,,symposium  ,by ,plato   ,translated by
 ,benjamin ,jowett     ,,introduction4  
,of all the works of ,plato the         
,symposium is the most perfect in form1 
and may be truly thought to contain more
 than any commentator has ever dreamed  
of2 or1 as ,goethe said of one of his   
own writings1 more than the author      
himself knew4 ,for in philosophy as in  
prophecy glimpses of the future may     
often be conveyed in words which could  
hardly have been understood or          
interpreted at the time when they were  
uttered 7compare ,symp47--which were    
wiser than the writer of them meant1 and
 could not have been expressed by him if
 he had been interrogated about them4   
,yet ,plato was not a mystic1 nor in any
 degree affected by the ,eastern        
influences which afterwards overspread  
the ,alexandrian world4 ,he was not an  
enthusiast or a sentimentalist1 but one 
who aspired only to see reasoned truth1 
and whose thoughts are clearly explained
 in his language4 ,there is no foreign  

element either of ,egypt or of ,asia to 
be found in his writings4 ,and more than
 any other ,platonic work the ,symposium
 is ,greek both in style and subject1   
having a beauty 'as of a statue1' while 
the companion ,dialogue of the ,phaedrus
 is marked by a sort of ,gothic         
irregularity4 ,more too than in any     
other of his ,dialogues1 ,plato is      
emancipated from former philosophies4   
,the genius of ,greek art seems to      
triumph over the traditions of          
,pythagorean1 ,eleatic1 or ,megarian    
systems1 and 'the old quarrel of poetry 
and philosophy' has at least a          
superficial reconcilement4 7,rep47  ,an 
unknown person who had heard of the     
discourses in praise of love spoken by  
,socrates and others at the banquet of  
,agathon is desirous of having an       
authentic account of them1 which he     
thinks that he can obtain from          
,apollodorus1 the same excitable1 or    
rather 'mad' friend of ,socrates1 who is
 afterwards introduced in the ,phaedo4  

,he had imagined that the discourses    
were recent4 ,there he is mistaken3 but 
they are still fresh in the memory of   
his informant1 who had just been        
repeating them to ,glaucon1 and is quite
 prepared to have another rehearsal of  
them in a walk from the ,piraeus to     
,athens4 ,although he had not been      
present himself1 he had heard them from 
the best authority4 ,aristodemus1 who is
 described as having been in past times 
a humble but inseparable attendant of   
,socrates1 had reported them to him     
7compare ,xen4 ,mem474  ,the narrative  
which he had heard was as follows3--    
,aristodemus meeting ,socrates in       
holiday attire1 is invited by him to a  
banquet at the house of ,agathon1 who   
had been sacrificing in thanksgiving for
 his tragic victory on the day previous4
 ,but no sooner has he entered the house
 than he finds that he is alone2        
,socrates has stayed behind in a fit of 
abstraction1 and does not appear until  
the banquet is half over4 ,on his       

appearing he and the host jest a little2
 the question is then asked by          
,pausanias1 one of the guests1 ',what   
shall they do about drinking8 as they   
had been all well drunk on the day      
before1 and drinking on two successive  
days is such a bad thing4' ,this is     
confirmed by the authority of           
,eryximachus the physician1 who further 
proposes that instead of listening to   
the flute-girl and her 'noise' they     
shall make speeches in honour of love1  
one after another1 going from left to   
right in the order in which they are    
reclining at the table4 ,all of them    
agree to this proposal1 and ,phaedrus1  
who is the 'father' of the idea1 which  
he has previously communicated to       
,eryximachus1 begins as follows3--  ,he 
descants first of all upon the antiquity
 of love1 which is proved by the        
authority of the poets2 secondly upon   
the benefits which love gives to man4   
,the greatest of these is the sense of  
honour and dishonour4 ,the lover is     

ashamed to be seen by the beloved doing 
or suffering any cowardly or mean act4  
,and a state or army which was made up  
only of lovers and their loves would be 
invincible4 ,for love will convert the  
veriest coward into an inspired hero4   
,and there have been true loves not only
 of men but of women also4 ,such was the
 love of ,alcestis1 who dared to die for
 her husband1 and in recompense of her  
virtue was allowed to come again from   
the dead4 ,but ,orpheus1 the miserable  
harper1 who went down to ,hades alive1  
that he might bring back his wife1 was  
mocked with an apparition only1 and the 
gods afterwards contrived his death as  
the punishment of his cowardliness4 ,the
 love of ,achilles1 like that of        
,alcestis1 was courageous and true2 for 
he was willing to avenge his lover      
,patroclus1 although he knew that his   
own death would immediately follow3 and 
the gods1 who honour the love of the    
beloved above that of the lover1        
rewarded him1 and sent him to the       

islands of the blest4  ,pausanias1 who  
was sitting next1 then takes up the     
tale3--,he says that ,phaedrus should   
have distinguished the heavenly love    
from the earthly1 before he praised     
either4 ,for there are two loves1 as    
there are two ,aphrodites--one the      
daughter of ,uranus1 who has no mother  
and is the elder and wiser goddess1 and 
the other1 the daughter of ,zeus and    
,dione1 who is popular and common4 ,the 
first of the two loves has a noble      
purpose1 and delights only in the       
intelligent nature of man1 and is       
faithful to the end1 and has no shadow  
of wantonness or lust4 ,the second is   
the coarser kind of love1 which is a    
love of the body rather than of the     
soul1 and is of women and boys as well  
as of men4 ,now the actions of lovers   
vary1 like every other sort of action1  
according to the manner of their        
performance4 ,and in different countries
 there is a difference of opinion about 
male loves4 ,some1 like the ,boeotians1 

approve of them2 others1 like the       
,ionians1 and most of the barbarians1   
disapprove of them2 partly because they 
are aware of the political dangers which
 ensue from them1 as may be seen in the 
instance of ,harmodius and              
,aristogeiton4 ,at ,athens and ,sparta  
there is an apparent contradiction about
 them4 ,for at times they are           
encouraged1 and then the lover is       
allowed to play all sorts of fantastic  
tricks2 he may swear and forswear       
himself 7and 'at lovers' perjuries they 
say ,jove laughs'72 he may be a servant1
 and lie on a mat at the door of his    
love1 without any loss of character2 but
 there are also times when elders look  
grave and guard their young relations1  
and personal remarks are made4 ,the     
truth is that some of these loves are   
disgraceful and others honourable4 ,the 
vulgar love of the body which takes wing
 and flies away when the bloom of youth 
is over1 is disgraceful1 and so is the  
interested love of power or wealth2 but 

the love of the noble mind is lasting4  
,the lover should be tested1 and the    
beloved should not be too ready to      
yield4 ,the rule in our country is that 
the beloved may do the same service to  
the lover in the way of virtue which the
 lover may do to him4  ,a voluntary     
service to be rendered for the sake of  
virtue and wisdom is permitted among us2
 and when these two customs--one the    
love of youth1 the other the practice of
 virtue and philosophy--meet in one1    
then the lovers may lawfully unite4 ,nor
 is there any disgrace to a             
disinterested lover in being deceived3  
but the interested lover is doubly      
disgraced1 for if he loses his love he  
loses his character2 whereas the noble  
love of the other remains the same1     
although the object of his love is      
unworthy3 for nothing can be nobler than
 love for the sake of virtue4 ,this is  
that love of the heavenly goddess which 
is of great price to individuals and    
cities1 making them work together for   

their improvement4  ,the turn of        
,aristophanes comes next2 but he has the
 hiccough1 and therefore proposes that  
,eryximachus the physician shall cure   
him or speak in his turn4 ,eryximachus  
is ready to do both1 and after          
prescribing for the hiccough1 speaks as 
follows3--  ,he agrees with ,pausanias  
in maintaining that there are two kinds 
of love2 but his art has led him to the 
further conclusion that the empire of   
this double love extends over all       
things1 and is to be found in animals   
and plants as well as in man4 ,in the   
human body also there are two loves2 and
 the art of medicine shows which is the 
good and which is the bad love1 and     
persuades the body to accept the good   
and reject the bad1 and reconciles      
conflicting elements and makes them     
friends4 ,every art1 gymnastic and      
husbandry as well as medicine1 is the   
reconciliation of opposites2 and this is
 what ,heracleitus meant1 when he spoke 
of a harmony of opposites3 but in       

strictness he should rather have spoken 
of a harmony which succeeds opposites1  
for an agreement of disagreements there 
cannot be4 ,music too is concerned with 
the principles of love in their         
application to harmony and rhythm4 ,in  
the abstract1 all is simple1 and we are 
not troubled with the twofold love2 but 
when they are applied in education with 
their accompaniments of song and metre1 
then the discord begins4 ,then the old  
tale has to be repeated of fair ,urania 
and the coarse ,polyhymnia1 who must be 
indulged sparingly1 just as in my own   
art of medicine care must be taken that 
the taste of the epicure be gratified   
without inflicting upon him the         
attendant penalty of disease4  ,there is
 a similar harmony or disagreement in   
the course of the seasons and in the    
relations of moist and dry1 hot and     
cold1 hoar frost and blight2 and        
diseases of all sorts spring from the   
excesses or disorders of the element of 
love4 ,the knowledge of these elements  

of love and discord in the heavenly     
bodies is termed astronomy1 in the      
relations of men towards gods and       
parents is called divination4 ,for      
divination is the peacemaker of gods and
 men1 and works by a knowledge of the   
tendencies of merely human loves to     
piety and impiety4 ,such is the power of
 love2 and that love which is just and  
temperate has the greatest power1 and is
 the source of all our happiness and    
friendship with the gods and with one   
another4 ,i dare say that ,i have       
omitted to mention many things which    
you1 ,aristophanes1 may supply1 as ,i   
perceive that you are cured of the      
hiccough4  ,aristophanes is the next    
speaker3--  ,he professes to open a new 
vein of discourse1 in which he begins by
 treating of the origin of human nature4
 ,the sexes were originally three1 men1 
women1 and the union of the two2 and    
they were made round--having four hands1
 four feet1 two faces on a round neck1  
and the rest to correspond4 ,terrible   

was their strength and swiftness2 and   
they were essaying to scale heaven and  
attack the gods4 ,doubt reigned in the  
celestial councils2 the gods were       
divided between the desire of quelling  
the pride of man and the fear of losing 
the sacrifices4 ,at last ,zeus hit upon 
an expedient4 ,let us cut them in two1  
he said2 then they will only have half  
their strength1 and we shall have twice 
as many sacrifices4 ,he spake1 and split
 them as you might split an egg with an 
hair2 and when this was done1 he told   
,apollo to give their faces a twist and 
re-arrange their persons1 taking out the
 wrinkles and tying the skin in a knot  
about the navel4 ,the two halves went   
about looking for one another1 and were 
ready to die of hunger in one another's 
arms4 ,then ,zeus invented an adjustment
 of the sexes1 which enabled them to    
marry and go their way to the business  
of life4 ,now the characters of men     
differ accordingly as they are derived  
from the original man or the original   

woman1 or the original man-woman4 ,those
 who come from the man-woman are        
lascivious and adulterous2 those who    
come from the woman form female         
attachments2 those who are a section of 
the male follow the male and embrace    
him1 and in him all their desires       
centre4 ,the pair are inseparable and   
live together in pure and manly         
affection2 yet they cannot tell what    
they want of one another4 ,but if       
,hephaestus were to come to them with   
his instruments and propose that they   
should be melted into one and remain one
 here and hereafter1 they would         
acknowledge that this was the very      
expression of their want4 ,for love is  
the desire of the whole1 and the pursuit
 of the whole is called love4 ,there was
 a time when the two sexes were only    
one1 but now ,god has halved them1--much
 as the ,lacedaemonians have cut up the 
,arcadians1--and if they do not behave  
themselves he will divide them again1   
and they will hop about with half a nose

 and face in basso relievo4 ,wherefore  
let us exhort all men to piety1 that we 
may obtain the goods of which love is   
the author1 and be reconciled to ,god1  
and find our own true loves1 which      
rarely happens in this world4 ,and now  
,i must beg you not to suppose that ,i  
am alluding to ,pausanias and ,agathon  
7compare ,protag471 for my words refer  
to all mankind everywhere4  ,some       
raillery ensues first between           
,aristophanes and ,eryximachus1 and then
 between ,agathon1 who fears a few      
select friends more than any number of  
spectators at the theatre1 and          
,socrates1 who is disposed to begin an  
argument4 ,this is speedily repressed by
 ,phaedrus1 who reminds the disputants  
of their tribute to the god4 ,agathon's 
speech follows3--  ,he will speak of the
 god first and then of his gifts3 ,he is
 the fairest and blessedest and best of 
the gods1 and also the youngest1 having 
had no existence in the old days of     
,iapetus and ,cronos when the gods were 

at war4 ,the things that were done then 
were done of necessity and not of love4 
,for love is young and dwells in soft   
places1--not like ,ate in ,homer1       
walking on the skulls of men1 but in    
their hearts and souls1 which are soft  
enough4 ,he is all flexibility and      
grace1 and his habitation is among the  
flowers1 and he cannot do or suffer     
wrong2 for all men serve and obey him of
 their own free will1 and where there is
 love there is obedience1 and where     
obedience1 there is justice2 for none   
can be wronged of his own free will4    
,and he is temperate as well as just1   
for he is the ruler of the desires1 and 
if he rules them he must be temperate4  
,also he is courageous1 for he is the   
conqueror of the lord of war4 ,and he is
 wise too2 for he is a poet1 and the    
author of poesy in others4 ,he created  
the animals2 he is the inventor of the  
arts2 all the gods are his subjects2 he 
is the fairest and best himself1 and the
 cause of what is fairest and best in   

others2 he makes men to be of one mind  
at a banquet1 filling them with         
affection and emptying them of          
disaffection2 the pilot1 helper1        
defender1 saviour of men1 in whose      
footsteps let every man follow1 chanting
 a strain of love4 ,such is the         
discourse1 half playful1 half serious1  
which ,i dedicate to the god4  ,the turn
 of ,socrates comes next4 ,he begins by 
remarking satirically that he has not   
understood the terms of the original    
agreement1 for he fancied that they     
meant to speak the true praises of love1
 but now he finds that they only say    
what is good of him1 whether true or    
false4 ,he begs to be absolved from     
speaking falsely1 but he is willing to  
speak the truth1 and proposes to begin  
by questioning ,agathon4 ,the result of 
his questions may be summed up as       
follows3--  ,love is of something1 and  
that which love desires is not that     
which love is or has2 for no man desires
 that which he is or has4 ,and love is  

of the beautiful1 and therefore has not 
the beautiful4 ,and the beautiful is the
 good1 and therefore1 in wanting and    
desiring the beautiful1 love also wants 
and desires the good4 ,socrates         
professes to have asked the same        
questions and to have obtained the same 
answers from ,diotima1 a wise woman of  
,mantinea1 who1 like ,agathon1 had      
spoken first of love and then of his    
works4 ,socrates1 like ,agathon1 had    
told her that ,love is a mighty god and 
also fair1 and she had shown him in     
return that ,love was neither1 but in a 
mean between fair and foul1 good and    
evil1 and not a god at all1 but only a  
great demon or intermediate power       
7compare the speech of ,eryximachus7 who
 conveys to the gods the prayers of men1
 and to men the commands of the gods4   
,socrates asks3 ,who are his father and 
mother8 ,to this ,diotima replies that  
he is the son of ,plenty and ,poverty1  
and partakes of the nature of both1 and 
is full and starved by turns4 ,like his 

mother he is poor and squalid1 lying on 
mats at doors 7compare the speech of    
,pausanias72 like his father he is bold 
and strong1 and full of arts and        
resources4 ,further1 he is in a mean    
between ignorance and knowledge3--in    
this he resembles the philosopher who is
 also in a mean between the wise and the
 ignorant4 ,such is the nature of ,love1
 who is not to be confused with the     
beloved4  ,but ,love desires the        
beautiful2 and then arises the question1
 ,what does he desire of the beautiful8 
,he desires1 of course1 the possession  
of the beautiful2--but what is given by 
that8 ,for the beautiful let us         
substitute the good1 and we have no     
difficulty in seeing the possession of  
the good to be happiness1 and ,love to  
be the desire of happiness1 although the
 meaning of the word has been too often 
confined to one kind of love4 ,and ,love
 desires not only the good1 but the     
everlasting possession of the good4 ,why
 then is there all this flutter and     

excitement about love8 ,because all men 
and women at a certain age are desirous 
of bringing to the birth4 ,and love is  
not of beauty only1 but of birth in     
beauty2 this is the principle of        
immortality in a mortal creature4 ,when 
beauty approaches1 then the conceiving  
power is benign and diffuse2 when       
foulness1 she is averted and morose4    
,but why again does this extend not only
 to men but also to animals8 ,because   
they too have an instinct of            
immortality4 ,even in the same          
individual there is a perpetual         
succession as well of the parts of the  
material body as of the thoughts and    
desires of the mind2 nay1 even knowledge
 comes and goes4 ,there is no sameness  
of existence1 but the new mortality is  
always taking the place of the old4     
,this is the reason why parents love    
their children--for the sake of         
immortality2 and this is why men love   
the immortality of fame4 ,for the       
creative soul creates not children1 but 

conceptions of wisdom and virtue1 such  
as poets and other creators have        
invented4 ,and the noblest creations of 
all are those of legislators1 in honour 
of whom temples have been raised4 ,who  
would not sooner have these children of 
the mind than the ordinary human ones8  
7,compare ,bacon's ,essays1             
#h3--';,certainly the best works and of 
greatest merit for the public have      
proceeded from the unmarried or         
childless men2 which both in affection  
and means have married and endowed the  
public4'7  ,i will now initiate you1 she
 said1 into the greater mysteries2 for  
he who would proceed in due course      
should love first one fair form1 and    
then many1 and learn the connexion of   
them2 and from beautiful bodies he      
should proceed to beautiful minds1 and  
the beauty of laws and institutions1    
until he perceives that all beauty is of
 one kindred2 and from institutions he  
should go on to the sciences1 until at  
last the vision is revealed to him of a 

single science of universal beauty1 and 
then he will behold the everlasting     
nature which is the cause of all1 and   
will be near the end4 ,in the           
contemplation of that supreme being of  
love he will be purified of earthly     
leaven1 and will behold beauty1 not with
 the bodily eye1 but with the eye of the
 mind1 and will bring forth true        
creations of virtue and wisdom1 and be  
the friend of ,god and heir of          
immortality4  ,such1 ,phaedrus1 is the  
tale which ,i heard from the stranger of
 ,mantinea1 and which you may call the  
encomium of love1 or what you please4   
,the company applaud the speech of      
,socrates1 and ,aristophanes is about to
 say something1 when suddenly a band of 
revellers breaks into the court1 and the
 voice of ,alcibiades is heard asking   
for ,agathon4 ,he is led in drunk1 and  
welcomed by ,agathon1 whom he has come  
to crown with a garland4 ,he is placed  
on a couch at his side1 but suddenly1 on
 recognizing ,socrates1 he starts up1   

and a sort of conflict is carried on    
between them1 which ,agathon is         
requested to appease4 ,alcibiades then  
insists that they shall drink1 and has a
 large wine-cooler filled1 which he     
first empties himself1 and then fills   
again and passes on to ,socrates4 ,he is
 informed of the nature of the          
entertainment2 and is ready to join1 if 
only in the character of a drunken and  
disappointed lover he may be allowed to 
sing the praises of ,socrates3--  ,he   
begins by comparing ,socrates first to  
the busts of ,silenus1 which have images
 of the gods inside them2 and1 secondly1
 to ,marsyas the flute-player4 ,for     
,socrates produces the same effect with 
the voice which ,marsyas did with the   
flute4 ,he is the great speaker and     
enchanter who ravishes the souls of men2
 the convincer of hearts too1 as he has 
convinced ,alcibiades1 and made him     
ashamed of his mean and miserable life4 
,socrates at one time seemed about to   
fall in love with him2 and he thought   

that he would thereby gain a wonderful  
opportunity of receiving lessons of     
wisdom4 ,he narrates the failure of his 
design4 ,he has suffered agonies from   
him1 and is at his wit's end4 ,he then  
proceeds to mention some other          
particulars of the life of ,socrates2   
how they were at ,potidaea together1    
where ,socrates showed his superior     
powers of enduring cold and fatigue2 how
 on one occasion he had stood for an    
entire day and night absorbed in        
reflection amid the wonder of the       
spectators2 how on another occasion he  
had saved ,alcibiades' life2 how at the 
battle of ,delium1 after the defeat1 he 
might be seen stalking about like a     
pelican1 rolling his eyes as            
,aristophanes had described him in the  
,clouds4 ,he is the most wonderful of   
human beings1 and absolutely unlike     
anyone but a satyr4 ,like the satyr in  
his language too2 for he uses the       
commonest words as the outward mask of  
the divinest truths4  ,when ,alcibiades 

has done speaking1 a dispute begins     
between him and ,agathon and ,socrates4 
,socrates piques ,alcibiades by a       
pretended affection for ,agathon4       
,presently a band of revellers appears1 
who introduce disorder into the feast2  
the sober part of the company1          
,eryximachus1 ,phaedrus1 and others1    
withdraw2 and ,aristodemus1 the follower
 of ,socrates1 sleeps during the whole  
of a long winter's night4 ,when he wakes
 at cockcrow the revellers are nearly   
all asleep4 ,only ,socrates1            
,aristophanes1 and ,agathon hold out2   
they are drinking from a large goblet1  
which they pass round1 and ,socrates is 
explaining to the two others1 who are   
half-asleep1 that the genius of tragedy 
is the same as that of comedy1 and that 
the writer of tragedy ought to be a     
writer of comedy also4 ,and first       
,aristophanes drops1 and then1 as the   
day is dawning1 ,agathon4 ,socrates1    
having laid them to rest1 takes a bath  
and goes to his daily avocations until  

the evening4 ,aristodemus follows4  444 
,if it be true that there are more      
things in the ,symposium of ,plato than 
any commentator has dreamed of1 it is   
also true that many things have been    
imagined which are not really to be     
found there4 ,some writings hardly admit
 of a more distinct interpretation than 
a musical composition2 and every reader 
may form his own accompaniment of       
thought or feeling to the strain which  
he hears4 ,the ,symposium of ,plato is a
 work of this character1 and can with   
difficulty be rendered in any words but 
the writer's own4 ,there are so many    
half-lights and cross-lights1 so much of
 the colour of mythology1 and of the    
manner of sophistry adhering--rhetoric  
and poetry1 the playful and the serious1
 are so subtly intermingled in it1 and  
vestiges of old philosophy so curiously 
blend with germs of future knowledge1   
that agreement among interpreters is not
 to be expected4 ,the expression 'poema 
magis putandum quam comicorum poetarum1'

 which has been applied to all the      
writings of ,plato1 is especially       
applicable to the ,symposium4  ,the     
power of love is represented in the     
,symposium as running through all nature
 and all being3 at one end descending to
 animals and plants1 and attaining to   
the highest vision of truth at the      
other4 ,in an age when man was seeking  
for an expression of the world around   
him1 the conception of love greatly     
affected him4 ,one of the first         
distinctions of language and of         
mythology was that of gender2 and at a  
later period the ancient physicist1     
anticipating modern science1 saw1 or    
thought that he saw1 a sex in plants2   
there were elective affinities among the
 elements1 marriages of earth and       
heaven4 7,aesch4 ,frag4 ,dan47 ,love    
became a mythic personage whom          
philosophy1 borrowing from poetry1      
converted into an efficient cause of    
creation4 ,the traces of the existence  
of love1 as of number and figure1 were  

everywhere discerned2 and in the        
,pythagorean list of opposites male and 
female were ranged side by side with odd
 and even1 finite and infinite4  ,but   
,plato seems also to be aware that there
 is a mystery of love in man as well as 
in nature1 extending beyond the mere    
immediate relation of the sexes4 ,he is 
conscious that the highest and noblest  
things in the world are not easily      
severed from the sensual desires1 or may
 even be regarded as a spiritualized    
form of them4 ,we may observe that      
,socrates himself is not represented as 
originally unimpassioned1 but as one who
 has overcome his passions2 the secret  
of his power over others partly lies in 
his passionate but self-controlled      
nature4 ,in the ,phaedrus and ,symposium
 love is not merely the feeling usually 
so called1 but the mystical             
contemplation of the beautiful and the  
good4 ,the same passion which may wallow
 in the mire is capable of rising to the
 loftiest heights--of penetrating the   

inmost secret of philosophy4 ,the       
highest love is the love not of a       
person1 but of the highest and purest   
abstraction4 ,this abstraction is the   
far-off heaven on which the eye of the  
mind is fixed in fond amazement4 ,the   
unity of truth1 the consistency of the  
warring elements of the world1 the      
enthusiasm for knowledge when first     
beaming upon mankind1 the relativity of 
ideas to the human mind1 and of the     
human mind to ideas1 the faith in the   
invisible1 the adoration of the eternal 
nature1 are all included1 consciously or
 unconsciously1 in ,plato's doctrine of 
love4  ,the successive speeches in      
praise of love are characteristic of the
 speakers1 and contribute in various    
degrees to the final result2 they are   
all designed to prepare the way for     
,socrates1 who gathers up the threads   
anew1 and skims the highest points of   
each of them4 ,but they are not to be   
regarded as the stages of an idea1      
rising above one another to a climax4   

,they are fanciful1 partly facetious    
performances1 'yet also having a certain
 measure of seriousness1' which the     
successive speakers dedicate to the god4
 ,all of them are rhetorical and        
poetical rather than dialectical1 but   
glimpses of truth appear in them4 ,when 
,eryximachus says that the principles of
 music are simple in themselves1 but    
confused in their application1 he       
touches lightly upon a difficulty which 
has troubled the moderns as well as the 
ancients in music1 and may be extended  
to the other applied sciences4 ,that    
confusion begins in the concrete1 was   
the natural feeling of a mind dwelling  
in the world of ideas4 ,when ,pausanias 
remarks that personal attachments are   
inimical to despots4 ,the experience of 
,greek history confirms the truth of his
 remark4 ,when ,aristophanes declares   
that love is the desire of the whole1 he
 expresses a feeling not unlike that of 
the ,german philosopher1 who says that  
'philosophy is home sickness4' ,when    

,agathon says that no man 'can be       
wronged of his own free will1' he is    
alluding playfully to a serious problem 
of ,greek philosophy 7compare ,arist4   
,nic4 ,ethics74 ,so naturally does      
,plato mingle jest and earnest1 truth   
and opinion in the same work4  ,the     
characters--of ,phaedrus1 who has been  
the cause of more philosophical         
discussions than any other man1 with the
 exception of ,simmias the ,theban      
7,phaedrus72 of ,aristophanes1 who      
disguises under comic imagery a serious 
purpose2 of ,agathon1 who in later life 
is satirized by ,aristophanes in the    
,thesmophoriazusae1 for his effeminate  
manners and the feeble rhythms of his   
verse2 of ,alcibiades1 who is the same  
strange contrast of great powers and    
great vices1 which meets us in          
history--are drawn to the life2 and we  
may suppose the less-known characters of
 ,pausanias and ,eryximachus to be also 
true to the traditional recollection of 
them 7compare ,phaedr41 ,protag42 and   

compare ,sympos4 with ,phaedr474 ,we may
 also remark that ,aristodemus is called
 'the little' in ,xenophon's            
,memorabilia 7compare ,symp474  ,the    
speeches have been said to follow each  
other in pairs3 ,phaedrus and ,pausanias
 being the ethical1 ,eryximachus and    
,aristophanes the physical speakers1    
while in ,agathon and ,socrates poetry  
and philosophy blend together4 ,the     
speech of ,phaedrus is also described as
 the mythological1 that of ,pausanias as
 the political1 that of ,eryximachus as 
the scientific1 that of ,aristophanes as
 the artistic 7671 that of ,socrates as 
the philosophical4 ,but these and       
similar distinctions are not found in   
,plato2--they are the points of view of 
his critics1 and seem to impede rather  
than to assist us in understanding him4 
,when the turn of ,socrates comes round 
he cannot be allowed to disturb the     
arrangement made at first4 ,with the    
leave of ,phaedrus he asks a few        
questions1 and then he throws his       

argument into the form of a speech      
7compare ,gorg41 ,protag474 ,but his    
speech is really the narrative of a     
dialogue between himself and ,diotima4  
,and as at a banquet good manners would 
not allow him to win a victory either   
over his host or any of the guests1 the 
superiority which he gains over ,agathon
 is ingeniously represented as having   
been already gained over himself by her4
 ,the artifice has the further advantage
 of maintaining his accustomed          
profession of ignorance 7compare        
,menex474 ,even his knowledge of the    
mysteries of love1 to which he lays     
claim here and elsewhere 7,lys471 is    
given by ,diotima4  ,the speeches are   
attested to us by the very best         
authority4 ,the madman ,apollodorus1 who
 for three years past has made a daily  
study of the actions of ,socrates--to   
whom the world is summed up in the words
 ',great is ,socrates'--he has heard    
them from another 'madman1'             
,aristodemus1 who was the 'shadow' of   

,socrates in days of old1 like him going
 about barefooted1 and who had been     
present at the time4 ',would you desire 
better witness8' ,the extraordinary     
narrative of ,alcibiades is ingeniously 
represented as admitted by ,socrates1   
whose silence when he is invited to     
contradict gives consent to the         
narrator4 ,we may observe1 by the way1  
7#a7 how the very appearance of         
,aristodemus by himself is a sufficient 
indication to ,agathon that ,socrates   
has been left behind2 also1 7#b7 how the
 courtesy of ,agathon anticipates the   
excuse which ,socrates was to have made 
on ,aristodemus' behalf for coming      
uninvited2 7#c7 how the story of the fit
 or trance of ,socrates is confirmed by 
the mention which ,alcibiades makes of a
 similar fit of abstraction occurring   
when he was serving with the army at    
,potidaea2 like 7#d7 the drinking powers
 of ,socrates and his love of the fair1 
which receive a similar attestation in  
the concluding scene2 or the attachment 

of ,aristodemus1 who is not forgotten   
when ,socrates takes his departure4 7#e7
 ,we may notice the manner in which     
,socrates himself regards the first five
 speeches1 not as true1 but as fanciful 
and exaggerated encomiums of the god    
,love2 7#f7 the satirical character of  
them1 shown especially in the appeals to
 mythology1 in the reasons which are    
given by ,zeus for reconstructing the   
frame of man1 or by the ,boeotians and  
,eleans for encouraging male loves2 7#g7
 the ruling passion of ,socrates for    
dialectics1 who will argue with ,agathon
 instead of making a speech1 and will   
only speak at all upon the condition    
that he is allowed to speak the truth4  
,we may note also the touch of ,socratic
 irony1 7#h7 which admits of a wide     
application and reveals a deep insight  
into the world3--that in speaking of    
holy things and persons there is a      
general understanding that you should   
praise them1 not that you should speak  
the truth about them--this is the sort  

of praise which ,socrates is unable to  
give4 ,lastly1 7#i7 we may remark that  
the banquet is a real banquet after all1
 at which love is the theme of          
discourse1 and huge quantities of wine  
are drunk4  ,the discourse of ,phaedrus 
is half-mythical1 half-ethical2 and he  
himself1 true to the character which is 
given him in the ,dialogue bearing his  
name1 is half-sophist1 half-enthusiast4 
,he is the critic of poetry also1 who   
compares ,homer and ,aeschylus in the   
insipid and irrational manner of the    
schools of the day1 characteristically  
reasoning about the probability of      
matters which do not admit of reasoning4
 ,he starts from a noble text3 ',that   
without the sense of honour and         
dishonour neither states nor individuals
 ever do any good or great work4' ,but  
he soon passes on to more common-place  
topics4 ,the antiquity of love1 the     
blessing of having a lover1 the         
incentive which love offers to daring   
deeds1 the examples of ,alcestis and    

,achilles1 are the chief themes of his  
discourse4 ,the love of women is        
regarded by him as almost on an equality
 with that of men2 and he makes the     
singular remark that the gods favour the
 return of love which is made by the    
beloved more than the original          
sentiment1 because the lover is of a    
nobler and diviner nature4  ,there is   
something of a sophistical ring in the  
speech of ,phaedrus1 which recalls the  
first speech in imitation of ,lysias1   
occurring in the ,dialogue called the   
,phaedrus4 ,this is still more marked in
 the speech of ,pausanias which follows2
 and which is at once hyperlogical in   
form and also extremely confused and    
pedantic4 ,plato is attacking the       
logical feebleness of the sophists and  
rhetoricians1 through their pupils1 not 
forgetting by the way to satirize the   
monotonous and unmeaning rhythms which  
,prodicus and others were introducing   
into ,attic prose 7compare ,protag474   
,of course1 he is 'playing both sides of

 the game1' as in the ,gorgias and      
,phaedrus2 but it is not necessary in   
order to understand him that we should  
discuss the fairness of his mode of     
proceeding4 ,the love of ,pausanias for 
,agathon has already been touched upon  
in the ,protagoras1 and is alluded to by
 ,aristophanes4 ,hence he is naturally  
the upholder of male loves1 which1 like 
all the other affections or actions of  
men1 he regards as varying according to 
the manner of their performance4 ,like  
the sophists and like ,plato himself1   
though in a different sense1 he begins  
his discussion by an appeal to          
mythology1 and distinguishes between the
 elder and younger love4 ,the value     
which he attributes to such loves as    
motives to virtue and philosophy is at  
variance with modern and ,christian     
notions1 but is in accordance with      
,hellenic sentiment4 ,the opinion of    
,christendom has not altogether         
condemned passionate friendships between
 persons of the same sex1 but has       

certainly not encouraged them1 because  
though innocent in themselves in a few  
temperaments they are liable to         
degenerate into fearful evil4 ,pausanias
 is very earnest in the defence of such 
loves2 and he speaks of them as         
generally approved among ,hellenes and  
disapproved by barbarians4 ,his speech  
is 'more words than matter1' and might  
have been composed by a pupil of ,lysias
 or of ,prodicus1 although there is no  
hint given that ,plato is specially     
referring to them4 ,as ,eryximachus     
says1 'he makes a fair beginning1 but a 
lame ending4'  ,plato transposes the two
 next speeches1 as in the ,republic he  
would transpose the virtues and the     
mathematical sciences4 ,this is done    
partly to avoid monotony1 partly for the
 sake of making ,aristophanes 'the cause
 of wit in others1' and also in order to
 bring the comic and tragic poet into   
juxtaposition1 as if by accident4 ,a    
suitable 'expectation' of ,aristophanes 
is raised by the ludicrous circumstance 

of his having the hiccough1 which is    
appropriately cured by his substitute1  
the physician ,eryximachus4 ,to         
,eryximachus ,love is the good          
physician2 he sees everything as an     
intelligent physicist1 and1 like many   
professors of his art in modern times1  
attempts to reduce the moral to the     
physical2 or recognises one law of love 
which pervades them both4 ,there are    
loves and strifes of the body as well as
 of the mind4 ,like ,hippocrates the    
,asclepiad1 he is a disciple of         
,heracleitus1 whose conception of the   
harmony of opposites he explains in a   
new way as the harmony after discord2 to
 his common sense1 as to that of many   
moderns as well as ancients1 the        
identity of contradictories is an       
absurdity4 ,his notion of love may be   
summed up as the harmony of man with    
himself in soul as well as body1 and of 
all things in heaven and earth with one 
another4  ,aristophanes is ready to     
laugh and make laugh before he opens his

 mouth1 just as ,socrates1 true to his  
character1 is ready to argue before he  
begins to speak4 ,he expresses the very 
genius of the old comedy1 its coarse and
 forcible imagery1 and the licence of   
its language in speaking about the gods4
 ,he has no sophistical notions about   
love1 which is brought back by him to   
its common-sense meaning of love between
 intelligent beings4 ,his account of the
 origin of the sexes has the greatest   
7comic7 probability and verisimilitude4 
,nothing in ,aristophanes is more truly 
,aristophanic than the description of   
the human monster whirling round on four
 arms and four legs1 eight in all1 with 
incredible rapidity4 ,yet there is a    
mixture of earnestness in this jest2    
three serious principles seem to be     
insinuated3--first1 that man cannot     
exist in isolation2 he must be reunited 
if he is to be perfected3 secondly1 that
 love is the mediator and reconciler of 
poor1 divided human nature3 thirdly1    
that the loves of this world are an     

indistinct anticipation of an ideal     
union which is not yet realized4  ,the  
speech of ,agathon is conceived in a    
higher strain1 and receives the real1 if
 half-ironical1 approval of ,socrates4  
,it is the speech of the tragic poet and
 a sort of poem1 like tragedy1 moving   
among the gods of ,olympus1 and not     
among the elder or ,orphic deities4 ,in 
the idea of the antiquity of love he    
cannot agree2 love is not of the olden  
time1 but present and youthful ever4    
,the speech may be compared with that   
speech of ,socrates in the ,phaedrus in 
which he describes himself as talking   
dithyrambs4 ,it is at once a preparation
 for ,socrates and a foil to him4 ,the  
rhetoric of ,agathon elevates the soul  
to 'sunlit heights1' but at the same    
time contrasts with the natural and     
necessary eloquence of ,socrates4       
,agathon contributes the distinction    
between love and the works of love1 and 
also hints incidentally that love is    
always of beauty1 which ,socrates       

afterwards raises into a principle4     
,while the consciousness of discord is  
stronger in the comic poet              
,aristophanes1 ,agathon1 the tragic     
poet1 has a deeper sense of harmony and 
reconciliation1 and speaks of ,love as  
the creator and artist4  ,all the       
earlier speeches embody common opinions 
coloured with a tinge of philosophy4    
,they furnish the material out of which 
,socrates proceeds to form his          
discourse1 starting1 as in other places1
 from mythology and the opinions of men4
 ,from ,phaedrus he takes the thought   
that love is stronger than death2 from  
,pausanias1 that the true love is akin  
to intellect and political activity2    
from ,eryximachus1 that love is a       
universal phenomenon and the great power
 of nature2 from ,aristophanes1 that    
love is the child of want1 and is not   
merely the love of the congenial or of  
the whole1 but 7as he adds7 of the good2
 from ,agathon1 that love is of beauty1 
not however of beauty only1 but of birth

 in beauty4 ,as it would be out of      
character for ,socrates to make a       
lengthened harangue1 the speech takes   
the form of a dialogue between ,socrates
 and a mysterious woman of foreign      
extraction4 ,she elicits the final truth
 from one who knows nothing1 and who1   
speaking by the lips of another1 and    
himself a despiser of rhetoric1 is      
proved also to be the most consummate of
 rhetoricians 7compare ,menexenus74     
,the last of the six discourses begins  
with a short argument which overthrows  
not only ,agathon but all the preceding 
speakers by the help of a distinction   
which has escaped them4 ,extravagant    
praises have been ascribed to ,love as  
the author of every good2 no sort of    
encomium was too high for him1 whether  
deserved and true or not4 ,but ,socrates
 has no talent for speaking anything but
 the truth1 and if he is to speak the   
truth of ,love he must honestly confess 
that he is not a good at all3 for love  
is of the good1 and no man can desire   

that which he has4 ,this piece of       
dialectics is ascribed to ,diotima1 who 
has already urged upon ,socrates the    
argument which he urges against         
,agathon4 ,that the distinction is a    
fallacy is obvious2 it is almost        
acknowledged to be so by ,socrates      
himself4 ,for he who has beauty or good 
may desire more of them2 and he who has 
beauty or good in himself may desire    
beauty and good in others4 ,the fallacy 
seems to arise out of a confusion       
between the abstract ideas of good and  
beauty1 which do not admit of degrees1  
and their partial realization in        
individuals4  ,but ,diotima1 the        
prophetess of ,mantineia1 whose sacred  
and superhuman character raises her     
above the ordinary proprieties of women1
 has taught ,socrates far more than this
 about the art and mystery of love4 ,she
 has taught him that love is another    
aspect of philosophy4 ,the same want in 
the human soul which is satisfied in the
 vulgar by the procreation of children1 

may become the highest aspiration of    
intellectual desire4 ,as the ,christian 
might speak of hungering and thirsting  
after righteousness2 or of divine loves 
under the figure of human 7compare ,eph4
 ',this is a great mystery1 but ,i speak
 concerning ,christ and the church'72 as
 the mediaeval saint might speak of the 
'fruitio ,dei2' as ,dante saw all things
 contained in his love of ,beatrice1 so 
,plato would have us absorb all other   
loves and desires in the love of        
knowledge4 ,here is the beginning of    
,neoplatonism1 or rather1 perhaps1 a    
proof 7of which there are many7 that the
 so-called mysticism of the ,east was   
not strange to the ,greek of the fifth  
century before ,christ4 ,the first      
tumult of the affections was not wholly 
subdued2 there were longings of a       
creature moving about in worlds not     
realized1 which no art could satisfy4   
,to most men reason and passion appear  
to be antagonistic both in idea and     
fact4 ,the union of the greatest        

comprehension of knowledge and the      
burning intensity of love is a          
contradiction in nature1 which may have 
existed in a far-off primeval age in the
 mind of some ,hebrew prophet or other  
,eastern sage1 but has now become an    
imagination only4 ,yet this 'passion of 
the reason' is the theme of the         
,symposium of ,plato4 ,and as there is  
no impossibility in supposing that 'one 
king1 or son of a king1 may be a        
philosopher1' so also there is a        
probability that there may be some      
few--perhaps one or two in a whole      
generation--in whom the light of truth  
may not lack the warmth of desire4 ,and 
if there be such natures1 no one will be
 disposed to deny that 'from them flow  
most of the benefits of individuals and 
states2' and even from imperfect        
combinations of the two elements in     
teachers or statesmen great good may    
often arise4  ,yet there is a higher    
region in which love is not only felt1  
but satisfied1 in the perfect beauty of 

eternal knowledge1 beginning with the   
beauty of earthly things1 and at last   
reaching a beauty in which all existence
 is seen to be harmonious and one4 ,the 
limited affection is enlarged1 and      
enabled to behold the ideal of all      
things4 ,and here the highest summit    
which is reached in the ,symposium is   
seen also to be the highest summit which
 is attained in the ,republic1 but      
approached from another side2 and there 
is 'a way upwards and downwards1' which 
is the same and not the same in both4   
,the ideal beauty of the one is the     
ideal good of the other2 regarded not   
with the eye of knowledge1 but of faith 
and desire2 and they are respectively   
the source of beauty and the source of  
good in all other things4 ,and by the   
steps of a 'ladder reaching to heaven'  
we pass from images of visible beauty   
7,greek71 and from the hypotheses of the
 ,mathematical sciences1 which are not  
yet based upon the idea of good1 through
 the concrete to the abstract1 and1 by  

different paths arriving1 behold the    
vision of the eternal 7compare ,symp4   
7,greek7 ,republic 7,greek7 also        
,phaedrus74 ,under one aspect 'the idea 
is love'2 under another1 'truth4' ,in   
both the lover of wisdom is the         
'spectator of all time and of all       
existence4' ,this is a 'mystery' in     
which ,plato also obscurely intimates   
the union of the spiritual and fleshly1 
the interpenetration of the moral and   
intellectual faculties4  ,the divine    
image of beauty which resides within    
,socrates has been revealed2 the        
,silenus1 or outward man1 has now to be 
exhibited4 ,the description of ,socrates
 follows immediately after the speech of
 ,socrates2 one is the complement of the
 other4 ,at the height of divine        
inspiration1 when the force of nature   
can no further go1 by way of contrast to
 this extreme idealism1 ,alcibiades1    
accompanied by a troop of revellers and 
a flute-girl1 staggers in1 and being    
drunk is able to tell of things which he

 would have been ashamed to make known  
if he had been sober4 ,the state of his 
affections towards ,socrates1           
unintelligible to us and perverted as   
they appear1 affords an illustration of 
the power ascribed to the loves of man  
in the speech of ,pausanias4 ,he does   
not suppose his feelings to be peculiar 
to himself3 there are several other     
persons in the company who have been    
equally in love with ,socrates1 and like
 himself have been deceived by him4 ,the
 singular part of this confession is the
 combination of the most degrading      
passion with the desire of virtue and   
improvement4 ,such an union is not      
wholly untrue to human nature1 which is 
capable of combining good and evil in a 
degree beyond what we can easily        
conceive4 ,in imaginative persons1      
especially1 the ,god and beast in man   
seem to part asunder more than is       
natural in a well-regulated mind4 ,the  
,platonic ,socrates 7for of the real    
,socrates this may be doubted3 compare  

his public rebuke of ,critias for his   
shameful love of ,euthydemus in         
,xenophon1 ,memorabilia7 does not regard
 the greatest evil of ,greek life as a  
thing not to be spoken of2 but it has a 
ridiculous element 7,plato's ,symp471   
and is a subject for irony1 no less than
 for moral reprobation 7compare ,plato's
 ,symp474 ,it is also used as a figure  
of speech which no one interpreted      
literally 7compare ,xen4 ,symp474 ,nor  
does ,plato feel any repugnance1 such as
 would be felt in modern times1 at      
bringing his great master and hero into 
connexion with nameless crimes4 ,he is  
contented with representing him as a    
saint1 who has won 'the ,olympian       
victory' over the temptations of human  
nature4 ,the fault of taste1 which to us
 is so glaring and which was recognized 
by the ,greeks of a later age           
7,athenaeus71 was not perceived by      
,plato himself4 ,we are still more      
surprised to find that the philosopher  
is incited to take the first step in his

 upward progress 7,symp47 by the beauty 
of young men and boys1 which was alone  
capable of inspiring the modern feeling 
of romance in the ,greek mind4 ,the     
passion of love took the spurious form  
of an enthusiasm for the ideal of       
beauty--a worship as of some godlike    
image of an ,apollo or ,antinous4 ,but  
the love of youth when not depraved was 
a love of virtue and modesty as well as 
of beauty1 the one being the expression 
of the other2 and in certain ,greek     
states1 especially at ,sparta and       
,thebes1 the honourable attachment of a 
youth to an elder man was a part of his 
education4 ,the 'army of lovers and     
their beloved who would be invincible if
 they could be united by such a tie'    
7,symp471 is not a mere fiction of      
,plato's1 but seems actually to have    
existed at ,thebes in the days of       
,epaminondas and ,pelopidas1 if we may  
believe writers cited anonymously by    
,plutarch1 ,pelop4 ,vit4 ,it is         
observable that ,plato never in the     

least degree excuses the depraved love  
of the body 7compare ,charm42 ,rep42    
,laws2 ,symp42 and once more ,xenophon1 
,mem471 nor is there any ,greek writer  
of mark who condones or approves such   
connexions4 ,but owing partly to the    
puzzling nature of the subject these    
friendships are spoken of by ,plato in a
 manner different from that customary   
among ourselves4 ,to most of them we    
should hesitate to ascribe1 any more    
than to the attachment of ,achilles and 
,patroclus in ,homer1 an immoral or     
licentious character4 ,there were many1 
doubtless1 to whom the love of the fair 
mind was the noblest form of friendship 
7,rep471 and who deemed the friendship  
of man with man to be higher than the   
love of woman1 because altogether       
separated from the bodily appetites4    
,the existence of such attachments may  
be reasonably attributed to the         
inferiority and seclusion of woman1 and 
the want of a real family or social life
 and parental influence in ,hellenic    

cities2 and they were encouraged by the 
practice of gymnastic exercises1 by the 
meetings of political clubs1 and by the 
tie of military companionship4 ,they    
were also an educational institution3 a 
young person was specially entrusted by 
his parents to some elder friend who was
 expected by them to train their son in 
manly exercises and in virtue4 ,it is   
not likely that a ,greek parent         
committed him to a lover1 any more than 
we should to a schoolmaster1 in the     
expectation that he would be corrupted  
by him1 but rather in the hope that his 
morals would be better cared for than   
was possible in a great household of    
slaves4  ,it is difficult to adduce the 
authority of ,plato either for or       
against such practices or customs1      
because it is not always easy to        
determine whether he is speaking of 'the
 heavenly and philosophical love1 or of 
the coarse ,polyhymnia3' and he often   
refers to this 7e4g4 in the ,symposium7 
half in jest1 yet 'with a certain degree

 of seriousness4' ,we observe that they 
entered into one part of ,greek         
literature1 but not into another1 and   
that the larger part is free from such  
associations4 ,indecency was an element 
of the ludicrous in the old ,greek      
,comedy1 as it has been in other ages   
and countries4 ,but effeminate love was 
always condemned as well as ridiculed by
 the ,comic poets2 and in the ,new      
,comedy the allusions to such topics    
have disappeared4 ,they seem to have    
been no longer tolerated by the greater 
refinement of the age4 ,false sentiment 
is found in the ,lyric and ,elegiac     
poets2 and in mythology 'the greatest of
 the ,gods' 7,rep47 is not exempt from  
evil imputations4 ,but the morals of a  
nation are not to be judged of wholly by
 its literature4 ,hellas was not        
necessarily more corrupted in the days  
of the ,persian and ,peloponnesian wars1
 or of ,plato and the ,orators1 than    
,england in the time of ,fielding and   
,smollett1 or ,france in the nineteenth 

century4 ,no one supposes certain       
,french novels to be a representation of
 ordinary ,french life4 ,and the greater
 part of ,greek literature1 beginning   
with ,homer and including the           
tragedians1 philosophers1 and1 with the 
exception of the ,comic poets 7whose    
business was to raise a laugh by        
whatever means71 all the greater writers
 of ,hellas who have been preserved to  
us1 are free from the taint of          
indecency4  ,some general considerations
 occur to our mind when we begin to     
reflect on this subject4 7#a7 ,that good
 and evil are linked together in human  
nature1 and have often existed side by  
side in the world and in man to an      
extent hardly credible4 ,we cannot      
distinguish them1 and are therefore     
unable to part them2 as in the parable  
'they grow together unto the harvest3'  
it is only a rule of external decency by
 which society can divide them4 ,nor    
should we be right in inferring from the
 prevalence of any one vice or          

corruption that a state or individual   
was demoralized in their whole          
character4 ,not only has the corruption 
of the best been sometimes thought to be
 the worst1 but it may be remarked that 
this very excess of evil has been the   
stimulus to good 7compare ,plato1 ,laws1
 where he says that in the most corrupt 
cities individuals are to be found      
beyond all praise74 7#b7 ,it may be     
observed that evils which admit of      
degrees can seldom be rightly estimated1
 because under the same name actions of 
the most different degrees of           
culpability may be included4 ,no charge 
is more easily set going than the       
imputation of secret wickedness 7which  
cannot be either proved or disproved and
 often cannot be defined7 when directed 
against a person of whom the world1 or a
 section of it1 is predisposed to think 
evil4 ,and it is quite possible that the
 malignity of ,greek scandal1 aroused by
 some personal jealousy or party enmity1
 may have converted the innocent        

friendship of a great man for a noble   
youth into a connexion of another kind4 
,such accusations were brought against  
several of the leading men of ,hellas1  
e4g4 ,cimon1 ,alcibiades1 ,critias1     
,demosthenes1 ,epaminondas3 several of  
the ,roman emperors were assailed by    
similar weapons which have been used    
even in our own day against statesmen of
 the highest character4 7#c7 ,while we  
know that in this matter there is a     
great gulf fixed between ,greek and     
,christian ,ethics1 yet1 if we would do 
justice to the ,greeks1 we must also    
acknowledge that there was a greater    
outspokenness among them than among     
ourselves about the things which nature 
hides1 and that the more frequent       
mention of such topics is not to be     
taken as the measure of the prevalence  
of offences1 or as a proof of the       
general corruption of society4 ,it is   
likely that every religion in the world 
has used words or practised rites in one
 age1 which have become distasteful or  

repugnant to another4 ,we cannot1 though
 for different reasons1 trust the       
representations either of ,comedy or    
,satire2 and still less of ,christian   
,apologists4 7#d7 ,we observe that at   
,thebes and ,lacedemon the attachment of
 an elder friend to a beloved youth was 
often deemed to be a part of his        
education2 and was encouraged by his    
parents--it was only shameful if it     
degenerated into licentiousness4 ,such  
we may believe to have been the tie     
which united ,asophychus and            
,cephisodorus with the great            
,epaminondas in whose companionship they
 fell 7,plutarch1 ,amat42 ,athenaeus on 
the authority of ,theopompus74 7#e7 ,a  
small matter3 there appears to be a     
difference of custom among the ,greeks  
and among ourselves1 as between         
ourselves and continental nations at the
 present time1 in modes of salutation4  
,we must not suspect evil in the hearty 
kiss or embrace of a male friend        
'returning from the army at ,potidaea'  

any more than in a similar salutation   
when practised by members of the same   
family4 ,but those who make these       
admissions1 and who regard1 not without 
pity1 the victims of such illusions in  
our own day1 whose life has been blasted
 by them1 may be none the less resolved 
that the natural and healthy instincts  
of mankind shall alone be tolerated     
7,greek72 and that the lesson of        
manliness which we have inherited from  
our fathers shall not degenerate into   
sentimentalism or effeminacy4 ,the      
possibility of an honourable connexion  
of this kind seems to have died out with
 ,greek civilization4 ,among the        
,romans1 and also among barbarians1 such
 as the ,celts and ,persians1 there is  
no trace of such attachments existing in
 any noble or virtuous form4  7,compare 
,hoeck's ,creta and the admirable and   
exhaustive article of ,meier in ,ersch  
and ,grueber's ,cyclopedia on this      
subject2 ,plutarch1 ,amatores2          
,athenaeus2 ,lysias contra ,simonem2    

,aesch4 c4 ,timarchum47  ,the character 
of ,alcibiades in the ,symposium is     
hardly less remarkable than that of     
,socrates1 and agrees with the picture  
given of him in the first of the two    
,dialogues which are called by his name1
 and also with the slight sketch of him 
in the ,protagoras4 ,he is the          
impersonation of lawlessness--'the      
lion's whelp1 who ought not to be reared
 in the city1' yet not without a certain
 generosity which gained the hearts of  
men1--strangely fascinated by ,socrates1
 and possessed of a genius which might  
have been either the destruction or     
salvation of ,athens4 ,the dramatic     
interest of the character is heightened 
by the recollection of his after        
history4 ,he seems to have been present 
to the mind of ,plato in the description
 of the democratic man of the ,republic 
7compare also ,alcibiades #a74  ,there  
is no criterion of the date of the      
,symposium1 except that which is        
furnished by the allusion to the        

division of ,arcadia after the          
destruction of ,mantinea4 ,this took    
place in the year ,b4,c4 #chd1 which is 
the forty-fourth year of ,plato's life4 
,the ,symposium cannot therefore be     
regarded as a youthful work4 ,as        
,mantinea was restored in the year #cfi1
 the composition of the ,dialogue will  
probably fall between #chd and #cfi4    
,whether the recollection of the event  
is more likely to have been renewed at  
the destruction or restoration of the   
city1 rather than at some intermediate  
period1 is a consideration not worth    
raising4  ,the ,symposium is connected  
with the ,phaedrus both in style and    
subject2 they are the only ,dialogues of
 ,plato in which the theme of love is   
discussed at length4 ,in both of them   
philosophy is regarded as a sort of     
enthusiasm or madness2 ,socrates is     
himself 'a prophet new inspired' with   
,bacchanalian revelry1 which1 like his  
philosophy1 he characteristically       
pretends to have derived not from       

himself but from others4 ,the ,phaedo   
also presents some points of comparison 
with the ,symposium4 ,for there1 too1   
philosophy might be described as 'dying 
for love2' and there are not wanting    
many touches of humour and fancy1 which 
remind us of the ,symposium4 ,but while 
the ,phaedo and ,phaedrus look backwards
 and forwards to past and future states 
of existence1 in the ,symposium there is
 no break between this world and        
another2 and we rise from one to the    
other by a regular series of steps or   
stages1 proceeding from the particulars 
of sense to the universal of reason1 and
 from one universal to many1 which are  
finally reunited in a single science    
7compare ,rep474 ,at first immortality  
means only the succession of existences2
 even knowledge comes and goes4 ,then   
follows1 in the language of the         
mysteries1 a higher and a higher degree 
of initiation2 at last we arrive at the 
perfect vision of beauty1 not relative  
or changing1 but eternal and absolute2  

not bounded by this world1 or in or out 
of this world1 but an aspect of the     
divine1 extending over all things1 and  
having no limit of space or time3 this  
is the highest knowledge of which the   
human mind is capable4 ,plato does not  
go on to ask whether the individual is  
absorbed in the sea of light and beauty 
or retains his personality4 ,enough for 
him to have attained the true beauty or 
good1 without enquiring precisely into  
the relation in which human beings stood
 to it4 ,that the soul has such a reach 
of thought1 and is capable of partaking 
of the eternal nature1 seems to imply   
that she too is eternal 7compare        
,phaedrus74 ,but ,plato does not        
distinguish the eternal in man from the 
eternal in the world or in ,god4 ,he is 
willing to rest in the contemplation of 
the idea1 which to him is the cause of  
all things 7,rep471 and has no strength 
to go further4  ,the ,symposium of      
,xenophon1 in which ,socrates describes 
himself as a pander1 and also discourses

 of the difference between sensual and  
sentimental love1 likewise offers       
several interesting points of           
comparison4 ,but the suspicion which    
hangs over other writings of ,xenophon1 
and the numerous minute references to   
the ,phaedrus and ,symposium1 as well as
 to some of the other writings of       
,plato1 throw a doubt on the genuineness
 of the work4 ,the ,symposium of        
,xenophon1 if written by him at all1    
would certainly show that he wrote      
against ,plato1 and was acquainted with 
his works4 ,of this hostility there is  
no trace in the ,memorabilia4 ,such a   
rivalry is more characteristic of an    
imitator than of an original writer4    
,the 7so-called7 ,symposium of ,xenophon
 may therefore have no more title to be 
regarded as genuine than the confessedly
 spurious ,apology4  ,there are no means
 of determining the relative order in   
time of the ,phaedrus1 ,symposium1      
,phaedo4 ,the order which has been      
adopted in this translation rests on no 

other principle than the desire to bring
 together in a series the memorials of  
the life of ,socrates4     ,,symposium  
,,persons ,,of ,,the ,,dialogue3        
,apollodorus1 who repeats to his        
companion the dialogue which he had     
heard from ,aristodemus1 and had already
 once narrated to ,glaucon4 ,phaedrus1  
,pausanias1 ,eryximachus1 ,aristophanes1
 ,agathon1 ,socrates1 ,alcibiades1 ,a   
,troop of ,revellers4  ,,scene3 ,the    
,house of ,agathon4   ,concerning the   
things about which you ask to be        
informed ,i believe that ,i am not      
ill-prepared with an answer4 ,for the   
day before yesterday ,i was coming from 
my own home at ,phalerum to the city1   
and one of my acquaintance1 who had     
caught a sight of me from behind1       
calling out playfully in the distance1  
said3 ,apollodorus1 ,o thou ,phalerian  
7,probably a play of words on 7,greek71 
'bald-headed4'7 man1 halt6 ,so ,i did as
 ,i was bid2 and then he said1 ,i was   
looking for you1 ,apollodorus1 only just

 now1 that ,i might ask you about the   
speeches in praise of love1 which were  
delivered by ,socrates1 ,alcibiades1 and
 others1 at ,agathon's supper4 ,phoenix1
 the son of ,philip1 told another person
 who told me of them2 his narrative was 
very indistinct1 but he said that you   
knew1 and ,i wish that you would give me
 an account of them4 ,who1 if not you1  
should be the reporter of the words of  
your friend8 ,and first tell me1 he     
said1 were you present at this meeting8 
,your informant1 ,glaucon1 ,i said1 must
 have been very indistinct indeed1 if   
you imagine that the occasion was       
recent2 or that ,i could have been of   
the party4  ,why1 yes1 he replied1 ,i   
thought so4  ,impossible3 ,i said4 ,are 
you ignorant that for many years        
,agathon has not resided at ,athens2 and
 not three have elapsed since ,i became 
acquainted with ,socrates1 and have made
 it my daily business to know all that  
he says and does4 ,there was a time when
 ,i was running about the world1        

fancying myself to be well employed1 but
 ,i was really a most wretched being1 no
 better than you are now4 ,i thought    
that ,i ought to do anything rather than
 be a philosopher4  ,well1 he said1     
jesting apart1 tell me when the meeting 
occurred4  ,in our boyhood1 ,i replied1 
when ,agathon won the prize with his    
first tragedy1 on the day after that on 
which he and his chorus offered the     
sacrifice of victory4  ,then it must    
have been a long while ago1 he said2 and
 who told you--did ,socrates8  ,no      
indeed1 ,i replied1 but the same person 
who told ,phoenix2--he was a little     
fellow1 who never wore any shoes1       
,aristodemus1 of the deme of            
,cydathenaeum4 ,he had been at          
,agathon's feast2 and ,i think that in  
those days there was no one who was a   
more devoted admirer of ,socrates4      
,moreover1 ,i have asked ,socrates about
 the truth of some parts of his         
narrative1 and he confirmed them4 ,then1
 said ,glaucon1 let us have the tale    

over again2 is not the road to ,athens  
just made for conversation8 ,and so we  
walked1 and talked of the discourses on 
love2 and therefore1 as ,i said at      
first1 ,i am not ill-prepared to comply 
with your request1 and will have another
 rehearsal of them if you like4 ,for to 
speak or to hear others speak of        
philosophy always gives me the greatest 
pleasure1 to say nothing of the profit4 
,but when ,i hear another strain1       
especially that of you rich men and     
traders1 such conversation displeases   
me2 and ,i pity you who are my          
companions1 because you think that you  
are doing something when in reality you 
are doing nothing4 ,and ,i dare say that
 you pity me in return1 whom you regard 
as an unhappy creature1 and very        
probably you are right4 ,but ,i         
certainly know of you what you only     
think of me--there is the difference4   
,,companion3 ,i see1 ,apollodorus1 that 
you are just the same--always speaking  
evil of yourself1 and of others2 and ,i 

do believe that you pity all mankind1   
with the exception of ,socrates1        
yourself first of all1 true in this to  
your old name1 which1 however deserved1 
,i know not how you acquired1 of        
,apollodorus the madman2 for you are    
always raging against yourself and      
everybody but ,socrates4  ,,apollodorus3
 ,yes1 friend1 and the reason why ,i am 
said to be mad1 and out of my wits1 is  
just because ,i have these notions of   
myself and you2 no other evidence is    
required4  ,,companion3 ,no more of     
that1 ,apollodorus2 but let me renew my 
request that you would repeat the       
conversation4  ,,apollodorus3 ,well1 the
 tale of love was on this wise3--,but   
perhaps ,i had better begin at the      
beginning1 and endeavour to give you the
 exact words of ,aristodemus3  ,he said 
that he met ,socrates fresh from the    
bath and sandalled2 and as the sight of 
the sandals was unusual1 he asked him   
whither he was going that he had been   
converted into such a beau3--  ,to a    

banquet at ,agathon's1 he replied1 whose
 invitation to his sacrifice of victory 
,i refused yesterday1 fearing a crowd1  
but promising that ,i would come to-day 
instead2 and so ,i have put on my       
finery1 because he is such a fine man4  
,what say you to going with me unasked8 
,i will do as you bid me1 ,i replied4   
,follow then1 he said1 and let us       
demolish the proverb3--  ',to the feasts
 of inferior men the good unbidden go2' 
instead of which our proverb will run3--
  ',to the feasts of the good the good  
unbidden go2'  and this alteration may  
be supported by the authority of ,homer 
himself1 who not only demolishes but    
literally outrages the proverb4 ,for1   
after picturing ,agamemnon as the most  
valiant of men1 he makes ,menelaus1 who 
is but a fainthearted warrior1 come     
unbidden 7,iliad7 to the banquet of     
,agamemnon1 who is feasting and offering
 sacrifices1 not the better to the      
worse1 but the worse to the better4  ,i 
rather fear1 ,socrates1 said            

,aristodemus1 lest this may still be my 
case2 and that1 like ,menelaus in       
,homer1 ,i shall be the inferior person1
 who  ',to the feasts of the wise       
unbidden goes4'  ,but ,i shall say that 
,i was bidden of you1 and then you will 
have to make an excuse4  ',two going    
together1'  he replied1 in ,homeric     
fashion1 one or other of them may invent
 an excuse by the way 7,iliad74  ,this  
was the style of their conversation as  
they went along4 ,socrates dropped      
behind in a fit of abstraction1 and     
desired ,aristodemus1 who was waiting1  
to go on before him4 ,when he reached   
the house of ,agathon he found the doors
 wide open1 and a comical thing         
happened4 ,a servant coming out met him1
 and led him at once into the           
banqueting-hall in which the guests were
 reclining1 for the banquet was about to
 begin4 ,welcome1 ,aristodemus1 said    
,agathon1 as soon as he appeared--you   
are just in time to sup with us2 if you 
come on any other matter put it off1 and

 make one of us1 as ,i was looking for  
you yesterday and meant to have asked   
you1 if ,i could have found you4 ,but   
what have you done with ,socrates8  ,i  
turned round1 but ,socrates was nowhere 
to be seen2 and ,i had to explain that  
he had been with me a moment before1 and
 that ,i came by his invitation to the  
supper4  ,you were quite right in       
coming1 said ,agathon2 but where is he  
himself8  ,he was behind me just now1 as
 ,i entered1 he said1 and ,i cannot     
think what has become of him4  ,go and  
look for him1 boy1 said ,agathon1 and   
bring him in2 and do you1 ,aristodemus1 
meanwhile take the place by             
,eryximachus4  ,the servant then        
assisted him to wash1 and he lay down1  
and presently another servant came in   
and reported that our friend ,socrates  
had retired into the portico of the     
neighbouring house4 ',there he is       
fixed1' said he1 'and when ,i call to   
him he will not stir4'  ,how strange1   
said ,agathon2 then you must call him   

again1 and keep calling him4  ,let him  
alone1 said my informant2 he has a way  
of stopping anywhere and losing himself 
without any reason4 ,i believe that he  
will soon appear2 do not therefore      
disturb him4  ,well1 if you think so1 ,i
 will leave him1 said ,agathon4 ,and    
then1 turning to the servants1 he added1
 ',let us have supper without waiting   
for him4 ,serve up whatever you please1 
for there is no one to give you orders2 
hitherto ,i have never left you to      
yourselves4 ,but on this occasion       
imagine that you are our hosts1 and that
 ,i and the company are your guests2    
treat us well1 and then we shall commend
 you4' ,after this1 supper was served1  
but still no ,socrates2 and during the  
meal ,agathon several times expressed a 
wish to send for him1 but ,aristodemus  
objected2 and at last when the feast was
 about half over--for the fit1 as usual1
 was not of long duration--,socrates    
entered4 ,agathon1 who was reclining    
alone at the end of the table1 begged   

that he would take the place next to    
him2 that ',i may touch you1' he said1  
'and have the benefit of that wise      
thought which came into your mind in the
 portico1 and is now in your possession2
 for ,i am certain that you would not   
have come away until you had found what 
you sought4'  ,how ,i wish1 said        
,socrates1 taking his place as he was   
desired1 that wisdom could be infused by
 touch1 out of the fuller into the      
emptier man1 as water runs through wool 
out of a fuller cup into an emptier one2
 if that were so1 how greatly should ,i 
value the privilege of reclining at your
 side6 ,for you would have filled me    
full with a stream of wisdom plenteous  
and fair2 whereas my own is of a very   
mean and questionable sort1 no better   
than a dream4 ,but yours is bright and  
full of promise1 and was manifested     
forth in all the splendour of youth the 
day before yesterday1 in the presence of
 more than thirty thousand ,hellenes4   
,you are mocking1 ,socrates1 said       

,agathon1 and ere long you and ,i will  
have to determine who bears off the palm
 of wisdom--of this ,dionysus shall be  
the judge2 but at present you are better
 occupied with supper4  ,socrates took  
his place on the couch1 and supped with 
the rest2 and then libations were       
offered1 and after a hymn had been sung 
to the god1 and there had been the usual
 ceremonies1 they were about to commence
 drinking1 when ,pausanias said1 ,and   
now1 my friends1 how can we drink with  
least injury to ourselves8 ,i can assure
 you that ,i feel severely the effect of
 yesterday's potations1 and must have   
time to recover2 and ,i suspect that    
most of you are in the same predicament1
 for you were of the party yesterday4   
,consider then3 ,how can the drinking be
 made easiest8  ,i entirely agree1 said 
,aristophanes1 that we should1 by all   
means1 avoid hard drinking1 for ,i was  
myself one of those who were yesterday  
drowned in drink4  ,i think that you are
 right1 said ,eryximachus1 the son of   

,acumenus2 but ,i should still like to  
hear one other person speak3 ,is        
,agathon able to drink hard8  ,i am not 
equal to it1 said ,agathon4  ,then1 said
 ,eryximachus1 the weak heads like      
myself1 ,aristodemus1 ,phaedrus1 and    
others who never can drink1 are         
fortunate in finding that the stronger  
ones are not in a drinking mood4 7,i do 
not include ,socrates1 who is able      
either to drink or to abstain1 and will 
not mind1 whichever we do47 ,well1 as of
 none of the company seem disposed to   
drink much1 ,i may be forgiven for      
saying1 as a physician1 that drinking   
deep is a bad practice1 which ,i never  
follow1 if ,i can help1 and certainly do
 not recommend to another1 least of all 
to any one who still feels the effects  
of yesterday's carouse4  ,i always do   
what you advise1 and especially what you
 prescribe as a physician1 rejoined     
,phaedrus the ,myrrhinusian1 and the    
rest of the company1 if they are wise1  
will do the same4  ,it was agreed that  

drinking was not to be the order of the 
day1 but that they were all to drink    
only so much as they pleased4  ,then1   
said ,eryximachus1 as you are all agreed
 that drinking is to be voluntary1 and  
that there is to be no compulsion1 ,i   
move1 in the next place1 that the       
flute-girl1 who has just made her       
appearance1 be told to go away and play 
to herself1 or1 if she likes1 to the    
women who are within 7compare ,prot474  
,to-day let us have conversation        
instead2 and1 if you will allow me1 ,i  
will tell you what sort of conversation4
 ,this proposal having been accepted1   
,eryximachus proceeded as follows3--  ,i
 will begin1 he said1 after the manner  
of ,melanippe in ,euripides1  ',not mine
 the word'  which ,i am about to speak1 
but that of ,phaedrus4 ,for often he    
says to me in an indignant tone3--',what
 a strange thing it is1 ,eryximachus1   
that1 whereas other gods have poems and 
hymns made in their honour1 the great   
and glorious god1 ,love1 has no         

encomiast among all the poets who are so
 many4 ,there are the worthy sophists   
too--the excellent ,prodicus for        
example1 who have descanted in prose on 
the virtues of ,heracles and other      
heroes2 and1 what is still more         
extraordinary1 ,i have met with a       
philosophical work in which the utility 
of salt has been made the theme of an   
eloquent discourse2 and many other like 
things have had a like honour bestowed  
upon them4 ,and only to think that there
 should have been an eager interest     
created about them1 and yet that to this
 day no one has ever dared worthily to  
hymn ,love's praises6 ,so entirely has  
this great deity been neglected4' ,now  
in this ,phaedrus seems to me to be     
quite right1 and therefore ,i want to   
offer him a contribution2 also ,i think 
that at the present moment we who are   
here assembled cannot do better than    
honour the god ,love4 ,if you agree with
 me1 there will be no lack of           
conversation2 for ,i mean to propose    

that each of us in turn1 going from left
 to right1 shall make a speech in honour
 of ,love4 ,let him give us the best    
which he can2 and ,phaedrus1 because he 
is sitting first on the left hand1 and  
because he is the father of the thought1
 shall begin4  ,no one will vote against
 you1 ,eryximachus1 said ,socrates4 ,how
 can ,i oppose your motion1 who profess 
to understand nothing but matters of    
love2 nor1 ,i presume1 will ,agathon and
 ,pausanias2 and there can be no doubt  
of ,aristophanes1 whose whole concern is
 with ,dionysus and ,aphrodite2 nor will
 any one disagree of those whom ,i see  
around me4 ,the proposal1 as ,i am      
aware1 may seem rather hard upon us     
whose place is last2 but we shall be    
contented if we hear some good speeches 
first4 ,let ,phaedrus begin the praise  
of ,love1 and good luck to him4 ,all the
 company expressed their assent1 and    
desired him to do as ,socrates bade him4
  ,aristodemus did not recollect all    
that was said1 nor do ,i recollect all  

that he related to me2 but ,i will tell 
you what ,i thought most worthy of      
remembrance1 and what the chief speakers
 said4  ,phaedrus began by affirming    
that ,love is a mighty god1 and         
wonderful among gods and men1 but       
especially wonderful in his birth4 ,for 
he is the eldest of the gods1 which is  
an honour to him2 and a proof of his    
claim to this honour is1 that of his    
parents there is no memorial2 neither   
poet nor prose-writer has ever affirmed 
that he had any4 ,as ,hesiod says3--    
',first ,chaos came1 and then           
broad-bosomed ,earth1 ,the everlasting  
seat of all that is1 ,and ,love4'  ,in  
other words1 after ,chaos1 the ,earth   
and ,love1 these two1 came into being4  
,also ,parmenides sings of ,generation3 
',first in the train of gods1 he        
fashioned ,love4'  ,and ,acusilaus      
agrees with ,hesiod4 ,thus numerous are 
the witnesses who acknowledge ,love to  
be the eldest of the gods4 ,and not only
 is he the eldest1 he is also the source

 of the greatest benefits to us4 ,for ,i
 know not any greater blessing to a     
young man who is beginning life than a  
virtuous lover1 or to the lover than a  
beloved youth4 ,for the principle which 
ought to be the guide of men who would  
nobly live--that principle1 ,i say1     
neither kindred1 nor honour1 nor wealth1
 nor any other motive is able to implant
 so well as love4 ,of what am ,i        
speaking8 ,of the sense of honour and   
dishonour1 without which neither states 
nor individuals ever do any good or     
great work4 ,and ,i say that a lover who
 is detected in doing any dishonourable 
act1 or submitting through cowardice    
when any dishonour is done to him by    
another1 will be more pained at being   
detected by his beloved than at being   
seen by his father1 or by his           
companions1 or by any one else4 ,the    
beloved too1 when he is found in any    
disgraceful situation1 has the same     
feeling about his lover4 ,and if there  
were only some way of contriving that a 

state or an army should be made up of   
lovers and their loves 7compare ,rep471 
they would be the very best governors of
 their own city1 abstaining from all    
dishonour1 and emulating one another in 
honour2 and when fighting at each       
other's side1 although a mere handful1  
they would overcome the world4 ,for what
 lover would not choose rather to be    
seen by all mankind than by his beloved1
 either when abandoning his post or     
throwing away his arms8 ,he would be    
ready to die a thousand deaths rather   
than endure this4 ,or who would desert  
his beloved or fail him in the hour of  
danger8 ,the veriest coward would become
 an inspired hero1 equal to the bravest1
 at such a time2 ,love would inspire    
him4 ,that courage which1 as ,homer     
says1 the god breathes into the souls of
 some heroes1 ,love of his own nature   
infuses into the lover4  ,love will make
 men dare to die for their beloved--love
 alone2 and women as well as men4 ,of   
this1 ,alcestis1 the daughter of        

,pelias1 is a monument to all ,hellas2  
for she was willing to lay down her life
 on behalf of her husband1 when no one  
else would1 although he had a father and
 mother2 but the tenderness of her love 
so far exceeded theirs1 that she made   
them seem to be strangers in blood to   
their own son1 and in name only related 
to him2 and so noble did this action of 
hers appear to the gods1 as well as to  
men1 that among the many who have done  
virtuously she is one of the very few to
 whom1 in admiration of her noble       
action1 they have granted the privilege 
of returning alive to earth2 such       
exceeding honour is paid by the gods to 
the devotion and virtue of love4 ,but   
,orpheus1 the son of ,oeagrus1 the      
harper1 they sent empty away1 and       
presented to him an apparition only of  
her whom he sought1 but herself they    
would not give up1 because he showed no 
spirit2 he was only a harp-player1 and  
did not dare like ,alcestis to die for  
love1 but was contriving how he might   

enter ,hades alive2 moreover1 they      
afterwards caused him to suffer death at
 the hands of women1 as the punishment  
of his cowardliness4 ,very different was
 the reward of the true love of         
,achilles towards his lover             
,patroclus--his lover and not his love  
7the notion that ,patroclus was the     
beloved one is a foolish error into     
which ,aeschylus has fallen1 for        
,achilles was surely the fairer of the  
two1 fairer also than all the other     
heroes2 and1 as ,homer informs us1 he   
was still beardless1 and younger far74  
,and greatly as the gods honour the     
virtue of love1 still the return of love
 on the part of the beloved to the lover
 is more admired and valued and rewarded
 by them1 for the lover is more divine2 
because he is inspired by ,god4 ,now    
,achilles was quite aware1 for he had   
been told by his mother1 that he might  
avoid death and return home1 and live to
 a good old age1 if he abstained from   
slaying ,hector4 ,nevertheless he gave  

his life to revenge his friend1 and     
dared to die1 not only in his defence1  
but after he was dead4 ,wherefore the   
gods honoured him even above ,alcestis1 
and sent him to the ,islands of the     
,blest4 ,these are my reasons for       
affirming that ,love is the eldest and  
noblest and mightiest of the gods2 and  
the chiefest author and giver of virtue 
in life1 and of happiness after death4  
,this1 or something like this1 was the  
speech of ,phaedrus2 and some other     
speeches followed which ,aristodemus did
 not remember2 the next which he        
repeated was that of ,pausanias4        
,phaedrus1 he said1 the argument has not
 been set before us1 ,i think1 quite in 
the right form2--we should not be called
 upon to praise ,love in such an        
indiscriminate manner4 ,if there were   
only one ,love1 then what you said would
 be well enough2 but since there are    
more ,loves than one1--should have begun
 by determining which of them was to be 
the theme of our praises4 ,i will amend 

this defect2 and first of all ,i will   
tell you which ,love is deserving of    
praise1 and then try to hymn the        
praiseworthy one in a manner worthy of  
him4 ,for we all know that ,love is     
inseparable from ,aphrodite1 and if     
there were only one ,aphrodite there    
would be only one ,love2 but as there   
are two goddesses there must be two     
,loves4 ,and am ,i not right in         
asserting that there are two goddesses8 
,the elder one1 having no mother1 who is
 called the heavenly ,aphrodite--she is 
the daughter of ,uranus2 the younger1   
who is the daughter of ,zeus and        
,dione--her we call common2 and the     
,love who is her fellow-worker is       
rightly named common1 as the other love 
is called heavenly4 ,all the gods ought 
to have praise given to them1 but not   
without distinction of their natures2   
and therefore ,i must try to distinguish
 the characters of the two ,loves4 ,now 
actions vary according to the manner of 
their performance4 ,take1 for example1  

that which we are now doing1 drinking1  
singing and talking--these actions are  
not in themselves either good or evil1  
but they turn out in this or that way   
according to the mode of performing     
them2 and when well done they are good1 
and when wrongly done they are evil2 and
 in like manner not every love1 but only
 that which has a noble purpose1 is     
noble and worthy of praise4 ,the ,love  
who is the offspring of the common      
,aphrodite is essentially common1 and   
has no discrimination1 being such as the
 meaner sort of men feel1 and is apt to 
be of women as well as of youths1 and is
 of the body rather than of the         
soul--the most foolish beings are the   
objects of this love which desires only 
to gain an end1 but never thinks of     
accomplishing the end nobly1 and        
therefore does good and evil quite      
indiscriminately4 ,the goddess who is   
his mother is far younger than the      
other1 and she was born of the union of 
the male and female1 and partakes of    

both4 ,but the offspring of the heavenly
 ,aphrodite is derived from a mother in 
whose birth the female has no part1--she
 is from the male only2 this is that    
love which is of youths1 and the goddess
 being older1 there is nothing of       
wantonness in her4 ,those who are       
inspired by this love turn to the male1 
and delight in him who is the more      
valiant and intelligent nature2 any one 
may recognise the pure enthusiasts in   
the very character of their attachments4
 ,for they love not boys1 but           
intelligent beings whose reason is      
beginning to be developed1 much about   
the time at which their beards begin to 
grow4 ,and in choosing young men to be  
their companions1 they mean to be       
faithful to them1 and pass their whole  
life in company with them1 not to take  
them in their inexperience1 and deceive 
them1 and play the fool with them1 or   
run away from one to another of them4   
,but the love of young boys should be   
forbidden by law1 because their future  

is uncertain2 they may turn out good or 
bad1 either in body or soul1 and much   
noble enthusiasm may be thrown away upon
 them2 in this matter the good are a law
 to themselves1 and the coarser sort of 
lovers ought to be restrained by force2 
as we restrain or attempt to restrain   
them from fixing their affections on    
women of free birth4 ,these are the     
persons who bring a reproach on love2   
and some have been led to deny the      
lawfulness of such attachments because  
they see the impropriety and evil of    
them2 for surely nothing that is        
decorously and lawfully done can justly 
be censured4 ,now here and in           
,lacedaemon the rules about love are    
perplexing1 but in most cities they are 
simple and easily intelligible2 in ,elis
 and ,boeotia1 and in countries having  
no gifts of eloquence1 they are very    
straightforward2 the law is simply in   
favour of these connexions1 and no one1 
whether young or old1 has anything to   
say to their discredit2 the reason      

being1 as ,i suppose1 that they are men 
of few words in those parts1 and        
therefore the lovers do not like the    
trouble of pleading their suit4 ,in     
,ionia and other places1 and generally  
in countries which are subject to the   
barbarians1 the custom is held to be    
dishonourable2 loves of youths share the
 evil repute in which philosophy and    
gymnastics are held1 because they are   
inimical to tyranny2 for the interests  
of rulers require that their subjects   
should be poor in spirit 7compare       
,arist4 ,politics71 and that there      
should be no strong bond of friendship  
or society among them1 which love1 above
 all other motives1 is likely to        
inspire1 as our ,athenian tyrants       
learned by experience2 for the love of  
,aristogeiton and the constancy of      
,harmodius had a strength which undid   
their power4 ,and1 therefore1 the       
ill-repute into which these attachments 
have fallen is to be ascribed to the    
evil condition of those who make them to

 be ill-reputed2 that is to say1 to the 
self-seeking of the governors and the   
cowardice of the governed2 on the other 
hand1 the indiscriminate honour which is
 given to them in some countries is     
attributable to the laziness of those   
who hold this opinion of them4 ,in our  
own country a far better principle      
prevails1 but1 as ,i was saying1 the    
explanation of it is rather perplexing4 
,for1 observe that open loves are held  
to be more honourable than secret ones1 
and that the love of the noblest and    
highest1 even if their persons are less 
beautiful than others1 is especially    
honourable4 ,consider1 too1 how great is
 the encouragement which all the world  
gives to the lover2 neither is he       
supposed to be doing anything           
dishonourable2 but if he succeeds he is 
praised1 and if he fail he is blamed4   
,and in the pursuit of his love the     
custom of mankind allows him to do many 
strange things1 which philosophy would  
bitterly censure if they were done from 

any motive of interest1 or wish for     
office or power4 ,he may pray1 and      
entreat1 and supplicate1 and swear1 and 
lie on a mat at the door1 and endure a  
slavery worse than that of any slave--in
 any other case friends and enemies     
would be equally ready to prevent him1  
but now there is no friend who will be  
ashamed of him and admonish him1 and no 
enemy will charge him with meanness or  
flattery2 the actions of a lover have a 
grace which ennobles them2 and custom   
has decided that they are highly        
commendable and that there no loss of   
character in them2 and1 what is         
strangest of all1 he only may swear and 
forswear himself 7so men say71 and the  
gods will forgive his transgression1 for
 there is no such thing as a lover's    
oath4 ,such is the entire liberty which 
gods and men have allowed the lover1    
according to the custom which prevails  
in our part of the world4 ,from this    
point of view a man fairly argues that  
in ,athens to love and to be loved is   

held to be a very honourable thing4 ,but
 when parents forbid their sons to talk 
with their lovers1 and place them under 
a tutor's care1 who is appointed to see 
to these things1 and their companions   
and equals cast in their teeth anything 
of the sort which they may observe1 and 
their elders refuse to silence the      
reprovers and do not rebuke them--any   
one who reflects on all this will1 on   
the contrary1 think that we hold these  
practices to be most disgraceful4 ,but1 
as ,i was saying at first1 the truth as 
,i imagine is1 that whether such        
practices are honourable or whether they
 are dishonourable is not a simple      
question2 they are honourable to him who
 follows them honourably1 dishonourable 
to him who follows them dishonourably4  
,there is dishonour in yielding to the  
evil1 or in an evil manner2 but there is
 honour in yielding to the good1 or in  
an honourable manner4 ,evil is the      
vulgar lover who loves the body rather  
than the soul1 inasmuch as he is not    

even stable1 because he loves a thing   
which is in itself unstable1 and        
therefore when the bloom of youth which 
he was desiring is over1 he takes wing  
and flies away1 in spite of all his     
words and promises2 whereas the love of 
the noble disposition is life-long1 for 
it becomes one with the everlasting4    
,the custom of our country would have   
both of them proven well and truly1 and 
would have us yield to the one sort of  
lover and avoid the other1 and therefore
 encourages some to pursue1 and others  
to fly2 testing both the lover and      
beloved in contests and trials1 until   
they show to which of the two classes   
they respectively belong4 ,and this is  
the reason why1 in the first place1 a   
hasty attachment is held to be          
dishonourable1 because time is the true 
test of this as of most other things2   
and secondly there is a dishonour in    
being overcome by the love of money1 or 
of wealth1 or of political power1       
whether a man is frightened into        

surrender by the loss of them1 or1      
having experienced the benefits of money
 and political corruption1 is unable to 
rise above the seductions of them4 ,for 
none of these things are of a permanent 
or lasting nature2 not to mention that  
no generous friendship ever sprang from 
them4 ,there remains1 then1 only one way
 of honourable attachment which custom  
allows in the beloved1 and this is the  
way of virtue2 for as we admitted that  
any service which the lover does to him 
is not to be accounted flattery or a    
dishonour to himself1 so the beloved has
 one way only of voluntary service which
 is not dishonourable1 and this is      
virtuous service4  ,for we have a       
custom1 and according to our custom any 
one who does service to another under   
the idea that he will be improved by him
 either in wisdom1 or in some other     
particular of virtue--such a voluntary  
service1 ,i say1 is not to be regarded  
as a dishonour1 and is not open to the  
charge of flattery4 ,and these two      

customs1 one the love of youth1 and the 
other the practice of philosophy and    
virtue in general1 ought to meet in one1
 and then the beloved may honourably    
indulge the lover4 ,for when the lover  
and beloved come together1 having each  
of them a law1 and the lover thinks that
 he is right in doing any service which 
he can to his gracious loving one2 and  
the other that he is right in showing   
any kindness which he can to him who is 
making him wise and good2 the one       
capable of communicating wisdom and     
virtue1 the other seeking to acquire    
them with a view to education and       
wisdom1 when the two laws of love are   
fulfilled and meet in one--then1 and    
then only1 may the beloved yield with   
honour to the lover4 ,nor when love is  
of this disinterested sort is there any 
disgrace in being deceived1 but in every
 other case there is equal disgrace in  
being or not being deceived4 ,for he who
 is gracious to his lover under the     
impression that he is rich1 and is      

disappointed of his gains because he    
turns out to be poor1 is disgraced all  
the same3 for he has done his best to   
show that he would give himself up to   
any one's 'uses base' for the sake of   
money2 but this is not honourable4 ,and 
on the same principle he who gives      
himself to a lover because he is a good 
man1 and in the hope that he will be    
improved by his company1 shows himself  
to be virtuous1 even though the object  
of his affection turn out to be a       
villain1 and to have no virtue2 and if  
he is deceived he has committed a noble 
error4 ,for he has proved that for his  
part he will do anything for anybody    
with a view to virtue and improvement1  
than which there can be nothing nobler4 
,thus noble in every case is the        
acceptance of another for the sake of   
virtue4 ,this is that love which is the 
love of the heavenly godess1 and is     
heavenly1 and of great price to         
individuals and cities1 making the lover
 and the beloved alike eager in the work

 of their own improvement4 ,but all     
other loves are the offspring of the    
other1 who is the common goddess4 ,to   
you1 ,phaedrus1 ,i offer this my        
contribution in praise of love1 which is
 as good as ,i could make extempore4    
,pausanias came to a pause--this is the 
balanced way in which ,i have been      
taught by the wise to speak2 and        
,aristodemus said that the turn of      
,aristophanes was next1 but either he   
had eaten too much1 or from some other  
cause he had the hiccough1 and was      
obliged to change turns with            
,eryximachus the physician1 who was     
reclining on the couch below him4       
,eryximachus1 he said1 you ought either 
to stop my hiccough1 or to speak in my  
turn until ,i have left off4  ,i will do
 both1 said ,eryximachus3 ,i will speak 
in your turn1 and do you speak in mine2 
and while ,i am speaking let me         
recommend you to hold your breath1 and  
if after you have done so for some time 
the hiccough is no better1 then gargle  

with a little water2 and if it still    
continues1 tickle your nose with        
something and sneeze2 and if you sneeze 
once or twice1 even the most violent    
hiccough is sure to go4 ,i will do as   
you prescribe1 said ,aristophanes1 and  
now get on4  ,eryximachus spoke as      
follows3 ,seeing that ,pausanias made a 
fair beginning1 and but a lame ending1  
,i must endeavour to supply his         
deficiency4 ,i think that he has rightly
 distinguished two kinds of love4 ,but  
my art further informs me that the      
double love is not merely an affection  
of the soul of man towards the fair1 or 
towards anything1 but is to be found in 
the bodies of all animals and in        
productions of the earth1 and ,i may say
 in all that is2 such is the conclusion 
which ,i seem to have gathered from my  
own art of medicine1 whence ,i learn how
 great and wonderful and universal is   
the deity of love1 whose empire extends 
over all things1 divine as well as      
human4 ,and from medicine ,i will begin 

that ,i may do honour to my art4 ,there 
are in the human body these two kinds of
 love1 which are confessedly different  
and unlike1 and being unlike1 they have 
loves and desires which are unlike2 and 
the desire of the healthy is one1 and   
the desire of the diseased is another2  
and as ,pausanias was just now saying   
that to indulge good men is honourable1 
and bad men dishonourable3--so too in   
the body the good and healthy elements  
are to be indulged1 and the bad elements
 and the elements of disease are not to 
be indulged1 but discouraged4 ,and this 
is what the physician has to do1 and in 
this the art of medicine consists3 for  
medicine may be regarded generally as   
the knowledge of the loves and desires  
of the body1 and how to satisfy them or 
not2 and the best physician is he who is
 able to separate fair love from foul1  
or to convert one into the other2 and he
 who knows how to eradicate and how to  
implant love1 whichever is required1 and
 can reconcile the most hostile elements

 in the constitution and make them      
loving friends1 is a skilful            
practitioner4 ,now the most hostile are 
the most opposite1 such as hot and cold1
 bitter and sweet1 moist and dry1 and   
the like4 ,and my ancestor1 ,asclepius1 
knowing how to implant friendship and   
accord in these elements1 was the       
creator of our art1 as our friends the  
poets here tell us1 and ,i believe them2
 and not only medicine in every branch  
but the arts of gymnastic and husbandry 
are under his dominion4 ,any one who    
pays the least attention to the subject 
will also perceive that in music there  
is the same reconciliation of opposites2
 and ,i suppose that this must have been
 the meaning of ,heracleitus1 although  
his words are not accurate2 for he says 
that ,the ,one is united by disunion1   
like the harmony of the bow and the     
lyre4 ,now there is an absurdity saying 
that harmony is discord or is composed  
of elements which are still in a state  
of discord4 ,but what he probably meant 

was1 that harmony is composed of        
differing notes of higher or lower pitch
 which disagreed once1 but are now      
reconciled by the art of music2 for if  
the higher and lower notes still        
disagreed1 there could be no            
harmony1--clearly not4 ,for harmony is a
 symphony1 and symphony is an agreement2
 but an agreement of disagreements while
 they disagree there cannot be2 you     
cannot harmonize that which disagrees4  
,in like manner rhythm is compounded of 
elements short and long1 once differing 
and now in accord2 which accordance1 as 
in the former instance1 medicine1 so in 
all these other cases1 music implants1  
making love and unison to grow up among 
them2 and thus music1 too1 is concerned 
with the principles of love in their    
application to harmony and rhythm4      
,again1 in the essential nature of      
harmony and rhythm there is no          
difficulty in discerning love which has 
not yet become double4 ,but when you    
want to use them in actual life1 either 

in the composition of songs or in the   
correct performance of airs or metres   
composed already1 which latter is called
 education1 then the difficulty begins1 
and the good artist is needed4 ,then the
 old tale has to be repeated of fair and
 heavenly love--the love of ,urania the 
fair and heavenly muse1 and of the duty 
of accepting the temperate1 and those   
who are as yet intemperate only that    
they may become temperate1 and of       
preserving their love2 and again1 of the
 vulgar ,polyhymnia1 who must be used   
with circumspection that the pleasure be
 enjoyed1 but may not generate          
licentiousness2 just as in my own art it
 is a great matter so to regulate the   
desires of the epicure that he may      
gratify his tastes without the attendant
 evil of disease4 ,whence ,i infer that 
in music1 in medicine1 in all other     
things human as well as divine1 both    
loves ought to be noted as far as may   
be1 for they are both present4  ,the    
course of the seasons is also full of   

both these principles2 and when1 as ,i  
was saying1 the elements of hot and     
cold1 moist and dry1 attain the         
harmonious love of one another and blend
 in temperance and harmony1 they bring  
to men1 animals1 and plants health and  
plenty1 and do them no harm2 whereas the
 wanton love1 getting the upper hand and
 affecting the seasons of the year1 is  
very destructive and injurious1 being   
the source of pestilence1 and bringing  
many other kinds of diseases on animals 
and plants2 for hoar-frost and hail and 
blight spring from the excesses and     
disorders of these elements of love1    
which to know in relation to the        
revolutions of the heavenly bodies and  
the seasons of the year is termed       
astronomy4 ,furthermore all sacrifices  
and the whole province of divination1   
which is the art of communion between   
gods and men--these1 ,i say1 are        
concerned only with the preservation of 
the good and the cure of the evil love4 
,for all manner of impiety is likely to 

ensue if1 instead of accepting and      
honouring and reverencing the harmonious
 love in all his actions1 a man honours 
the other love1 whether in his feelings 
towards gods or parents1 towards the    
living or the dead4 ,wherefore the      
business of divination is to see to     
these loves and to heal them1 and       
divination is the peacemaker of gods and
 men1 working by a knowledge of the     
religious or irreligious tendencies     
which exist in human loves4 ,such is the
 great and mighty1 or rather omnipotent 
force of love in general4 ,and the love1
 more especially1 which is concerned    
with the good1 and which is perfected in
 company with temperance and justice1   
whether among gods or men1 has the      
greatest power1 and is the source of all
 our happiness and harmony1 and makes us
 friends with the gods who are above us1
 and with one another4 ,i dare say that 
,i too have omitted several things which
 might be said in praise of ,love1 but  
this was not intentional1 and you1      

,aristophanes1 may now supply the       
omission or take some other line of     
commendation2 for ,i perceive that you  
are rid of the hiccough4  ,yes1 said    
,aristophanes1 who followed1 the        
hiccough is gone2 not1 however1 until ,i
 applied the sneezing2 and ,i wonder    
whether the harmony of the body has a   
love of such noises and ticklings1 for  
,i no sooner applied the sneezing than  
,i was cured4  ,eryximachus said3       
,beware1 friend ,aristophanes1 although 
you are going to speak1 you are making  
fun of me2 and ,i shall have to watch   
and see whether ,i cannot have a laugh  
at your expense1 when you might speak in
 peace4  ,you are right1 said           
,aristophanes1 laughing4 ,i will unsay  
my words2 but do you please not to watch
 me1 as ,i fear that in the speech which
 ,i am about to make1 instead of others 
laughing with me1 which is to the manner
 born of our muse and would be all the  
better1 ,i shall only be laughed at by  
them4  ,do you expect to shoot your bolt

 and escape1 ,aristophanes8 ,well1      
perhaps if you are very careful and bear
 in mind that you will be called to     
account1 ,i may be induced to let you   
off4  ,aristophanes professed to open   
another vein of discourse2 he had a mind
 to praise ,love in another way1 unlike 
that either of ,pausanias or            
,eryximachus4 ,mankind1 he said1 judging
 by their neglect of him1 have never1 as
 ,i think1 at all understood the power  
of ,love4 ,for if they had understood   
him they would surely have built noble  
temples and altars1 and offered solemn  
sacrifices in his honour2 but this is   
not done1 and most certainly ought to be
 done3 since of all the gods he is the  
best friend of men1 the helper and the  
healer of the ills which are the great  
impediment to the happiness of the race4
 ,i will try to describe his power to   
you1 and you shall teach the rest of the
 world what ,i am teaching you4 ,in the 
first place1 let me treat of the nature 
of man and what has happened to it2 for 

the original human nature was not like  
the present1 but different4 ,the sexes  
were not two as they are now1 but       
originally three in number2 there was   
man1 woman1 and the union of the two1   
having a name corresponding to this     
double nature1 which had once a real    
existence1 but is now lost1 and the word
 ',androgynous' is only preserved as a  
term of reproach4 ,in the second place1 
the primeval man was round1 his back and
 sides forming a circle2 and he had four
 hands and four feet1 one head with two 
faces1 looking opposite ways1 set on a  
round neck and precisely alike2 also    
four ears1 two privy members1 and the   
remainder to correspond4 ,he could walk 
upright as men now do1 backwards or     
forwards as he pleased1 and he could    
also roll over and over at a great pace1
 turning on his four hands and four     
feet1 eight in all1 like tumblers going 
over and over with their legs in the    
air2 this was when he wanted to run     
fast4 ,now the sexes were three1 and    

such as ,i have described them2 because 
the sun1 moon1 and earth are three2 and 
the man was originally the child of the 
sun1 the woman of the earth1 and the    
man-woman of the moon1 which is made up 
of sun and earth1 and they were all     
round and moved round and round like    
their parents4 ,terrible was their might
 and strength1 and the thoughts of their
 hearts were great1 and they made an    
attack upon the gods2 of them is told   
the tale of ,otys and ,ephialtes who1 as
 ,homer says1 dared to scale heaven1 and
 would have laid hands upon the gods4   
,doubt reigned in the celestial         
councils4 ,should they kill them and    
annihilate the race with thunderbolts1  
as they had done the giants1 then there 
would be an end of the sacrifices and   
worship which men offered to them2 but1 
on the other hand1 the gods could not   
suffer their insolence to be            
unrestrained4 ,at last1 after a good    
deal of reflection1 ,zeus discovered a  
way4 ,he said3 ',methinks ,i have a plan

 which will humble their pride and      
improve their manners2 men shall        
continue to exist1 but ,i will cut them 
in two and then they will be diminished 
in strength and increased in numbers2   
this will have the advantage of making  
them more profitable to us4 ,they shall 
walk upright on two legs1 and if they   
continue insolent and will not be quiet1
 ,i will split them again and they shall
 hop about on a single leg4' ,he spoke  
and cut men in two1 like a sorb-apple   
which is halved for pickling1 or as you 
might divide an egg with a hair2 and as 
he cut them one after another1 he bade  
,apollo give the face and the half of   
the neck a turn in order that the man   
might contemplate the section of        
himself3 he would thus learn a lesson of
 humility4 ,apollo was also bidden to   
heal their wounds and compose their     
forms4 ,so he gave a turn to the face   
and pulled the skin from the sides all  
over that which in our language is      
called the belly1 like the purses which 

draw in1 and he made one mouth at the   
centre1 which he fastened in a knot 7the
 same which is called the navel72 he    
also moulded the breast and took out    
most of the wrinkles1 much as a         
shoemaker might smooth leather upon a   
last2 he left a few1 however1 in the    
region of the belly and navel1 as a     
memorial of the primeval state4 ,after  
the division the two parts of man1 each 
desiring his other half1 came together1 
and throwing their arms about one       
another1 entwined in mutual embraces1   
longing to grow into one1 they were on  
the point of dying from hunger and      
self-neglect1 because they did not like 
to do anything apart2 and when one of   
the halves died and the other survived1 
the survivor sought another mate1 man or
 woman as we call them1--being the      
sections of entire men or women1--and   
clung to that4 ,they were being         
destroyed1 when ,zeus in pity of them   
invented a new plan3 he turned the parts
 of generation round to the front1 for  

this had not been always their position1
 and they sowed the seed no longer as   
hitherto like grasshoppers in the       
ground1 but in one another2 and after   
the transposition the male generated in 
the female in order that by the mutual  
embraces of man and woman they might    
breed1 and the race might continue2 or  
if man came to man they might be        
satisfied1 and rest1 and go their ways  
to the business of life3 so ancient is  
the desire of one another which is      
implanted in us1 reuniting our original 
nature1 making one of two1 and healing  
the state of man4 ,each of us when      
separated1 having one side only1 like a 
flat fish1 is but the indenture of a    
man1 and he is always looking for his   
other half4 ,men who are a section of   
that double nature which was once called
 ,androgynous are lovers of women2      
adulterers are generally of this breed1 
and also adulterous women who lust after
 men3 the women who are a section of the
 woman do not care for men1 but have    

female attachments2 the female          
companions are of this sort4 ,but they  
who are a section of the male follow the
 male1 and while they are young1 being  
slices of the original man1 they hang   
about men and embrace them1 and they are
 themselves the best of boys and youths1
 because they have the most manly       
nature4 ,some indeed assert that they   
are shameless1 but this is not true2 for
 they do not act thus from any want of  
shame1 but because they are valiant and 
manly1 and have a manly countenance1 and
 they embrace that which is like them4  
,and these when they grow up become our 
statesmen1 and these only1 which is a   
great proof of the truth of what ,i am  
saving4 ,when they reach manhood they   
are lovers of youth1 and are not        
naturally inclined to marry or beget    
children1--if at all1 they do so only in
 obedience to the law2 but they are     
satisfied if they may be allowed to live
 with one another unwedded2 and such a  
nature is prone to love and ready to    

return love1 always embracing that which
 is akin to him4 ,and when one of them  
meets with his other half1 the actual   
half of himself1 whether he be a lover  
of youth or a lover of another sort1 the
 pair are lost in an amazement of love  
and friendship and intimacy1 and one    
will not be out of the other's sight1 as
 ,i may say1 even for a moment3 these   
are the people who pass their whole     
lives together2 yet they could not      
explain what they desire of one another4
 ,for the intense yearning which each of
 them has towards the other does not    
appear to be the desire of lover's      
intercourse1 but of something else which
 the soul of either evidently desires   
and cannot tell1 and of which she has   
only a dark and doubtful presentiment4  
,suppose ,hephaestus1 with his          
instruments1 to come to the pair who are
 lying side by side and to say to them1 
',what do you people want of one        
another8' they would be unable to       
explain4 ,and suppose further1 that when

 he saw their perplexity he said3 ',do  
you desire to be wholly one2 always day 
and night to be in one another's        
company8 for if this is what you desire1
 ,i am ready to melt you into one and   
let you grow together1 so that being two
 you shall become one1 and while you    
live live a common life as if you were a
 single man1 and after your death in the
 world below still be one departed soul 
instead of two--,i ask whether this is  
what you lovingly desire1 and whether   
you are satisfied to attain             
this8'--there is not a man of them who  
when he heard the proposal would deny or
 would not acknowledge that this meeting
 and melting into one another1 this     
becoming one instead of two1 was the    
very expression of his ancient need     
7compare ,arist4 ,pol474 ,and the reason
 is that human nature was originally one
 and we were a whole1 and the desire and
 pursuit of the whole is called love4   
,there was a time1 ,i say1 when we were 
one1 but now because of the wickedness  

of mankind ,god has dispersed us1 as the
 ,arcadians were dispersed into villages
 by the ,lacedaemonians 7compare ,arist4
 ,pol474 ,and if we are not obedient to 
the gods1 there is a danger that we     
shall be split up again and go about in 
basso-relievo1 like the profile figures 
having only half a nose which are       
sculptured on monuments1 and that we    
shall be like tallies4 ,wherefore let us
 exhort all men to piety1 that we may   
avoid evil1 and obtain the good1 of     
which ,love is to us the lord and       
minister2 and let no one oppose him--he 
is the enemy of the gods who opposes    
him4 ,for if we are friends of the ,god 
and at peace with him we shall find our 
own true loves1 which rarely happens in 
this world at present4 ,i am serious1   
and therefore ,i must beg ,eryximachus  
not to make fun or to find any allusion 
in what ,i am saying to ,pausanias and  
,agathon1 who1 as ,i suspect1 are both  
of the manly nature1 and belong to the  
class which ,i have been describing4    

,but my words have a wider              
application--they include men and women 
everywhere2 and ,i believe that if our  
loves were perfectly accomplished1 and  
each one returning to his primeval      
nature had his original true love1 then 
our race would be happy4 ,and if this   
would be best of all1 the best in the   
next degree and under present           
circumstances must be the nearest       
approach to such an union2 and that will
 be the attainment of a congenial love4 
,wherefore1 if we would praise him who  
has given to us the benefit1 we must    
praise the god ,love1 who is our        
greatest benefactor1 both leading us in 
this life back to our own nature1 and   
giving us high hopes for the future1 for
 he promises that if we are pious1 he   
will restore us to our original state1  
and heal us and make us happy and       
blessed4 ,this1 ,eryximachus1 is my     
discourse of love1 which1 although      
different to yours1 ,i must beg you to  
leave unassailed by the shafts of your  

ridicule1 in order that each may have   
his turn2 each1 or rather either1 for   
,agathon and ,socrates are the only ones
 left4  ,indeed1 ,i am not going to     
attack you1 said ,eryximachus1 for ,i   
thought your speech charming1 and did ,i
 not know that ,agathon and ,socrates   
are masters in the art of love1 ,i      
should be really afraid that they would 
have nothing to say1 after the world of 
things which have been said already4    
,but1 for all that1 ,i am not without   
hopes4  ,socrates said3 ,you played your
 part well1 ,eryximachus2 but if you    
were as ,i am now1 or rather as ,i shall
 be when ,agathon has spoken1 you would1
 indeed1 be in a great strait4  ,you    
want to cast a spell over me1 ,socrates1
 said ,agathon1 in the hope that ,i may 
be disconcerted at the expectation      
raised among the audience that ,i shall 
speak well4  ,i should be strangely     
forgetful1 ,agathon replied ,socrates1  
of the courage and magnanimity which you
 showed when your own compositions were 

about to be exhibited1 and you came upon
 the stage with the actors and faced the
 vast theatre altogether undismayed1 if 
,i thought that your nerves could be    
fluttered at a small party of friends4  
,do you think1 ,socrates1 said ,agathon1
 that my head is so full of the theatre 
as not to know how much more formidable 
to a man of sense a few good judges are 
than many fools8  ,nay1 replied         
,socrates1 ,i should be very wrong in   
attributing to you1 ,agathon1 that or   
any other want of refinement4 ,and ,i am
 quite aware that if you happened to    
meet with any whom you thought wise1 you
 would care for their opinion much more 
than for that of the many4 ,but then we1
 having been a part of the foolish many 
in the theatre1 cannot be regarded as   
the select wise2 though ,i know that if 
you chanced to be in the presence1 not  
of one of ourselves1 but of some really 
wise man1 you would be ashamed of       
disgracing yourself before him--would   
you not8  ,yes1 said ,agathon4  ,but    

before the many you would not be        
ashamed1 if you thought that you were   
doing something disgraceful in their    
presence8  ,here ,phaedrus interrupted  
them1 saying3 not answer him1 my dear   
,agathon2 for if he can only get a      
partner with whom he can talk1          
especially a good-looking one1 he will  
no longer care about the completion of  
our plan4 ,now ,i love to hear him talk2
 but just at present ,i must not forget 
the encomium on ,love which ,i ought to 
receive from him and from every one4    
,when you and he have paid your tribute 
to the god1 then you may talk4  ,very   
good1 ,phaedrus1 said ,agathon2 ,i see  
no reason why ,i should not proceed with
 my speech1 as ,i shall have many other 
opportunities of conversing with        
,socrates4 ,let me say first how ,i     
ought to speak1 and then speak3--  ,the 
previous speakers1 instead of praising  
the god ,love1 or unfolding his nature1 
appear to have congratulated mankind on 
the benefits which he confers upon them4

 ,but ,i would rather praise the god    
first1 and then speak of his gifts2 this
 is always the right way of praising    
everything4 ,may ,i say without impiety 
or offence1 that of all the blessed gods
 he is the most blessed because he is   
the fairest and best8 ,and he is the    
fairest3 for1 in the first place1 he is 
the youngest1 and of his youth he is    
himself the witness1 fleeing out of the 
way of age1 who is swift enough1 swifter
 truly than most of us like3--,love     
hates him and will not come near him2   
but youth and love live and move        
together--like to like1 as the proverb  
says4 ,many things were said by         
,phaedrus about ,love in which ,i agree 
with him2 but ,i cannot agree that he is
 older than ,iapetus and ,kronos3--not  
so2 ,i maintain him to be the youngest  
of the gods1 and youthful ever4 ,the    
ancient doings among the gods of which  
,hesiod and ,parmenides spoke1 if the   
tradition of them be true1 were done of 
,necessity and not of ,love2 had ,love  

been in those days1 there would have    
been no chaining or mutilation of the   
gods1 or other violence1 but peace and  
sweetness1 as there is now in heaven1   
since the rule of ,love began4 ,love is 
young and also tender2 he ought to have 
a poet like ,homer to describe his      
tenderness1 as ,homer says of ,ate1 that
 she is a goddess and tender3--  ',her  
feet are tender1 for she sets her steps1
 ,not on the ground but on the heads of 
men3'  herein is an excellent proof of  
her tenderness1--that she walks not upon
 the hard but upon the soft4 ,let us    
adduce a similar proof of the tenderness
 of ,love2 for he walks not upon the    
earth1 nor yet upon the skulls of men1  
which are not so very soft1 but in the  
hearts and souls of both gods and men1  
which are of all things the softest3 in 
them he walks and dwells and makes his  
home4 ,not in every soul without        
exception1 for where there is hardness  
he departs1 where there is softness     
there he dwells2 and nestling always    

with his feet and in all manner of ways 
in the softest of soft places1 how can  
he be other than the softest of all     
things8 ,of a truth he is the tenderest 
as well as the youngest1 and also he is 
of flexile form2 for if he were hard and
 without flexure he could not enfold all
 things1 or wind his way into and out of
 every soul of man undiscovered4 ,and a 
proof of his flexibility and symmetry of
 form is his grace1 which is universally
 admitted to be in an especial manner   
the attribute of ,love2 ungrace and love
 are always at war with one another4    
,the fairness of his complexion is      
revealed by his habitation among the    
flowers2 for he dwells not amid         
bloomless or fading beauties1 whether of
 body or soul or aught else1 but in the 
place of flowers and scents1 there he   
sits and abides4 ,concerning the beauty 
of the god ,i have said enough2 and yet 
there remains much more which ,i might  
say4 ,of his virtue ,i have now to      
speak3 his greatest glory is that he can

 neither do nor suffer wrong to or from 
any god or any man2 for he suffers not  
by force if he suffers2 force comes not 
near him1 neither when he acts does he  
act by force4 ,for all men in all things
 serve him of their own free will1 and  
where there is voluntary agreement1     
there1 as the laws which are the lords  
of the city say1 is justice4 ,and not   
only is he just but exceedingly         
temperate1 for ,temperance is the       
acknowledged ruler of the pleasures and 
desires1 and no pleasure ever masters   
,love2 he is their master and they are  
his servants2 and if he conquers them he
 must be temperate indeed4 ,as to       
courage1 even the ,god of ,war is no    
match for him2 he is the captive and    
,love is the lord1 for love1 the love of
 ,aphrodite1 masters him1 as the tale   
runs2 and the master is stronger than   
the servant4 ,and if he conquers the    
bravest of all others1 he must be       
himself the bravest4 ,of his courage and
 justice and temperance ,i have spoken1 

but ,i have yet to speak of his wisdom2 
and according to the measure of my      
ability ,i must try to do my best4 ,in  
the first place he is a poet 7and here1 
like ,eryximachus1 ,i magnify my art71  
and he is also the source of poesy in   
others1 which he could not be if he were
 not himself a poet4 ,and at the touch  
of him every one becomes a poet1 even   
though he had no music in him before 7,a
 fragment of the ,sthenoaoea of         
,euripides472 this also is a proof that 
,love is a good poet and accomplished in
 all the fine arts2 for no one can give 
to another that which he has not        
himself1 or teach that of which he has  
no knowledge4 ,who will deny that the   
creation of the animals is his doing8   
,are they not all the works of his      
wisdom1 born and begotten of him8 ,and  
as to the artists1 do we not know that  
he only of them whom love inspires has  
the light of fame8--he whom ,love       
touches not walks in darkness4 ,the arts
 of medicine and archery and divination 

were discovered by ,apollo1 under the   
guidance of love and desire2 so that he 
too is a disciple of ,love4 ,also the   
melody of the ,muses1 the metallurgy of 
,hephaestus1 the weaving of ,athene1 the
 empire of ,zeus over gods and men1 are 
all due to ,love1 who was the inventor  
of them4 ,and so ,love set in order the 
empire of the gods--the love of beauty1 
as is evident1 for with deformity ,love 
has no concern4 ,in the days of old1 as 
,i began by saying1 dreadful deeds were 
done among the gods1 for they were ruled
 by ,necessity2 but now since the birth 
of ,love1 and from the ,love of the     
beautiful1 has sprung every good in     
heaven and earth4 ,therefore1 ,phaedrus1
 ,i say of ,love that he is the fairest 
and best in himself1 and the cause of   
what is fairest and best in all other   
things4 ,and there comes into my mind a 
line of poetry in which he is said to be
 the god who  ',gives peace on earth and
 calms the stormy deep1 ,who stills the 
winds and bids the sufferer sleep4'     

,this is he who empties men of          
disaffection and fills them with        
affection1 who makes them to meet       
together at banquets such as these3 in  
sacrifices1 feasts1 dances1 he is our   
lord--who sends courtesy and sends away 
discourtesy1 who gives kindness ever and
 never gives unkindness2 the friend of  
the good1 the wonder of the wise1 the   
amazement of the gods2 desired by those 
who have no part in him1 and precious to
 those who have the better part in him2 
parent of delicacy1 luxury1 desire1     
fondness1 softness1 grace2 regardful of 
the good1 regardless of the evil3 in    
every word1 work1 wish1 fear--saviour1  
pilot1 comrade1 helper2 glory of gods   
and men1 leader best and brightest3 in  
whose footsteps let every man follow1   
sweetly singing in his honour and       
joining in that sweet strain with which 
love charms the souls of gods and men4  
,such is the speech1 ,phaedrus1         
half-playful1 yet having a certain      
measure of seriousness1 which1 according

 to my ability1 ,i dedicate to the god4 
,when ,agathon had done speaking1       
,aristodemus said that there was a      
general cheer2 the young man was thought
 to have spoken in a manner worthy of   
himself1 and of the god4 ,and ,socrates1
 looking at ,eryximachus1 said3 ,tell   
me1 son of ,acumenus1 was there not     
reason in my fears8 and was ,i not a    
true prophet when ,i said that ,agathon 
would make a wonderful oration1 and that
 ,i should be in a strait8  ,the part of
 the prophecy which concerns ,agathon1  
replied ,eryximachus1 appears to me to  
be true2 but not the other part--that   
you will be in a strait4  ,why1 my dear 
friend1 said ,socrates1 must not ,i or  
any one be in a strait who has to speak 
after he has heard such a rich and      
varied discourse8 ,i am especially      
struck with the beauty of the concluding
 words--who could listen to them without
 amazement8 ,when ,i reflected on the   
immeasurable inferiority of my own      
powers1 ,i was ready to run away for    

shame1 if there had been a possibility  
of escape4 ,for ,i was reminded of      
,gorgias1 and at the end of his speech  
,i fancied that ,agathon was shaking at 
me the ,gorginian or ,gorgonian head of 
the great master of rhetoric1 which was 
simply to turn me and my speech into    
stone1 as ,homer says 7,odyssey71 and   
strike me dumb4 ,and then ,i perceived  
how foolish ,i had been in consenting to
 take my turn with you in praising love1
 and saying that ,i too was a master of 
the art1 when ,i really had no          
conception how anything ought to be     
praised4 ,for in my simplicity ,i       
imagined that the topics of praise      
should be true1 and that this being     
presupposed1 out of the true the speaker
 was to choose the best and set them    
forth in the best manner4 ,and ,i felt  
quite proud1 thinking that ,i knew the  
nature of true praise1 and should speak 
well4 ,whereas ,i now see that the      
intention was to attribute to ,love     
every species of greatness and glory1   

whether really belonging to him or not1 
without regard to truth or              
falsehood--that was no matter2 for the  
original proposal seems to have been not
 that each of you should really praise  
,love1 but only that you should appear  
to praise him4 ,and so you attribute to 
,love every imaginable form of praise   
which can be gathered anywhere2 and you 
say that 'he is all this1' and 'the     
cause of all that1' making him appear   
the fairest and best of all to those who
 know him not1 for you cannot impose    
upon those who know him4 ,and a noble   
and solemn hymn of praise have you      
rehearsed4 ,but as ,i misunderstood the 
nature of the praise when ,i said that  
,i would take my turn1 ,i must beg to be
 absolved from the promise which ,i made
 in ignorance1 and which 7as ,euripides 
would say 7,eurip4 ,hyppolytus77 was a  
promise of the lips and not of the mind4
 ,farewell then to such a strain3 for ,i
 do not praise in that way2 no1 indeed1 
,i cannot4 ,but if you like to hear the 

truth about love1 ,i am ready to speak  
in my own manner1 though ,i will not    
make myself ridiculous by entering into 
any rivalry with you4 ,say then1        
,phaedrus1 whether you would like to    
have the truth about love1 spoken in any
 words and in any order which may happen
 to come into my mind at the time4 ,will
 that be agreeable to you8  ,aristodemus
 said that ,phaedrus and the company bid
 him speak in any manner which he       
thought best4 ,then1 he added1 let me   
have your permission first to ask       
,agathon a few more questions1 in order 
that ,i may take his admissions as the  
premisses of my discourse4  ,i grant the
 permission1 said ,phaedrus3 put your   
questions4 ,socrates then proceeded as  
follows3--  ,in the magnificent oration 
which you have just uttered1 ,i think   
that you were right1 my dear ,agathon1  
in proposing to speak of the nature of  
,love first and afterwards of his       
works--that is a way of beginning which 
,i very much approve4 ,and as you have  

spoken so eloquently of his nature1 may 
,i ask you further1 ,whether love is the
 love of something or of nothing8 ,and  
here ,i must explain myself3 ,i do not  
want you to say that love is the love of
 a father or the love of a mother--that 
would be ridiculous2 but to answer as   
you would1 if ,i asked is a father a    
father of something8 to which you would 
find no difficulty in replying1 of a son
 or daughter3 and the answer would be   
right4  ,very true1 said ,agathon4  ,and
 you would say the same of a mother8    
,he assented4  ,yet let me ask you one  
more question in order to illustrate my 
meaning3 ,is not a brother to be        
regarded essentially as a brother of    
something8  ,certainly1 he replied4     
,that is1 of a brother or sister8  ,yes1
 he said4  ,and now1 said ,socrates1 ,i 
will ask about ,love3--,is ,love of     
something or of nothing8  ,of something1
 surely1 he replied4  ,keep in mind what
 this is1 and tell me what ,i want to   
know--whether ,love desires that of     

which love is4  ,yes1 surely4  ,and does
 he possess1 or does he not possess1    
that which he loves and desires8        
,probably not1 ,i should say4  ,nay1    
replied ,socrates1 ,i would have you    
consider whether 'necessarily' is not   
rather the word4 ,the inference that he 
who desires something is in want of     
something1 and that he who desires      
nothing is in want of nothing1 is in my 
judgment1 ,agathon1 absolutely and      
necessarily true4 ,what do you think8   
,i agree with you1 said ,agathon4  ,very
 good4 ,would he who is great1 desire to
 be great1 or he who is strong1 desire  
to be strong8  ,that would be           
inconsistent with our previous          
admissions4  ,true4 ,for he who is      
anything cannot want to be that which he
 is8  ,very true4  ,and yet1 added      
,socrates1 if a man being strong desired
 to be strong1 or being swift desired to
 be swift1 or being healthy desired to  
be healthy1 in that case he might be    
thought to desire something which he    

already has or is4 ,i give the example  
in order that we may avoid              
misconception4 ,for the possessors of   
these qualities1 ,agathon1 must be      
supposed to have their respective       
advantages at the time1 whether they    
choose or not2 and who can desire that  
which he has8 ,therefore1 when a person 
says1 ,i am well and wish to be well1 or
 ,i am rich and wish to be rich1 and ,i 
desire simply to have what ,i have--to  
him we shall reply3 ',you1 my friend1   
having wealth and health and strength1  
want to have the continuance of them2   
for at this moment1 whether you choose  
or no1 you have them4 ,and when you say1
 ,i desire that which ,i have and       
nothing else1 is not your meaning that  
you want to have what you now have in   
the future8' ,he must agree with        
us--must he not8  ,he must1 replied     
,agathon4  ,then1 said ,socrates1 he    
desires that what he has at present may 
be preserved to him in the future1 which
 is equivalent to saying that he desires

 something which is non-existent to him1
 and which as yet he has not got3  ,very
 true1 he said4  ,then he and every one 
who desires1 desires that which he has  
not already1 and which is future and not
 present1 and which he has not1 and is  
not1 and of which he is in want2--these 
are the sort of things which love and   
desire seek8  ,very true1 he said4      
,then now1 said ,socrates1 let us       
recapitulate the argument4 ,first1 is   
not love of something1 and of something 
too which is wanting to a man8  ,yes1 he
 replied4  ,remember further what you   
said in your speech1 or if you do not   
remember ,i will remind you3 you said   
that the love of the beautiful set in   
order the empire of the gods1 for that  
of deformed things there is no love--did
 you not say something of that kind8    
,yes1 said ,agathon4  ,yes1 my friend1  
and the remark was a just one4 ,and if  
this is true1 ,love is the love of      
beauty and not of deformity8  ,he       
assented4  ,and the admission has been  

already made that ,love is of something 
which a man wants and has not8  ,true1  
he said4  ,then ,love wants and has not 
beauty8  ,certainly1 he replied4  ,and  
would you call that beautiful which     
wants and does not possess beauty8      
,certainly not4  ,then would you still  
say that love is beautiful8  ,agathon   
replied3 ,i fear that ,i did not        
understand what ,i was saying4  ,you    
made a very good speech1 ,agathon1      
replied ,socrates2 but there is yet one 
small question which ,i would fain      
ask3--,is not the good also the         
beautiful8  ,yes4  ,then in wanting the 
beautiful1 love wants also the good8  ,i
 cannot refute you1 ,socrates1 said     
,agathon3--,let us assume that what you 
say is true4  ,say rather1 beloved      
,agathon1 that you cannot refute the    
truth2 for ,socrates is easily refuted4 
,and now1 taking my leave of you1 ,i    
would rehearse a tale of love which ,i  
heard from ,diotima of ,mantineia       
7compare #a ,alcibiades71 a woman wise  

in this and in many other kinds of      
knowledge1 who in the days of old1 when 
the ,athenians offered sacrifice before 
the coming of the plague1 delayed the   
disease ten years4 ,she was my          
instructress in the art of love1 and ,i 
shall repeat to you what she said to me1
 beginning with the admissions made by  
,agathon1 which are nearly if not quite 
the same which ,i made to the wise woman
 when she questioned me3 ,i think that  
this will be the easiest way1 and ,i    
shall take both parts myself as well as 
,i can 7compare ,gorgias74 ,as you1     
,agathon1 suggested 7supra71 ,i must    
speak first of the being and nature of  
,love1 and then of his works4 ,first ,i 
said to her in nearly the same words    
which he used to me1 that ,love was a   
mighty god1 and likewise fair2 and she  
proved to me as ,i proved to him that1  
by my own showing1 ,love was neither    
fair nor good4 ',what do you mean1      
,diotima1' ,i said1 'is love then evil  
and foul8' ',hush1' she cried2 'must    

that be foul which is not fair8'        
',certainly1' ,i said4 ',and is that    
which is not wise1 ignorant8 do you not 
see that there is a mean between wisdom 
and ignorance8' ',and what may that be8'
 ,i said4 ',right opinion1' she replied2
 'which1 as you know1 being incapable of
 giving a reason1 is not knowledge 7for 
how can knowledge be devoid of reason8  
nor again1 ignorance1 for neither can   
ignorance attain the truth71 but is     
clearly something which is a mean       
between ignorance and wisdom4' ',quite  
true1' ,i replied4 ',do not then        
insist1' she said1 'that what is not    
fair is of necessity foul1 or what is   
not good evil2 or infer that because    
love is not fair and good he is         
therefore foul and evil2 for he is in a 
mean between them4' ',well1' ,i said1   
',love is surely admitted by all to be a
 great god4' ',by those who know or by  
those who do not know8' ',by all4' ',and
 how1 ,socrates1' she said with a smile1
 'can ,love be acknowledged to be a     

great god by those who say that he is   
not a god at all8' ',and who are they8' 
,i said4 ',you and ,i are two of them1' 
she replied4 ',how can that be8' ,i     
said4 ',it is quite intelligible1' she  
replied2 'for you yourself would        
acknowledge that the gods are happy and 
fair--of course you would--would you    
dare to say that any god was not8'      
',certainly not1' ,i replied4 ',and you 
mean by the happy1 those who are the    
possessors of things good or fair8'     
',yes4' ',and you admitted that ,love1  
because he was in want1 desires those   
good and fair things of which he is in  
want8' ',yes1 ,i did4' ',but how can he 
be a god who has no portion in what is  
either good or fair8' ',impossible4'    
',then you see that you also deny the   
divinity of ,love4'  ',what then is     
,love8' ,i asked2 ',is he mortal8'      
',no4' ',what then8' ',as in the former 
instance1 he is neither mortal nor      
immortal1 but in a mean between the     
two4' ',what is he1 ,diotima8' ',he is a

 great spirit 7daimon71 and like all    
spirits he is intermediate between the  
divine and the mortal4' ',and what1' ,i 
said1 'is his power8' ',he interprets1' 
she replied1 'between gods and men1     
conveying and taking across to the gods 
the prayers and sacrifices of men1 and  
to men the commands and replies of the  
gods2 he is the mediator who spans the  
chasm which divides them1 and therefore 
in him all is bound together1 and       
through him the arts of the prophet and 
the priest1 their sacrifices and        
mysteries and charms1 and all prophecy  
and incantation1 find their way4 ,for   
,god mingles not with man2 but through  
,love all the intercourse and converse  
of ,god with man1 whether awake or      
asleep1 is carried on4 ,the wisdom which
 understands this is spiritual2 all     
other wisdom1 such as that of arts and  
handicrafts1 is mean and vulgar4 ,now   
these spirits or intermediate powers are
 many and diverse1 and one of them is   
,love4' ',and who1' ,i said1 'was his   

father1 and who his mother8' ',the      
tale1' she said1 'will take time2       
nevertheless ,i will tell you4 ,on the  
birthday of ,aphrodite there was a feast
 of the gods1 at which the god ,poros or
 ,plenty1 who is the son of ,metis or   
,discretion1 was one of the guests4     
,when the feast was over1 ,penia or     
,poverty1 as the manner is on such      
occasions1 came about the doors to beg4 
,now ,plenty who was the worse for      
nectar 7there was no wine in those      
days71 went into the garden of ,zeus and
 fell into a heavy sleep1 and ,poverty  
considering her own straitened          
circumstances1 plotted to have a child  
by him1 and accordingly she lay down at 
his side and conceived ,love1 who partly
 because he is naturally a lover of the 
beautiful1 and because ,aphrodite is    
herself beautiful1 and also because he  
was born on her birthday1 is her        
follower and attendant4 ,and as his     
parentage is1 so also are his fortunes4 
,in the first place he is always poor1  

and anything but tender and fair1 as the
 many imagine him2 and he is rough and  
squalid1 and has no shoes1 nor a house  
to dwell in2 on the bare earth exposed  
he lies under the open heaven1 in the   
streets1 or at the doors of houses1     
taking his rest2 and like his mother he 
is always in distress4 ,like his father 
too1 whom he also partly resembles1 he  
is always plotting against the fair and 
good2 he is bold1 enterprising1 strong1 
a mighty hunter1 always weaving some    
intrigue or other1 keen in the pursuit  
of wisdom1 fertile in resources2 a      
philosopher at all times1 terrible as an
 enchanter1 sorcerer1 sophist4 ,he is by
 nature neither mortal nor immortal1 but
 alive and flourishing at one moment    
when he is in plenty1 and dead at       
another moment1 and again alive by      
reason of his father's nature4 ,but that
 which is always flowing in is always   
flowing out1 and so he is never in want 
and never in wealth2 and1 further1 he is
 in a mean between ignorance and        

knowledge4 ,the truth of the matter is  
this3 ,no god is a philosopher or seeker
 after wisdom1 for he is wise already2  
nor does any man who is wise seek after 
wisdom4 ,neither do the ignorant seek   
after wisdom4 ,for herein is the evil of
 ignorance1 that he who is neither good 
nor wise is nevertheless satisfied with 
himself3 he has no desire for that of   
which he feels no want4' ',but who then1
 ,diotima1' ,i said1 'are the lovers of 
wisdom1 if they are neither the wise nor
 the foolish8' ',a child may answer that
 question1' she replied2 'they are those
 who are in a mean between the two2     
,love is one of them4 ,for wisdom is a  
most beautiful thing1 and ,love is of   
the beautiful2 and therefore ,love is   
also a philosopher or lover of wisdom1  
and being a lover of wisdom is in a mean
 between the wise and the ignorant4 ,and
 of this too his birth is the cause2 for
 his father is wealthy and wise1 and his
 mother poor and foolish4 ,such1 my dear
 ,socrates1 is the nature of the spirit 

,love4 ,the error in your conception of 
him was very natural1 and as ,i imagine 
from what you say1 has arisen out of a  
confusion of love and the beloved1 which
 made you think that love was all       
beautiful4 ,for the beloved is the truly
 beautiful1 and delicate1 and perfect1  
and blessed2 but the principle of love  
is of another nature1 and is such as ,i 
have described4'  ,i said1 ',o thou     
stranger woman1 thou sayest well2 but1  
assuming ,love to be such as you say1   
what is the use of him to men8' ',that1 
,socrates1' she replied1 ',i will       
attempt to unfold3 of his nature and    
birth ,i have already spoken2 and you   
acknowledge that love is of the         
beautiful4 ,but some one will say3 ,of  
the beautiful in what1 ,socrates and    
,diotima8--or rather let me put the     
question more clearly1 and ask3 ,when a 
man loves the beautiful1 what does he   
desire8' ,i answered her ',that the     
beautiful may be his4' ',still1' she    
said1 'the answer suggests a further    

question3 ,what is given by the         
possession of beauty8' ',to what you    
have asked1' ,i replied1 ',i have no    
answer ready4' ',then1' she said1 'let  
me put the word good in the place of the
 beautiful1 and repeat the question once
 more3 ,if he who loves loves the good1 
what is it then that he loves8' ',the   
possession of the good1' ,i said4 ',and 
what does he gain who possesses the     
good8' ',happiness1' ,i replied2 'there 
is less difficulty in answering that    
question4' ',yes1' she said1 'the happy 
are made happy by the acquisition of    
good things4 ,nor is there any need to  
ask why a man desires happiness2 the    
answer is already final4' ',you are     
right4' ,i said4 ',and is this wish and 
this desire common to all8 and do all   
men always desire their own good1 or    
only some men8--what say you8' ',all    
men1' ,i replied2 'the desire is common 
to all4' ',why1 then1' she rejoined1    
'are not all men1 ,socrates1 said to    
love1 but only some of them8 whereas you

 say that all men are always loving the 
same things4' ',i myself wonder1' ,i    
said1 'why this is4' ',there is nothing 
to wonder at1' she replied2 'the reason 
is that one part of love is separated   
off and receives the name of the whole1 
but the other parts have other names4'  
',give an illustration1' ,i said4 ,she  
answered me as follows3 ',there is      
poetry1 which1 as you know1 is complex  
and manifold4 ,all creation or passage  
of non-being into being is poetry or    
making1 and the processes of all art are
 creative2 and the masters of arts are  
all poets or makers4' ',very true4'     
',still1' she said1 'you know that they 
are not called poets1 but have other    
names2 only that portion of the art     
which is separated off from the rest1   
and is concerned with music and metre1  
is termed poetry1 and they who possess  
poetry in this sense of the word are    
called poets4' ',very true1' ,i said4   
',and the same holds of love4 ,for you  
may say generally that all desire of    

good and happiness is only the great and
 subtle power of love2 but they who are 
drawn towards him by any other path1    
whether the path of money-making or     
gymnastics or philosophy1 are not called
 lovers--the name of the whole is       
appropriated to those whose affection   
takes one form only--they alone are said
 to love1 or to be lovers4' ',i dare    
say1' ,i replied1 'that you are right4' 
',yes1' she added1 'and you hear people 
say that lovers are seeking for their   
other half2 but ,i say that they are    
seeking neither for the half of         
themselves1 nor for the whole1 unless   
the half or the whole be also a good4   
,and they will cut off their own hands  
and feet and cast them away1 if they are
 evil2 for they love not what is their  
own1 unless perchance there be some one 
who calls what belongs to him the good1 
and what belongs to another the evil4   
,for there is nothing which men love but
 the good4 ,is there anything8'         
',certainly1 ,i should say1 that there  

is nothing4' ',then1' she said1 'the    
simple truth is1 that men love the      
good4' ',yes1' ,i said4 ',to which must 
be added that they love the possession  
of the good8' ',yes1 that must be       
added4' ',and not only the possession1  
but the everlasting possession of the   
good8' ',that must be added too4' ',then
 love1' she said1 'may be described     
generally as the love of the everlasting
 possession of the good8' ',that is most
 true4'  ',then if this be the nature of
 love1 can you tell me further1' she    
said1 'what is the manner of the        
pursuit8 what are they doing who show   
all this eagerness and heat which is    
called love8 and what is the object     
which they have in view8 ,answer me4'   
',nay1 ,diotima1' ,i replied1 'if ,i had
 known1 ,i should not have wondered at  
your wisdom1 neither should ,i have come
 to learn from you about this very      
matter4' ',well1' she said1 ',i will    
teach you3--,the object which they have 
in view is birth in beauty1 whether of  

body or soul4' ',i do not understand    
you1' ,i said2 'the oracle requires an  
explanation4' ',i will make my meaning  
clearer1' she replied4 ',i mean to say1 
that all men are bringing to the birth  
in their bodies and in their souls4     
,there is a certain age at which human  
nature is desirous of                   
procreation--procreation which must be  
in beauty and not in deformity2 and this
 procreation is the union of man and    
woman1 and is a divine thing2 for       
conception and generation are an        
immortal principle in the mortal        
creature1 and in the inharmonious they  
can never be4 ,but the deformed is      
always inharmonious with the divine1 and
 the beautiful harmonious4 ,beauty1     
then1 is the destiny or goddess of      
parturition who presides at birth1 and  
therefore1 when approaching beauty1 the 
conceiving power is propitious1 and     
diffusive1 and benign1 and begets and   
bears fruit3 at the sight of ugliness   
she frowns and contracts and has a sense

 of pain1 and turns away1 and shrivels  
up1 and not without a pang refrains from
 conception4 ,and this is the reason    
why1 when the hour of conception        
arrives1 and the teeming nature is full1
 there is such a flutter and ecstasy    
about beauty whose approach is the      
alleviation of the pain of travail4 ,for
 love1 ,socrates1 is not1 as you        
imagine1 the love of the beautiful      
only4' ',what then8' ',the love of      
generation and of birth in beauty4'     
',yes1' ,i said4 ',yes1 indeed1' she    
replied4 ',but why of generation8'      
',because to the mortal creature1       
generation is a sort of eternity and    
immortality1' she replied2 'and if1 as  
has been already admitted1 love is of   
the everlasting possession of the good1 
all men will necessarily desire         
immortality together with good3         
,wherefore love is of immortality4'     
,all this she taught me at various times
 when she spoke of love4 ,and ,i        
remember her once saying to me1 ',what  

is the cause1 ,socrates1 of love1 and   
the attendant desire8 ,see you not how  
all animals1 birds1 as well as beasts1  
in their desire of procreation1 are in  
agony when they take the infection of   
love1 which begins with the desire of   
union2 whereto is added the care of     
offspring1 on whose behalf the weakest  
are ready to battle against the         
strongest even to the uttermost1 and to 
die for them1 and will let themselves be
 tormented with hunger or suffer        
anything in order to maintain their     
young4 ,man may be supposed to act thus 
from reason2 but why should animals have
 these passionate feelings8 ,can you    
tell me why8' ,again ,i replied that ,i 
did not know4 ,she said to me3 ',and do 
you expect ever to become a master in   
the art of love1 if you do not know     
this8' ',but ,i have told you already1  
,diotima1 that my ignorance is the      
reason why ,i come to you2 for ,i am    
conscious that ,i want a teacher2 tell  
me then the cause of this and of the    

other mysteries of love4' ',marvel not1'
 she said1 'if you believe that love is 
of the immortal1 as we have several     
times acknowledged2 for here again1 and 
on the same principle too1 the mortal   
nature is seeking as far as is possible 
to be everlasting and immortal3 and this
 is only to be attained by generation1  
because generation always leaves behind 
a new existence in the place of the old4
 ,nay even in the life of the same      
individual there is succession and not  
absolute unity3 a man is called the     
same1 and yet in the short interval     
which elapses between youth and age1 and
 in which every animal is said to have  
life and identity1 he is undergoing a   
perpetual process of loss and           
reparation--hair1 flesh1 bones1 blood1  
and the whole body are always changing4 
,which is true not only of the body1 but
 also of the soul1 whose habits1        
tempers1 opinions1 desires1 pleasures1  
pains1 fears1 never remain the same in  
any one of us1 but are always coming and

 going2 and equally true of knowledge1  
and what is still more surprising to us 
mortals1 not only do the sciences in    
general spring up and decay1 so that in 
respect of them we are never the same2  
but each of them individually           
experiences a like change4 ,for what is 
implied in the word recollection1 but   
the departure of knowledge1 which is    
ever being forgotten1 and is renewed and
 preserved by recollection1 and appears 
to be the same although in reality new1 
according to that law of succession by  
which all mortal things are preserved1  
not absolutely the same1 but by         
substitution1 the old worn-out mortality
 leaving another new and similar        
existence behind--unlike the divine1    
which is always the same and not        
another8 ,and in this way1 ,socrates1   
the mortal body1 or mortal anything1    
partakes of immortality2 but the        
immortal in another way4 ,marvel not    
then at the love which all men have of  
their offspring2 for that universal love

 and interest is for the sake of        
immortality4'  ,i was astonished at her 
words1 and said3 ',is this really true1 
,o thou wise ,diotima8' ,and she        
answered with all the authority of an   
accomplished sophist3 ',of that1        
,socrates1 you may be assured2--think   
only of the ambition of men1 and you    
will wonder at the senselessness of     
their ways1 unless you consider how they
 are stirred by the love of an          
immortality of fame4 ,they are ready to 
run all risks greater far than they     
would have run for their children1 and  
to spend money and undergo any sort of  
toil1 and even to die1 for the sake of  
leaving behind them a name which shall  
be eternal4 ,do you imagine that        
,alcestis would have died to save       
,admetus1 or ,achilles to avenge        
,patroclus1 or your own ,codrus in order
 to preserve the kingdom for his sons1  
if they had not imagined that the memory
 of their virtues1 which still survives 
among us1 would be immortal8 ,nay1' she 

said1 ',i am persuaded that all men do  
all things1 and the better they are the 
more they do them1 in hope of the       
glorious fame of immortal virtue2 for   
they desire the immortal4  ',those who  
are pregnant in the body only1 betake   
themselves to women and beget           
children--this is the character of their
 love2 their offspring1 as they hope1   
will preserve their memory and giving   
them the blessedness and immortality    
which they desire in the future4 ,but   
souls which are pregnant--for there     
certainly are men who are more creative 
in their souls than in their            
bodies--conceive that which is proper   
for the soul to conceive or contain4    
,and what are these conceptions8--wisdom
 and virtue in general4 ,and such       
creators are poets and all artists who  
are deserving of the name inventor4 ,but
 the greatest and fairest sort of wisdom
 by far is that which is concerned with 
the ordering of states and families1 and
 which is called temperance and justice4

 ,and he who in youth has the seed of   
these implanted in him and is himself   
inspired1 when he comes to maturity     
desires to beget and generate4 ,he      
wanders about seeking beauty that he may
 beget offspring--for in deformity he   
will beget nothing--and naturally       
embraces the beautiful rather than the  
deformed body2 above all when he finds a
 fair and noble and well-nurtured soul1 
he embraces the two in one person1 and  
to such an one he is full of speech     
about virtue and the nature and pursuits
 of a good man2 and he tries to educate 
him2 and at the touch of the beautiful  
which is ever present to his memory1    
even when absent1 he brings forth that  
which he had conceived long before1 and 
in company with him tends that which he 
brings forth2 and they are married by a 
far nearer tie and have a closer        
friendship than those who beget mortal  
children1 for the children who are their
 common offspring are fairer and more   
immortal4 ,who1 when he thinks of ,homer

 and ,hesiod and other great poets1     
would not rather have their children    
than ordinary human ones8 ,who would not
 emulate them in the creation of        
children such as theirs1 which have     
preserved their memory and given them   
everlasting glory8 ,or who would not    
have such children as ,lycurgus left    
behind him to be the saviours1 not only 
of ,lacedaemon1 but of ,hellas1 as one  
may say8 ,there is ,solon1 too1 who is  
the revered father of ,athenian laws2   
and many others there are in many other 
places1 both among ,hellenes and        
barbarians1 who have given to the world 
many noble works1 and have been the     
parents of virtue of every kind2 and    
many temples have been raised in their  
honour for the sake of children such as 
theirs2 which were never raised in      
honour of any one1 for the sake of his  
mortal children4  ',these are the lesser
 mysteries of love1 into which even you1
 ,socrates1 may enter2 to the greater   
and more hidden ones which are the crown

 of these1 and to which1 if you pursue  
them in a right spirit1 they will lead1 
,i know not whether you will be able to 
attain4 ,but ,i will do my utmost to    
inform you1 and do you follow if you    
can4 ,for he who would proceed aright in
 this matter should begin in youth to   
visit beautiful forms2 and first1 if he 
be guided by his instructor aright1 to  
love one such form only--out of that he 
should create fair thoughts2 and soon he
 will of himself perceive that the      
beauty of one form is akin to the beauty
 of another2 and then if beauty of form 
in general is his pursuit1 how foolish  
would he be not to recognize that the   
beauty in every form is and the same6   
,and when he perceives this he will     
abate his violent love of the one1 which
 he will despise and deem a small thing1
 and will become a lover of all         
beautiful forms2 in the next stage he   
will consider that the beauty of the    
mind is more honourable than the beauty 
of the outward form4 ,so that if a      

virtuous soul have but a little         
comeliness1 he will be content to love  
and tend him1 and will search out and   
bring to the birth thoughts which may   
improve the young1 until he is compelled
 to contemplate and see the beauty of   
institutions and laws1 and to understand
 that the beauty of them all is of one  
family1 and that personal beauty is a   
trifle2 and after laws and institutions 
he will go on to the sciences1 that he  
may see their beauty1 being not like a  
servant in love with the beauty of one  
youth or man or institution1 himself a  
slave mean and narrow-minded1 but       
drawing towards and contemplating the   
vast sea of beauty1 he will create many 
fair and noble thoughts and notions in  
boundless love of wisdom2 until on that 
shore he grows and waxes strong1 and at 
last the vision is revealed to him of a 
single science1 which is the science of 
beauty everywhere4 ,to this ,i will     
proceed2 please to give me your very    
best attention3  ',he who has been      

instructed thus far in the things of    
love1 and who has learned to see the    
beautiful in due order and succession1  
when he comes toward the end will       
suddenly perceive a nature of wondrous  
beauty 7and this1 ,socrates1 is the     
final cause of all our former toils7--a 
nature which in the first place is      
everlasting1 not growing and decaying1  
or waxing and waning2 secondly1 not fair
 in one point of view and foul in       
another1 or at one time or in one       
relation or at one place fair1 at       
another time or in another relation or  
at another place foul1 as if fair to    
some and foul to others1 or in the      
likeness of a face or hands or any other
 part of the bodily frame1 or in any    
form of speech or knowledge1 or existing
 in any other being1 as for example1 in 
an animal1 or in heaven1 or in earth1 or
 in any other place2 but beauty         
absolute1 separate1 simple1 and         
everlasting1 which without diminution   
and without increase1 or any change1 is 

imparted to the ever-growing and        
perishing beauties of all other things4 
,he who from these ascending under the  
influence of true love1 begins to       
perceive that beauty1 is not far from   
the end4 ,and the true order of going1  
or being led by another1 to the things  
of love1 is to begin from the beauties  
of earth and mount upwards for the sake 
of that other beauty1 using these as    
steps only1 and from one going on to    
two1 and from two to all fair forms1 and
 from fair forms to fair practices1 and 
from fair practices to fair notions1    
until from fair notions he arrives at   
the notion of absolute beauty1 and at   
last knows what the essence of beauty   
is4 ,this1 my dear ,socrates1' said the 
stranger of ,mantineia1 'is that life   
above all others which man should live1 
in the contemplation of beauty absolute2
 a beauty which if you once beheld1 you 
would see not to be after the measure of
 gold1 and garments1 and fair boys and  
youths1 whose presence now entrances    

you2 and you and many a one would be    
content to live seeing them only and    
conversing with them without meat or    
drink1 if that were possible--you only  
want to look at them and to be with     
them4 ,but what if man had eyes to see  
the true beauty--the divine beauty1 ,i  
mean1 pure and clear and unalloyed1 not 
clogged with the pollutions of mortality
 and all the colours and vanities of    
human life--thither looking1 and holding
 converse with the true beauty simple   
and divine8 ,remember how in that       
communion only1 beholding beauty with   
the eye of the mind1 he will be enabled 
to bring forth1 not images of beauty1   
but realities 7for he has hold not of an
 image but of a reality71 and bringing  
forth and nourishing true virtue to     
become the friend of ,god and be        
immortal1 if mortal man may4 ,would that
 be an ignoble life8'  ,such1           
,phaedrus--and ,i speak not only to you1
 but to all of you--were the words of   
,diotima2 and ,i am persuaded of their  

truth4 ,and being persuaded of them1 ,i 
try to persuade others1 that in the     
attainment of this end human nature will
 not easily find a helper better than   
love3 ,and therefore1 also1 ,i say that 
every man ought to honour him as ,i     
myself honour him1 and walk in his ways1
 and exhort others to do the same1 and  
praise the power and spirit of love     
according to the measure of my ability  
now and ever4  ,the words which ,i have 
spoken1 you1 ,phaedrus1 may call an     
encomium of love1 or anything else which
 you please4  ,when ,socrates had done  
speaking1 the company applauded1 and    
,aristophanes was beginning to say      
something in answer to the allusion     
which ,socrates had made to his own     
speech1 when suddenly there was a great 
knocking at the door of the house1 as of
 revellers1 and the sound of a          
flute-girl was heard4 ,agathon told the 
attendants to go and see who were the   
intruders4 ',if they are friends of     
ours1' he said1 'invite them in1 but if 

not1 say that the drinking is over4' ,a 
little while afterwards they heard the  
voice of ,alcibiades resounding in the  
court2 he was in a great state of       
intoxication1 and kept roaring and      
shouting ',where is ,agathon8 ,lead me  
to ,agathon1' and at length1 supported  
by the flute-girl and some of his       
attendants1 he found his way to them4   
',hail1 friends1' he said1 appearing at 
the door crowned with a massive garland 
of ivy and violets1 his head flowing    
with ribands4 ',will you have a very    
drunken man as a companion of your      
revels8 ,or shall ,i crown ,agathon1    
which was my intention in coming1 and go
 away8 ,for ,i was unable to come       
yesterday1 and therefore ,i am here     
to-day1 carrying on my head these       
ribands1 that taking them from my own   
head1 ,i may crown the head of this     
fairest and wisest of men1 as ,i may be 
allowed to call him4 ,will you laugh at 
me because ,i am drunk8 ,yet ,i know    
very well that ,i am speaking the truth1

 although you may laugh4 ,but first tell
 me2 if ,i come in shall we have the    
understanding of which ,i spoke 7supra  
,will you have a very drunken man8      
etc478 ,will you drink with me or not8' 
,the company were vociferous in begging 
that he would take his place among them1
 and ,agathon specially invited him4    
,thereupon he was led in by the people  
who were with him2 and as he was being  
led1 intending to crown ,agathon1 he    
took the ribands from his own head and  
held them in front of his eyes2 he was  
thus prevented from seeing ,socrates1   
who made way for him1 and ,alcibiades   
took the vacant place between ,agathon  
and ,socrates1 and in taking the place  
he embraced ,agathon and crowned him4   
,take off his sandals1 said ,agathon1   
and let him make a third on the same    
couch4  ,by all means2 but who makes the
 third partner in our revels8 said      
,alcibiades1 turning round and starting 
up as he caught sight of ,socrates4 ,by 
,heracles1 he said1 what is this8 here  

is ,socrates always lying in wait for   
me1 and always1 as his way is1 coming   
out at all sorts of unsuspected places3 
and now1 what have you to say for       
yourself1 and why are you lying here1   
where ,i perceive that you have         
contrived to find a place1 not by a     
joker or lover of jokes1 like           
,aristophanes1 but by the fairest of the
 company8  ,socrates turned to ,agathon 
and said3 ,i must ask you to protect me1
 ,agathon2 for the passion of this man  
has grown quite a serious matter to me4 
,since ,i became his admirer ,i have    
never been allowed to speak to any other
 fair one1 or so much as to look at     
them4 ,if ,i do1 he goes wild with envy 
and jealousy1 and not only abuses me but
 can hardly keep his hands off me1 and  
at this moment he may do me some harm4  
,please to see to this1 and either      
reconcile me to him1 or1 if he attempts 
violence1 protect me1 as ,i am in bodily
 fear of his mad and passionate         
attempts4  ,there can never be          

reconciliation between you and me1 said 
,alcibiades2 but for the present ,i will
 defer your chastisement4 ,and ,i must  
beg you1 ,agathon1 to give me back some 
of the ribands that ,i may crown the    
marvellous head of this universal       
despot--,i would not have him complain  
of me for crowning you1 and neglecting  
him1 who in conversation is the         
conqueror of all mankind2 and this not  
only once1 as you were the day before   
yesterday1 but always4 ,whereupon1      
taking some of the ribands1 he crowned  
,socrates1 and again reclined4  ,then he
 said3 ,you seem1 my friends1 to be     
sober1 which is a thing not to be       
endured2 you must drink--for that was   
the agreement under which ,i was        
admitted--and ,i elect myself master of 
the feast until you are well drunk4 ,let
 us have a large goblet1 ,agathon1 or   
rather1 he said1 addressing the         
attendant1 bring me that wine-cooler4   
,the wine-cooler which had caught his   
eye was a vessel holding more than two  

quarts--this he filled and emptied1 and 
bade the attendant fill it again for    
,socrates4 ,observe1 my friends1 said   
,alcibiades1 that this ingenious trick  
of mine will have no effect on          
,socrates1 for he can drink any quantity
 of wine and not be at all nearer being 
drunk4 ,socrates drank the cup which the
 attendant filled for him4  ,eryximachus
 said3 ,what is this1 ,alcibiades8 ,are 
we to have neither conversation nor     
singing over our cups2 but simply to    
drink as if we were thirsty8            
,alcibiades replied3 ,hail1 worthy son  
of a most wise and worthy sire6  ,the   
same to you1 said ,eryximachus2 but what
 shall we do8  ,that ,i leave to you1   
said ,alcibiades4  ',the wise physician 
skilled our wounds to heal 7from ,pope's
 ,homer1 ,il47'  shall prescribe and we 
will obey4 ,what do you want8  ,well1   
said ,eryximachus1 before you appeared  
we had passed a resolution that each one
 of us in turn should make a speech in  
praise of love1 and as good a one as he 

could3 the turn was passed round from   
left to right2 and as all of us have    
spoken1 and you have not spoken but have
 well drunken1 you ought to speak1 and  
then impose upon ,socrates any task     
which you please1 and he on his right   
hand neighbour1 and so on4  ,that is    
good1 ,eryximachus1 said ,alcibiades2   
and yet the comparison of a drunken     
man's speech with those of sober men is 
hardly fair2 and ,i should like to know1
 sweet friend1 whether you really       
believe what ,socrates was just now     
saying2 for ,i can assure you that the  
very reverse is the fact1 and that if ,i
 praise any one but himself in his      
presence1 whether ,god or man1 he will  
hardly keep his hands off me4  ,for     
shame1 said ,socrates4  ,hold your      
tongue1 said ,alcibiades1 for by        
,poseidon1 there is no one else whom ,i 
will praise when you are of the company4
  ,well then1 said ,eryximachus1 if you 
like praise ,socrates4  ,what do you    
think1 ,eryximachus8 said ,alcibiades3  

shall ,i attack him and inflict the     
punishment before you all8  ,what are   
you about8 said ,socrates2 are you going
 to raise a laugh at my expense8 ,is    
that the meaning of your praise8  ,i am 
going to speak the truth1 if you will   
permit me4  ,i not only permit1 but     
exhort you to speak the truth4  ,then ,i
 will begin at once1 said ,alcibiades1  
and if ,i say anything which is not     
true1 you may interrupt me if you will1 
and say 'that is a lie1' though my      
intention is to speak the truth4 ,but   
you must not wonder if ,i speak any how 
as things come into my mind2 for the    
fluent and orderly enumeration of all   
your singularities is not a task which  
is easy to a man in my condition4  ,and 
now1 my boys1 ,i shall praise ,socrates 
in a figure which will appear to him to 
be a caricature1 and yet ,i speak1 not  
to make fun of him1 but only for the    
truth's sake4 ,i say1 that he is exactly
 like the busts of ,silenus1 which are  
set up in the statuaries' shops1 holding

 pipes and flutes in their mouths2 and  
they are made to open in the middle1 and
 have images of gods inside them4 ,i say
 also that he is like ,marsyas the      
satyr4 ,you yourself will not deny1     
,socrates1 that your face is like that  
of a satyr4 ,aye1 and there is a        
resemblance in other points too4 ,for   
example1 you are a bully1 as ,i can     
prove by witnesses1 if you will not     
confess4 ,and are you not a             
flute-player8 ,that you are1 and a      
performer far more wonderful than       
,marsyas4 ,he indeed with instruments   
used to charm the souls of men by the   
power of his breath1 and the players of 
his music do so still3 for the melodies 
of ,olympus 7compare ,arist4 ,pol47 are 
derived from ,marsyas who taught them1  
and these1 whether they are played by a 
great master or by a miserable          
flute-girl1 have a power which no others
 have2 they alone possess the soul and  
reveal the wants of those who have need 
of gods and mysteries1 because they are 

divine4 ,but you produce the same effect
 with your words only1 and do not       
require the flute3 that is the          
difference between you and him4 ,when we
 hear any other speaker1 even a very    
good one1 he produces absolutely no     
effect upon us1 or not much1 whereas the
 mere fragments of you and your words1  
even at second-hand1 and however        
imperfectly repeated1 amaze and possess 
the souls of every man1 woman1 and child
 who comes within hearing of them4 ,and 
if ,i were not afraid that you would    
think me hopelessly drunk1 ,i would have
 sworn as well as spoken to the         
influence which they have always had and
 still have over me4 ,for my heart leaps
 within me more than that of any        
,corybantian reveller1 and my eyes rain 
tears when ,i hear them4 ,and ,i observe
 that many others are affected in the   
same manner4 ,i have heard ,pericles and
 other great orators1 and ,i thought    
that they spoke well1 but ,i never had  
any similar feeling2 my soul was not    

stirred by them1 nor was ,i angry at the
 thought of my own slavish state4 ,but  
this ,marsyas has often brought me to   
such a pass1 that ,i have felt as if ,i 
could hardly endure the life which ,i am
 leading 7this1 ,socrates1 you will     
admit72 and ,i am conscious that if ,i  
did not shut my ears against him1 and   
fly as from the voice of the siren1 my  
fate would be like that of others1--he  
would transfix me1 and ,i should grow   
old sitting at his feet4 ,for he makes  
me confess that ,i ought not to live as 
,i do1 neglecting the wants of my own   
soul1 and busying myself with the       
concerns of the ,athenians2 therefore ,i
 hold my ears and tear myself away from 
him4 ,and he is the only person who ever
 made me ashamed1 which you might think 
not to be in my nature1 and there is no 
one else who does the same4 ,for ,i know
 that ,i cannot answer him or say that  
,i ought not to do as he bids1 but when 
,i leave his presence the love of       
popularity gets the better of me4 ,and  

therefore ,i run away and fly from him1 
and when ,i see him ,i am ashamed of    
what ,i have confessed to him4 ,many a  
time have ,i wished that he were dead1  
and yet ,i know that ,i should be much  
more sorry than glad1 if he were to die3
 so that ,i am at my wit's end4  ,and   
this is what ,i and many others have    
suffered from the flute-playing of this 
satyr4 ,yet hear me once more while ,i  
show you how exact the image is1 and how
 marvellous his power4 ,for let me tell 
you2 none of you know him2 but ,i will  
reveal him to you2 having begun1 ,i must
 go on4 ,see you how fond he is of the  
fair8 ,he is always with them and is    
always being smitten by them1 and then  
again he knows nothing and is ignorant  
of all things--such is the appearance   
which he puts on4 ,is he not like a     
,silenus in this8 ,to be sure he is3 his
 outer mask is the carved head of the   
,silenus2 but1 ,o my companions in      
drink1 when he is opened1 what          
temperance there is residing within6    

,know you that beauty and wealth and    
honour1 at which the many wonder1 are of
 no account with him1 and are utterly   
despised by him3 he regards not at all  
the persons who are gifted with them2   
mankind are nothing to him2 all his life
 is spent in mocking and flouting at    
them4 ,but when ,i opened him1 and      
looked within at his serious purpose1 ,i
 saw in him divine and golden images of 
such fascinating beauty that ,i was     
ready to do in a moment whatever        
,socrates commanded3 they may have      
escaped the observation of others1 but  
,i saw them4 ,now ,i fancied that he was
 seriously enamoured of my beauty1 and  
,i thought that ,i should therefore have
 a grand opportunity of hearing him tell
 what he knew1 for ,i had a wonderful   
opinion of the attractions of my youth4 
,in the prosecution of this design1 when
 ,i next went to him1 ,i sent away the  
attendant who usually accompanied me 7,i
 will confess the whole truth1 and beg  
you to listen2 and if ,i speak falsely1 

do you1 ,socrates1 expose the           
falsehood74 ,well1 he and ,i were alone 
together1 and ,i thought that when there
 was nobody with us1 ,i should hear him 
speak the language which lovers use to  
their loves when they are by themselves1
 and ,i was delighted4 ,nothing of the  
sort2 he conversed as usual1 and spent  
the day with me and then went away4     
,afterwards ,i challenged him to the    
palaestra2 and he wrestled and closed   
with me several times when there was no 
one present2 ,i fancied that ,i might   
succeed in this manner4 ,not a bit2 ,i  
made no way with him4 ,lastly1 as ,i had
 failed hitherto1 ,i thought that ,i    
must take stronger measures and attack  
him boldly1 and1 as ,i had begun1 not   
give him up1 but see how matters stood  
between him and me4 ,so ,i invited him  
to sup with me1 just as if he were a    
fair youth1 and ,i a designing lover4   
,he was not easily persuaded to come2 he
 did1 however1 after a while accept the 
invitation1 and when he came the first  

time1 he wanted to go away at once as   
soon as supper was over1 and ,i had not 
the face to detain him4 ,the second     
time1 still in pursuance of my design1  
after we had supped1 ,i went on         
conversing far into the night1 and when 
he wanted to go away1 ,i pretended that 
the hour was late and that he had much  
better remain4 ,so he lay down on the   
couch next to me1 the same on which he  
had supped1 and there was no one but    
ourselves sleeping in the apartment4    
,all this may be told without shame to  
any one4 ,but what follows ,i could     
hardly tell you if ,i were sober4 ,yet  
as the proverb says1 ',in vino veritas1'
 whether with boys1 or without them 7,in
 allusion to two proverbs472 and        
therefore ,i must speak4 ,nor1 again1   
should ,i be justified in concealing the
 lofty actions of ,socrates when ,i come
 to praise him4 ,moreover ,i have felt  
the serpent's sting2 and he who has     
suffered1 as they say1 is willing to    
tell his fellow-sufferers only1 as they 

alone will be likely to understand him1 
and will not be extreme in judging of   
the sayings or doings which have been   
wrung from his agony4 ,for ,i have been 
bitten by a more than viper's tooth2 ,i 
have known in my soul1 or in my heart1  
or in some other part1 that worst of    
pangs1 more violent in ingenuous youth  
than any serpent's tooth1 the pang of   
philosophy1 which will make a man say or
 do anything4 ,and you whom ,i see      
around me1 ,phaedrus and ,agathon and   
,eryximachus and ,pausanias and         
,aristodemus and ,aristophanes1 all of  
you1 and ,i need not say ,socrates      
himself1 have had experience of the same
 madness and passion in your longing    
after wisdom4 ,therefore listen and     
excuse my doings then and my sayings    
now4 ,but let the attendants and other  
profane and unmannered persons close up 
the doors of their ears4  ,when the lamp
 was put out and the servants had gone  
away1 ,i thought that ,i must be plain  
with him and have no more ambiguity4 ,so

 ,i gave him a shake1 and ,i said3      
',socrates1 are you asleep8' ',no1' he  
said4 ',do you know what ,i am          
meditating8 ',what are you meditating8' 
he said4 ',i think1' ,i replied1 'that  
of all the lovers whom ,i have ever had 
you are the only one who is worthy of   
me1 and you appear to be too modest to  
speak4 ,now ,i feel that ,i should be a 
fool to refuse you this or any other    
favour1 and therefore ,i come to lay at 
your feet all that ,i have and all that 
my friends have1 in the hope that you   
will assist me in the way of virtue1    
which ,i desire above all things1 and in
 which ,i believe that you can help me  
better than any one else4 ,and ,i should
 certainly have more reason to be       
ashamed of what wise men would say if ,i
 were to refuse a favour to such as you1
 than of what the world1 who are mostly 
fools1 would say of me if ,i granted    
it4' ,to these words he replied in the  
ironical manner which is so             
characteristic of him3--',alcibiades1 my

 friend1 you have indeed an elevated aim
 if what you say is true1 and if there  
really is in me any power by which you  
may become better2 truly you must see in
 me some rare beauty of a kind          
infinitely higher than any which ,i see 
in you4 ,and therefore1 if you mean to  
share with me and to exchange beauty for
 beauty1 you will have greatly the      
advantage of me2 you will gain true     
beauty in return for appearance--like   
,diomede1 gold in exchange for brass4   
,but look again1 sweet friend1 and see  
whether you are not deceived in me4 ,the
 mind begins to grow critical when the  
bodily eye fails1 and it will be a long 
time before you get old4' ,hearing this1
 ,i said3 ',i have told you my purpose1 
which is quite serious1 and do you      
consider what you think best for you and
 me4' ',that is good1' he said2 'at some
 other time then we will consider and   
act as seems best about this and about  
other matters4' ,whereupon1 ,i fancied  
that he was smitten1 and that the words 

which ,i had uttered like arrows had    
wounded him1 and so without waiting to  
hear more ,i got up1 and throwing my    
coat about him crept under his          
threadbare cloak1 as the time of year   
was winter1 and there ,i lay during the 
whole night having this wonderful       
monster in my arms4 ,this again1        
,socrates1 will not be denied by you4   
,and yet1 notwithstanding all1 he was so
 superior to my solicitations1 so       
contemptuous and derisive and disdainful
 of my beauty--which really1 as ,i      
fancied1 had some attractions--hear1 ,o 
judges2 for judges you shall be of the  
haughty virtue of ,socrates--nothing    
more happened1 but in the morning when  
,i awoke 7let all the gods and goddesses
 be my witnesses7 ,i arose as from the  
couch of a father or an elder brother4  
,what do you suppose must have been my  
feelings1 after this rejection1 at the  
thought of my own dishonour8 ,and yet ,i
 could not help wondering at his natural
 temperance and self-restraint and      

manliness4 ,i never imagined that ,i    
could have met with a man such as he is 
in wisdom and endurance4 ,and therefore 
,i could not be angry with him or       
renounce his company1 any more than ,i  
could hope to win him4 ,for ,i well knew
 that if ,ajax could not be wounded by  
steel1 much less he by money2 and my    
only chance of captivating him by my    
personal attractions had failed4 ,so ,i 
was at my wit's end2 no one was ever    
more hopelessly enslaved by another4    
,all this happened before he and ,i went
 on the expedition to ,potidaea2 there  
we messed together1 and ,i had the      
opportunity of observing his            
extraordinary power of sustaining       
fatigue4 ,his endurance was simply      
marvellous when1 being cut off from our 
supplies1 we were compelled to go       
without food--on such occasions1 which  
often happen in time of war1 he was     
superior not only to me but to          
everybody2 there was no one to be       
compared to him4 ,yet at a festival he  

was the only person who had any real    
powers of enjoyment2 though not willing 
to drink1 he could if compelled beat us 
all at that1--wonderful to relate6 no   
human being had ever seen ,socrates     
drunk2 and his powers1 if ,i am not     
mistaken1 will be tested before long4   
,his fortitude in enduring cold was also
 surprising4 ,there was a severe frost1 
for the winter in that region is really 
tremendous1 and everybody else either   
remained indoors1 or if they went out   
had on an amazing quantity of clothes1  
and were well shod1 and had their feet  
swathed in felt and fleeces3 in the     
midst of this1 ,socrates with his bare  
feet on the ice and in his ordinary     
dress marched better than the other     
soldiers who had shoes1 and they looked 
daggers at him because he seemed to     
despise them4  ,i have told you one     
tale1 and now ,i must tell you another1 
which is worth hearing1  ',of the doings
 and sufferings of the enduring man'    
while he was on the expedition4 ,one    

morning he was thinking about something 
which he could not resolve2 he would not
 give it up1 but continued thinking from
 early dawn until noon--there he stood  
fixed in thought2 and at noon attention 
was drawn to him1 and the rumour ran    
through the wondering crowd that        
,socrates had been standing and thinking
 about something ever since the break of
 day4 ,at last1 in the evening after    
supper1 some ,ionians out of curiosity  
7,i should explain that this was not in 
winter but in summer71 brought out their
 mats and slept in the open air that    
they might watch him and see whether he 
would stand all night4 ,there he stood  
until the following morning2 and with   
the return of light he offered up a     
prayer to the sun1 and went his way     
7compare supra74 ,i will also tell1 if  
you please--and indeed ,i am bound to   
tell--of his courage in battle2 for who 
but he saved my life8 ,now this was the 
engagement in which ,i received the     
prize of valour3 for ,i was wounded and 

he would not leave me1 but he rescued me
 and my arms2 and he ought to have      
received the prize of valour which the  
generals wanted to confer on me partly  
on account of my rank1 and ,i told them 
so1 7this1 again1 ,socrates will not    
impeach or deny71 but he was more eager 
than the generals that ,i and not he    
should have the prize4 ,there was       
another occasion on which his behaviour 
was very remarkable--in the flight of   
the army after the battle of ,delium1   
where he served among the               
heavy-armed1--,i had a better           
opportunity of seeing him than at       
,potidaea1 for ,i was myself on         
horseback1 and therefore comparatively  
out of danger4 ,he and ,laches were     
retreating1 for the troops were in      
flight1 and ,i met them and told them   
not to be discouraged1 and promised to  
remain with them2 and there you might   
see him1 ,aristophanes1 as you describe 
7,aristoph4 ,clouds71 just as he is in  
the streets of ,athens1 stalking like a 

pelican1 and rolling his eyes1 calmly   
contemplating enemies as well as        
friends1 and making very intelligible to
 anybody1 even from a distance1 that    
whoever attacked him would be likely to 
meet with a stout resistance2 and in    
this way he and his companion           
escaped--for this is the sort of man who
 is never touched in war2 those only are
 pursued who are running away headlong4 
,i particularly observed how superior he
 was to ,laches in presence of mind4    
,many are the marvels which ,i might    
narrate in praise of ,socrates2 most of 
his ways might perhaps be paralleled in 
another man1 but his absolute unlikeness
 to any human being that is or ever has 
been is perfectly astonishing4 ,you may 
imagine ,brasidas and others to have    
been like ,achilles2 or you may imagine 
,nestor and ,antenor to have been like  
,pericles2 and the same may be said of  
other famous men1 but of this strange   
being you will never be able to find any
 likeness1 however remote1 either among 

men who now are or who ever have        
been--other than that which ,i have     
already suggested of ,silenus and the   
satyrs2 and they represent in a figure  
not only himself1 but his words4 ,for1  
although ,i forgot to mention this to   
you before1 his words are like the      
images of ,silenus which open2 they are 
ridiculous when you first hear them2 he 
clothes himself in language that is like
 the skin of the wanton satyr--for his  
talk is of pack-asses and smiths and    
cobblers and curriers1 and he is always 
repeating the same things in the same   
words 7compare ,gorg471 so that any     
ignorant or inexperienced person might  
feel disposed to laugh at him2 but he   
who opens the bust and sees what is     
within will find that they are the only 
words which have a meaning in them1 and 
also the most divine1 abounding in fair 
images of virtue1 and of the widest     
comprehension1 or rather extending to   
the whole duty of a good and honourable 
man4  ,this1 friends1 is my praise of   

,socrates4 ,i have added my blame of him
 for his ill-treatment of me2 and he has
 ill-treated not only me1 but ,charmides
 the son of ,glaucon1 and ,euthydemus   
the son of ,diocles1 and many others in 
the same way--beginning as their lover  
he has ended by making them pay their   
addresses to him4 ,wherefore ,i say to  
you1 ,agathon1 ',be not deceived by him2
 learn from me and take warning1 and do 
not be a fool and learn by experience1  
as the proverb says4'  ,when ,alcibiades
 had finished1 there was a laugh at his 
outspokenness2 for he seemed to be still
 in love with ,socrates4 ,you are sober1
 ,alcibiades1 said ,socrates1 or you    
would never have gone so far about to   
hide the purpose of your satyr's        
praises1 for all this long story is only
 an ingenious circumlocution1 of which  
the point comes in by the way at the    
end2 you want to get up a quarrel       
between me and ,agathon1 and your notion
 is that ,i ought to love you and nobody
 else1 and that you and you only ought  

to love ,agathon4 ,but the plot of this 
,satyric or ,silenic drama has been     
detected1 and you must not allow him1   
,agathon1 to set us at variance4  ,i    
believe you are right1 said ,agathon1   
and ,i am disposed to think that his    
intention in placing himself between you
 and me was only to divide us2 but he   
shall gain nothing by that move2 for ,i 
will go and lie on the couch next to    
you4  ,yes1 yes1 replied ,socrates1 by  
all means come here and lie on the couch
 below me4  ,alas1 said ,alcibiades1 how
 ,i am fooled by this man2 he is        
determined to get the better of me at   
every turn4 ,i do beseech you1 allow    
,agathon to lie between us4  ,certainly 
not1 said ,socrates1 as you praised me1 
and ,i in turn ought to praise my       
neighbour on the right1 he will be out  
of order in praising me again when he   
ought rather to be praised by me1 and ,i
 must entreat you to consent to this1   
and not be jealous1 for ,i have a great 
desire to praise the youth4  ,hurrah6   

cried ,agathon1 ,i will rise instantly1 
that ,i may be praised by ,socrates4    
,the usual way1 said ,alcibiades2 where 
,socrates is1 no one else has any chance
 with the fair2 and now how readily has 
he invented a specious reason for       
attracting ,agathon to himself4         
,agathon arose in order that he might   
take his place on the couch by          
,socrates1 when suddenly a band of      
revellers entered1 and spoiled the order
 of the banquet4 ,some one who was going
 out having left the door open1 they had
 found their way in1 and made themselves
 at home2 great confusion ensued1 and   
every one was compelled to drink large  
quantities of wine4 ,aristodemus said   
that ,eryximachus1 ,phaedrus1 and others
 went away--he himself fell asleep1 and 
as the nights were long took a good     
rest3 he was awakened towards daybreak  
by a crowing of cocks1 and when he      
awoke1 the others were either asleep1 or
 had gone away2 there remained only     
,socrates1 ,aristophanes1 and ,agathon1 

who were drinking out of a large goblet 
which they passed round1 and ,socrates  
was discoursing to them4 ,aristodemus   
was only half awake1 and he did not hear
 the beginning of the discourse2 the    
chief thing which he remembered was     
,socrates compelling the other two to   
acknowledge that the genius of comedy   
was the same with that of tragedy1 and  
that the true artist in tragedy was an  
artist in comedy also4 ,to this they    
were constrained to assent1 being       
drowsy1 and not quite following the     
argument4 ,and first of all             
,aristophanes dropped off1 then1 when   
the day was already dawning1 ,agathon4  
,socrates1 having laid them to sleep1   
rose to depart2 ,aristodemus1 as his    
manner was1 following him4 ,at the      
,lyceum he took a bath1 and passed the  
day as usual4 ,in the evening he retired
 to rest at his own home4