Stay Strong (Crito)

Stay Strong (Crito) June 30, 2016

Martin_Luther,_Coretta_Scott_and_Yolanda_Denise_King,_1956_opt
He died as he lived: fighting for justice.

A human reading this is going to die or is dead and is wasting the afterlife. Death is more sure than taxes and that is the surest thing not certain. Not all humans have died: Enoch, Elijah, and perhaps Arthur and a few others folk, but so many have that one need not plan on immorality.

One good way of thinking about education is preparing to die well so that a good life is not ruined. You might learn to live a good life by tradition if you are blessed with a good neighborhood, but dying well is going to take some prep. History gives some good examples and some cautionary tales.

Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered. He died, however, in a good way: doing justice. He died as he lived the best part of his great life, not the worst. It was too early in his life, but he was doing good work when he died. That is a great gift from God.

Of course, some of us die unexpectedly or die and are revived. Lazarus got to come back for a second act, but most humans know they are going as they go. A few even know to the day when they are going to die. As a convicted convict, Socrates was one of those people.

A man who teaches that philosophy, loving wisdom, is a good preparation for death ought not to die screaming in terror or pushing off the inevitable as long as possible. Death is a time for courage, especially the courage of convictions. The bravest man of all will keep thinking. Socrates was willing to challenge his own belief in the immortality of the soul just before he went to eternity!

There is a commitment to a lifestyle.

Crito begins with Socrates being visited in the prison where he will die:

Why have you come so early, Crito? Or is it not still early?

It is early in the day, but then so is the conversation with Crito. It is before . . .in the way events are that are just before major happenings. Socrates will die soon, but not today. Crito is there to help him escape and Socrates gives him the reasons he will not run away. Of course, these reasons give testimony to the truth of life because he uses one of his last full days to reason with his students. Socrates has found the higher pleasures, the intellectual joys, and so he does not spend his last days drinking or having sex like so many do.

What a waste of time!

Socrates isn’t rushing toward death, he will squeeze every drop of joy out of life he can, but he is not afraid to die. He is unwilling to stop learning, growing, discussing, being a friend. Crito finds Socrates awake . . . early . . . read to think because that is who Socrates has become over the course of a well lived life.

Not only is it “early,” but Socrates is unsure of the time! He is going to die soon, but he is not counting down the moments. He is living his life while there is life to live. He is not denying what is coming, but he accepts it.

From other places in this dialogue and in Apology and Phaedo, we know Socrates would have been happy to continue living, but only if he could have lived seeking wisdom. He would rather die in the pursuit of wisdom than eke out a few more years as a fool. Since a student has come to his cell (Crito) and he has time, he does not have to be overly concerned about time.

He keeps doing his Socrates thing.

American Christians used to do death better than we do now. Too often, we are dying like we are living our faith and that is trivially, cheaply, and with no thought.  I recall the old saints of my childhood whose faith ripened and then moved them from this world to the next. They died singing, praying, and loving as they had done. They did not embrace death, but Jesus.

They were more like Socrates (and so more like the Lord Jesus) than we are. That is a shame.

There is something distasteful about Christians who pretend death is not sad. Socrates was fine with reasonable sorrow (and even let one student say who was a bit out of control), but not with showy or professional mourning. It may be that the dearly departed would not have wanted us to be sad, but he is not here and that is sad. On the other hand, if we have grown in faith, we need not mourn (as we should!) hopelessly. The hopeless dirge is not Christian, just as the secular party time is also inappropriate.

Jesus wept when he saw his friend was dead. He then went and did something about it appropriate to his status. We should do the same. If Socrates can die as he lived, Christians, who have the power of the Holy Spirit, should be able to do the same. Christians need not cling to death, while being happy to live so as to be of service to other people. We keep wondering about everything . . . .living by faith and not by sight.

Generally it is too late to prepare to die when the time comes to die. Today (assuming this is not our death day) we must live in the knowledge of our death. This is sad, unsettling, but also useful if we believe in eternity. Go read Ecclesiastes and then Crito. 

We can stop thinking what we do Matters and start living for eternity: bravely, hopefully, soft hearts, tough minds. Even as the end comes, may we see that it is always early for the lover of wisdom. Light always comes and conquers death. Twilight comes before dawn.

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Plato is the greatest philosopher outside of Christendom. Reject him or accept him, nobody ignores him. This summer I will be looking at the first lines of all of his dialogues. Because he carefully crafted his dialogues, the first line often contain clues to the meaning of what will come next. I have written about how to read Plato in When Athens Met Jerusalem and The Great Books ReaderI tried my hand at Platonic myth making in Chasing Shadows. 

Apology begins with the persuasiveness of crowds and the need for the elite to listen. Euthyphro tells us to avoid being a jerk for justice. We must be strong to finish what we start or we become Crito.


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