I must drink the poison;
and I think that I had better repair to the bath first, in order that
the women may not have the trouble of washing my body after I am dead.

When he had done speaking, Crito said: And have you any commands for us,
Socrates--anything to say about your children, or any other matter in
which we can serve you?

Nothing particular, Crito, he replied: only, as I have always told
you, take care of yourselves; that is a service which you may be ever
rendering to me and mine and to all of us, whether you promise to do so
or not. But if you have no thought for yourselves, and care not to walk
according to the rule which I have prescribed for you, not now for the
first time, however much you may profess or promise at the moment, it
will be of no avail.

We will do our best, said Crito: And in what way shall we bury you?

In any way that you like; but you must get hold of me, and take care
that I do not run away from you. Then he turned to us, and added with a
smile:--I cannot make Crito believe that I am the same Socrates who have
been talking and conducting the argument; he fancies that I am the other
Socrates whom he will soon see, a dead body--and he asks, How shall he
bury me? And though I have spoken many words in the endeavour to show
that when I have drunk the poison I shall leave you and go to the joys
of the blessed,--these words of mine, with which I was comforting you
and myself, have had, as I perceive, no effect upon Crito. And therefore
I want you to be surety for me to him now, as at the trial he was surety
to the judges for me: but let the promise be of another sort; for he
was surety for me to the judges that I would remain, and you must be my
surety to him that I shall not remain, but go away and depart; and then
he will suffer less at my death, and not be grieved when he sees my body
being burned or buried. I would not have him sorrow at my hard lot, or
say at the burial, Thus we lay out Socrates, or, Thus we follow him to
the grave or bury him; for false words are not only evil in themselves,
but they infect the soul with evil. Be of good cheer, then, my dear
Crito, and say that you are burying my body only, and do with that
whatever is usual, and what you think best.

When he had spoken these words, he arose and went into a chamber to
bathe; Crito followed him and told us to wait. So we remained behind,
talking and thinking of the subject of discourse, and also of the
greatness o