"Certainly," replied Simmias.

23. "Is it any thing else than the separation of the soul from the
body? And is not this to die, for the body to be apart by itself
separated from the soul, and for the soul to subsist apart by itself
separated from the body? Is death any thing else than this?"

"No, but this," he replied.

"Consider, then, my good friend, whether you are of the same opinion as
I; for thus, I think, we shall understand better the subject we are
considering. Does it appear to you to be becoming in a philosopher to be
anxious about pleasures, as they are called, such as meats and drinks?"

"By no means, Socrates," said Simmias.

"But what? about the pleasures of love?"

"Not at all."

24. "What, then? Does such a man appear to you to think other bodily
indulgences of value? For instance, does he seem to you to value or
despise the possession of magnificent garments and sandals, and other
ornaments of the body except so far as necessity compels him to use
them?"

"The true philosopher," he answered, "appears to me to despise them."

"Does not, then," he continued, "the whole employment of such a man