosophy, the flesh noisily disturbs our thinking and prevents us from seeing the truth.
It is for this reason that Socrates said that philosophy is the study of death, because only when death comes, the soul has the opportunity to break free from the bondage of the body and seek true beauty.
He said:
When I get to where I'm going, there's a lot of hope that the things I've been most concerned about all my life will come true.
What philosophers call death is to free the soul from the comfort of the body, and their lifelong efforts are aimed at achieving this goal.
03
We live in a world where many people love not wisdom, but physical and external things.
So many people see death as a first bad thing, because once death comes, all physical pleasures and external possessions are lost.
But can the enjoyment of the soul last? A man named Zibe asked Socrates:
How can the soul survive after it leaves the body?
Socrates, through various expositions, convinced that the soul is immortal and that after death, the soul does not disappear, but goes to another world.
Socrates proposed a concept: knowledge is memory. The reason why we can know certain things is because we have memories of those things, and that memory is preserved in our souls, so the human soul is immortal.
The reason why we can acquire knowledge and wisdom in this life is because our soul is immortal, and he has all the wisdom in the first place.
Socrates said:
People who care for their souls do not live to serve their bodies. Love wisdom can save oneself and cleanse oneself.
Philosophers are people who love wisdom, so wherever philosophy leads them, they always follow.
Initially, the philosopher will find that his soul is completely welded to the flesh, and that it is looking for the truth, but cannot see freely but can only see through the flesh, as if looking through the prison fence, and he finds that he is in extreme ignorance.
Philosophy, on the other hand, will make it clear that the soul is imprisoned solely because of carnal desires.
Therefore, it is we who imprison our souls.
04
In prison, death was approaching, and Socrates' friends thought he was unlucky.
But in Socrates' eyes, he never felt that he was an unfortunate man, and as always, he discussed truth and soul with his friends.
He told his friends:
Think less about Socrates and more about what is true.
Indeed, what one should follow is always true, not someone, as Socrates said:
I am afraid that I have lost my philosopher's mind on this subject and become an argumentative and uncultivated person, who does not care about the right and wrong of things, is self-righteous, and wants others to have a general opinion with him.
The soul itself is complete, and we only need to get close to it to discover our own beauty.
During the conversation, Socrates also talked about his life experience, when he was young, he was deeply interested in the study of nature, very eager to obtain wisdom in this area, he wanted to know the reason for all things in the world, why did it come from nothing, why did it die, why did it exist?
Young Socrates thought it would be wonderful to figure out such problems.
He wanted to know some of the answers too much, and as a result, many questions often upset him.
But the more he researched, the more confused some questions became, and he felt that he didn't know anything, and the only thing he knew was that he didn't know.
Socrates abandoned this quest, and he began his own second quest, saying:
If I use my eyes to see everything in the world and use my senses to grasp the truth of things, I am afraid that my soul will also be blind, and I will rely on concepts to find the truth of things from concepts.
Because everything exists for no other reason than because it has its own essence.
Socrates believed that there must be something supreme, beautiful, and true, which is proof of the immortality of the soul.
He said:
In our lifetimes, we should do our best to cultivate morality and seek wisdom, because the future harvest is beautiful and the hope is great.
The world, which cares only about the flesh, should really listen to the teachings of Socrates, otherwise how can this world be beautiful?
05
Some people pursue physical pleasure all their lives and do not ask about the soul.
As Romain Rolland said, they died at the age of twenty-eight, but they were not buried until they were eighty, and the rest of the days were just a repetition of the past.
Some people are dedicated to their soul and the pursuit of wisdom, and their soul is not decorated but cultivated by itself, and it is embellished with self-control, justice, bravery, freedom, and truth.
His life was full and fulfilling, because his soul was always present.
After that, Socrates planned to go to the bath first and then drink the poison, because he did not want to bother others to wash his body again.
Friends asked him if he had anything to tell him about his wife and children.
But Socrates felt that what he had to say had already been said.
He said to his friends:
Whatever you do, as long as you take care of yourself, you are doing your duty to me and my family, as well as to yourself.
How to arrange the aftermath?
Socrates said:
Do as you like, as long as you can catch me, don't let me slip through your hands.
After he had finished bathing, his son came to see him, and his wife also came, and he said something to them and let his wife leave, when the prison officer came in with poison.
Socrates said to the prisoner:
Are you an expert, teach me how to drink?
The prison officer said:
It's very simple, drink the poison, then you keep walking, and when you feel heavy legs, you lie down, and the poison will attack on its own.
Socrates took the poisoned wine, and he wanted to pour some wine to pray to the gods, but the prison officer said that the poison was only enough to poison one person, and there was nothing superfluous.
Socrates, as the prison officer said, drank the poison and kept walking, he was in no pain, but the people around him cried, and he said:
I sent women out so that they would not do such absurd things, and it is better for people to die in silence, and you must be quiet and brave.
The poison attacked, his legs became heavy, so he lay on the bed, his body was becoming stiff, and death was coming, but Socrates calmly said to his friend:
We should sacrifice a rooster to the god of medicine, go buy one, don't neglect it.
Socrates is gone.
His soul may have gone to another world, the world he said was better.
That's an expectation.
People are alive, they all have to die, sooner or later.
Socrates said:
An unexamined life is not worth living.
What does it mean to examine your own life? In my opinion, it is to keep the soul present, not only to take care of your body, but also to take care of your soul.
06
In this life, how people should live is actually only their own problem.
Everyone can choose their own life and do what they want, which is the freedom given by God.
Yet many times, we deny this freedom.
In today's world, too many people do not care about their souls, they are addicted to the pursuit of materials, on the surface, they look bright, but in fact they are empty inside, they are suffering, they are mentally exhausted, or many people have no spirit at all.
The most fundamental reason for all this is that they neglect their souls, they forget to take care of their souls, and when the souls are sick, pain follows.
Looking at the past and present, those who have a rich heart, they may not have a lot of money, but they enjoy life peacefully, they may not be rich, but they have lived a full life.
And what about us?
We are constantly occupied by material desires in boundless material desires, standing on the street of satisfaction and satisfaction, countless materials will arouse our desires, and no one will sigh like Socrates, so many things, I don't need ah.
The more barren the heart, the easier it is to be pushed by external things and become a slave to the outside world.
It's time to wake up, it's time to see your soul, it's time to see your fullness.
Text | not interesting soul