Page143

andhungertobeinaplacetoseetheone"havingbeauty."Seeinghimandbathinginthewatersofdesire,thefeatherpassagesofsoulareopenedagainsoul'spain isnoweasedandtheconsequentpleasureisthesweetestpossibleatthattime(251ce).
Copyright 1993. State University of New York Press. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except fair uses permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

Theemanationsofbeautyarenourishmentforthebeholder,recallingtheimageofthefoodpartakenofbysoulwhenitsawthetruth(247d).Theetymologicallink betweentheparticles( )inwhichdivinesoulbeheldtheabsolute(247d).Eachhumansoulthusbecomesamonadwithperspectiveontruth,aminiature metaphysicaluniverseinitsownright.Beholdinganinstanceoftruebeautyrenderssoulopentoallotherrealitiesaccessibletothattypeofsoul. Soul'spainisassuagedbyremembering,asSocratescarefullyputsit,theone"havingbeauty."Whatsoulremembersisthebeautyintheboy,nottheboyassuchnote alsothatthepainisremovednotbyactuallyseeingthebeauteousboy,butmerelybyrememberinghim.Thismemorycausesthesoultorejoice,justasthememoryof beautyandallotherrealitieswillcauseamuchmoreconcentratedandfundamentaljoytoasoulproperlytunedtothosememories. ThePoeticVisionofLove Socratesnowrecallsthe"beauteousboy"whoisthesupposedaudienceforthepalinode,andheconcludesthattheconditionheisdescribingiscalledlovebymortals, butthegodscallitsomethingwhich,becauseoftheboy'syouth,mayseemlaughable.Socratesthencitesapairofversesonlovefrom,hesays,Homer'sspurious works,oneverseofwhichisexcessiveandnotentirelymetrical:
Mortalscallhimwingedlove, Butimmortalsthewinged,becausehemustgrowwings.

EBSCO Publishing : eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) - printed on 5/28/2013 6:38 AM via BODLEIAN LIBRARIES AN: 7812 ; White, David A..; Rhetoric and Reality in Plato's Phaedrus Account: s8580219

Page144

Hisaudiencemaybelieveordisbelievetheseverses,buttheconditionofloversandthecauseofloveareasSocrateshassaid(252bc). Theuseofpoetryatthiscrucialjuncturerecallsthethirdtypeofmadness,poeticinspiration.IfthelinesSocratescitesarenotbyHomer,theymaybePlato's, attributedtoaHomericsourceforthesakeofartisticauthority.3Butinasensethequestionofauthorshipisnotcrucialwhatiscrucialisthatthemadnessofpoetry conveyswhatitdoesaboutlove.Furthermore,Socrateshasjustsaidthatthesoulbeholdingtheonehavingbeauty(252b1)ishealedofitsgreatestills( ). Thefactthatbothtypesofpainaredesignatedinthesuperlativesuggeststhatthevisionofbeautywillhealthesoulofthebeholderfromtheuniquemetaphysicalpain involvedinlongingforthejoysofthatformertime,justastherightpurificationwillhealsomeonesufferingfromafamilialguiltincurredlongago. Thisparticularinstanceofthethirdtypeofmadnessis,despiteitsrelevance,metricallyflawed,asRowepointsout(p.185).Butjustasthemadnessofpoetryis incompleteinproducingflawedverse,sothemadnessoflovewillbeincompleteifitdoesnottransportsoultothepointofseeing,andarticulating,theoutermost reachesofrealitydescribedduringthehighestpitchofinspirationintheSocraticpalinode.Thelinesnonethelessillustratehowpoetrycandepictthemetaphysicaltruth aboutlove.Lovemustgrowwings,justasthewordforlove( ),i.e.,byaddingwingsfortheascenttothetruth.Socrates'extendedandgraphicdescriptionof thecauseandconditionofloverandbelovedconcludeswiththepoeticinsightthatthisstatemustbeelevatedintothehighestmetaphysicalreachesbeforeEroscanbe seenasittrulyis. Whatthendoesthisembodiedformofloveflytowardoncesoul'swingsaregrown?SincethegodsrecognizetheneedforErostobecomewinged,itmustbetoward whatthegodssawwhenontherimoftheheavens.Butwhatthegodssawwasthetruth.Andthetruthencom

Copyright 1993. State University of New York Press. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except fair uses permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

EBSCO Publishing : eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) - printed on 5/28/2013 6:38 AM via BODLEIAN LIBRARIES AN: 7812 ; White, David A..; Rhetoric and Reality in Plato's Phaedrus Account: s8580219

Page145

passedtherealitiesheldtogetherbythegood.GodsareclosertothefullrangeofrealityErosisnaturallyattractedtomortalsarefurtherawayfromthatreality,thus furtherawayfromthewordmorecorrectlydescribingtheroutetothatreality.
Copyright 1993. State University of New York Press. All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except fair uses permitted under U.S. or applicable copyright law.

TheultimatecauseofEroswillbewhatattractshumanbeingstowardalevelofrealitytranscendingcarnalinterestsandprovidingthesoulsofbothloverandbeloved withthehighestavailabledegreeofhappiness.Thistypeofloveisnoteroticinthewaythatloveofonebeautifulhumancanbe.Butifloveisunderstoodasaformof possessioninvolvingallourfaculties,bothperceptualandintellectual,thenthiscomprehensiveexperientialmediumaptlynamestheentryintowhat,forPlato, constitutestruereality.Inthissensethen,loveisaconstant.Individualsoulsvaryintheirabilitiestoascendtowardtherealitiesaccessibletotheirlevelofsoul,butthe processcontouringthisascentremainsidentical,regardlesswhoislovingorwhatFormisbeingloved. Howcanlove,conceivedofinthissense,exercisesuchadistinctivemetaphysicalfunction?PlatousesthegoodinanumberofcrucialplacesinthePhaedrusto remindhisaudiencethatthegoodremainsintegraltothemetaphysicalvisiondescribedinthatdialogue.Fromthisperspective,theteachingaboutthenatureofErosin thePhaedrusspecifiesaprocesswhich,whenfullyandsuccessfullypracticed,functionsaccordingtothesameuniversalparametersasthenotionoftoagathon. Thus,ifsoulweretolovealltheForms,thensoulwouldbegoodinthemostcompletesense,i.e.,soulwouldseehowanyoneFormisrelatedtoeveryotherForm. Soulwouldbeheldtogetherwithalltherealitiesthroughsoul'slovefortheserealities,justassoulwasatonewithalltherealitiesaccessibletosoulwhenviewingthem inthecompanyofagod.Lovebecomesakindofprocessequivalentofthegooditrepresentsanattempttotranslatetherarifiedandesotericdoctrineofthegoodin thePhaedoandtheRepublicintoarealmofexperiencewhichcanbemorereadilyunderstood,applied(throughthemethodofcollectionanddivision)and,perhaps, evenperfected.

EBSCO Publishing : eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) - printed on 5/28/2013 6:38 AM via BODLEIAN LIBRARIES AN: 7812 ; White, David A..; Rhetoric and Reality in Plato's Phaedrus Account: s8580219