Be quiet, then, and have patience. When we
heard his words we were ashamed, and refrained our tears; and he walked
about until, as he said, his legs began to fail, and then he lay on his
back, according to the directions, and the man who gave him the poison
now and then looked at his feet and legs; and after a while he pressed
his foot hard, and asked him if he could feel; and he said, No; and then
his leg, and so upwards and upwards, and showed us that he was cold and
stiff. And he felt them himself, and said: When the poison reaches the
heart, that will be the end. He was beginning to grow cold about the
groin, when he uncovered his face, for he had covered himself up,
and said--they were his last words--he said: Crito, I owe a cock to
Asclepius; will you remember to pay the debt? The debt shall be
paid, said Crito; is there anything else? There was no answer to
this question; but in a minute or two a movement was heard, and the
attendants uncovered him; his eyes were set, and Crito closed his eyes
and mouth.
Such was the end, Echecrates, of our friend; concerning whom I may
truly say, that of all the men of his time whom I have known, he was the
wisest and justest and best.