Phaedo 64a

Early in the Phaedo, Socrates begins answering Cebes and Simmias on why the philosopher should not fear death. The brief passage rendered here is the foundational claim the rest of the dialogue argues for and elaborates: the philosophical life, rightly pursued, is itself a preparation for dying. The position is stated provocatively before it is defended; the defense follows across the subsequent argument.

κινδυνεύουσι γὰρ ὅσοι τυγχάνουσιν ὀρθῶς ἁπτόμενοι φιλοσοφίας λεληθέναι τοὺς ἄλλους ὅτι οὐδὲν ἄλλο αὐτοὶ ἐπιτηδεύουσιν ἢ ἀποθνῄσκειν τε καὶ τεθνάναι.

— Plato, Phaedo 64a. Public domain.

For those who pursue philosophy aright, study to die; and to them, of all men, death is least terrible. It would seem indeed that those who rightly engage in philosophy escape the notice of others in this — that they pursue nothing else but dying and being dead.

— Translation: Benjamin Jowett, The Dialogues of Plato, vol. I (Oxford: Clarendon, 1871). Public domain.

Notes

The passage's force depends on two Greek terms whose English renderings are uneven. Φιλοσοφία (philosophía) here means something narrower and more specific than the modern English "philosophy"; it names a way of life rather than an academic discipline, with practical and ethical dimensions Jowett's "philosophy" partially preserves. Ἐπιτηδεύουσιν (epitēdeúousin) means "they practice" or "they pursue with effort" — closer to a regular discipline than to occasional reflection. Jowett's "pursue nothing else" captures the term reasonably; closer renderings emphasize the directed, sustained character of the practice the verb names.

The verb μελετάω (meletáō), from which the later term meletē thanátou derives, does not appear in this passage but enters the surrounding argument as Socrates elaborates the claim across 64a–67e. The architecture renders the foundational statement here without rendering the elaboration; readers seeking the full argument should consult primary sources.

Jowett's translation has the register of its time. "Study to die" reads more archaic than the Greek requires; "rightly engage in philosophy" is somewhat fuller than ὀρθῶς ἁπτόμενοι φιλοσοφίας (literally "those who correctly take hold of philosophy"). More recent translations vary in their handling; the question of which translation best serves the passage is itself a question the reader may wish to take further with primary sources.