A translation with introduction and commentary of Plato's Phaedo. This celebrated dialogue describes the last conversations in prison between Socrates and his friends. Socrates' bearing in the last hours before his execution, the devotion of his friends, the admiration of his jailer, and his reasoned conviction that the human soul survives the death of the body are all portrayed with moving simplicity and admiration.

Professor Hackforth here translated the dialogue for the student and general reader. There is a running commentary on the course of the argument and the meaning of the key Greek terms, and a full introduction to explain the philosophical background and the place of this work among Plato's writings.