ng cold approached the fire, it would
neither be extinguished nor perish, but would depart quite safe."

"Of necessity," he said.

"Must we not, then, of necessity," he continued, "speak thus of that
which is immortal? if that which is immortal is imperishable, it is
impossible for the soul to perish, when death approaches it. For, from
what has been said already, it will not admit death, nor will ever be
dead; just as we said that three will never be even, nor, again, will
the odd; nor will fire be cold, nor yet the heat that is in fire. 127.
But some one may say, what hinders, though the odd can never become even
by the approach of the even, as we have allowed, yet, when the odd is
destroyed, that the even should succeed in its place? We could not
contend with him who should make this objection that it is not
destroyed, for the uneven is not imperishable; since, if this were
granted us, we might easily have contended that, on the approach of the
even, the odd and the three depart; and we might have contended in the
same way with respect to fire, heat, and the rest, might we not?"

"Certainly."

"Wherefore, with respect to the immortal, if we have allowed that it is
imperishable, the soul, in addition to its being immortal, must also be
imperishable; if not, there will be need of other arguments."

"But there is no need," he said, "so far as that is concerned; for
scarcely could any thing not admit of corruption, if that which is
immortal and eternal is liable to it."

128. "The deity, indeed, I think," said Socrates, "and the idea itself
of life, and if anything else is immortal, must be allowed by all beings
to be incapable of dissolution."

"By Jupiter!" he replied, "by all men, indeed, and still more, as I
think, by the gods."

"Since, then, that which is immortal is also incorruptible, can the
soul, since it is immortal, be any thing else than imperishable?"

"It must, of necessity, be so."

"When, therefore, death approaches a man, the mortal part of him, as it
appears, dies, but the immortal part departs safe and uncorrupted,
having withdrawn itself from death?"

"It appears so."

"The soul, therefore," he said, "Cebes, is most certainly immortal and
imperishable, and our souls will really exist in Hades."

"Therefore, Socrates," he said, "I have nothing further to say against
this, nor any reason for doubting your arguments. But if Simmias here,
or any one else, has any thing to say, it were wel