Dialogue 3 Summary and Analysis

"Crito" This dialogue is set in Socrates' prison cell in the very early morning - Socrates has just awakened, and his friend and defender Crito has come with news that he (Socrates) will probably die later that day. Socrates, however, says he's had what he believes was a prophetic dream, in which it was revealed that he will not die until the following day.

Crito then (and apparently not for the first time) urges Socrates to let his friends help him escape. He suggests that Socrates is betraying himself, his friends, his city and above all his family by submitting, with apparent resignation and humility, to the sentence imposed upon him by Athens. Socrates acknowledges Crito's concern, and that of their friends, but then explains (at considerable length) why escape would be wrong. His argument is anchored by the question of...