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This etext as prepared by -ue =sscher >asschers?aia%net%au@

P,=E'*:by Plato

Translated by +enja$in 1o ett

09T*8':CT089% The Phaedrus is closely connected ith the -y$posiu$, and $ay be regarded either as introducing or follo ing it% The t o 'ialogues together contain the hole philosophy of Plato on the nature of lo!e, hich in the *epublic and in the later ritings of Plato is only introduced playfully or as a figure of speech% +ut in the Phaedrus and -y$posiu$ lo!e and philosophy join hands, and one is an aspect of the other% The spiritual and e$otional part is ele!ated into the ideal, to hich in the -y$posiu$ $an"ind are described as loo"ing for ard, and hich in the Phaedrus, as ell as in the Phaedo, they are see"ing to reco!er fro$ a for$er state of existence% &hether the subject of the 'ialogue is lo!e or rhetoric, or the union of the t o, or the relation of philosophy to lo!e and to art in general, and to the hu$an soul, ill be hereafter considered% =nd perhaps e $ay arri!e at so$e conclusion such as the follo ingEEthat the dialogue is not strictly confined to a single subject, but passes fro$ one to another ith the natural freedo$ of con!ersation% Phaedrus has been spending the $orning ith <ysias, the celebrated rhetorician, and is going to refresh hi$self by ta"ing a al" outside the all, hen he is $et by -ocrates, ho professes that he ill not lea!e hi$ until he has deli!ered up the speech ith hich <ysias has regaled hi$, and hich he is carrying about in his $ind, or $ore probably in a boo" hidden under his cloa", and is intending to study as he al"s% The i$putation is not denied, and the t o agree to direct their steps out of the public ay along the strea$ of the 0lissus to ards a planeEtree hich is seen in the distance% There, lying do n a$idst pleasant sounds and scents, they ill read the speech of <ysias% The country is a no!elty to -ocrates, ho ne!er goes out of the to nQ and hence he is full of ad$iration for the beauties of nature, hich he see$s to be drin"ing in for the first ti$e% =s they are on their ay, Phaedrus as"s the opinion of -ocrates respecting the local tradition of +oreas and 8reithyia% -ocrates, after a satirical allusion to the Prationali7ersP of his day, replies that he has no ti$e for these PniceP interpretations of $ythology, and he pities anyone ho has% &hen you once begin there is no end of the$, and they spring fro$ an uncritical philosophy after all% PThe proper study of $an"ind is $anQP and he is a far $ore co$plex and onderful being than the serpent Typho%

-ocrates as yet does not "no hi$selfQ and hy should he care to "no about unearthly $onstersN Engaged in such con!ersation, they arri!e at the planeEtreeQ hen they ha!e found a con!enient restingEplace, Phaedrus pulls out the speech and readsAEE The speech consists of a foolish paradox hich is to the effect that the nonElo!er ought to be accepted rather than the lo!erEEbecause he is $ore rational, $ore agreeable, $ore enduring, less suspicious, less hurtful, less boastful, less engrossing, and because there are $ore of the$, and for a great $any other reasons hich are eIually un$eaning% Phaedrus is capti!ated ith the beauty of the periods, and ants to $a"e -ocrates say that nothing as or e!er could be ritten better% -ocrates does not thin" $uch of the $atter, but then he has only attended to the for$, and in that he has detected se!eral repetitions and other $ar"s of haste% ,e cannot agree ith Phaedrus in the extre$e !alue hich he sets upon this perfor$ance, because he is afraid of doing injustice to =nacreon and -appho and other great riters, and is al$ost inclined to thin" that he hi$self, or rather so$e po er residing ithin hi$, could $a"e a speech better than that of <ysias on the sa$e the$e, and also different fro$ his, if he $ay be allo ed the use of a fe co$$onplaces hich all spea"ers $ust eIually e$ploy% Phaedrus is delighted at the prospect of ha!ing another speech, and pro$ises that he ill set up a golden statue of -ocrates at 'elphi, if he "eeps his ord% -o$e raillery ensues, and at length -ocrates, conIuered by the threat that he shall ne!er again hear a speech of <ysias unless he fulfils his pro$ise, !eils his face and begins% (irst, in!o"ing the ;uses and assu$ing ironically the person of the nonE lo!er B ho is a lo!er all the sa$eC, he ill enIuire into the nature and po er of lo!e% (or this is a necessary preli$inary to the other IuestionEE ,o is the nonElo!er to be distinguished fro$ the lo!erN 0n all of us there are t o principlesEEa better and a orseEEreason and desire, hich are generally at ar ith one anotherQ and the !ictory of the rational is called te$perance, and the !ictory of the irrational inte$perance or excess% The latter ta"es $any for$s and has $any bad na$esEEgluttony, drun"enness, and the li"e% +ut of all the irrational desires or excesses the greatest is that hich is led a ay by desires of a "indred nature to the enjoy$ent of personal beauty% =nd this is the $aster po er of lo!e%

,ere -ocrates fancies that he detects in hi$self an unusual flo of eloIuenceEEthis ne lyEfound gift he can only attribute to the inspiration of the place, hich appears to be dedicated to the ny$phs% -tarting again fro$ the philosophical basis hich has been laid do n, he proceeds to sho ho $any ad!antages the nonElo!er has o!er the lo!er% The one encourages softness and effe$inacy and exclusi!enessQ he cannot endure any superiority in his belo!edQ he ill train hi$ in luxury, he ill "eep hi$ out of society, he ill depri!e hi$ of parents, friends, $oney, "no ledge, and of e!ery other good, that he $ay ha!e hi$ all to hi$self% Then again his ays are not ays of pleasantnessQ he is $ighty disagreeableQ Pcrabbed age and youth cannot li!e together%P =t e!ery hour of the night and day he is intruding upon hi$Q there is the sa$e old ithered face and the re$ainder to $atchEEand he is al ays repeating, in season or out of season, the praises or dispraises of his belo!ed, hich are bad enough hen he is sober, and published all o!er the orld hen he is drun"% =t length his lo!e ceasesQ he is con!erted into an ene$y, and the spectacle $ay be seen of the lo!er running a ay fro$ the belo!ed, ho pursues hi$ ith !ain reproaches, and de$ands his re ard hich the other refuses to pay% Too late the belo!ed learns, after all his pains and disagreeables, that P=s ol!es lo!e la$bs so lo!ers lo!e their lo!es%P BCo$pare Char%C ,ere is the endQ the PotherP or PnonElo!erP part of the speech had better be understood, for if in the censure of the lo!er -ocrates has bro"en out in !erse, hat ill he not do in his praise of the nonElo!erN ,e has said his say and is preparing to go a ay% Phaedrus begs hi$ to re$ain, at any rate until the heat of noon has passedQ he ould li"e to ha!e a little $ore con!ersation before they go% -ocrates, ho has risen, recogni7es the oracular sign hich forbids hi$ to depart until he has done penance% ,is conscious has been a a"ened, and li"e -tesichorus hen he had re!iled the lo!ely ,elen he ill sing a palinode for ha!ing blasphe$ed the $ajesty of lo!e% ,is palinode ta"es the for$ of a $yth% -ocrates begins his tale ith a glorification of $adness, hich he di!ides into four "indsA first, there is the art of di!ination or prophecyEEthis, in a !ein si$ilar to that per!ading the Cratylus and 0o, he connects ith $adness by an ety$ological explanation B$anti"e, $ani"eEEco$pare oionoisti"e, oionisti"e, PPtis all one rec"oning, sa!e the phrase is a little !ariationsPCQ secondly, there is the art of purification by

$ysteriesQ thirdly, poetry or the inspiration of the ;uses Bco$pare 0onC, ithout hich no $an can enter their te$ple% =ll this sho s that $adness is one of hea!enPs blessings, and $ay so$eti$es be a great deal better than sense% There is also a fourth "ind of $adnessEEthat of lo!eEE hich cannot be explained ithout enIuiring into the nature of the soul% =ll soul is i$$ortal, for she is the source of all $otion both in herself and in others% ,er for$ $ay be described in a figure as a co$posite nature $ade up of a charioteer and a pair of inged steeds% The steeds of the gods are i$$ortal, but ours are one $ortal and the other i$$ortal% The i$$ortal soul soars up ards into the hea!ens, but the $ortal drops her plu$es and settles upon the earth% 9o the use of the ing is to rise and carry the do n ard ele$ent into the upper orldEEthere to behold beauty, isdo$, goodness, and the other things of God by hich the soul is nourished% 8n a certain day Weus the lord of hea!en goes forth in a inged chariotQ and an array of gods and de$iEgods and of hu$an souls in their train, follo s hi$% There are glorious and blessed sights in the interior of hea!en, and he ho ill $ay freely behold the$% The great !ision of all is seen at the feast of the gods, hen they ascend the heights of the e$pyreanEEall but ,estia, ho is left at ho$e to "eep house% The chariots of the gods glide readily up ards and stand upon the outsideQ the re!olution of the spheres carries the$ round, and they ha!e a !ision of the orld beyond% +ut the others labour in !ainQ for the $ortal steed, if he has not been properly trained, "eeps the$ do n and sin"s the$ to ards the earth% 8f the orld hich is beyond the hea!ens, ho can tellN There is an essence for$less, colourless, intangible, percei!ed by the $ind only, d elling in the region of true "no ledge% The di!ine $ind in her re!olution enjoys this fair prospect, and beholds justice, te$perance, and "no ledge in their e!erlasting essence% &hen fulfilled ith the sight of the$ she returns ho$e, and the charioteer puts up the horses in their stable, and gi!es the$ a$brosia to eat and nectar to drin"% This is the life of the godsQ the hu$an soul tries to reach the sa$e heights, but hardly succeedsQ and so$eti$es the head of the charioteer rises abo!e, and so$eti$es sin"s belo , the fair !ision, and he is at last obliged, after $uch contention, to turn a ay and lea!e the plain of truth% +ut if the soul has follo ed in the train of her god and once beheld truth she is preser!ed fro$ har$, and is carried round in the next re!olution of the spheresQ and if al ays follo ing, and al ays seeing the truth, is then for e!er unhar$ed% 0f, ho e!er, she drops her ings and falls to the

earth, then she ta"es the for$ of $an, and the soul hich has seen $ost of the truth passes into a philosopher or lo!erQ that hich has seen truth in the second degree, into a "ing or arriorQ the third, into a householder or $oneyE$a"erQ the fourth, into a gy$nastQ the fifth, into a prophet or $ysticQ the sixth, into a poet or i$itatorQ the se!enth, into a husband$an or crafts$anQ the eighth, into a sophist or de$agogueQ the ninth, into a tyrant% =ll these are states of probation, herein he ho li!es righteously is i$pro!ed, and he ho li!es unrighteously deteriorates% =fter death co$es the judg$entQ the bad depart to houses of correction under the earth, the good to places of joy in hea!en% &hen a thousand years ha!e elapsed the souls $eet together and choose the li!es hich they ill lead for another period of existence% The soul hich three ti$es in succession has chosen the life of a philosopher or of a lo!er ho is not ithout philosophy recei!es her ings at the close of the third $illenniu$Q the re$ainder ha!e to co$plete a cycle of ten thousand years before their ings are restored to the$% Each ti$e there is full liberty of choice% The soul of a $an $ay descend into a beast, and return again into the for$ of $an% +ut the for$ of $an ill only be ta"en by the soul hich has once seen truth and acIuired so$e conception of the uni!ersalAEEthis is the recollection of the "no ledge hich she attained hen in the co$pany of the Gods% =nd $en in general recall only ith difficulty the things of another orld, but the $ind of the philosopher has a better re$e$brance of the$% (or hen he beholds the !isible beauty of earth his enraptured soul passes in thought to those glorious sights of justice and isdo$ and te$perance and truth hich she once ga7ed upon in hea!en% Then she celebrated holy $ysteries and beheld blessed apparitions shining in pure light, herself pure, and not as yet ento$bed in the body% =nd still, li"e a bird eager to Iuit its cage, she flutters and loo"s up ards, and is therefore dee$ed $ad% -uch a recollection of past days she recei!es through sight, the "eenest of our senses, because beauty, alone of the ideas, has any representation on earthA isdo$ is in!isible to $ortal eyes% +ut the corrupted nature, blindly excited by this !ision of beauty, rushes on to enjoy, and ould fain allo li"e a brute beast in sensual pleasures% &hereas the true $ystic, ho has seen the $any sights of bliss, hen he beholds a godEli"e for$ or face is a$a7ed ith delight, and if he ere not afraid of being thought $ad he ould fall do n and orship% Then the stiffened ing begins to relax and gro againQ desire hich has been i$prisoned pours o!er the soul of the lo!erQ the ger$ of the ing unfolds, and stings, and pangs of

birth, li"e the cutting of teeth, are e!ery here felt% BCo$pare -y$p%C (ather and $other, and goods and la s and proprieties are nothing to hi$Q his belo!ed is his physician, ho can alone cure his pain% =n apocryphal sacred riter says that the po er hich thus or"s in hi$ is by $ortals called lo!e, but the i$$ortals call hi$ do!e, or the inged one, in order to represent the force of his ingsEEsuch at any rate is his nature% 9o the characters of lo!ers depend upon the god ho$ they follo ed in the other orldQ and they choose their lo!es in this orld accordingly% The follo ers of =res are fierce and !iolentQ those of Weus see" out so$e philosophical and i$perial natureQ the attendants of ,ere find a royal lo!eQ and in li"e $anner the follo ers of e!ery god see" a lo!e ho is li"e their godQ and to hi$ they co$$unicate the nature hich they ha!e recei!ed fro$ their god% The $anner in hich they ta"e their lo!e is as follo sAEE 0 told you about the charioteer and his t o steeds, the one a noble ani$al ho is guided by ord and ad$onition only, the other an illEloo"ing !illain ho ill hardly yield to blo or spur% Together all three, ho are a figure of the soul, approach the !ision of lo!e% =nd no a fierce conflict begins% The illEconditioned steed rushes on to enjoy, but the charioteer, ho beholds the belo!ed ith a e, falls bac" in adoration, and forces both the steeds on their haunchesQ again the e!il steed rushes for ards and pulls sha$elessly% The conflict gro s $ore and $ore se!ereQ and at last the charioteer, thro ing hi$self bac" ards, forces the bit out of the clenched teeth of the brute, and pulling harder than e!er at the reins, co!ers his tongue and ja s ith blood, and forces hi$ to rest his legs and haunches ith pain upon the ground% &hen this has happened se!eral ti$es, the !illain is ta$ed and hu$bled, and fro$ that ti$e for ard the soul of the lo!er follo s the belo!ed in $odesty and holy fear% =nd no their bliss is consu$$atedQ the sa$e i$age of lo!e d ells in the breast of either, and if they ha!e selfEcontrol, they pass their li!es in the greatest happiness hich is attainable by $anEEthey continue $asters of the$sel!es, and conIuer in one of the three hea!enly !ictories% +ut if they choose the lo er life of a$bition they $ay still ha!e a happy destiny, though inferior, because they ha!e not the appro!al of the hole soul% =t last they lea!e the body and proceed on their pilgri$Ps progress, and those ho ha!e once begun can ne!er go bac"% &hen the ti$e co$es they recei!e their ings and fly a ay, and the lo!ers ha!e the sa$e ings% -ocrates concludesAEE

These are the blessings of lo!e, and thus ha!e 0 $ade $y recantation in finer language than beforeA 0 did so in order to please Phaedrus% 0f 0 said hat as rong at first, please to attribute $y error to <ysias, ho ought to study philosophy instead of rhetoric, and then he ill not $islead his disciple Phaedrus% Phaedrus is afraid that he ill lose conceit of <ysias, and that <ysias ill be out of conceit ith hi$self, and lea!e off $a"ing speeches, for the politicians ha!e been deriding hi$% -ocrates is of opinion that there is s$all danger of thisQ the politicians are the$sel!es the great rhetoricians of the age, ho desire to attain i$$ortality by the authorship of la s% =nd therefore there is nothing ith hich they can reproach <ysias in being a riterQ but there $ay be disgrace in being a bad one% =nd hat is good or bad riting or spea"ingN &hile the sun is hot in the s"y abo!e us, let us as" that IuestionA since by rational con!ersation $an li!es, and not by the indulgence of bodily pleasures% =nd the grasshoppers ho are chirruping around $ay carry our ords to the ;uses, ho are their patronessesQ for the grasshoppers ere hu$an beings the$sel!es in a orld before the ;uses, and hen the ;uses ca$e they died of hunger for the lo!e of song% =nd they carry to the$ in hea!en the report of those ho honour the$ on earth% The first rule of good spea"ing is to "no and spea" the truthQ as a -partan pro!erb says, Ptrue art is truthPQ hereas rhetoric is an art of enchant$ent, hich $a"es things appear good and e!il, li"e and unli"e, as the spea"er pleases% 0ts use is not confined, as people co$$only suppose, to argu$ents in the la courts and speeches in the asse$blyQ it is rather a part of the art of disputation, under hich are included both the rules of Gorgias and the eristic of Weno% +ut it is not holly de!oid of truth% -uperior "no ledge enables us to decei!e another by the help of rese$blances, and to escape fro$ such a deception hen e$ployed against oursel!es% &e see therefore that e!en in rhetoric an ele$ent of truth is reIuired% (or if e do not "no the truth, e can neither $a"e the gradual departures fro$ truth by hich $en are $ost easily decei!ed, nor guard oursel!es against deception% -ocrates then proposes that they shall use the t o speeches as illustrations of the art of rhetoricQ first distinguishing bet een the

debatable and undisputed class of subjects% 0n the debatable class there ought to be a definition of all disputed $atters% +ut there as no such definition in the speech of <ysiasQ nor is there any order or connection in his ords any $ore than in a nursery rhy$e% &ith this he co$pares the regular di!isions of the other speech, hich as his o n Band yet not his o n, for the local deities $ust ha!e inspired hi$C% =lthough only a playful co$position, it ill be found to e$body t o principlesA first, that of synthesis or the co$prehension of parts in a holeQ secondly, analysis, or the resolution of the hole into parts% These are the processes of di!ision and generali7ation hich are so dear to the dialectician, that "ing of $en% They are effected by dialectic, and not by rhetoric, of hich the re$ains are but scanty after order and arrange$ent ha!e been subtracted% There is nothing left but a heap of PologiesP and other technical ter$s in!ented by Polus, Theodorus, E!enus, Tisias, Gorgias, and others, ho ha!e rules for e!erything, and ho teach ho to be short or long at pleasure% Prodicus sho ed his good sense hen he said that there as a better thing than either to be short or long, hich as to be of con!enient length% -till, not ithstanding the absurdities of Polus and others, rhetoric has great po er in public asse$blies% This po er, ho e!er, is not gi!en by any technical rules, but is the gift of genius% The real art is al ays being confused by rhetoricians ith the preli$inaries of the art% The perfection of oratory is li"e the perfection of anything elseQ natural po er $ust be aided by art% +ut the art is not that hich is taught in the schools of rhetoricQ it is nearer a"in to philosophy% Pericles, for instance, ho as the $ost acco$plished of all spea"ers, deri!ed his eloIuence not fro$ rhetoric but fro$ the philosophy of nature hich he learnt of =naxagoras% True rhetoric is li"e $edicine, and the rhetorician has to consider the natures of $enPs souls as the physician considers the natures of their bodies% -uch and such persons are to be affected in this ay, such and such others in thatQ and he $ust "no the ti$es and the seasons for saying this or that% This is not an easy tas", and this, if there be such an art, is the art of rhetoric% 0 "no that there are so$e professors of the art ho $aintain probability to be stronger than truth% +ut e $aintain that probability is engendered by li"eness of the truth hich can only be attained by the "no ledge of it, and that the ai$ of the good $an should not be to please or persuade his fello Eser!ants, but to please his good $asters ho are the gods% *hetoric

has a fair beginning in this% Enough of the art of spea"ingQ let us no proceed to consider the true use of riting% There is an old Egyptian tale of Theuth, the in!entor of riting, sho ing his in!ention to the god Tha$us, ho told hi$ that he ould only spoil $enPs $e$ories and ta"e a ay their understandings% (ro$ this tale, of hich young =thens ill probably $a"e fun, $ay be gathered the lesson that riting is inferior to speech% (or it is li"e a picture, hich can gi!e no ans er to a Iuestion, and has only a deceitful li"eness of a li!ing creature% 0t has no po er of adaptation, but uses the sa$e ords for all% 0t is not a legiti$ate son of "no ledge, but a bastard, and hen an attac" is $ade upon this bastard neither parent nor anyone else is there to defend it% The husband$an ill not seriously incline to so his seed in such a hotEbed or garden of =donisQ he ill rather so in the natural soil of the hu$an soul hich has depth of earthQ and he ill anticipate the inner gro th of the $ind, by riting only, if at all, as a re$edy against old age% The natural process ill be far nobler, and ill bring forth fruit in the $inds of others as ell as in his o n% The conclusion of the hole $atter is just this,EEthat until a $an "no s the truth, and the $anner of adapting the truth to the natures of other $en, he cannot be a good oratorQ also, that the li!ing is better than the ritten ord, and that the principles of justice and truth hen deli!ered by ord of $outh are the legiti$ate offspring of a $anPs o n boso$, and their la ful descendants ta"e up their abode in others% -uch an orator as he is ho is possessed of the$, you and 0 ould fain beco$e% =nd to all co$posers in the orld, poets, orators, legislators, e hereby announce that if their co$positions are based upon these principles, then they are not only poets, orators, legislators, but philosophers% =ll others are $ere flatterers and putters together of ords% This is the $essage hich Phaedrus underta"es to carry to <ysias fro$ the local deities, and -ocrates hi$self ill carry a si$ilar $essage to his fa!ourite 0socrates, hose future distinction as a great rhetorician he prophesies% The heat of the day has passed, and after offering up a prayer to Pan and the ny$phs, -ocrates and Phaedrus depart% There are t o principal contro!ersies hich ha!e been raised about the PhaedrusQ the first relates to the subject, the second to the date of the 'ialogue%

There see$s to be a notion that the or" of a great artist li"e Plato cannot fail in unity, and that the unity of a dialogue reIuires a single subject% +ut the conception of unity really applies in !ery different degrees and ays to different "inds of artQ to a statue, for exa$ple, far $ore than to any "ind of literary co$position, and to so$e species of literature far $ore than to others% 9or does the dialogue appear to be a style of co$position in hich the reIuire$ent of unity is $ost stringentQ nor should the idea of unity deri!ed fro$ one sort of art be hastily transferred to another% The double titles of se!eral of the Platonic 'ialogues are a further proof that the se!erer rule as not obser!ed by Plato% The *epublic is di!ided bet een the search after justice and the construction of the ideal stateQ the Par$enides bet een the criticis$ of the Platonic ideas and of the Eleatic one or beingQ the Gorgias bet een the art of spea"ing and the nature of the goodQ the -ophist bet een the detection of the -ophist and the correlation of ideas% The Theaetetus, the Politicus, and the Philebus ha!e also digressions hich are but re$otely connected ith the $ain subject% Thus the co$parison of PlatoPs other ritings, as ell as the reason of the thing, lead us to the conclusion that e $ust not expect to find one idea per!ading a hole or", but one, t o, or $ore, as the in!ention of the riter $ay suggest, or his fancy ander% 0f each dialogue ere confined to the de!elop$ent of a single idea, this ould appear on the face of the dialogue, nor could any contro!ersy be raised as to hether the Phaedrus treated of lo!e or rhetoric% +ut the truth is that Plato subjects hi$self to no rule of this sort% <i"e e!ery great artist he gi!es unity of for$ to the different and apparently distracting topics hich he brings together% ,e or"s freely and is not to be supposed to ha!e arranged e!ery part of the dialogue before he begins to rite% ,e fastens or ea!es together the fra$e of his discourse loosely and i$perfectly, and hich is the arp and hich is the oof cannot al ays be deter$ined% The subjects of the Phaedrus Bexclusi!e of the short introductory passage about $ythology hich is suggested by the local traditionC are first the false or con!entional art of rhetoricQ secondly, lo!e or the inspiration of beauty and "no ledge, hich is described as $adnessQ thirdly, dialectic or the art of co$position and di!isionQ fourthly, the true rhetoric, hich is based upon dialectic, and is neither the art of persuasion nor "no ledge of the truth alone, but the art of persuasion founded on "no ledge of truth and "no ledge of characterQ fifthly, the superiority of the spo"en o!er the

ritten ord% The continuous thread hich appears and reappears throughout is rhetoricQ this is the ground into hich the rest of the 'ialogue is or"ed, in parts e$broidered ith fine ords hich are not in -ocratesP $anner, as he says, Pin order to please Phaedrus%P The speech of <ysias hich has thro n Phaedrus into an ecstacy is adduced as an exa$ple of the false rhetoricQ the first speech of -ocrates, though an i$pro!e$ent, parta"es of the sa$e characterQ his second speech, hich is full of that higher ele$ent said to ha!e been learned of =naxagoras by Pericles, and hich in the $idst of poetry does not forget order, is an illustration of the higher or true rhetoric% This higher rhetoric is based upon dialectic, and dialectic is a sort of inspiration a"in to lo!e Bco$pare -y$p%CQ in these t o aspects of philosophy the technicalities of rhetoric are absorbed% =nd so the exa$ple beco$es also the deeper the$e of discourse% The true "no ledge of things in hea!en and earth is based upon enthusias$ or lo!e of the ideas going before us and e!er present to us in this orld and in anotherQ and the true order of speech or riting proceeds accordingly% <o!e, again, has three degreesA first, of interested lo!e corresponding to the con!entionalities of rhetoricQ secondly, of disinterested or $ad lo!e, fixed on objects of sense, and ans ering, perhaps, to poetryQ thirdly, of disinterested lo!e directed to ards the unseen, ans ering to dialectic or the science of the ideas% <astly, the art of rhetoric in the lo er sense is found to rest on a "no ledge of the natures and characters of $en, hich -ocrates at the co$$ence$ent of the 'ialogue has described as his o n peculiar study% Thus a$id discord a har$ony begins to appearQ there are $any lin"s of connection hich are not !isible at first sight% =t the sa$e ti$e the Phaedrus, although one of the $ost beautiful of the Platonic 'ialogues, is also $ore irregular than any other% (or insight into the orld, for sustained irony, for depth of thought, there is no 'ialogue superior, or perhaps eIual to it% 9e!ertheless the for$ of the or" has tended to obscure so$e of PlatoPs higher ai$s% The first speech is co$posed Pin that balanced style in hich the ise lo!e to tal"P B-y$p%C% The characteristics of rhetoric are insipidity, $anneris$, and $onotonous parallelis$ of clauses% There is $ore rhyth$ than reasonQ the creati!e po er of i$agination is anting% PPTis Greece, but li!ing Greece no $ore%P

Plato has sei7ed by anticipation the spirit hich hung o!er Gree" literature for a thousand years after ards% Oet doubtless there ere so$e ho, li"e Phaedrus, felt a delight in the har$onious cadence and the pedantic reasoning of the rhetoricians ne ly i$ported fro$ -icily, hich had ceased to be a a"ened in the$ by really great or"s, such as the odes of =nacreon or -appho or the orations of Pericles% That the first speech as really ritten by <ysias is i$probable% <i"e the poe$ of -olon, or the story of Tha$us and Theuth, or the funeral oration of =spasia Bif genuineC, or the pretence of -ocrates in the Cratylus that his "no ledge of philology is deri!ed fro$ Euthyphro, the in!ention is really due to the i$agination of Plato, and $ay be co$pared to the parodies of the -ophists in the Protagoras% 9u$erous fictions of this sort occur in the 'ialogues, and the gra!ity of Plato has so$eti$es i$posed upon his co$$entators% The introduction of a considerable riting of another ould see$ not to be in "eeping ith a great or" of art, and has no parallel else here% 0n the second speech -ocrates is exhibited as beating the rhetoricians at their o n eaponsQ he Pan unpractised $an and they $asters of the art%P True to his character, he $ust, ho e!er, profess that the speech hich he $a"es is not his o n, for he "no s nothing of hi$self% BCo$pare -y$p%C *egarded as a rhetorical exercise, the superiority of his speech see$s to consist chiefly in a better arrange$ent of the topicsQ he begins ith a definition of lo!e, and he gi!es eight to his ords by going bac" to general $axi$sQ a lesser $erit is the greater li!eliness of -ocrates, hich hurries hi$ into !erse and relie!es the $onotony of the style% +ut Plato had doubtless a higher purpose than to exhibit -ocrates as the ri!al or superior of the =thenian rhetoricians% E!en in the speech of <ysias there is a ger$ of truth, and this is further de!eloped in the parallel oration of -ocrates% (irst, passionate lo!e is o!erthro n by the sophistical or interested, and then both yield to that higher !ie of lo!e hich is after ards re!ealed to us% The extre$e of co$$onplace is contrasted ith the $ost ideal and i$aginati!e of speculations% -ocrates, half in jest and to satisfy his o n ild hu$our, ta"es the disguise of <ysias, but he is also in profound earnest and in a deeper !ein of irony than usual% ,a!ing i$pro!ised his o n speech, hich is based upon the $odel of the preceding, he conde$ns the$ both% Oet the conde$nation is not to be ta"en seriously, for he is e!idently trying to express an aspect of

the truth% To understand hi$, e $ust $a"e abstraction of $orality and of the Gree" $anner of regarding the relation of the sexes% 0n this, as in his other discussions about lo!e, hat Plato says of the lo!es of $en $ust be transferred to the lo!es of o$en before e can attach any serious $eaning to his ords% ,ad he li!ed in our ti$es he ould ha!e $ade the transposition hi$self% +ut seeing in his o n age the i$possibility of o$an being the intellectual help$ate or friend of $an Bexcept in the rare instances of a 'ioti$a or an =spasiaC, seeing that, e!en as to personal beauty, her place as ta"en by young $an"ind instead of o$an"ind, he tries to or" out the proble$ of lo!e ithout regard to the distinctions of nature% =nd full of the e!ils hich he recogni7ed as flo ing fro$ the spurious for$ of lo!e, he proceeds ith a deep $eaning, though partly in jo"e, to sho that the PnonElo!erPsP lo!e is better than the Plo!erPs%P &e $ay raise the sa$e Iuestion in another for$A 0s $arriage preferable ith or ithout lo!eN P=$ong oursel!es,P as e $ay say, a little parodying the ords of Pausanias in the -y$posiu$, Pthere ould be one ans er to this IuestionA the practice and feeling of so$e foreign countries appears to be $ore doubtful%P -uppose a $odern -ocrates, in defiance of the recei!ed notions of society and the senti$ental literature of the day, alone against all the riters and readers of no!els, to suggest this enIuiry, ould not the younger Ppart of the orld be ready to ta"e off its coat and run at hi$ $ight and $ainNP B*epublic%C Oet, if li"e Peisthetaerus in =ristophanes, he could persuade the PbirdsP to hear hi$, retiring a little behind a ra$part, not of pots and dishes, but of unreadable boo"s, he $ight ha!e so$ething to say for hi$self% ;ight he not argue, Pthat a rational being should not follo the dictates of passion in the $ost i$portant act of his or her lifePN &ho ould illingly enter into a contract at first sight, al$ost ithout thought, against the ad!ice and opinion of his friends, at a ti$e hen he ac"no ledges that he is not in his right $indN =nd yet they are praised by the authors of ro$ances, ho reject the arnings of their friends or parents, rather than those ho listen to the$ in such $atters% T o inexperienced persons, ignorant of the orld and of one another, ho can they be said to chooseNEEthey dra lots, hence also the saying, P$arriage is a lottery%P Then he ould describe their ay of life after $arriageQ ho they $onopoli7e one anotherPs affections to the exclusion of friends and relationsA ho they pass their days in un$eaning fondness or tri!ial con!ersationQ ho the inferior of the t o drags the other do n to his or her le!elQ ho the cares of a fa$ily Pbreed $eanness in their

souls%P 0n the fulfil$ent of $ilitary or public duties, they are not helpers but hinderers of one anotherA they cannot underta"e any noble enterprise, such as $a"es the na$es of $en and o$en fa$ous, fro$ do$estic considerations% Too late their eyes are openedQ they ere ta"en una ares and desire to part co$pany% +etter, he ould say, a Plittle lo!e at the beginning,P for hea!en $ight ha!e increased itQ but no their foolish fondness has changed into $utual disli"e% 0n the days of their honey$oon they ne!er understood that they $ust pro!ide against offences, that they $ust ha!e interests, that they $ust learn the art of li!ing as ell as lo!ing% 8ur $isoga$ist ill not appeal to =nacreon or -appho for a confir$ation of his !ie , but to the uni!ersal experience of $an"ind% ,o $uch nobler, in conclusion, he ill say, is friendship, hich does not recei!e un$eaning praises fro$ no!elists and poets, is not exacting or exclusi!e, is not i$paired by fa$iliarity, is $uch less expensi!e, is not so li"ely to ta"e offence, seldo$ changes, and $ay be dissol!ed fro$ ti$e to ti$e ithout the assistance of the courts% +esides, he ill re$ar" that there is a $uch greater choice of friends than of i!esEEyou $ay ha!e $ore of the$ and they ill be far $ore i$pro!ing to your $ind% They ill not "eep you da dling at ho$e, or dancing attendance upon the$Q or ithdra you fro$ the great orld and stirring scenes of life and action hich ould $a"e a $an of you% 0n such a $anner, turning the sea$y side out ards, a $odern -ocrates $ight describe the e!ils of $arried and do$estic life% They are e!ils hich $an"ind in general ha!e agreed to conceal, partly because they are co$pensated by greater goods% -ocrates or =rchilochus ould soon ha!e to sing a palinode for the injustice done to lo!ely ,elen, or so$e $isfortune orse than blindness $ight be fall the$% Then they ould ta"e up their parable again and sayAEEthat there ere t o lo!es, a higher and a lo er, holy and unholy, a lo!e of the $ind and a lo!e of the body% P<et $e not to the $arriage of true $inds =d$it i$pedi$ents% <o!e is not lo!e &hich alters hen it alteration finds% %%% <o!ePs not ti$ePs fool, though rosy lips and chee"s

&ithin his bending sic"lePs co$pass co$eQ <o!e alters not ith his brief hours and ee"s, +ut bears it out e!en to the edge of doo$%P +ut this true lo!e of the $ind cannot exist bet een t o souls, until they are purified fro$ the grossness of earthly passionA they $ust pass through a ti$e of trial and conflict firstQ in the language of religion they $ust be con!erted or born again% Then they ould see the orld transfor$ed into a scene of hea!enly beautyQ a di!ine idea ould acco$pany the$ in all their thoughts and actions% -o$ething too of the recollections of childhood $ight float about the$ stillQ they $ight regain that old si$plicity hich had been theirs in other days at their first entrance on life% =nd although their lo!e of one another as e!er present to the$, they ould ac"no ledge also a higher lo!e of duty and of God, hich united the$% =nd their happiness ould depend upon their preser!ing in the$ this principleEE not losing the ideals of justice and holiness and truth, but rene ing the$ at the fountain of light% &hen they ha!e attained to this exalted state, let the$ $arry Bso$ething too $ay be conceded to the ani$al nature of $anCA or li!e together in holy and innocent friendship% The poet $ight describe in eloIuent ords the nature of such a unionQ ho after $any struggles the true lo!e as foundA ho the t o passed their li!es together in the ser!ice of God and $anQ ho their characters ere reflected upon one another, and see$ed to gro $ore li"e year by yearQ ho they read in one anotherPs eyes the thoughts, ishes, actions of the otherQ ho they sa each other in GodQ ho in a figure they gre ings li"e do!es, and ere Pready to fly a ay together and be at rest%P =nd lastly, he $ight tell ho , after a ti$e at no long inter!als, first one and then the other fell asleep, and Pappeared to the un iseP to die, but ere reunited in another state of being, in hich they sa justice and holiness and truth, not according to the i$perfect copies of the$ hich are found in this orld, but justice absolute in existence absolute, and so of the rest% =nd they ould hold con!erse not only ith each other, but ith blessed souls e!ery hereQ and ould be e$ployed in the ser!ice of God, e!ery soul fulfilling his o n nature and character, and ould see into the onders of earth and hea!en, and trace the or"s of creation to their author% -o, partly in jest but also P ith a certain degree of seriousness,P e $ay appropriate to oursel!es the ords of Plato% The use of such a parody,

though !ery i$perfect, is to transfer his thoughts to our sphere of religion and feeling, to bring hi$ nearer to us and us to hi$% <i"e the -criptures, Plato ad$its of endless applications, if e allo for the difference of ti$es and $annersQ and e lose the better half of hi$ hen e regard his 'ialogues $erely as literary co$positions% =ny ancient or" hich is orth reading has a practical and speculati!e as ell as a literary interest% =nd in Plato, $ore than in any other Gree" riter, the local and transitory is inextricably blended ith hat is spiritual and eternal% -ocrates is necessarily ironicalQ for he has to ithdra fro$ the recei!ed opinions and beliefs of $an"ind% &e cannot separate the transitory fro$ the per$anentQ nor can e translate the language of irony into that of plain reflection and co$$on sense% +ut e can i$agine the $ind of -ocrates in another age and countryQ and e can interpret hi$ by analogy ith reference to the errors and prejudices hich pre!ail a$ong oursel!es% To return to the PhaedrusAEE +oth speeches are strongly conde$ned by -ocrates as sinful and blasphe$ous to ards the god <o!e, and as orthy only of so$e haunt of sailors to hich good $anners ere un"no n% The $eaning of this and other ild language to the sa$e effect, hich is introduced by ay of contrast to the for$ality of the t o speeches B-ocrates has a sense of relief hen he has escaped fro$ the tra$$els of rhetoricC, see$s to be that the t o speeches proceed upon the supposition that lo!e is and ought to be interested, and that no such thing as a real or disinterested passion, hich ould be at the sa$e ti$e lasting, could be concei!ed% P+ut did 0 call this Jlo!eJN 8 God, forgi!e $y blasphe$y% This is not lo!e% *ather it is the lo!e of the orld% +ut there is another "ingdo$ of lo!e, a "ingdo$ not of this orld, di!ine, eternal% =nd this other lo!e 0 ill no sho you in a $ystery%P Then follo s the fa$ous $yth, hich is a sort of parable, and li"e other parables ought not to recei!e too $inute an interpretation% 0n all such allegories there is a great deal hich is $erely orna$ental, and the interpreter has to separate the i$portant fro$ the uni$portant% -ocrates hi$self has gi!en the right clue hen, in using his o n discourse after ards as the text for his exa$ination of rhetoric, he characteri7es it as a Ppartly true and tolerably credible $ythus,P in hich a$id poetical figures, order and arrange$ent ere not forgotten%

The soul is described in $agnificent language as the selfE$o!ed and the source of $otion in all other things% This is the philosophical the$e or proe$ of the hole% +ut ideas $ust be gi!en through so$ething, and under the pretext that to reali7e the true nature of the soul ould be not only tedious but i$possible, e at once pass on to describe the souls of gods as ell as $en under the figure of t o inged steeds and a charioteer% 9o connection is traced bet een the soul as the great $oti!e po er and the triple soul hich is thus i$aged% There is no difficulty in seeing that the charioteer represents the reason, or that the blac" horse is the sy$bol of the sensual or concupiscent ele$ent of hu$an nature% The hite horse also represents rational i$pulse, but the description, Pa lo!er of honour and $odesty and te$perance, and a follo er of true glory,P though si$ilar, does not at once recall the PspiritP Bthu$osC of the *epublic% The t o steeds really correspond in a figure $ore nearly to the appetiti!e and $oral or se$iErational soul of =ristotle% =nd thus, for the first ti$e perhaps in the history of philosophy, e ha!e represented to us the threefold di!ision of psychology% The i$age of the charioteer and the steeds has been co$pared ith a si$ilar i$age hich occurs in the !erses of Par$enidesQ but it is i$portant to re$ar" that the horses of Par$enides ha!e no allegorical $eaning, and that the poet is only describing his o n approach in a chariot to the regions of light and the house of the goddess of truth% The triple soul has had a pre!ious existence, in hich follo ing in the train of so$e god, fro$ ho$ she deri!ed her character, she beheld partially and i$perfectly the !ision of absolute truth% =ll her after existence, passed in $any for$s of $en and ani$als, is spent in regaining this% The stages of the conflict are $any and !ariousQ and she is sorely let and hindered by the ani$al desires of the inferior or concupiscent steed% =gain and again she beholds the flashing beauty of the belo!ed% +ut before that !ision can be finally enjoyed the ani$al desires $ust be subjected% The $oral or spiritual ele$ent in $an is represented by the i$$ortal steed hich, li"e thu$os in the *epublic, al ays sides ith the reason% +oth are dragged out of their course by the furious i$pulses of desire% 0n the end so$ething is conceded to the desires, after they ha!e been finally hu$bled and o!erpo ered% =nd yet the ay of philosophy, or perfect lo!e of the unseen, is total abstinence fro$ bodily delights% P+ut all $en cannot recei!e this sayingPA in the lo er life of a$bition they $ay be ta"en off

their guard and stoop to folly una ares, and then, although they do not attain to the highest bliss, yet if they ha!e once conIuered they $ay be happy enough% The language of the ;eno and the Phaedo as ell as of the Phaedrus see$s to sho that at one ti$e of his life Plato as Iuite serious in $aintaining a for$er state of existence% ,is $ission as to reali7e the abstractQ in that, all good and truth, all the hopes of this and another life see$ed to centre% To hi$ abstractions, as e call the$, ere another "ind of "no ledgeEEan inner and unseen orld, hich see$ed to exist far $ore truly than the fleeting objects of sense hich ere ithout hi$% &hen e are once able to i$agine the intense po er hich abstract ideas exercised o!er the $ind of Plato, e see that there as no $ore difficulty to hi$ in reali7ing the eternal existence of the$ and of the hu$an $inds hich ere associated ith the$, in the past and future than in the present% The difficulty as not ho they could exist, but ho they could fail to exist% 0n the atte$pt to regain this Psa!ingP "no ledge of the ideas, the sense as found to be as great an ene$y as the desiresQ and hence t o things hich to us see$ Iuite distinct are inextricably blended in the representation of Plato% Thus far e $ay belie!e that Plato as serious in his conception of the soul as a $oti!e po er, in his re$iniscence of a for$er state of being, in his ele!ation of the reason o!er sense and passion, and perhaps in his doctrine of trans$igration% &as he eIually serious in the restN (or exa$ple, are e to attribute his tripartite di!ision of the soul to the godsN 8r is this $erely assigned to the$ by ay of parallelis$ ith $enN The latter is the $ore probableQ for the horses of the gods are both hite, i%e% their e!ery i$pulse is in har$ony ith reasonQ their dualis$, on the other hand, only carries out the figure of the chariot% 0s he serious, again, in regarding lo!e as Pa $adnessPN That see$s to arise out of the antithesis to the for$er conception of lo!e% =t the sa$e ti$e he appears to inti$ate here, as in the 0on, =pology, ;eno, and else here, that there is a faculty in $an, hether to be ter$ed in $odern language genius, or inspiration, or i$agination, or idealis$, or co$$union ith God, hich cannot be reduced to rule and $easure% Perhaps, too, he is ironically repeating the co$$on language of $an"ind about philosophy, and is turning their jest into a sort of earnest% BCo$pare Phaedo, -y$p%C 8r is he serious in holding that each soul bears the character of a godN ,e $ay

ha!e had no other account to gi!e of the differences of hu$an characters to hich he after ards refers% 8r, again, in his absurd deri!ation of $anti"e and oionisti"e and i$eros Bco$pare CratylusCN 0t is characteristic of the irony of -ocrates to $ix up sense and nonsense in such a ay that no exact line can be dra n bet een the$% =nd allegory helps to increase this sort of confusion% =s is often the case in the parables and prophecies of -cripture, the $eaning is allo ed to brea" through the figure, and the details are not al ays consistent% &hen the charioteers and their steeds stand upon the do$e of hea!en they behold the intangible in!isible essences hich are not objects of sight% This is because the force of language can no further go% 9or can e d ell $uch on the circu$stance, that at the co$pletion of ten thousand years all are to return to the place fro$ hence they ca$eQ because he represents their return as dependent on their o n good conduct in the successi!e stages of existence% 9or again can e attribute anything to the accidental inference hich ould also follo , that e!en a tyrant $ay li!e righteously in the condition of life to hich fate has called hi$ BPhe aiblins $ight, 0 dinna "enPC% +ut to suppose this ould be at !ariance ith Plato hi$self and ith Gree" notions generally% ,e is $uch $ore serious in distinguishing $en fro$ ani$als by their recognition of the uni!ersal hich they ha!e "no n in a for$er state, and in denying that this gift of reason can e!er be obliterated or lost% 0n the language of so$e $odern theologians he $ight be said to $aintain the Pfinal perse!eranceP of those ho ha!e entered on their pilgri$Ps progress% 8ther inti$ations of a P$etaphysicP or PtheologyP of the future $ay also be discerned in hi$A B1C The $oderate predestinarianis$ hich here, as in the *epublic, ac"no ledges the ele$ent of chance in hu$an life, and yet asserts the freedo$ and responsibility of $anQ B2C The recognition of a $oral as ell as an intellectual principle in $an under the i$age of an i$$ortal steedQ B4C The notion that the di!ine nature exists by the conte$plation of ideas of !irtue and justiceEEor, in other ords, the assertion of the essentially $oral nature of GodQ BVC =gain, there is the hint that hu$an life is a life of aspiration only, and that the true ideal is not to be found in artQ BGC There occurs the first trace of the distinction bet een necessary and contingent $atterQ B3C The conception of the soul itself as the $oti!e po er and reason of the uni!erse% The conception of the philosopher, or the philosopher and lo!er in one, as

a sort of $ad$an, $ay be co$pared ith the *epublic and Theaetetus, in both of hich the philosopher is regarded as a stranger and $onster upon the earth% The hole $yth, li"e the other $yths of Plato, describes in a figure things hich are beyond the range of hu$an faculties, or inaccessible to the "no ledge of the age% That philosophy should be represented as the inspiration of lo!e is a conception that has already beco$e fa$iliar to us in the -y$posiu$, and is the expression partly of PlatoPs enthusias$ for the idea, and is also an indication of the real po er exercised by the passion of friendship o!er the $ind of the Gree"% The $aster in the art of lo!e "ne that there as a $ystery in these feelings and their associations, and especially in the contrast of the sensible and per$anent hich is afforded by the$Q and he sought to explain this, as he explained uni!ersal ideas, by a reference to a for$er state of existence% The capriciousness of lo!e is also deri!ed by hi$ fro$ an attach$ent to so$e god in a for$er orld% The singular re$ar" that the belo!ed is $ore affected than the lo!er at the final consu$$ation of their lo!e, see$s li"e ise to hint at a psychological truth% 0t is difficult to exhaust the $eanings of a or" li"e the Phaedrus, hich indicates so $uch $ore than it expressesQ and is full of inconsistencies and a$biguities hich ere not percei!ed by Plato hi$self% (or exa$ple, hen he is spea"ing of the soul does he $ean the hu$an or the di!ine soulN and are they both eIually selfE$o!ing and constructed on the sa$e threefold principleN &e should certainly be disposed to reply that the selfE$oti!e is to be attributed to God onlyQ and on the other hand that the appetiti!e and passionate ele$ents ha!e no place in ,is nature% -o e should infer fro$ the reason of the thing, but there is no indication in PlatoPs o n ritings that this as his $eaning% 8r, again, hen he explains the different characters of $en by referring the$ bac" to the nature of the God ho$ they ser!ed in a for$er state of existence, e are inclined to as" hether he is seriousA 0s he not rather using a $ythological figure, here as else here, to dra a !eil o!er things hich are beyond the li$its of $ortal "no ledgeN 8nce $ore, in spea"ing of beauty is he really thin"ing of so$e external for$ such as $ight ha!e been expressed in the or"s of Phidias or PraxitelesQ and not rather of an i$aginary beauty, of a sort hich extinguishes rather than sti$ulates !ulgar lo!e,EEa hea!enly beauty li"e that hich flashed fro$ ti$e to ti$e before the eyes of 'ante or +unyanN -urely the latter% +ut it ould be idle to reconcile all the details of the passageA it is a picture, not a syste$, and a picture hich

is for the greater part an allegory, and an allegory hich allo s the $eaning to co$e through% The i$age of the charioteer and his steeds is placed side by side ith the absolute for$s of justice, te$perance, and the li"e, hich are abstract ideas only, and hich are seen ith the eye of the soul in her hea!enly journey% The first i$pression of such a passage, in hich no atte$pt is $ade to separate the substance fro$ the for$, is far truer than an elaborate philosophical analysis% 0t is too often forgotten that the hole of the second discourse of -ocrates is only an allegory, or figure of speech% (or this reason, it is unnecessary to enIuire hether the lo!e of hich Plato spea"s is the lo!e of $en or of o$en% 0t is really a general idea hich includes both, and in hich the sensual ele$ent, though not holly eradicated, is reduced to order and $easure% &e $ust not attribute a $eaning to e!ery fanciful detail% 9or is there any need to call up re!olting associations, hich as a $atter of good taste should be banished, and hich ere far enough a ay fro$ the $ind of Plato% These and si$ilar passages should be interpreted by the <a s% 9or is there anything in the -y$posiu$, or in the Char$ides, in reality inconsistent ith the sterner rule hich Plato lays do n in the <a s% =t the sa$e ti$e it is not to be denied that lo!e and philosophy are described by -ocrates in figures of speech hich ould not be used in Christian ti$esQ or that na$eless !ices ere pre!alent at =thens and in other Gree" citiesQ or that friendships bet een $en ere a $ore sacred tie, and had a $ore i$portant social and educational influence than a$ong oursel!es% B-ee note on -y$posiu$%C 0n the Phaedrus, as ell as in the -y$posiu$, there are t o "inds of lo!e, a lo er and a higher, the one ans ering to the natural ants of the ani$al, the other rising abo!e the$ and conte$plating ith religious a e the for$s of justice, te$perance, holiness, yet finding the$ also Ptoo da77ling bright for $ortal eye,P and shrin"ing fro$ the$ in a$a7e$ent% The opposition bet een these t o "inds of lo!e $ay be co$pared to the opposition bet een the flesh and the spirit in the Epistles of -t% Paul% 0t ould be un$eaning to suppose that Plato, in describing the spiritual co$bat, in hich the rational soul is finally !ictor and $aster of both the steeds, condescends to allo any indulgence of unnatural lusts% T o other thoughts about lo!e are suggested by this passage% (irst of all, lo!e is represented here, as in the -y$posiu$, as one of the great po ers of nature, hich ta"es $any for$s and t o principal ones, ha!ing a

predo$inant influence o!er the li!es of $en% =nd these t o, though opposed, are not absolutely separated the one fro$ the other% Plato, ith his great "no ledge of hu$an nature, as ell a are ho easily one is transfor$ed into the other, or ho soon the noble but fleeting aspiration $ay return into the nature of the ani$al, hile the lo er instinct hich is latent al ays re$ains% The inter$ediate senti$entalis$, hich has exercised so great an influence on the literature of $odern Europe, had no place in the classical ti$es of ,ellasQ the higher lo!e, of hich Plato spea"s, is the subject, not of poetry or fiction, but of philosophy% -econdly, there see$s to be indicated a natural yearning of the hu$an $ind that the great ideas of justice, te$perance, isdo$, should be expressed in so$e for$ of !isible beauty, li"e the absolute purity and goodness hich Christian art has sought to reali7e in the person of the ;adonna% +ut although hu$an nature has often atte$pted to represent out ardly hat can be only Pspiritually discerned,P $en feel that in pictures and i$ages, hether painted or car!ed, or described in ords only, e ha!e not the substance but the shado of the truth hich is in hea!en% There is no reason to suppose that in the fairest or"s of Gree" art, Plato e!er concei!ed hi$self to behold an i$age, ho e!er faint, of ideal truths% P9ot in that ay as isdo$ seen%P &e $ay no pass on to the second part of the 'ialogue, hich is a criticis$ on the first% *hetoric is assailed on !arious groundsA first, as desiring to persuade, ithout a "no ledge of the truthQ and secondly, as ignoring the distinction bet een certain and probable $atter% The three speeches are then passed in re!ie A the first of the$ has no definition of the nature of lo!e, and no order in the topics Bbeing in these respects far inferior to the secondCQ hile the third of the$ is found Bthough a fancy of the hourC to be fra$ed upon real dialectical principles% +ut dialectic is not rhetoricQ nothing on that subject is to be found in the endless treatises of rhetoric, ho e!er prolific in hard na$es% &hen Plato has sufficiently put the$ to the test of ridicule he touches, as ith the point of a needle, the real error, hich is the confusion of preli$inary "no ledge ith creati!e po er% 9o attain$ents ill pro!ide the spea"er ith geniusQ and the sort of attain$ents hich can alone be of any !alue are the higher philosophy and the po er of psychological analysis, hich is gi!en by dialectic, but not by the rules of the rhetoricians% 0n this latter portion of the 'ialogue there are $any texts hich $ay help

us to spea" and to thin"% The na$es dialectic and rhetoric are passing out of useQ e hardly exa$ine seriously into their nature and li$its, and probably the arts both of spea"ing and of con!ersation ha!e been unduly neglected by us% +ut the $ind of -ocrates pierces through the differences of ti$es and countries into the essential nature of $anQ and his ords apply eIually to the $odern orld and to the =thenians of old% &ould he not ha!e as"ed of us, or rather is he not as"ing of us, &hether e ha!e ceased to prefer appearances to realityN <et us ta"e a sur!ey of the professions to hich he refers and try the$ by his standard% 0s not all literature passing into criticis$, just as =thenian literature in the age of Plato as degenerating into sophistry and rhetoricN &e can discourse and rite about poe$s and paintings, but e see$ to ha!e lost the gift of creating the$% Can e onder that fe of the$ Pco$e s eetly fro$ nature,P hile ten thousand re!ie ers B$ala $urioiC are engaged in dissecting the$N Ooung $en, li"e Phaedrus, are ena$oured of their o n literary cliIue and ha!e but a feeble sy$pathy ith the $asterE$inds of for$er ages% They recogni7e Pa P8ET0C=< necessity in the ritings of their fa!ourite author, e!en hen he boldly rote off just hat ca$e in his head%P They are beginning to thin" that =rt is enough, just at the ti$e hen =rt is about to disappear fro$ the orld% =nd ould not a great painter, such as ;ichael =ngelo, or a great poet, such as -ha"espeare, returning to earth, Pcourteously rebu"eP usEE ould he not say that e are putting Pin the place of =rt the preli$inaries of =rt,P confusing =rt the expression of $ind and truth ith =rt the co$position of colours and for$sQ and perhaps he $ight $ore se!erely chastise so$e of us for trying to in!ent Pa ne shudderP instead of bringing to the birth li!ing and healthy creationsN These he ould regard as the signs of an age anting in original po er% Turning fro$ literature and the arts to la and politics, again e fall under the lash of -ocrates% (or do e not often $a"e Pthe orse appear the better causeQP and do not Pboth parties so$eti$es agree to tell liesPN 0s not pleading Pan art of spea"ing unconnected ith the truthPN There is another text of -ocrates hich $ust not be forgotten in relation to this subject% 0n the endless $a7e of English la is there any Pdi!iding the hole into parts or reuniting the parts into a holePEEany se$blance of an organi7ed being Pha!ing hands and feet and other $e$bersPN 0nstead of a syste$ there is the Chaos of =naxagoras Bo$ou panta chre$ataC and no ;ind or 8rder% Then again in the noble art of politics, ho thin"s of first principles and of true ideasN &e a!o edly follo not the truth but the

ill of the $any Bco$pare *epublicC% 0s not legislation too a sort of literary effort, and $ight not states$anship be described as the Part of enchantingP the houseN &hile there are so$e politicians ho ha!e no "no ledge of the truth, but only of hat is li"ely to be appro!ed by Pthe $any ho sit in judg$ent,P there are others ho can gi!e no for$ to their ideal, neither ha!ing learned Pthe art of persuasion,P nor ha!ing any insight into the Pcharacters of $en%P 8nce $ore, has not $edical science beco$e a professional routine, hich $any Ppractise ithout being able to say ho ere their instructorsPEEthe application of a fe drugs ta"en fro$ a boo" instead of a lifeElong study of the natures and constitutions of hu$an beingsN 'o e see as clearly as ,ippocrates Pthat the nature of the body can only be understood as a holePN BCo$pare Char$%C =nd are not they held to be the isest physicians ho ha!e the greatest distrust of their artN &hat ould -ocrates thin" of our ne spapers, of our theologyN Perhaps he ould be afraid to spea" of the$QEEthe one !ox populi, the other !ox 'ei, he $ight hesitate to attac" the$Q or he $ight trace a fanciful connexion bet een the$, and as" doubtfully, hether they are not eIually inspiredN ,e ould re$ar" that e are al ays searching for a belief and deploring our unbelief, see$ing to prefer popular opinions un!erified and contradictory to unpopular truths hich are assured to us by the $ost certain proofsA that our preachers are in the habit of praising God P ithout regard to truth and falsehood, attributing to ,i$ e!ery species of greatness and glory, saying that ,e is all this and the cause of all that, in order that e $ay exhibit ,i$ as the fairest and best of allP B-y$p%C ithout any consideration of ,is real nature and character or of the la s by hich ,e go!erns the orldEEsee"ing for a Ppri!ate judg$entP and not for the truth or PGodPs judg$ent%P &hat ould he say of the Church, hich e praise in li"e $anner, P$eaning oursel!es,P ithout regard to history or experienceN ;ight he not as", hether e Pcare $ore for the truth of religion, or for the spea"er and the country fro$ hich the truth co$esPN or, hether the Pselect iseP are not Pthe $anyP after allN B-y$p%C -o e $ay fill up the s"etch of -ocrates, lest, as Phaedrus says, the argu$ent should be too Pabstract and barren of illustrations%P BCo$pare -y$p%, =pol%, Euthyphro%C ,e next proceeds ith enthusias$ to define the royal art of dialectic as the po er of di!iding a hole into parts, and of uniting the parts in a hole, and hich $ay also be regarded Bco$pare -oph%C as the process of the $ind tal"ing ith herself% The latter !ie has probably led Plato to the

paradox that speech is superior to riting, in hich he $ay see$ also to be doing an injustice to hi$self% (or the t o cannot be fairly co$pared in the $anner hich Plato suggests% The contrast of the li!ing and dead ord, and the exa$ple of -ocrates, hich he has represented in the for$ of the 'ialogue, see$ to ha!e $isled hi$% (or speech and riting ha!e really different functionsQ the one is $ore transitory, $ore diffuse, $ore elastic and capable of adaptation to $oods and ti$esQ the other is $ore per$anent, $ore concentrated, and is uttered not to this or that person or audience, but to all the orld% 0n the Politicus the paradox is carried furtherQ the $ind or ill of the "ing is preferred to the ritten la Q he is supposed to be the <a personified, the ideal $ade <ife% Oet in both these state$ents there is also contained a truthQ they $ay be co$pared ith one another, and also ith the other fa$ous paradox, that P"no ledge cannot be taught%P -ocrates $eans to say, that hat is truly ritten is ritten in the soul, just as hat is truly taught gro s up in the soul fro$ ithin and is not forced upon it fro$ ithout% &hen planted in a congenial soil the little seed beco$es a tree, and Pthe birds of the air build their nests in the branches%P There is an echo of this in the prayer at the end of the 'ialogue, PGi!e $e beauty in the in ard soul, and $ay the in ard and out ard $an be at one%P &e $ay further co$pare the ords of -t% Paul, P&ritten not on tables of stone, but on fleshly tables of the heartQP and again, POe are $y epistles "no n and read of all $en%P There $ay be a use in riting as a preser!ati!e against the forgetfulness of old age, but to li!e is higher far, to be oursel!es the boo", or the epistle, the truth e$bodied in a person, the &ord $ade flesh% -o$ething li"e this e $ay belie!e to ha!e passed before PlatoPs $ind hen he affir$ed that speech as superior to riting% -o in other ages, eary of literature and criticis$, of $a"ing $any boo"s, of riting articles in re!ie s, so$e ha!e desired to li!e $ore closely in co$$union ith their fello E$en, to spea" heart to heart, to spea" and act only, and not to rite, follo ing the exa$ple of -ocrates and of Christ%%% -o$e other touches of ini$itable grace and art and of the deepest isdo$ $ay be also notedQ such as the prayer or PcollectP hich has just been cited, PGi!e $e beauty,P etc%Q or Pthe great na$e hich belongs to God aloneQP or Pthe saying of iser $en than oursel!es that a $an of sense should try to please not his fello Eser!ants, but his good and noble $asters,P li"e -t% Paul againQ or the description of the Phea!enly originalsP%%%

The chief criteria for deter$ining the date of the 'ialogue are B1C the ages of <ysias and 0socratesQ B2C the character of the or"% <ysias as born in the year VGLQ 0socrates in the year V43, about se!en years before the birth of Plato% The first of the t o great rhetoricians is described as in the 7enith of his fa$eQ the second is still young and full of pro$ise% 9o it is argued that this $ust ha!e been ritten in the youth of 0socrates, hen the pro$ise as not yet fulfilled% =nd thus e should ha!e to assign the 'ialogue to a year not later than V63, hen 0socrates as thirty and Plato t entyEthree years of age, and hile -ocrates hi$self as still ali!e% Those ho argue in this ay see$ not to reflect ho easily Plato can Pin!ent Egyptians or anything else,P and ho careless he is of historical truth or probability% &ho ould suspect that the ise Critias, the !irtuous Char$ides, had ended their li!es a$ong the thirty tyrantsN &ho ould i$agine that <ysias, ho is here assailed by -ocrates, is the son of his old friend CephalusN 8r that 0socrates hi$self is the ene$y of Plato and his schoolN 9o argu$ents can be dra n fro$ the appropriateness or inappropriateness of the characters of Plato% BElse, perhaps, it $ight be further argued that, judging fro$ their extant re$ains, insipid rhetoric is far $ore characteristic of 0socrates than of <ysias%C +ut Plato $a"es use of na$es hich ha!e often hardly any connection ith the historical characters to ho$ they belong% 0n this instance the co$parati!e fa!our sho n to 0socrates $ay possibly be accounted for by the circu$stance of his belonging to the aristocratical, as <ysias to the de$ocratical party% (e persons ill be inclined to suppose, in the superficial $anner of so$e ancient critics, that a dialogue hich treats of lo!e $ust necessarily ha!e been ritten in youth% =s little eight can be attached to the argu$ent that Plato $ust ha!e !isited Egypt before he rote the story of Theuth and Tha$us% (or there is no real proof that he e!er ent to EgyptQ and e!en if he did, he $ight ha!e "no n or in!ented Egyptian traditions before he ent there% The late date of the Phaedrus ill ha!e to be established by other argu$ents than theseA the $aturity of the thought, the perfection of the style, the insight, the relation to the other Platonic 'ialogues, see$ to contradict the notion that it could ha!e been the or" of a youth of t enty or t entyEthree years of age% The cos$ological notion of the $ind as the pri$u$ $obile, and the ad$ission of i$pulse into the i$$ortal nature, also

afford grounds for assigning a later date% BCo$pare Ti$%, -oph%, <a s%C =dd to this that the picture of -ocrates, though in so$e lesser particulars,EEe%g% his going ithout sandals, his habit of re$aining ithin the alls, his e$phatic declaration that his study is hu$an nature,EEan exact rese$blance, is in the $ain the Platonic and not the real -ocrates% Can e suppose Pthe young $an to ha!e told such liesP about his $aster hile he as still ali!eN ;oreo!er, hen t o 'ialogues are so closely connected as the Phaedrus and -y$posiu$, there is great i$probability in supposing that one of the$ as ritten at least t enty years after the other% The conclusion see$s to be, that the 'ialogue as ritten at so$e co$parati!ely late but un"no n period of PlatoPs life, after he had deserted the purely -ocratic point of !ie , but before he had entered on the $ore abstract speculations of the -ophist or the Philebus% Ta"ing into account the di!isions of the soul, the doctrine of trans$igration, the conte$plati!e nature of the philosophic life, and the character of the style, e shall not be far rong in placing the Phaedrus in the neighbourhood of the *epublicQ re$ar"ing only that allo ance $ust be $ade for the poetical ele$ent in the Phaedrus, hich, hile falling short of the *epublic in definite philosophic results, see$s to ha!e gli$pses of a truth beyond% T o short passages, hich are unconnected ith the $ain subject of the 'ialogue, $ay see$ to $erit a $ore particular noticeA B1C the locus classicus about $ythologyQ B2C the tale of the grasshoppers% The first passage is re$ar"able as sho ing that Plato as entirely free fro$ hat $ay be ter$ed the Euhe$eris$ of his age% (or there ere Euhe$erists in ,ellas long before Euhe$erus% Early philosophers, li"e =naxagoras and ;etrodorus, had found in ,o$er and $ythology hidden $eanings% Plato, ith a truer instinct, rejects these attracti!e interpretationsQ he regards the in!entor of the$ as PunfortunateQP and they dra a $an off fro$ the "no ledge of hi$self% There is a latent criticis$, and also a poetical sense in Plato, hich enable hi$ to discard the$, and yet in another ay to $a"e use of poetry and $ythology as a !ehicle of thought and feeling% &hat ould he ha!e said of the disco!ery of Christian doctrines in these old Gree" legendsN &hile ac"no ledging that such interpretations are P!ery nice,P ould he not ha!e re$ar"ed that they are found in all sacred literaturesN They cannot be tested by any criterion of truth, or used to establish any truthQ they add nothing to the su$ of hu$an

"no ledgeQ they areEE hat e please, and if e$ployed as Ppeace$a"ersP bet een the ne and old are liable to serious $isconstruction, as he else here re$ar"s B*epublicC% =nd therefore he ould ha!e Pbid (are ell to the$Q the study of the$ ould ta"e up too $uch of his ti$eQ and he has not as yet learned the true nature of religion%P The PsophisticalP interest of Phaedrus, the little touch about the t o !ersions of the story, the ironical $anner in hich these explanations are set asideEEPthe co$$on opinion about the$ is enough for $ePEEthe allusion to the serpent Typho $ay be noted in passingQ also the general agree$ent bet een the tone of this speech and the re$ar" of -ocrates hich follo s after ards, P0 a$ a di!iner, but a poor one%P The tale of the grasshoppers is naturally suggested by the surrounding scene% They are also the representati!es of the =thenians as children of the soil% :nder the i$age of the li!ely chirruping grasshoppers ho infor$ the ;uses in hea!en about those ho honour the$ on earth, Plato intends to represent an =thenian audience Btettigessin eoi"otesC% The story is introduced, apparently, to $ar" a change of subject, and also, li"e se!eral other allusions hich occur in the course of the 'ialogue, in order to preser!e the scene in the recollection of the reader% %%% 9o one can duly appreciate the dialogues of Plato, especially the Phaedrus, -y$posiu$, and portions of the *epublic, ho has not a sy$pathy ith $ysticis$% To the uninitiated, as he ould hi$self ha!e ac"no ledged, they ill appear to be the drea$s of a poet ho is disguised as a philosopher% There is a t ofold difficulty in apprehending this aspect of the Platonic ritings% (irst, e do not i$$ediately reali7e that under the $arble exterior of Gree" literature as concealed a soul thrilling ith spiritual e$otion% -econdly, the for$s or figures hich the Platonic philosophy assu$es, are not li"e the i$ages of the prophet 0saiah, or of the =pocalypse, fa$iliar to us in the days of our youth% +y $ysticis$ e $ean, not the extra!agance of an erring fancy, but the concentration of reason in feeling, the enthusiastic lo!e of the good, the true, the one, the sense of the infinity of "no ledge and of the $ar!el of the hu$an faculties% &hen feeding upon such thoughts the P ing of the soulP is rene ed and gains strengthQ she is raised abo!e Pthe $ani"ins of earthP and their opinions,

aiting in onder to "no , and or"ing ith re!erence to find out hat God in this or in another life $ay re!eal to her% 89 T,E 'EC<09E 8( G*EES <0TE*=T:*E% 8ne of the $ain purposes of Plato in the Phaedrus is to satiri7e *hetoric, or rather the Professors of *hetoric ho s ar$ed at =thens in the fourth century before Christ% =s in the opening of the 'ialogue he ridicules the interpreters of $ythologyQ as in the Protagoras he $oc"s at the -ophistsQ as in the Euthyde$us he $a"es fun of the ordEsplitting EristicsQ as in the Cratylus he ridicules the fancies of Ety$ologersQ as in the ;eno and Gorgias and so$e other dialogues he $a"es reflections and casts sly i$putation upon the higher classes at =thensQ so in the Phaedrus, chiefly in the latter part, he ai$s his shafts at the rhetoricians% The profession of rhetoric as the greatest and $ost popular in =thens, necessary Pto a $anPs sal!ation,P or at any rate to his attain$ent of ealth or po erQ but Plato finds nothing holeso$e or genuine in the purpose of it% 0t is a !eritable Psha$,P ha!ing no relation to fact, or to truth of any "ind% 0t is antipathetic to hi$ not only as a philosopher, but also as a great riter% ,e cannot abide the tric"s of the rhetoricians, or the pedantries and $anneris$s hich they introduce into speech and riting% ,e sees clearly ho far re$o!ed they are fro$ the ays of si$plicity and truth, and ho ignorant of the !ery ele$ents of the art hich they are professing to teach% The thing hich is $ost necessary of all, the "no ledge of hu$an nature, is hardly if at all considered by the$% The true rules of co$position, hich are !ery fe , are not to be found in their !olu$inous syste$s% Their pretentiousness, their o$niscience, their large fortunes, their i$patience of argu$ent, their indifference to first principles, their stupidity, their progresses through ,ellas acco$panied by a troop of their disciplesEEthese things ere !ery distasteful to Plato, ho estee$ed genius far abo!e art, and as Iuite sensible of the inter!al hich separated the$ BPhaedrusC% 0t is the inter!al hich separates -ophists and rhetoricians fro$ ancient fa$ous $en and o$en such as ,o$er and ,esiod, =nacreon and -appho, =eschylus and -ophoclesQ and the Platonic -ocrates is afraid that, if he appro!es the for$er, he ill be diso ned by the latter% The spirit of rhetoric as soon to o!erspread all ,ellasQ and Plato ith prophetic insight $ay ha!e seen, fro$ afar, the great literary aste or dead le!el, or inter$inable $arsh, in hich Gree" literature as soon to disappear% =

si$ilar !ision of the decline of the Gree" dra$a and of the contrast of the old literature and the ne as present to the $ind of =ristophanes after the death of the three great tragedians B(rogsC% =fter about a hundred, or at $ost t o hundred years if e exclude ,o$er, the genius of ,ellas had ceased to flo er or blosso$% The dreary aste hich follo s, beginning ith the =lexandrian riters and e!en before the$ in the platitudes of 0socrates and his school, spreads o!er $uch $ore than a thousand years% =nd fro$ this decline the Gree" language and literature, unli"e the <atin, hich has co$e to life in ne for$s and been de!eloped into the great European languages, ne!er reco!ered% This $onotony of literature, ithout $erit, ithout genius and ithout character, is a pheno$enon hich deser!es $ore attention than it has hitherto recei!edQ it is a pheno$enon uniIue in the literary history of the orld% ,o could there ha!e been so $uch culti!ation, so $uch diligence in riting, and so little $ind or real creati!e po erN &hy did a thousand years in!ent nothing better than -ibylline boo"s, 8rphic poe$s, +y7antine i$itations of classical histories, Christian reproductions of Gree" plays, no!els li"e the silly and obscene ro$ances of <ongus and ,eliodorus, innu$erable forged epistles, a great $any epigra$s, biographies of the $eanest and $ost $eagre description, a sha$ philosophy hich as the bastard progeny of the union bet een ,ellas and the EastN 8nly in Plutarch, in <ucian, in <onginus, in the *o$an e$perors ;arcus =urelius and 1ulian, in so$e of the Christian fathers are there any traces of good sense or originality, or any po er of arousing the interest of later ages% =nd hen ne boo"s ceased to be ritten, hy did hosts of gra$$arians and interpreters floc" in, ho ne!er attain to any sound notion either of gra$$ar or interpretationN &hy did the physical sciences ne!er arri!e at any true "no ledge or $a"e any real progressN &hy did poetry droop and languishN &hy did history degenerate into fableN &hy did ords lose their po er of expressionN &hy ere ages of external greatness and $agnificence attended by all the signs of decay in the hu$an $ind hich are possibleN To these Iuestions $any ans ers $ay be gi!en, hich if not the true causes, are at least to be rec"oned a$ong the sy$pto$s of the decline% There is the ant of $ethod in physical science, the ant of criticis$ in history, the ant of si$plicity or delicacy in poetry, the ant of political

freedo$, hich is the true at$osphere of public spea"ing, in oratory% The ays of life ere luxurious and co$$onplace% Philosophy had beco$e extra!agant, eclectic, abstract, de!oid of any real content% =t length it ceased to exist% 0t had spread ords li"e plaster o!er the hole field of "no ledge% 0t had gro n ascetic on one side, $ystical on the other% 9either of these tendencies as fa!ourable to literature% There as no sense of beauty either in language or in art% The Gree" orld beca$e !acant, barbaric, oriental% 9o one had anything ne to say, or any con!iction of truth% The age had no re$e$brance of the past, no po er of understanding hat other ages thought and felt% The Catholic faith had degenerated into dog$a and contro!ersy% (or $ore than a thousand years not a single riter of firstErate, or e!en of secondErate, reputation has a place in the innu$erable rolls of Gree" literature% 0f e see" to go deeper, e can still only describe the out ard nature of the clouds or dar"ness hich ere spread o!er the hea!ens during so $any ages ithout relief or light% &e $ay say that this, li"e se!eral other long periods in the history of the hu$an race, as destitute, or depri!ed of the $oral Iualities hich are the root of literary excellence% 0t had no life or aspiration, no national or political force, no desire for consistency, no lo!e of "no ledge for its o n sa"e% 0t did not atte$pt to pierce the $ists hich surrounded it% 0t did not propose to itself to go for ard and scale the heights of "no ledge, but to go bac" ards and see" at the beginning hat can only be found to ards the end% 0t as lost in doubt and ignorance% 0t rested upon tradition and authority% 0t had none of the higher play of fancy hich creates poetryQ and here there is no true poetry, neither can there be any good prose% 0t had no great characters, and therefore it had no great riters% 0t as incapable of distinguishing bet een ords and things% 0t as so hopelessly belo the ancient standard of classical Gree" art and literature that it had no po er of understanding or of !aluing the$% 0t is doubtful hether any Gree" author as justly appreciated in antiIuity except by his o n conte$porariesQ and this neglect of the great authors of the past led to the disappearance of the larger part of the$, hile the Gree" fathers ere $ostly preser!ed% There is no reason to suppose that, in the century before the ta"ing of Constantinople, $uch $ore as in existence than the scholars of the *enaissance carried a ay ith the$ to 0taly% The character of Gree" literature san" lo er as ti$e ent on% 0t consisted

$ore and $ore of co$pilations, of scholia, of extracts, of co$$entaries, forgeries, i$itations% The co$$entator or interpreter had no conception of his author as a hole, and !ery little of the context of any passage hich he as explaining% The least things ere preferred by hi$ to the greatest% The Iuestion of a reading, or a gra$$atical for$, or an accent, or the uses of a ord, too" the place of the ai$ or subject of the boo"% ,e had no sense of the beauties of an author, and !ery little light is thro n by hi$ on real difficulties% ,e interprets past ages by his o n% The greatest classical riters are the least appreciated by hi$% This see$s to be the reason hy so $any of the$ ha!e perished, hy the lyric poets ha!e al$ost holly disappearedQ hy, out of the eighty or ninety tragedies of =eschylus and -ophocles, only se!en of each had been preser!ed% -uch an age of sciolis$ and scholasticis$ $ay possibly once $ore get the better of the literary orld% There are those ho prophesy that the signs of such a day are again appearing a$ong us, and that at the end of the present century no riter of the first class ill be still ali!e% They thin" that the ;use of <iterature $ay transfer herself to other countries less dried up or orn out than our o n% They see$ to see the ithering effect of criticis$ on original genius% 9o one can doubt that such a decay or decline of literature and of art seriously affects the $anners and character of a nation% 0t ta"es a ay half the joys and refine$ents of lifeQ it increases its dulness and grossness% ,ence it beco$es a $atter of great interest to consider ho , if at all, such a degeneracy $ay be a!erted% 0s there any elixir hich can restore life and youth to the literature of a nation, or at any rate hich can pre!ent it beco$ing un$anned and enfeebledN (irst there is the progress of education% 0t is possible, and e!en probable, that the extension of the $eans of "no ledge o!er a ider area and to persons li!ing under ne conditions $ay lead to $any ne co$binations of thought and language% +ut, as yet, experience does not fa!our the reali7ation of such a hope or pro$ise% 0t $ay be truly ans ered that at present the training of teachers and the $ethods of education are !ery i$perfect, and therefore that e cannot judge of the future by the present% &hen $ore of our youth are trained in the best literatures, and in the best parts of the$, their $inds $ay be expected to ha!e a larger gro th% They ill ha!e $ore interests, $ore thoughts, $ore $aterial for con!ersationQ they ill ha!e a higher standard and begin to thin" for the$sel!es% The nu$ber of persons ho ill ha!e the opportunity of

recei!ing the highest education through the cheap press, and by the help of high schools and colleges, $ay increase tenfold% 0t is li"ely that in e!ery thousand persons there is at least one ho is far abo!e the a!erage in natural capacity, but the seed hich is in hi$ dies for ant of culti!ation% 0t has ne!er had any sti$ulus to gro , or any field in hich to blosso$ and produce fruit% ,ere is a great reser!oir or treasureEhouse of hu$an intelligence out of hich ne aters $ay flo and co!er the earth% 0f at any ti$e the great $en of the orld should die out, and originality or genius appear to suffer a partial eclipse, there is a boundless hope in the $ultitude of intelligences for future generations% They $ay bring gifts to $en such as the orld has ne!er recei!ed before% They $ay begin at a higher point and yet ta"e ith the$ all the results of the past% The coEoperation of $any $ay ha!e effects not less stri"ing, though different in character fro$ those hich the creati!e genius of a single $an, such as +acon or 9e ton, for$erly produced% There is also great hope to be deri!ed, not $erely fro$ the extension of education o!er a ider area, but fro$ the continuance of it during $any generations% Educated parents ill ha!e children fit to recei!e educationQ and these again ill gro up under circu$stances far $ore fa!ourable to the gro th of intelligence than any hich ha!e hitherto existed in our o n or in for$er ages% E!en if e ere to suppose no $ore $en of genius to be produced, the great riters of ancient or of $odern ti$es ill re$ain to furnish abundant $aterials of education to the co$ing generation% 9o that e!ery nation holds co$$unication ith e!ery other, e $ay truly say in a fuller sense than for$erly that Pthe thoughts of $en are idened ith the process of the suns%P They ill not be Pcribbed, cabined, and confinedP ithin a pro!ince or an island% The East ill pro!ide ele$ents of culture to the &est as ell as the &est to the East% The religions and literatures of the orld ill be open boo"s, hich he ho ills $ay read% The hu$an race $ay not be al ays ground do n by bodily toil, but $ay ha!e greater leisure for the i$pro!e$ent of the $ind% The increasing sense of the greatness and infinity of nature ill tend to a a"en in $en larger and $ore liberal thoughts% The lo!e of $an"ind $ay be the source of a greater de!elop$ent of literature than nationality has e!er been% There $ay be a greater freedo$ fro$ prejudice and partyQ e $ay better understand the hereabouts of truth, and therefore there $ay be $ore success and fe er failures in the

search for it% <astly, in the co$ing ages e shall carry ith us the recollection of the past, in hich are necessarily contained $any seeds of re!i!al and renaissance in the future% -o far is the orld fro$ beco$ing exhausted, so groundless is the fear that literature ill e!er die out% P,=E'*:by Plato Translated by +enja$in 1o ett PE*-89- 8( T,E '0=<8G:EA -ocrates, Phaedrus% -CE9EA :nder a planeEtree, by the ban"s of the 0lissus% -8C*=TE-A ;y dear Phaedrus, hence co$e you, and hither are you goingN P,=E'*:-A 0 co$e fro$ <ysias the son of Cephalus, and 0 a$ going to ta"e a al" outside the all, for 0 ha!e been sitting ith hi$ the hole $orningQ and our co$$on friend =cu$enus tells $e that it is $uch $ore refreshing to al" in the open air than to be shut up in a cloister% -8C*=TE-A There he is right% <ysias then, 0 suppose, as in the to nN P,=E'*:-A Oes, he as staying ith Epicrates, here at the house of ;orychusQ that house hich is near the te$ple of 8ly$pian Weus% -8C*=TE-A =nd ho did he entertain youN Can 0 be rong in supposing that <ysias ga!e you a feast of discourseN P,=E'*:-A Oou shall hear, if you can spare ti$e to acco$pany $e%

-8C*=TE-A =nd should 0 not dee$ the con!ersation of you and <ysias Pa thing of higher i$port,P as 0 $ay say in the ords of Pindar, Pthan any businessPN P,=E'*:-A &ill you go onN -8C*=TE-A =nd ill you go on ith the narrationN P,=E'*:-A ;y tale, -ocrates, is one of your sort, for lo!e as the the$e hich occupied usEElo!e after a fashionA <ysias has been riting about a fair youth ho as being te$pted, but not by a lo!erQ and this as the pointA he ingeniously pro!ed that the nonElo!er should be accepted rather than the lo!er% -8C*=TE-A 8 that is noble of hi$# 0 ish that he ould say the poor $an rather than the rich, and the old $an rather than the young oneQEEthen he ould $eet the case of $e and of $any a $anQ his ords ould be Iuite refreshing, and he ould be a public benefactor% (or $y part, 0 do so long to hear his speech, that if you al" all the ay to ;egara, and hen you ha!e reached the all co$e bac", as ,erodicus reco$$ends, ithout going in, 0 ill "eep you co$pany% P,=E'*:-A &hat do you $ean, $y good -ocratesN ,o can you i$agine that $y unpractised $e$ory can do justice to an elaborate or", hich the greatest rhetorician of the age spent a long ti$e in co$posing% 0ndeed, 0 cannotQ 0 ould gi!e a great deal if 0 could% -8C*=TE-A 0 belie!e that 0 "no Phaedrus about as ell as 0 "no $yself, and 0 a$ !ery sure that the speech of <ysias as repeated to hi$, not once only, but again and againQEEhe insisted on hearing it $any ti$es o!er and <ysias as !ery illing to gratify hi$Q at last, hen nothing else ould do, he got hold of the boo", and loo"ed at hat he $ost anted to see,EE this occupied hi$ during the hole $orningQEEand then hen he as tired ith sitting, he ent out to ta"e a al", not until, by the dog, as 0 belie!e, he had si$ply learned by heart the entire discourse, unless it as unusually long, and he ent to a place outside the all that he $ight

practise his lesson% There he sa a certain lo!er of discourse ho had a si$ilar ea"nessQEEhe sa and rejoicedQ no thought he, P0 shall ha!e a partner in $y re!els%P =nd he in!ited hi$ to co$e and al" ith hi$% +ut hen the lo!er of discourse begged that he ould repeat the tale, he ga!e hi$self airs and said, P9o 0 cannot,P as if he ere indisposedQ although, if the hearer had refused, he ould sooner or later ha!e been co$pelled by hi$ to listen hether he ould or no% Therefore, Phaedrus, bid hi$ do at once hat he ill soon do hether bidden or not% P,=E'*:-A 0 see that you ill not let $e off until 0 spea" in so$e fashion or otherQ !erily therefore $y best plan is to spea" as 0 best can% -8C*=TE-A = !ery true re$ar", that of yours% P,=E'*:-A 0 ill do as 0 sayQ but belie!e $e, -ocrates, 0 did not learn the !ery ordsEE8 noQ ne!ertheless 0 ha!e a general notion of hat he said, and ill gi!e you a su$$ary of the points in hich the lo!er differed fro$ the nonElo!er% <et $e begin at the beginning% -8C*=TE-A Oes, $y s eet oneQ but you $ust first of all sho hat you ha!e in your left hand under your cloa", for that roll, as 0 suspect, is the actual discourse% 9o , $uch as 0 lo!e you, 0 ould not ha!e you suppose that 0 a$ going to ha!e your $e$ory exercised at $y expense, if you ha!e <ysias hi$self here% P,=E'*:-A EnoughQ 0 see that 0 ha!e no hope of practising $y art upon you% +ut if 0 a$ to read, here ould you please to sitN -8C*=TE-A <et us turn aside and go by the 0lissusQ e ill sit do n at so$e Iuiet spot% P,=E'*:-A 0 a$ fortunate in not ha!ing $y sandals, and as you ne!er ha!e any, 0 thin" that e $ay go along the broo" and cool our feet in the aterQ this ill be the easiest ay, and at $idday and in the su$$er is far fro$ being unpleasant% -8C*=TE-A <ead on, and loo" out for a place in hich e can sit do n%

P,=E'*:-A 'o you see the tallest planeEtree in the distanceN -8C*=TE-A Oes% P,=E'*:-A There are shade and gentle bree7es, and grass on hich e $ay either sit or lie do n% -8C*=TE-A ;o!e for ard% P,=E'*:-A 0 should li"e to "no , -ocrates, hether the place is not so$e here here at hich +oreas is said to ha!e carried off 8rithyia fro$ the ban"s of the 0lissusN -8C*=TE-A -uch is the tradition% P,=E'*:-A =nd is this the exact spotN The little strea$ is delightfully clear and brightQ 0 can fancy that there $ight be $aidens playing near% -8C*=TE-A 0 belie!e that the spot is not exactly here, but about a Iuarter of a $ile lo er do n, here you cross to the te$ple of =rte$is, and there is, 0 thin", so$e sort of an altar of +oreas at the place% P,=E'*:-A 0 ha!e ne!er noticed itQ but 0 beseech you to tell $e, -ocrates, do you belie!e this taleN -8C*=TE-A The ise are doubtful, and 0 should not be singular if, li"e the$, 0 too doubted% 0 $ight ha!e a rational explanation that 8rithyia as playing ith Phar$acia, hen a northern gust carried her o!er the neighbouring roc"sQ and this being the $anner of her death, she as said to ha!e been carried a ay by +oreas% There is a discrepancy, ho e!er, about the localityQ according to another !ersion of the story she as ta"en fro$ =reopagus, and not fro$ this place% 9o 0 Iuite ac"no ledge that these allegories are !ery nice, but he is not to be en!ied ho has to in!ent the$Q $uch labour and ingenuity ill be reIuired of hi$Q and hen he has once begun, he $ust go on and rehabilitate ,ippocentaurs and chi$eras dire% Gorgons and inged steeds flo in apace, and nu$berless other inconcei!able and portentous natures% =nd if he is sceptical about the$, and ould fain

reduce the$ one after another to the rules of probability, this sort of crude philosophy ill ta"e up a great deal of ti$e% 9o 0 ha!e no leisure for such enIuiriesQ shall 0 tell you hyN 0 $ust first "no $yself, as the 'elphian inscription saysQ to be curious about that hich is not $y concern, hile 0 a$ still in ignorance of $y o n self, ould be ridiculous% =nd therefore 0 bid fare ell to all thisQ the co$$on opinion is enough for $e% (or, as 0 as saying, 0 ant to "no not about this, but about $yselfA a$ 0 a $onster $ore co$plicated and s ollen ith passion than the serpent Typho, or a creature of a gentler and si$pler sort, to ho$ 9ature has gi!en a di!iner and lo lier destinyN +ut let $e as" you, friendA ha!e e not reached the planeEtree to hich you ere conducting usN P,=E'*:-A Oes, this is the tree% -8C*=TE-A +y ,ere, a fair restingEplace, full of su$$er sounds and scents% ,ere is this lofty and spreading planeEtree, and the agnus castus high and clustering, in the fullest blosso$ and the greatest fragranceQ and the strea$ hich flo s beneath the planeEtree is deliciously cold to the feet% 1udging fro$ the orna$ents and i$ages, this $ust be a spot sacred to =chelous and the 9y$phs% ,o delightful is the bree7eAEEso !ery s eetQ and there is a sound in the air shrill and su$$erli"e hich $a"es ans er to the chorus of the cicadae% +ut the greatest char$ of all is the grass, li"e a pillo gently sloping to the head% ;y dear Phaedrus, you ha!e been an ad$irable guide% P,=E'*:-A &hat an inco$prehensible being you are, -ocratesA hen you are in the country, as you say, you really are li"e so$e stranger ho is led about by a guide% 'o you e!er cross the borderN 0 rather thin" that you ne!er !enture e!en outside the gates% -8C*=TE-A )ery true, $y good friendQ and 0 hope that you ill excuse $e hen you hear the reason, hich is, that 0 a$ a lo!er of "no ledge, and the $en ho d ell in the city are $y teachers, and not the trees or the country% Though 0 do indeed belie!e that you ha!e found a spell ith hich to dra $e out of the city into the country, li"e a hungry co before ho$ a bough or a bunch of fruit is a!ed% (or only hold up before $e in li"e

$anner a boo", and you $ay lead $e all round =ttica, and o!er the ide orld% =nd no ha!ing arri!ed, 0 intend to lie do n, and do you choose any posture in hich you can read best% +egin% P,=E'*:-A <isten% Oou "no ho $atters stand ith $eQ and ho , as 0 concei!e, this affair $ay be arranged for the ad!antage of both of us% =nd 0 $aintain that 0 ought not to fail in $y suit, because 0 a$ not your lo!erA for lo!ers repent of the "indnesses hich they ha!e sho n hen their passion ceases, but to the nonElo!ers ho are free and not under any co$pulsion, no ti$e of repentance e!er co$esQ for they confer their benefits according to the $easure of their ability, in the ay hich is $ost conduci!e to their o n interest% Then again, lo!ers consider ho by reason of their lo!e they ha!e neglected their o n concerns and rendered ser!ice to othersA and hen to these benefits conferred they add on the troubles hich they ha!e endured, they thin" that they ha!e long ago $ade to the belo!ed a !ery a$ple return% +ut the nonElo!er has no such tor$enting recollectionsQ he has ne!er neglected his affairs or Iuarrelled ith his relationsQ he has no troubles to add up or excuses to in!entQ and being ell rid of all these e!ils, hy should he not freely do hat ill gratify the belo!edN 0f you say that the lo!er is $ore to be estee$ed, because his lo!e is thought to be greaterQ for he is illing to say and do hat is hateful to other $en, in order to please his belo!edQEEthat, if true, is only a proof that he ill prefer any future lo!e to his present, and ill injure his old lo!e at the pleasure of the ne % =nd ho , in a $atter of such infinite i$portance, can a $an be right in trusting hi$self to one ho is afflicted ith a $alady hich no experienced person ould atte$pt to cure, for the patient hi$self ad$its that he is not in his right $ind, and ac"no ledges that he is rong in his $ind, but says that he is unable to control hi$selfN =nd if he ca$e to his right $ind, ould he e!er i$agine that the desires ere good hich he concei!ed hen in his rong $indN 8nce $ore, there are $any $ore nonElo!ers than lo!ersQ and if you choose the best of the lo!ers, you ill not ha!e $any to choose fro$Q but if fro$ the nonElo!ers, the choice ill be larger, and you ill be far $ore li"ely to find a$ong the$ a person ho is orthy of your friendship% 0f public opinion be your dread, and you ould a!oid reproach, in all probability the lo!er, ho is al ays thin"ing that other $en are as e$ulous of hi$ as he is of the$, ill boast to so$e one of his successes, and $a"e a sho of the$ openly in the pride of his heartQEEhe ants others to "no that his labour has not been lostQ but the nonElo!er is $ore his o n $aster, and is desirous of solid good, and not of the opinion of $an"ind%

=gain, the lo!er $ay be generally noted or seen follo ing the belo!ed Bthis is his regular occupationC, and hene!er they are obser!ed to exchange t o ords they are supposed to $eet about so$e affair of lo!e either past or in conte$plationQ but hen nonElo!ers $eet, no one as"s the reason hy, because people "no that tal"ing to another is natural, hether friendship or $ere pleasure be the $oti!e% 8nce $ore, if you fear the fic"leness of friendship, consider that in any other case a Iuarrel $ight be a $utual cala$ityQ but no , hen you ha!e gi!en up hat is $ost precious to you, you ill be the greater loser, and therefore, you ill ha!e $ore reason in being afraid of the lo!er, for his !exations are $any, and he is al ays fancying that e!ery one is leagued against hi$% &herefore also he debars his belo!ed fro$ societyQ he ill not ha!e you inti$ate ith the ealthy, lest they should exceed hi$ in ealth, or ith $en of education, lest they should be his superiors in understandingQ and he is eIually afraid of anybodyPs influence ho has any other ad!antage o!er hi$self% 0f he can persuade you to brea" ith the$, you are left ithout a friend in the orldQ or if, out of a regard to your o n interest, you ha!e $ore sense than to co$ply ith his desire, you ill ha!e to Iuarrel ith hi$% +ut those ho are nonElo!ers, and hose success in lo!e is the re ard of their $erit, ill not be jealous of the co$panions of their belo!ed, and ill rather hate those ho refuse to be his associates, thin"ing that their fa!ourite is slighted by the latter and benefited by the for$erQ for $ore lo!e than hatred $ay be expected to co$e to hi$ out of his friendship ith others% ;any lo!ers too ha!e lo!ed the person of a youth before they "ne his character or his belongingsQ so that hen their passion has passed a ay, there is no "no ing hether they ill continue to be his friendsQ hereas, in the case of nonElo!ers ho ere al ays friends, the friendship is not lessened by the fa!ours grantedQ but the recollection of these re$ains ith the$, and is an earnest of good things to co$e% (urther, 0 say that you are li"ely to be i$pro!ed by $e, hereas the lo!er ill spoil you% (or they praise your ords and actions in a rong ayQ partly, because they are afraid of offending you, and also, their judg$ent is ea"ened by passion% -uch are the feats hich lo!e exhibitsQ he $a"es things painful to the disappointed hich gi!e no pain to othersQ he co$pels the successful lo!er to praise hat ought not to gi!e hi$ pleasure, and therefore the belo!ed is to be pitied rather than en!ied% +ut if you listen to $e, in the first place, 0, in $y intercourse ith you, shall not $erely regard present enjoy$ent, but also future ad!antage, being not

$astered by lo!e, but $y o n $asterQ nor for s$all causes ta"ing !iolent disli"es, but e!en hen the cause is great, slo ly laying up little rathEE unintentional offences 0 shall forgi!e, and intentional ones 0 shall try to pre!entQ and these are the $ar"s of a friendship hich ill last% 'o you thin" that a lo!er only can be a fir$ friendN reflectAEEif this ere true, e should set s$all !alue on sons, or fathers, or $othersQ nor should e e!er ha!e loyal friends, for our lo!e of the$ arises not fro$ passion, but fro$ other associations% (urther, if e ought to sho er fa!ours on those ho are the $ost eager suitors,EEon that principle, e ought al ays to do good, not to the $ost !irtuous, but to the $ost needyQ for they are the persons ho ill be $ost relie!ed, and ill therefore be the $ost gratefulQ and hen you $a"e a feast you should in!ite not your friend, but the beggar and the e$pty soulQ for they ill lo!e you, and attend you, and co$e about your doors, and ill be the best pleased, and the $ost grateful, and ill in!o"e $any a blessing on your head% Oet surely you ought not to be granting fa!ours to those ho besiege you ith prayer, but to those ho are best able to re ard youQ nor to the lo!er only, but to those ho are orthy of lo!eQ nor to those ho ill enjoy the bloo$ of your youth, but to those ho ill share their possessions ith you in ageQ nor to those ho, ha!ing succeeded, ill glory in their success to others, but to those ho ill be $odest and tell no talesQ nor to those ho care about you for a $o$ent only, but to those ho ill continue your friends through lifeQ nor to those ho, hen their passion is o!er, ill pic" a Iuarrel ith you, but rather to those ho, hen the char$ of youth has left you, ill sho their o n !irtue% *e$e$ber hat 0 ha!e saidQ and consider yet this further pointA friends ad$onish the lo!er under the idea that his ay of life is bad, but no one of his "indred e!er yet censured the nonElo!er, or thought that he as illEad!ised about his o n interests% PPerhaps you ill as" $e hether 0 propose that you should indulge e!ery nonElo!er% To hich 0 reply that not e!en the lo!er ould ad!ise you to indulge all lo!ers, for the indiscri$inate fa!our is less estee$ed by the rational recipient, and less easily hidden by hi$ ho ould escape the censure of the orld% 9o lo!e ought to be for the ad!antage of both parties, and for the injury of neither% P0 belie!e that 0 ha!e said enoughQ but if there is anything $ore hich you desire or hich in your opinion needs to be supplied, as" and 0 ill ans er%P

9o , -ocrates, hat do you thin"N 0s not the discourse excellent, $ore especially in the $atter of the languageN -8C*=TE-A Oes, Iuite ad$irableQ the effect on $e as ra!ishing% =nd this 0 o e to you, Phaedrus, for 0 obser!ed you hile reading to be in an ecstasy, and thin"ing that you are $ore experienced in these $atters than 0 a$, 0 follo ed your exa$ple, and, li"e you, $y di!ine darling, 0 beca$e inspired ith a phren7y% P,=E'*:-A 0ndeed, you are pleased to be $erry% -8C*=TE-A 'o you $ean that 0 a$ not in earnestN P,=E'*:-A 9o donPt tal" in that ay, -ocrates, but let $e ha!e your real opinionQ 0 adjure you, by Weus, the god of friendship, to tell $e hether you thin" that any ,ellene could ha!e said $ore or spo"en better on the sa$e subject% -8C*=TE-A &ell, but are you and 0 expected to praise the senti$ents of the author, or only the clearness, and roundness, and finish, and tournure of the languageN =s to the first 0 illingly sub$it to your better judg$ent, for 0 a$ not orthy to for$ an opinion, ha!ing only attended to the rhetorical $annerQ and 0 as doubting hether this could ha!e been defended e!en by <ysias hi$selfQ 0 thought, though 0 spea" under correction, that he repeated hi$self t o or three ti$es, either fro$ ant of ords or fro$ ant of painsQ and also, he appeared to $e ostentatiously to exult in sho ing ho ell he could say the sa$e thing in t o or three ays% P,=E'*:-A 9onsense, -ocratesQ hat you call repetition as the especial $erit of the speechQ for he o$itted no topic of hich the subject rightly allo ed, and 0 do not thin" that any one could ha!e spo"en better or $ore exhausti!ely% -8C*=TE-A There 0 cannot go along ith you% =ncient sages, $en and o$en,

ho ha!e spo"en and ritten of these things, ould rise up in judg$ent against $e, if out of co$plaisance 0 assented to you% P,=E'*:-A &ho are they, and here did you hear anything better than thisN -8C*=TE-A 0 a$ sure that 0 $ust ha!e heardQ but at this $o$ent 0 do not re$e$ber fro$ ho$Q perhaps fro$ -appho the fair, or =nacreon the iseQ or, possibly, fro$ a prose riter% &hy do 0 say soN &hy, because 0 percei!e that $y boso$ is full, and that 0 could $a"e another speech as good as that of <ysias, and different% 9o 0 a$ certain that this is not an in!ention of $y o n, ho a$ ell a are that 0 "no nothing, and therefore 0 can only infer that 0 ha!e been filled through the ears, li"e a pitcher, fro$ the aters of another, though 0 ha!e actually forgotten in $y stupidity ho as $y infor$ant% P,=E'*:-A That is grandAEEbut ne!er $ind here you heard the discourse or fro$ ho$Q let that be a $ystery not to be di!ulged e!en at $y earnest desire% 8nly, as you say, pro$ise to $a"e another and better oration, eIual in length and entirely ne , on the sa$e subjectQ and 0, li"e the nine =rchons, ill pro$ise to set up a golden i$age at 'elphi, not only of $yself, but of you, and as large as life% -8C*=TE-A Oou are a dear golden ass if you suppose $e to $ean that <ysias has altogether $issed the $ar", and that 0 can $a"e a speech fro$ hich all his argu$ents are to be excluded% The orst of authors ill say so$ething hich is to the point% &ho, for exa$ple, could spea" on this thesis of yours ithout praising the discretion of the nonElo!er and bla$ing the indiscretion of the lo!erN These are the co$$onplaces of the subject hich $ust co$e in Bfor hat else is there to be saidNC and $ust be allo ed and excusedQ the only $erit is in the arrange$ent of the$, for there can be none in the in!entionQ but hen you lea!e the co$$onplaces, then there $ay be so$e originality% P,=E'*:-A 0 ad$it that there is reason in hat you say, and 0 too ill be reasonable, and ill allo you to start ith the pre$iss that the lo!er is

$ore disordered in his its than the nonElo!erQ if in hat re$ains you $a"e a longer and better speech than <ysias, and use other argu$ents, then 0 say again, that a statue you shall ha!e of beaten gold, and ta"e your place by the colossal offerings of the Cypselids at 8ly$pia% -8C*=TE-A ,o profoundly in earnest is the lo!er, because to tease hi$ 0 lay a finger upon his lo!e# =nd so, Phaedrus, you really i$agine that 0 a$ going to i$pro!e upon the ingenuity of <ysiasN P,=E'*:-A There 0 ha!e you as you had $e, and you $ust just spea" Pas you best can%P 'o not let us exchange Ptu IuoIueP as in a farce, or co$pel $e to say to you as you said to $e, P0 "no -ocrates as ell as 0 "no $yself, and he as anting to spea", but he ga!e hi$self airs%P *ather 0 ould ha!e you consider that fro$ this place e stir not until you ha!e unboso$ed yourself of the speechQ for here are e all alone, and 0 a$ stronger, re$e$ber, and younger than youAEE&herefore perpend, and do not co$pel $e to use !iolence% -8C*=TE-A +ut, $y s eet Phaedrus, ho ridiculous it ould be of $e to co$pete ith <ysias in an exte$pore speech# ,e is a $aster in his art and 0 a$ an untaught $an% P,=E'*:-A Oou see ho $atters standQ and therefore let there be no $ore pretencesQ for, indeed, 0 "no the ord that is irresistible% -8C*=TE-A Then donPt say it% P,=E'*:-A Oes, but 0 illQ and $y ord shall be an oath% P0 say, or rather s earPEEbut hat god ill be itness of $y oathNEEP+y this planeE tree 0 s ear, that unless you repeat the discourse here in the face of this !ery planeEtree, 0 ill ne!er tell you anotherQ ne!er let you ha!e ord of another#P -8C*=TE-A )illain# 0 a$ conIueredQ the poor lo!er of discourse has no $ore to say% P,=E'*:-A Then hy are you still at your tric"sN

-8C*=TE-A 0 a$ not going to play tric"s no that you ha!e ta"en the oath, for 0 cannot allo $yself to be star!ed% P,=E'*:-A Proceed% -8C*=TE-A -hall 0 tell you hat 0 ill doN P,=E'*:-A &hatN -8C*=TE-A 0 ill !eil $y face and gallop through the discourse as fast as 0 can, for if 0 see you 0 shall feel asha$ed and not "no hat to say% P,=E'*:-A 8nly go on and you $ay do anything else hich you please% -8C*=TE-A Co$e, 8 ye ;uses, $elodious, as ye are called, hether you ha!e recei!ed this na$e fro$ the character of your strains, or because the ;elians are a $usical race, help, 8 help $e in the tale hich $y good friend here desires $e to rehearse, in order that his friend ho$ he al ays dee$ed ise $ay see$ to hi$ to be iser than e!er% 8nce upon a ti$e there as a fair boy, or, $ore properly spea"ing, a youthQ he as !ery fair and had a great $any lo!ersQ and there as one special cunning one, ho had persuaded the youth that he did not lo!e hi$, but he really lo!ed hi$ all the sa$eQ and one day hen he as paying his addresses to hi$, he used this !ery argu$entEEthat he ought to accept the nonElo!er rather than the lo!erQ his ords ere as follo sAEE P=ll good counsel begins in the sa$e ayQ a $an should "no hat he is ad!ising about, or his counsel ill all co$e to nought% +ut people i$agine that they "no about the nature of things, hen they donPt "no about the$, and, not ha!ing co$e to an understanding at first because they thin" that they "no , they end, as $ight be expected, in contradicting one another and the$sel!es% 9o you and 0 $ust not be guilty of this funda$ental error hich e conde$n in othersQ but as our Iuestion is hether the lo!er or nonElo!er is to be preferred, let us first of all agree in defining the nature and po er of lo!e, and then, "eeping our eyes upon the definition and to this appealing, let us further enIuire hether lo!e brings ad!antage

or disad!antage% PE!ery one sees that lo!e is a desire, and e "no also that nonElo!ers desire the beautiful and good% 9o in hat ay is the lo!er to be distinguished fro$ the nonElo!erN <et us note that in e!ery one of us there are t o guiding and ruling principles hich lead us hither they illQ one is the natural desire of pleasure, the other is an acIuired opinion hich aspires after the bestQ and these t o are so$eti$es in har$ony and then again at ar, and so$eti$es the one, so$eti$es the other conIuers% &hen opinion by the help of reason leads us to the best, the conIuering principle is called te$peranceQ but hen desire, hich is de!oid of reason, rules in us and drags us to pleasure, that po er of $isrule is called excess% 9o excess has $any na$es, and $any $e$bers, and $any for$s, and any of these for$s hen !ery $ar"ed gi!es a na$e, neither honourable nor creditable, to the bearer of the na$e% The desire of eating, for exa$ple, hich gets the better of the higher reason and the other desires, is called gluttony, and he ho is possessed by it is called a gluttonQ the tyrannical desire of drin", hich inclines the possessor of the desire to drin", has a na$e hich is only too ob!ious, and there can be as little doubt by hat na$e any other appetite of the sa$e fa$ily ould be calledQEEit ill be the na$e of that hich happens to be do$inant% =nd no 0 thin" that you ill percei!e the drift of $y discourseQ but as e!ery spo"en ord is in a $anner plainer than the unspo"en, 0 had better say further that the irrational desire hich o!erco$es the tendency of opinion to ards right, and is led a ay to the enjoy$ent of beauty, and especially of personal beauty, by the desires hich are her o n "indredEEthat supre$e desire, 0 say, hich by leading conIuers and by the force of passion is reinforced, fro$ this !ery force, recei!ing a na$e, is called lo!e Berro$enos erosC%P =nd no , dear Phaedrus, 0 shall pause for an instant to as" hether you do not thin" $e, as 0 appear to $yself, inspiredN P,=E'*:-A Oes, -ocrates, you see$ to ha!e a !ery unusual flo of ords% -8C*=TE-A <isten to $e, then, in silenceQ for surely the place is holyQ so that you $ust not onder, if, as 0 proceed, 0 appear to be in a di!ine fury, for already 0 a$ getting into dithyra$bics%

P,=E'*:-A 9othing can be truer% -8C*=TE-A The responsibility rests ith you% +ut hear hat follo s, and perhaps the fit $ay be a!ertedQ all is in their hands abo!e% 0 ill go on tal"ing to $y youth% <istenAEE Thus, $y friend, e ha!e declared and defined the nature of the subject% Seeping the definition in !ie , let us no enIuire hat ad!antage or disad!antage is li"ely to ensue fro$ the lo!er or the nonElo!er to hi$ ho accepts their ad!ances% ,e ho is the !icti$ of his passions and the sla!e of pleasure ill of course desire to $a"e his belo!ed as agreeable to hi$self as possible% 9o to hi$ ho has a $ind diseased anything is agreeable hich is not opposed to hi$, but that hich is eIual or superior is hateful to hi$, and therefore the lo!er ill not broo" any superiority or eIuality on the part of his belo!edQ he is al ays e$ployed in reducing hi$ to inferiority% =nd the ignorant is the inferior of the ise, the co ard of the bra!e, the slo of speech of the spea"er, the dull of the cle!er% These, and not these only, are the $ental defects of the belo!edQEEdefects hich, hen i$planted by nature, are necessarily a delight to the lo!er, and hen not i$planted, he $ust contri!e to i$plant the$ in hi$, if he ould not be depri!ed of his fleeting joy% =nd therefore he cannot help being jealous, and ill debar his belo!ed fro$ the ad!antages of society hich ould $a"e a $an of hi$, and especially fro$ that society hich ould ha!e gi!en hi$ isdo$, and thereby he cannot fail to do hi$ great har$% That is to say, in his excessi!e fear lest he should co$e to be despised in his eyes he ill be co$pelled to banish fro$ hi$ di!ine philosophyQ and there is no greater injury hich he can inflict upon hi$ than this% ,e ill contri!e that his belo!ed shall be holly ignorant, and in e!erything shall loo" to hi$Q he is to be the delight of the lo!erPs heart, and a curse to hi$self% )erily, a lo!er is a profitable guardian and associate for hi$ in all that relates to his $ind% <et us next see ho his $aster, hose la of life is pleasure and not good, ill "eep and train the body of his ser!ant% &ill he not choose a belo!ed ho is delicate rather than sturdy and strongN 8ne brought up in shady bo ers and not in the bright sun, a stranger to $anly exercises and the s eat of toil, accusto$ed only to a soft and luxurious diet, instead of the hues of health ha!ing the colours of paint and orna$ent, and the rest of a

pieceNEEsuch a life as any one can i$agine and hich 0 need not detail at length% +ut 0 $ay su$ up all that 0 ha!e to say in a ord, and pass on% -uch a person in ar, or in any of the great crises of life, ill be the anxiety of his friends and also of his lo!er, and certainly not the terror of his ene$iesQ hich nobody can deny% =nd no let us tell hat ad!antage or disad!antage the belo!ed ill recei!e fro$ the guardianship and society of his lo!er in the $atter of his propertyQ this is the next point to be considered% The lo!er ill be the first to see hat, indeed, ill be sufficiently e!ident to all $en, that he desires abo!e all things to depri!e his belo!ed of his dearest and best and holiest possessions, father, $other, "indred, friends, of all ho$ he thin"s $ay be hinderers or repro!ers of their $ost s eet con!erseQ he ill e!en cast a jealous eye upon his gold and sil!er or other property, because these $a"e hi$ a less easy prey, and hen caught less $anageableQ hence he is of necessity displeased at his possession of the$ and rejoices at their lossQ and he ould li"e hi$ to be ifeless, childless, ho$eless, as ellQ and the longer the better, for the longer he is all this, the longer he ill enjoy hi$% There are so$e sort of ani$als, such as flatterers, ho are dangerous and $ischie!ous enough, and yet nature has $ingled a te$porary pleasure and grace in their co$position% Oou $ay say that a courtesan is hurtful, and disappro!e of such creatures and their practices, and yet for the ti$e they are !ery pleasant% +ut the lo!er is not only hurtful to his lo!eQ he is also an extre$ely disagreeable co$panion% The old pro!erb says that Pbirds of a feather floc" togetherPQ 0 suppose that eIuality of years inclines the$ to the sa$e pleasures, and si$ilarity begets friendshipQ yet you $ay ha!e $ore than enough e!en of thisQ and !erily constraint is al ays said to be grie!ous% 9o the lo!er is not only unli"e his belo!ed, but he forces hi$self upon hi$% (or he is old and his lo!e is young, and neither day nor night ill he lea!e hi$ if he can helpQ necessity and the sting of desire dri!e hi$ on, and allure hi$ ith the pleasure hich he recei!es fro$ seeing, hearing, touching, percei!ing hi$ in e!ery ay% =nd therefore he is delighted to fasten upon hi$ and to $inister to hi$% +ut hat pleasure or consolation can the belo!ed be recei!ing all this ti$eN ;ust he not feel the extre$ity of disgust hen he loo"s at an old shri!elled face and the re$ainder to $atch, hich e!en in a description is disagreeable, and Iuite detestable hen he is forced into daily contact ith his lo!erQ

$oreo!er he is jealously atched and guarded against e!erything and e!erybody, and has to hear $isplaced and exaggerated praises of hi$self, and censures eIually inappropriate, hich are intolerable hen the $an is sober, and, besides being intolerable, are published all o!er the orld in all their indelicacy and eariso$eness hen he is drun"% =nd not only hile his lo!e continues is he $ischie!ous and unpleasant, but hen his lo!e ceases he beco$es a perfidious ene$y of hi$ on ho$ he sho ered his oaths and prayers and pro$ises, and yet could hardly pre!ail upon hi$ to tolerate the tediu$ of his co$pany e!en fro$ $oti!es of interest% The hour of pay$ent arri!es, and no he is the ser!ant of another $asterQ instead of lo!e and infatuation, isdo$ and te$perance are his boso$Ps lordsQ but the belo!ed has not disco!ered the change hich has ta"en place in hi$, hen he as"s for a return and recalls to his recollection for$er sayings and doingsQ he belie!es hi$self to be spea"ing to the sa$e person, and the other, not ha!ing the courage to confess the truth, and not "no ing ho to fulfil the oaths and pro$ises hich he $ade hen under the do$inion of folly, and ha!ing no gro n ise and te$perate, does not ant to do as he did or to be as he as before% =nd so he runs a ay and is constrained to be a defaulterQ the oysterEshell B0n allusion to a ga$e in hich t o parties fled or pursued according as an oysterEshell hich as thro n into the air fell ith the dar" or light side upper$ost%C has fallen ith the other side upper$ostEEhe changes pursuit into flight, hile the other is co$pelled to follo hi$ ith passion and i$precation, not "no ing that he ought ne!er fro$ the first to ha!e accepted a de$ented lo!er instead of a sensible nonElo!erQ and that in $a"ing such a choice he as gi!ing hi$self up to a faithless, $orose, en!ious, disagreeable being, hurtful to his estate, hurtful to his bodily health, and still $ore hurtful to the culti!ation of his $ind, than hich there neither is nor e!er ill be anything $ore honoured in the eyes both of gods and $en% Consider this, fair youth, and "no that in the friendship of the lo!er there is no real "indnessQ he has an appetite and ants to feed upon youA P=s ol!es lo!e la$bs so lo!ers lo!e their lo!es%P +ut 0 told you so, 0 a$ spea"ing in !erse, and therefore 0 had better $a"e an endQ enough%

P,=E'*:-A 0 thought that you ere only halfE ay and ere going to $a"e a si$ilar speech about all the ad!antages of accepting the nonElo!er% &hy do you not proceedN -8C*=TE-A 'oes not your si$plicity obser!e that 0 ha!e got out of dithyra$bics into heroics, hen only uttering a censure on the lo!erN =nd if 0 a$ to add the praises of the nonElo!er hat ill beco$e of $eN 'o you not percei!e that 0 a$ already o!erta"en by the 9y$phs to ho$ you ha!e $ischie!ously exposed $eN =nd therefore 0 ill only add that the nonElo!er has all the ad!antages in hich the lo!er is accused of being deficient% =nd no 0 ill say no $oreQ there has been enough of both of the$% <ea!ing the tale to its fate, 0 ill cross the ri!er and $a"e the best of $y ay ho$e, lest a orse thing be inflicted upon $e by you% P,=E'*:-A 9ot yet, -ocratesQ not until the heat of the day has passedQ do you not see that the hour is al$ost noonN there is the $idday sun standing still, as people say, in the $eridian% <et us rather stay and tal" o!er hat has been said, and then return in the cool% -8C*=TE-A Oour lo!e of discourse, Phaedrus, is superhu$an, si$ply $ar!ellous, and 0 do not belie!e that there is any one of your conte$poraries ho has either $ade or in one ay or another has co$pelled others to $a"e an eIual nu$ber of speeches% 0 ould except -i$$ias the Theban, but all the rest are far behind you% =nd no 0 do !erily belie!e that you ha!e been the cause of another% P,=E'*:-A That is good ne s% +ut hat do you $eanN -8C*=TE-A 0 $ean to say that as 0 as about to cross the strea$ the usual sign as gi!en to $e,EEthat sign hich al ays forbids, but ne!er bids, $e to do anything hich 0 a$ going to doQ and 0 thought that 0 heard a !oice saying in $y ear that 0 had been guilty of i$piety, and that 0 $ust not go a ay until 0 had $ade an atone$ent% 9o 0 a$ a di!iner, though not a !ery good one, but 0 ha!e enough religion for $y o n use, as you $ight say of a bad riterEEhis riting is good enough for hi$Q and 0 a$ beginning to see that 0 as in error% 8 $y friend, ho prophetic is the hu$an soul# =t the ti$e 0 had a sort of $isgi!ing, and, li"e 0bycus, P0 as troubledQ 0 feared that 0 $ight be buying honour fro$ $en at the price of sinning against the

gods%P 9o 0 recogni7e $y error% P,=E'*:-A &hat errorN -8C*=TE-A That as a dreadful speech hich you brought ith you, and you $ade $e utter one as bad% P,=E'*:-A ,o soN -8C*=TE-A 0t as foolish, 0 say,EEto a certain extent, i$piousQ can anything be $ore dreadfulN P,=E'*:-A 9othing, if the speech as really such as you describe% -8C*=TE-A &ell, and is not Eros the son of =phrodite, and a godN P,=E'*:-A -o $en say% -8C*=TE-A +ut that as not ac"no ledged by <ysias in his speech, nor by you in that other speech hich you by a char$ dre fro$ $y lips% (or if lo!e be, as he surely is, a di!inity, he cannot be e!il% Oet this as the error of both the speeches% There as also a si$plicity about the$ hich as refreshingQ ha!ing no truth or honesty in the$, ne!ertheless they pretended to be so$ething, hoping to succeed in decei!ing the $ani"ins of earth and gain celebrity a$ong the$% &herefore 0 $ust ha!e a purgation% =nd 0 bethin" $e of an ancient purgation of $ythological error hich as de!ised, not by ,o$er, for he ne!er had the it to disco!er hy he as blind, but by -tesichorus, ho as a philosopher and "ne the reason hyQ and therefore, hen he lost his eyes, for that as the penalty hich as inflicted upon hi$ for re!iling the lo!ely ,elen, he at once purged hi$self% =nd the purgation as a recantation, hich began thus,EE P(alse is that ord of $ineEEthe truth is that thou didst not e$bar" in ships, nor e!er go to the alls of TroyQP and hen he had co$pleted his poe$, hich is called Pthe recantation,P i$$ediately his sight returned to hi$% 9o 0 ill be iser than either -tesichorus or ,o$er, in that 0 a$ going to $a"e $y recantation for

re!iling lo!e before 0 sufferQ and this 0 ill atte$pt, not as before, !eiled and asha$ed, but ith forehead bold and bare% P,=E'*:-A 9othing could be $ore agreeable to $e than to hear you say so% -8C*=TE-A 8nly thin", $y good Phaedrus, hat an utter ant of delicacy as sho n in the t o discoursesQ 0 $ean, in $y o n and in that hich you recited out of the boo"% &ould not any one ho as hi$self of a noble and gentle nature, and ho lo!ed or e!er had lo!ed a nature li"e his o n, hen e tell of the petty causes of lo!ersP jealousies, and of their exceeding ani$osities, and of the injuries hich they do to their belo!ed, ha!e i$agined that our ideas of lo!e ere ta"en fro$ so$e haunt of sailors to hich good $anners ere un"no nEEhe ould certainly ne!er ha!e ad$itted the justice of our censureN P,=E'*:-A 0 dare say not, -ocrates% -8C*=TE-A Therefore, because 0 blush at the thought of this person, and also because 0 a$ afraid of <o!e hi$self, 0 desire to ash the brine out of $y ears ith ater fro$ the springQ and 0 ould counsel <ysias not to delay, but to rite another discourse, hich shall pro!e that Pceteris paribusP the lo!er ought to be accepted rather than the nonElo!er% P,=E'*:-A +e assured that he shall% Oou shall spea" the praises of the lo!er, and <ysias shall be co$pelled by $e to rite another discourse on the sa$e the$e% -8C*=TE-A Oou ill be true to your nature in that, and therefore 0 belie!e you% P,=E'*:-A -pea", and fear not% -8C*=TE-A +ut here is the fair youth ho$ 0 as addressing before, and ho ought to listen no Q lest, if he hear $e not, he should accept a nonE lo!er before he "no s hat he is doingN

P,=E'*:-A ,e is close at hand, and al ays at your ser!ice% -8C*=TE-A Sno then, fair youth, that the for$er discourse as the ord of Phaedrus, the son of )ain ;an, ho d ells in the city of ;yrrhina B;yrrhinusiusC% =nd this hich 0 a$ about to utter is the recantation of -tesichorus the son of Godly ;an BEuphe$usC, ho co$es fro$ the to n of 'esire B,i$eraC, and is to the follo ing effectA P0 told a lie hen 0 saidP that the belo!ed ought to accept the nonElo!er hen he $ight ha!e the lo!er, because the one is sane, and the other $ad% 0t $ight be so if $adness ere si$ply an e!ilQ but there is also a $adness hich is a di!ine gift, and the source of the chiefest blessings granted to $en% (or prophecy is a $adness, and the prophetess at 'elphi and the priestesses at 'odona hen out of their senses ha!e conferred great benefits on ,ellas, both in public and pri!ate life, but hen in their senses fe or none% =nd 0 $ight also tell you ho the -ibyl and other inspired persons ha!e gi!en to $any an one $any an inti$ation of the future hich has sa!ed the$ fro$ falling% +ut it ould be tedious to spea" of hat e!ery one "no s% There ill be $ore reason in appealing to the ancient in!entors of na$es Bco$pare CratylusC, ho ould ne!er ha!e connected prophecy B$anti"eC hich foretells the future and is the noblest of arts, ith $adness B$ani"eC, or called the$ both by the sa$e na$e, if they had dee$ed $adness to be a disgrace or dishonourQEEthey $ust ha!e thought that there as an inspired $adness hich as a noble thingQ for the t o ords, $anti"e and $ani"e, are really the sa$e, and the letter tau is only a $odern and tasteless insertion% =nd this is confir$ed by the na$e hich as gi!en by the$ to the rational in!estigation of futurity, hether $ade by the help of birds or of other signsEEthis, for as $uch as it is an art hich supplies fro$ the reasoning faculty $ind BnousC and infor$ation BistoriaC to hu$an thought BoiesisC they originally ter$ed oionoisti"e, but the ord has been lately altered and $ade sonorous by the $odern introduction of the letter 8$ega Boionoisti"e and oionisti"eC, and in proportion as prophecy B$anti"eC is $ore perfect and august than augury, both in na$e and fact, in the sa$e proportion, as the ancients testify, is $adness superior to a sane $ind BsophrosuneC for the one is only of hu$an, but the other of di!ine origin% =gain, here plagues and $ightiest oes ha!e bred in certain fa$ilies, o ing to so$e ancient bloodEguiltiness, there $adness has entered ith holy

prayers and rites, and by inspired utterances found a ay of deli!erance for those ho are in needQ and he ho has part in this gift, and is truly possessed and duly out of his $ind, is by the use of purifications and $ysteries $ade hole and exe$pt fro$ e!il, future as ell as present, and has a release fro$ the cala$ity hich as afflicting hi$% The third "ind is the $adness of those ho are possessed by the ;usesQ hich ta"ing hold of a delicate and !irgin soul, and there inspiring fren7y, a a"ens lyrical and all other nu$bersQ ith these adorning the $yriad actions of ancient heroes for the instruction of posterity% +ut he ho, ha!ing no touch of the ;usesP $adness in his soul, co$es to the door and thin"s that he ill get into the te$ple by the help of artEEhe, 0 say, and his poetry are not ad$ittedQ the sane $an disappears and is no here hen he enters into ri!alry ith the $ad$an% 0 $ight tell of $any other noble deeds hich ha!e sprung fro$ inspired $adness% =nd therefore, let no one frighten or flutter us by saying that the te$perate friend is to be chosen rather than the inspired, but let hi$ further sho that lo!e is not sent by the gods for any good to lo!er or belo!edQ if he can do so e ill allo hi$ to carry off the pal$% =nd e, on our part, ill pro!e in ans er to hi$ that the $adness of lo!e is the greatest of hea!enPs blessings, and the proof shall be one hich the ise ill recei!e, and the itling disbelie!e% +ut first of all, let us !ie the affections and actions of the soul di!ine and hu$an, and try to ascertain the truth about the$% The beginning of our proof is as follo sAE BTranslated by Cic% Tus% Ruaest%C The soul through all her being is i$$ortal, for that hich is e!er in $otion is i$$ortalQ but that hich $o!es another and is $o!ed by another, in ceasing to $o!e ceases also to li!e% 8nly the selfE$o!ing, ne!er lea!ing self, ne!er ceases to $o!e, and is the fountain and beginning of $otion to all that $o!es besides% 9o , the beginning is unbegotten, for that hich is begotten has a beginningQ but the beginning is begotten of nothing, for if it ere begotten of so$ething, then the begotten ould not co$e fro$ a beginning% +ut if unbegotten, it $ust also be indestructibleQ for if beginning ere destroyed, there could be no beginning out of anything, nor anything out of a beginningQ and all things $ust ha!e a beginning% =nd therefore the selfE $o!ing is the beginning of $otionQ and this can neither be destroyed nor begotten, else the hole hea!ens and all creation ould collapse and stand still, and ne!er again ha!e $otion or birth% +ut if the selfE$o!ing is pro!ed to be i$$ortal, he ho affir$s that selfE$otion is the !ery idea and

essence of the soul ill not be put to confusion% (or the body hich is $o!ed fro$ ithout is soullessQ but that hich is $o!ed fro$ ithin has a soul, for such is the nature of the soul% +ut if this be true, $ust not the soul be the selfE$o!ing, and therefore of necessity unbegotten and i$$ortalN Enough of the soulPs i$$ortality% 8f the nature of the soul, though her true for$ be e!er a the$e of large and $ore than $ortal discourse, let $e spea" briefly, and in a figure% =nd let the figure be co$positeEEa pair of inged horses and a charioteer% 9o the inged horses and the charioteers of the gods are all of the$ noble and of noble descent, but those of other races are $ixedQ the hu$an charioteer dri!es his in a pairQ and one of the$ is noble and of noble breed, and the other is ignoble and of ignoble breedQ and the dri!ing of the$ of necessity gi!es a great deal of trouble to hi$% 0 ill endea!our to explain to you in hat ay the $ortal differs fro$ the i$$ortal creature% The soul in her totality has the care of inani$ate being e!ery here, and tra!erses the hole hea!en in di!ers for$s appearingEE hen perfect and fully inged she soars up ard, and orders the hole orldQ hereas the i$perfect soul, losing her ings and drooping in her flight at last settles on the solid groundEEthere, finding a ho$e, she recei!es an earthly fra$e hich appears to be selfE$o!ed, but is really $o!ed by her po erQ and this co$position of soul and body is called a li!ing and $ortal creature% (or i$$ortal no such union can be reasonably belie!ed to beQ although fancy, not ha!ing seen nor surely "no n the nature of God, $ay i$agine an i$$ortal creature ha!ing both a body and also a soul hich are united throughout all ti$e% <et that, ho e!er, be as God ills, and be spo"en of acceptably to hi$% =nd no let us as" the reason hy the soul loses her ings# The ing is the corporeal ele$ent hich is $ost a"in to the di!ine, and hich by nature tends to soar aloft and carry that hich gra!itates do n ards into the upper region, hich is the habitation of the gods% The di!ine is beauty, isdo$, goodness, and the li"eQ and by these the ing of the soul is nourished, and gro s apaceQ but hen fed upon e!il and foulness and the opposite of good, astes and falls a ay% Weus, the $ighty lord, holding the reins of a inged chariot, leads the ay in hea!en, ordering all and ta"ing care of allQ and there follo s hi$ the array of gods and de$iEgods, $arshalled in ele!en bandsQ ,estia alone abides at ho$e in the house of hea!enQ of the rest they ho are rec"oned a$ong the princely t el!e $arch in their appointed order% They see $any blessed sights in the inner hea!en, and there are $any ays to and fro, along hich the blessed

gods are passing, e!ery one doing his o n or"Q he $ay follo ho ill and can, for jealousy has no place in the celestial choir% +ut hen they go to banIuet and festi!al, then they $o!e up the steep to the top of the !ault of hea!en% The chariots of the gods in e!en poise, obeying the rein, glide rapidlyQ but the others labour, for the !icious steed goes hea!ily, eighing do n the charioteer to the earth hen his steed has not been thoroughly trainedAEEand this is the hour of agony and extre$est conflict for the soul% (or the i$$ortals, hen they are at the end of their course, go forth and stand upon the outside of hea!en, and the re!olution of the spheres carries the$ round, and they behold the things beyond% +ut of the hea!en hich is abo!e the hea!ens, hat earthly poet e!er did or e!er ill sing orthilyN 0t is such as 0 ill describeQ for 0 $ust dare to spea" the truth, hen truth is $y the$e% There abides the !ery being ith hich true "no ledge is concernedQ the colourless, for$less, intangible essence, !isible only to $ind, the pilot of the soul% The di!ine intelligence, being nurtured upon $ind and pure "no ledge, and the intelligence of e!ery soul hich is capable of recei!ing the food proper to it, rejoices at beholding reality, and once $ore ga7ing upon truth, is replenished and $ade glad, until the re!olution of the orlds brings her round again to the sa$e place% 0n the re!olution she beholds justice, and te$perance, and "no ledge absolute, not in the for$ of generation or of relation, hich $en call existence, but "no ledge absolute in existence absoluteQ and beholding the other true existences in li"e $anner, and feasting upon the$, she passes do n into the interior of the hea!ens and returns ho$eQ and there the charioteer putting up his horses at the stall, gi!es the$ a$brosia to eat and nectar to drin"% -uch is the life of the godsQ but of other souls, that hich follo s God best and is li"est to hi$ lifts the head of the charioteer into the outer orld, and is carried round in the re!olution, troubled indeed by the steeds, and ith difficulty beholding true beingQ hile another only rises and falls, and sees, and again fails to see by reason of the unruliness of the steeds% The rest of the souls are also longing after the upper orld and they all follo , but not being strong enough they are carried round belo the surface, plunging, treading on one another, each stri!ing to be firstQ and there is confusion and perspiration and the extre$ity of effortQ and $any of the$ are la$ed or ha!e their ings bro"en through the illE dri!ing of the charioteersQ and all of the$ after a fruitless toil, not ha!ing attained to the $ysteries of true being, go a ay, and feed upon

opinion% The reason hy the souls exhibit this exceeding eagerness to behold the plain of truth is that pasturage is found there, hich is suited to the highest part of the soulQ and the ing on hich the soul soars is nourished ith this% =nd there is a la of 'estiny, that the soul hich attains any !ision of truth in co$pany ith a god is preser!ed fro$ har$ until the next period, and if attaining al ays is al ays unhar$ed% +ut hen she is unable to follo , and fails to behold the truth, and through so$e illEhap sin"s beneath the double load of forgetfulness and !ice, and her ings fall fro$ her and she drops to the ground, then the la ordains that this soul shall at her first birth pass, not into any other ani$al, but only into $anQ and the soul hich has seen $ost of truth shall co$e to the birth as a philosopher, or artist, or so$e $usical and lo!ing natureQ that hich has seen truth in the second degree shall be so$e righteous "ing or arrior chiefQ the soul hich is of the third class shall be a politician, or econo$ist, or traderQ the fourth shall be a lo!er of gy$nastic toils, or a physicianQ the fifth shall lead the life of a prophet or hierophantQ to the sixth the character of poet or so$e other i$itati!e artist ill be assignedQ to the se!enth the life of an artisan or husband$anQ to the eighth that of a sophist or de$agogueQ to the ninth that of a tyrantEEall these are states of probation, in hich he ho does righteously i$pro!es, and he ho does unrighteously, deteriorates his lot% Ten thousand years $ust elapse before the soul of each one can return to the place fro$ hence she ca$e, for she cannot gro her ings in lessQ only the soul of a philosopher, guileless and true, or the soul of a lo!er, ho is not de!oid of philosophy, $ay acIuire ings in the third of the recurring periods of a thousand yearsQ he is distinguished fro$ the ordinary good $an ho gains ings in three thousand yearsAEEand they ho choose this life three ti$es in succession ha!e ings gi!en the$, and go a ay at the end of three thousand years% +ut the others BThe philosopher alone is not subject to judg$ent B"risisC, for he has ne!er lost the !ision of truth%C recei!e judg$ent hen they ha!e co$pleted their first life, and after the judg$ent they go, so$e of the$ to the houses of correction hich are under the earth, and are punishedQ others to so$e place in hea!en hither they are lightly borne by justice, and there they li!e in a $anner orthy of the life hich they led here hen in the for$ of $en% =nd at the end of the first thousand years the good souls and also the e!il souls both co$e to dra lots and choose their second life, and they $ay ta"e any hich they please% The soul of a $an $ay pass into the life of a beast, or fro$ the beast return again into the $an% +ut the soul hich has ne!er seen the

truth ill not pass into the hu$an for$% (or a $an $ust ha!e intelligence of uni!ersals, and be able to proceed fro$ the $any particulars of sense to one conception of reasonQEEthis is the recollection of those things hich our soul once sa hile follo ing GodEE hen regardless of that hich e no call being she raised her head up to ards the true being% =nd therefore the $ind of the philosopher alone has ingsQ and this is just, for he is al ays, according to the $easure of his abilities, clinging in recollection to those things in hich God abides, and in beholding hich ,e is hat ,e is% =nd he ho e$ploys aright these $e$ories is e!er being initiated into perfect $ysteries and alone beco$es truly perfect% +ut, as he forgets earthly interests and is rapt in the di!ine, the !ulgar dee$ hi$ $ad, and rebu"e hi$Q they do not see that he is inspired% Thus far 0 ha!e been spea"ing of the fourth and last "ind of $adness, hich is i$puted to hi$ ho, hen he sees the beauty of earth, is transported ith the recollection of the true beautyQ he ould li"e to fly a ay, but he cannotQ he is li"e a bird fluttering and loo"ing up ard and careless of the orld belo Q and he is therefore thought to be $ad% =nd 0 ha!e sho n this of all inspirations to be the noblest and highest and the offspring of the highest to hi$ ho has or shares in it, and that he ho lo!es the beautiful is called a lo!er because he parta"es of it% (or, as has been already said, e!ery soul of $an has in the ay of nature beheld true beingQ this as the condition of her passing into the for$ of $an% +ut all souls do not easily recall the things of the other orldQ they $ay ha!e seen the$ for a short ti$e only, or they $ay ha!e been unfortunate in their earthly lot, and, ha!ing had their hearts turned to unrighteousness through so$e corrupting influence, they $ay ha!e lost the $e$ory of the holy things hich once they sa % (e only retain an adeIuate re$e$brance of the$Q and they, hen they behold here any i$age of that other orld, are rapt in a$a7e$entQ but they are ignorant of hat this rapture $eans, because they do not clearly percei!e% (or there is no light of justice or te$perance or any of the higher ideas hich are precious to souls in the earthly copies of the$A they are seen through a glass di$lyQ and there are fe ho, going to the i$ages, behold in the$ the realities, and these only ith difficulty% There as a ti$e hen ith the rest of the happy band they sa beauty shining in brightness,EE e philosophers follo ing in the train of Weus, others in co$pany ith other godsQ and then e beheld the beatific !ision and ere initiated into a $ystery hich $ay be truly called $ost

blessed, celebrated by us in our state of innocence, before e had any experience of e!ils to co$e, hen e ere ad$itted to the sight of apparitions innocent and si$ple and cal$ and happy, hich e beheld shining in pure light, pure oursel!es and not yet enshrined in that li!ing to$b hich e carry about, no that e are i$prisoned in the body, li"e an oyster in his shell% <et $e linger o!er the $e$ory of scenes hich ha!e passed a ay% +ut of beauty, 0 repeat again that e sa her there shining in co$pany ith the celestial for$sQ and co$ing to earth e find her here too, shining in clearness through the clearest aperture of sense% (or sight is the $ost piercing of our bodily sensesQ though not by that is isdo$ seenQ her lo!eliness ould ha!e been transporting if there had been a !isible i$age of her, and the other ideas, if they had !isible counterparts, ould be eIually lo!ely% +ut this is the pri!ilege of beauty, that being the lo!eliest she is also the $ost palpable to sight% 9o he ho is not ne ly initiated or ho has beco$e corrupted, does not easily rise out of this orld to the sight of true beauty in the otherQ he loo"s only at her earthly na$esa"e, and instead of being a ed at the sight of her, he is gi!en o!er to pleasure, and li"e a brutish beast he rushes on to enjoy and begetQ he consorts ith antonness, and is not afraid or asha$ed of pursuing pleasure in !iolation of nature% +ut he hose initiation is recent, and ho has been the spectator of $any glories in the other orld, is a$a7ed hen he sees any one ha!ing a godli"e face or for$, hich is the expression of di!ine beautyQ and at first a shudder runs through hi$, and again the old a e steals o!er hi$Q then loo"ing upon the face of his belo!ed as of a god he re!erences hi$, and if he ere not afraid of being thought a do nright $ad$an, he ould sacrifice to his belo!ed as to the i$age of a godQ then hile he ga7es on hi$ there is a sort of reaction, and the shudder passes into an unusual heat and perspirationQ for, as he recei!es the effluence of beauty through the eyes, the ing $oistens and he ar$s% =nd as he ar$s, the parts out of hich the ing gre , and hich had been hitherto closed and rigid, and had pre!ented the ing fro$ shooting forth, are $elted, and as nourish$ent strea$s upon hi$, the lo er end of the ing begins to s ell and gro fro$ the root up ardsQ and the gro th extends under the hole soulEEfor once the hole as inged% 'uring this process the hole soul is all in a state of ebullition and effer!escence,EE hich $ay be co$pared to the irritation and uneasiness in

the gu$s at the ti$e of cutting teeth,EEbubbles up, and has a feeling of uneasiness and tic"lingQ but hen in li"e $anner the soul is beginning to gro ings, the beauty of the belo!ed $eets her eye and she recei!es the sensible ar$ $otion of particles hich flo to ards her, therefore called e$otion Bi$erosC, and is refreshed and ar$ed by the$, and then she ceases fro$ her pain ith joy% +ut hen she is parted fro$ her belo!ed and her $oisture fails, then the orifices of the passage out of hich the ing shoots dry up and close, and intercept the ger$ of the ingQ hich, being shut up ith the e$otion, throbbing as ith the pulsations of an artery, pric"s the aperture hich is nearest, until at length the entire soul is pierced and $addened and pained, and at the recollection of beauty is again delighted% =nd fro$ both of the$ together the soul is oppressed at the strangeness of her condition, and is in a great strait and excite$ent, and in her $adness can neither sleep by night nor abide in her place by day% =nd here!er she thin"s that she ill behold the beautiful one, thither in her desire she runs% =nd hen she has seen hi$, and bathed herself in the aters of beauty, her constraint is loosened, and she is refreshed, and has no $ore pangs and painsQ and this is the s eetest of all pleasures at the ti$e, and is the reason hy the soul of the lo!er ill ne!er forsa"e his beautiful one, ho$ he estee$s abo!e allQ he has forgotten $other and brethren and co$panions, and he thin"s nothing of the neglect and loss of his propertyQ the rules and proprieties of life, on hich he for$erly prided hi$self, he no despises, and is ready to sleep li"e a ser!ant, here!er he is allo ed, as near as he can to his desired one, ho is the object of his orship, and the physician ho can alone assuage the greatness of his pain% =nd this state, $y dear i$aginary youth to ho$ 0 a$ tal"ing, is by $en called lo!e, and a$ong the gods has a na$e at hich you, in your si$plicity, $ay be inclined to $oc"Q there are t o lines in the apocryphal ritings of ,o$er in hich the na$e occurs% 8ne of the$ is rather outrageous, and not altogether $etrical% They are as follo sA P;ortals call hi$ fluttering lo!e, +ut the i$$ortals call hi$ inged one, +ecause the gro ing of ings B8r, reading pterothoiton, Pthe $o!e$ent of ings%PC is a necessity to hi$%P Oou $ay belie!e this, but not unless you li"e% =t any rate the lo!es of lo!ers and their causes are such as 0 ha!e described% 9o the lo!er ho is ta"en to be the attendant of Weus is better able to

bear the inged god, and can endure a hea!ier burdenQ but the attendants and co$panions of =res, hen under the influence of lo!e, if they fancy that they ha!e been at all ronged, are ready to "ill and put an end to the$sel!es and their belo!ed% =nd he ho follo s in the train of any other god, hile he is unspoiled and the i$pression lasts, honours and i$itates hi$, as far as he is ableQ and after the $anner of his God he beha!es in his intercourse ith his belo!ed and ith the rest of the orld during the first period of his earthly existence% E!ery one chooses his lo!e fro$ the ran"s of beauty according to his character, and this he $a"es his god, and fashions and adorns as a sort of i$age hich he is to fall do n and orship% The follo ers of Weus desire that their belo!ed should ha!e a soul li"e hi$Q and therefore they see" out so$e one of a philosophical and i$perial nature, and hen they ha!e found hi$ and lo!ed hi$, they do all they can to confir$ such a nature in hi$, and if they ha!e no experience of such a disposition hitherto, they learn of any one ho can teach the$, and the$sel!es follo in the sa$e ay% =nd they ha!e the less difficulty in finding the nature of their o n god in the$sel!es, because they ha!e been co$pelled to ga7e intensely on hi$Q their recollection clings to hi$, and they beco$e possessed of hi$, and recei!e fro$ hi$ their character and disposition, so far as $an can participate in God% The Iualities of their god they attribute to the belo!ed, herefore they lo!e hi$ all the $ore, and if, li"e the +acchic 9y$phs, they dra inspiration fro$ Weus, they pour out their o n fountain upon hi$, anting to $a"e hi$ as li"e as possible to their o n god% +ut those ho are the follo ers of ,ere see" a royal lo!e, and hen they ha!e found hi$ they do just the sa$e ith hi$Q and in li"e $anner the follo ers of =pollo, and of e!ery other god al"ing in the ays of their god, see" a lo!e ho is to be $ade li"e hi$ ho$ they ser!e, and hen they ha!e found hi$, they the$sel!es i$itate their god, and persuade their lo!e to do the sa$e, and educate hi$ into the $anner and nature of the god as far as they each canQ for no feelings of en!y or jealousy are entertained by the$ to ards their belo!ed, but they do their ut$ost to create in hi$ the greatest li"eness of the$sel!es and of the god ho$ they honour% Thus fair and blissful to the belo!ed is the desire of the inspired lo!er, and the initiation of hich 0 spea" into the $ysteries of true lo!e, if he be captured by the lo!er and their purpose is effected% 9o the belo!ed is ta"en capti!e in the follo ing $annerAEE =s 0 said at the beginning of this tale, 0 di!ided each soul into threeEE t o horses and a charioteerQ and one of the horses as good and the other badA the di!ision $ay re$ain, but 0 ha!e not yet explained in hat the

goodness or badness of either consists, and to that 0 ill no proceed% The rightEhand horse is upright and cleanly $adeQ he has a lofty nec" and an aIuiline noseQ his colour is hite, and his eyes dar"Q he is a lo!er of honour and $odesty and te$perance, and the follo er of true gloryQ he needs no touch of the hip, but is guided by ord and ad$onition only% The other is a croo"ed lu$bering ani$al, put together anyho Q he has a short thic" nec"Q he is flatEfaced and of a dar" colour, ith grey eyes and bloodEred co$plexion B8r ith grey and bloodEshot eyes%CQ the $ate of insolence and pride, shagEeared and deaf, hardly yielding to hip and spur% 9o hen the charioteer beholds the !ision of lo!e, and has his hole soul ar$ed through sense, and is full of the pric"ings and tic"lings of desire, the obedient steed, then as al ays under the go!ern$ent of sha$e, refrains fro$ leaping on the belo!edQ but the other, heedless of the pric"s and of the blo s of the hip, plunges and runs a ay, gi!ing all $anner of trouble to his co$panion and the charioteer, ho$ he forces to approach the belo!ed and to re$e$ber the joys of lo!e% They at first indignantly oppose hi$ and ill not be urged on to do terrible and unla ful deedsQ but at last, hen he persists in plaguing the$, they yield and agree to do as he bids the$% =nd no they are at the spot and behold the flashing beauty of the belo!edQ hich hen the charioteer sees, his $e$ory is carried to the true beauty, ho$ he beholds in co$pany ith ;odesty li"e an i$age placed upon a holy pedestal% ,e sees her, but he is afraid and falls bac" ards in adoration, and by his fall is co$pelled to pull bac" the reins ith such !iolence as to bring both the steeds on their haunches, the one illing and unresisting, the unruly one !ery un illingQ and hen they ha!e gone bac" a little, the one is o!erco$e ith sha$e and onder, and his hole soul is bathed in perspirationQ the other, hen the pain is o!er hich the bridle and the fall had gi!en hi$, ha!ing ith difficulty ta"en breath, is full of rath and reproaches, hich he heaps upon the charioteer and his fello E steed, for ant of courage and $anhood, declaring that they ha!e been false to their agree$ent and guilty of desertion% =gain they refuse, and again he urges the$ on, and ill scarce yield to their prayer that he ould ait until another ti$e% &hen the appointed hour co$es, they $a"e as if they had forgotten, and he re$inds the$, fighting and neighing and dragging the$ on, until at length he on the sa$e thoughts intent, forces the$ to dra near again% =nd hen they are near he stoops his head and puts up his tail, and ta"es the bit in his teeth and pulls sha$elessly% Then the

charioteer is orse off than e!erQ he falls bac" li"e a racer at the barrier, and ith a still $ore !iolent rench drags the bit out of the teeth of the ild steed and co!ers his abusi!e tongue and ja s ith blood, and forces his legs and haunches to the ground and punishes hi$ sorely% =nd hen this has happened se!eral ti$es and the !illain has ceased fro$ his anton ay, he is ta$ed and hu$bled, and follo s the ill of the charioteer, and hen he sees the beautiful one he is ready to die of fear% =nd fro$ that ti$e for ard the soul of the lo!er follo s the belo!ed in $odesty and holy fear% =nd so the belo!ed ho, li"e a god, has recei!ed e!ery true and loyal ser!ice fro$ his lo!er, not in pretence but in reality, being also hi$self of a nature friendly to his ad$irer, if in for$er days he has blushed to o n his passion and turned a ay his lo!er, because his youthful co$panions or others slanderously told hi$ that he ould be disgraced, no as years ad!ance, at the appointed age and ti$e, is led to recei!e hi$ into co$$union% (or fate hich has ordained that there shall be no friendship a$ong the e!il has also ordained that there shall e!er be friendship a$ong the good% =nd the belo!ed hen he has recei!ed hi$ into co$$union and inti$acy, is Iuite a$a7ed at the goodE ill of the lo!erQ he recognises that the inspired friend is orth all other friends or "ins$enQ they ha!e nothing of friendship in the$ orthy to be co$pared ith his% =nd hen this feeling continues and he is nearer to hi$ and e$braces hi$, in gy$nastic exercises and at other ti$es of $eeting, then the fountain of that strea$, hich Weus hen he as in lo!e ith Gany$ede na$ed 'esire, o!erflo s upon the lo!er, and so$e enters into his soul, and so$e hen he is filled flo s out againQ and as a bree7e or an echo rebounds fro$ the s$ooth roc"s and returns hence it ca$e, so does the strea$ of beauty, passing through the eyes hich are the indo s of the soul, co$e bac" to the beautiful oneQ there arri!ing and Iuic"ening the passages of the ings, atering the$ and inclining the$ to gro , and filling the soul of the belo!ed also ith lo!e% =nd thus he lo!es, but he "no s not hatQ he does not understand and cannot explain his o n stateQ he appears to ha!e caught the infection of blindness fro$ anotherQ the lo!er is his $irror in ho$ he is beholding hi$self, but he is not a are of this% &hen he is ith the lo!er, both cease fro$ their pain, but hen he is a ay then he longs as he is longed for, and has lo!ePs i$age, lo!e for lo!e B=nterosC lodging in his breast, hich he calls and belie!es to be not lo!e but friendship only, and his desire is as the desire of the other, but ea"erQ he ants to see hi$, touch hi$, "iss hi$, e$brace hi$, and probably not long after ards his

desire is acco$plished% &hen they $eet, the anton steed of the lo!er has a ord to say to the charioteerQ he ould li"e to ha!e a little pleasure in return for $any pains, but the anton steed of the belo!ed says not a ord, for he is bursting ith passion hich he understands notQEEhe thro s his ar$s round the lo!er and e$braces hi$ as his dearest friendQ and, hen they are side by side, he is not in a state in hich he can refuse the lo!er anything, if he as" hi$Q although his fello Esteed and the charioteer oppose hi$ ith the argu$ents of sha$e and reason% =fter this their happiness depends upon their selfEcontrolQ if the better ele$ents of the $ind hich lead to order and philosophy pre!ail, then they pass their life here in happiness and har$onyEE$asters of the$sel!es and orderlyEE ensla!ing the !icious and e$ancipating the !irtuous ele$ents of the soulQ and hen the end co$es, they are light and inged for flight, ha!ing conIuered in one of the three hea!enly or truly 8ly$pian !ictoriesQ nor can hu$an discipline or di!ine inspiration confer any greater blessing on $an than this% 0f, on the other hand, they lea!e philosophy and lead the lo er life of a$bition, then probably, after ine or in so$e other careless hour, the t o anton ani$als ta"e the t o souls hen off their guard and bring the$ together, and they acco$plish that desire of their hearts hich to the $any is blissQ and this ha!ing once enjoyed they continue to enjoy, yet rarely because they ha!e not the appro!al of the hole soul% They too are dear, but not so dear to one another as the others, either at the ti$e of their lo!e or after ards% They consider that they ha!e gi!en and ta"en fro$ each other the $ost sacred pledges, and they $ay not brea" the$ and fall into en$ity% =t last they pass out of the body, un inged, but eager to soar, and thus obtain no $ean re ard of lo!e and $adness% (or those ho ha!e once begun the hea!en ard pilgri$age $ay not go do n again to dar"ness and the journey beneath the earth, but they li!e in light al aysQ happy co$panions in their pilgri$age, and hen the ti$e co$es at hich they recei!e their ings they ha!e the sa$e plu$age because of their lo!e% Thus great are the hea!enly blessings hich the friendship of a lo!er ill confer upon you, $y youth% &hereas the attach$ent of the nonElo!er, hich is alloyed ith a orldly prudence and has orldly and niggardly ays of doling out benefits, ill breed in your soul those !ulgar Iualities hich the populace applaud, ill send you bo ling round the earth during a period of nine thousand years, and lea!e you a fool in the orld belo %

=nd thus, dear Eros, 0 ha!e $ade and paid $y recantation, as ell and as fairly as 0 couldQ $ore especially in the $atter of the poetical figures hich 0 as co$pelled to use, because Phaedrus ould ha!e the$% =nd no forgi!e the past and accept the present, and be gracious and $erciful to $e, and do not in thine anger depri!e $e of sight, or ta"e fro$ $e the art of lo!e hich thou hast gi!en $e, but grant that 0 $ay be yet $ore estee$ed in the eyes of the fair% =nd if Phaedrus or 0 $yself said anything rude in our first speeches, bla$e <ysias, ho is the father of the brat, and let us ha!e no $ore of his progenyQ bid hi$ study philosophy, li"e his brother Pole$archusQ and then his lo!er Phaedrus ill no longer halt bet een t o opinions, but ill dedicate hi$self holly to lo!e and to philosophical discourses% P,=E'*:-A 0 join in the prayer, -ocrates, and say ith you, if this be for $y good, $ay your ords co$e to pass% +ut hy did you $a"e your second oration so $uch finer than the firstN 0 onder hy% =nd 0 begin to be afraid that 0 shall lose conceit of <ysias, and that he ill appear ta$e in co$parison, e!en if he be illing to put another as fine and as long as yours into the field, hich 0 doubt% (or Iuite lately one of your politicians as abusing hi$ on this !ery accountQ and called hi$ a Pspeech riterP again and again% -o that a feeling of pride $ay probably induce hi$ to gi!e up riting speeches% -8C*=TE-A &hat a !ery a$using notion# +ut 0 thin", $y young $an, that you are $uch $ista"en in your friend if you i$agine that he is frightened at a little noiseQ and, possibly, you thin" that his assailant as in earnestN P,=E'*:-A 0 thought, -ocrates, that he as% =nd you are a are that the greatest and $ost influential states$en are asha$ed of riting speeches and lea!ing the$ in a ritten for$, lest they should be called -ophists by posterity% -8C*=TE-A Oou see$ to be unconscious, Phaedrus, that the Ps eet elbo P B= pro!erb, li"e Pthe grapes are sour,P applied to pleasures hich cannot be had, $eaning s eet things hich, li"e the elbo , are out of the reach of the $outh% The pro$ised pleasure turns out to be a long and tedious

affair%C of the pro!erb is really the long ar$ of the 9ile% =nd you appear to be eIually una are of the fact that this s eet elbo of theirs is also a long ar$% (or there is nothing of hich our great politicians are so fond as of riting speeches and beIueathing the$ to posterity% =nd they add their ad$irersP na$es at the top of the riting, out of gratitude to the$% P,=E'*:-A &hat do you $eanN 0 do not understand% -8C*=TE-A &hy, do you not "no that hen a politician rites, he begins ith the na$es of his appro!ersN P,=E'*:-A ,o soN -8C*=TE-A &hy, he begins in this $annerA P+e it enacted by the senate, the people, or both, on the $otion of a certain person,P ho is our authorQ and so putting on a serious face, he proceeds to display his o n isdo$ to his ad$irers in hat is often a long and tedious co$position% 9o hat is that sort of thing but a regular piece of authorshipN P,=E'*:-A True% -8C*=TE-A =nd if the la is finally appro!ed, then the author lea!es the theatre in high delightQ but if the la is rejected and he is done out of his speechE$a"ing, and not thought good enough to rite, then he and his party are in $ourning% P,=E'*:-A )ery true% -8C*=TE-A -o far are they fro$ despising, or rather so highly do they !alue the practice of riting% P,=E'*:-A 9o doubt% -8C*=TE-A =nd hen the "ing or orator has the po er, as <ycurgus or -olon or 'arius had, of attaining an i$$ortality or authorship in a state, is he not thought by posterity, hen they see his co$positions, and does he not thin" hi$self, hile he is yet ali!e, to be a godN

P,=E'*:-A )ery true% -8C*=TE-A Then do you thin" that any one of this class, ho e!er illE disposed, ould reproach <ysias ith being an authorN P,=E'*:-A 9ot upon your !ie Q for according to you he ould be casting a slur upon his o n fa!ourite pursuit% -8C*=TE-A =ny one $ay see that there is no disgrace in the $ere fact of riting% P,=E'*:-A Certainly not% -8C*=TE-A The disgrace begins hen a $an rites not ell, but badly% P,=E'*:-A Clearly% -8C*=TE-A =nd hat is ell and hat is badlyEEneed e as" <ysias, or any other poet or orator, ho e!er rote or ill rite either a political or any other or", in $etre or out of $etre, poet or prose riter, to teach us thisN P,=E'*:-A 9eed eN (or hat should a $an li!e if not for the pleasures of discourseN -urely not for the sa"e of bodily pleasures, hich al$ost al ays ha!e pre!ious pain as a condition of the$, and therefore are rightly called sla!ish% -8C*=TE-A There is ti$e enough% =nd 0 belie!e that the grasshoppers chirruping after their $anner in the heat of the sun o!er our heads are tal"ing to one another and loo"ing do n at us% &hat ould they say if they sa that e, li"e the $any, are not con!ersing, but slu$bering at $idEday, lulled by their !oices, too indolent to thin"N &ould they not ha!e a right to laugh at usN They $ight i$agine that e ere sla!es, ho, co$ing to rest at a place of resort of theirs, li"e sheep lie asleep at noon around the ell% +ut if they see us discoursing, and li"e 8dysseus sailing past the$, deaf to their siren !oices, they $ay perhaps, out of respect, gi!e us of the gifts hich they recei!e fro$ the gods that they $ay i$part the$ to

$en% P,=E'*:-A &hat gifts do you $eanN 0 ne!er heard of any% -8C*=TE-A = lo!er of $usic li"e yourself ought surely to ha!e heard the story of the grasshoppers, ho are said to ha!e been hu$an beings in an age before the ;uses% =nd hen the ;uses ca$e and song appeared they ere ra!ished ith delightQ and singing al ays, ne!er thought of eating and drin"ing, until at last in their forgetfulness they died% =nd no they li!e again in the grasshoppersQ and this is the return hich the ;uses $a"e to the$EEthey neither hunger, nor thirst, but fro$ the hour of their birth are al ays singing, and ne!er eating or drin"ingQ and hen they die they go and infor$ the ;uses in hea!en ho honours the$ on earth% They in the lo!e of Terpsichore for the dancers by their report of the$Q of Erato for the lo!ers, and of the other ;uses for those ho do the$ honour, according to the se!eral ays of honouring the$QEEof Calliope the eldest ;use and of :rania ho is next to her, for the philosophers, of hose $usic the grasshoppers $a"e report to the$Q for these are the ;uses ho are chiefly concerned ith hea!en and thought, di!ine as ell as hu$an, and they ha!e the s eetest utterance% (or $any reasons, then, e ought al ays to tal" and not to sleep at $idEday% P,=E'*:-A <et us tal"% -8C*=TE-A -hall e discuss the rules of riting and speech as e ere proposingN P,=E'*:-A )ery good% -8C*=TE-A 0n good spea"ing should not the $ind of the spea"er "no the truth of the $atter about hich he is going to spea"N P,=E'*:-A =nd yet, -ocrates, 0 ha!e heard that he ho ould be an orator has nothing to do ith true justice, but only ith that hich is li"ely to be appro!ed by the $any ho sit in judg$entQ nor ith the truly good or honourable, but only ith opinion about the$, and that fro$ opinion co$es persuasion, and not fro$ the truth% -8C*=TE-A The ords of the ise are not to be set asideQ for there is

probably so$ething in the$Q and therefore the $eaning of this saying is not hastily to be dis$issed% P,=E'*:-A )ery true% -8C*=TE-A <et us put the $atter thusAEE-uppose that 0 persuaded you to buy a horse and go to the ars% 9either of us "ne hat a horse as li"e, but 0 "ne that you belie!ed a horse to be of ta$e ani$als the one hich has the longest ears% P,=E'*:-A That ould be ridiculous% -8C*=TE-A There is so$ething $ore ridiculous co$ingAEE-uppose, further, that in sober earnest 0, ha!ing persuaded you of this, ent and co$posed a speech in honour of an ass, ho$ 0 entitled a horse beginningA P= noble ani$al and a $ost useful possession, especially in ar, and you $ay get on his bac" and fight, and he ill carry baggage or anything%P P,=E'*:-A ,o ridiculous# -8C*=TE-A *idiculous# OesQ but is not e!en a ridiculous friend better than a cunning ene$yN P,=E'*:-A Certainly% -8C*=TE-A =nd hen the orator instead of putting an ass in the place of a horse, puts good for e!il, being hi$self as ignorant of their true nature as the city on hich he i$poses is ignorantQ and ha!ing studied the notions of the $ultitude, falsely persuades the$ not about Pthe shado of an ass,P hich he confounds ith a horse, but about good hich he confounds ith e!il,EE hat ill be the har!est hich rhetoric ill be li"ely to gather after the so ing of that seedN P,=E'*:-A The re!erse of good% -8C*=TE-A +ut perhaps rhetoric has been getting too roughly handled by us, and she $ight ans erA &hat a$a7ing nonsense you are tal"ing# =s if 0

forced any $an to learn to spea" in ignorance of the truth# &hate!er $y ad!ice $ay be orth, 0 should ha!e told hi$ to arri!e at the truth first, and then co$e to $e% =t the sa$e ti$e 0 boldly assert that $ere "no ledge of the truth ill not gi!e you the art of persuasion% P,=E'*:-A There is reason in the ladyPs defence of herself% -8C*=TE-A Ruite trueQ if only the other argu$ents hich re$ain to be brought up bear her itness that she is an art at all% +ut 0 see$ to hear the$ arraying the$sel!es on the opposite side, declaring that she spea"s falsely, and that rhetoric is a $ere routine and tric", not an art% <o# a -partan appears, and says that there ne!er is nor e!er ill be a real art of spea"ing hich is di!orced fro$ the truth% P,=E'*:-A =nd hat are these argu$ents, -ocratesN +ring the$ out that e $ay exa$ine the$% -8C*=TE-A Co$e out, fair children, and con!ince Phaedrus, ho is the father of si$ilar beauties, that he ill ne!er be able to spea" about anything as he ought to spea" unless he ha!e a "no ledge of philosophy% =nd let Phaedrus ans er you% P,=E'*:-A Put the Iuestion% -8C*=TE-A 0s not rhetoric, ta"en generally, a uni!ersal art of enchanting the $ind by argu$entsQ hich is practised not only in courts and public asse$blies, but in pri!ate houses also, ha!ing to do ith all $atters, great as ell as s$all, good and bad ali"e, and is in all eIually right, and eIually to be estee$edEEthat is hat you ha!e heardN P,=E'*:-A 9ay, not exactly thatQ 0 should say rather that 0 ha!e heard the art confined to spea"ing and riting in la suits, and to spea"ing in public asse$bliesEEnot extended farther% -8C*=TE-A Then 0 suppose that you ha!e only heard of the rhetoric of 9estor and 8dysseus, hich they co$posed in their leisure hours hen at Troy, and ne!er of the rhetoric of Pala$edesN P,=E'*:-A 9o $ore than of 9estor and 8dysseus, unless Gorgias is your

9estor, and Thrasy$achus or Theodorus your 8dysseus% -8C*=TE-A Perhaps that is $y $eaning% +ut let us lea!e the$% =nd do you tell $e, instead, hat are plaintiff and defendant doing in a la courtEE are they not contendingN P,=E'*:-A Exactly so% -8C*=TE-A =bout the just and unjustEEthat is the $atter in disputeN P,=E'*:-A Oes% -8C*=TE-A =nd a professor of the art ill $a"e the sa$e thing appear to the sa$e persons to be at one ti$e just, at another ti$e, if he is so inclined, to be unjustN P,=E'*:-A Exactly% -8C*=TE-A =nd hen he spea"s in the asse$bly, he ill $a"e the sa$e things see$ good to the city at one ti$e, and at another ti$e the re!erse of goodN P,=E'*:-A That is true% -8C*=TE-A ,a!e e not heard of the Eleatic Pala$edes BWenoC, ho has an art of spea"ing by hich he $a"es the sa$e things appear to his hearers li"e and unli"e, one and $any, at rest and in $otionN P,=E'*:-A )ery true% -8C*=TE-A The art of disputation, then, is not confined to the courts and the asse$bly, but is one and the sa$e in e!ery use of languageQ this is the art, if there be such an art, hich is able to find a li"eness of e!erything to hich a li"eness can be found, and dra s into the light of day the li"enesses and disguises hich are used by othersN P,=E'*:-A ,o do you $eanN

-8C*=TE-A <et $e put the $atter thusA &hen ill there be $ore chance of deceptionEE hen the difference is large or s$allN P,=E'*:-A &hen the difference is s$all% -8C*=TE-A =nd you ill be less li"ely to be disco!ered in passing by degrees into the other extre$e than hen you go all at onceN P,=E'*:-A 8f course% -8C*=TE-A ,e, then, ho ould decei!e others, and not be decei!ed, $ust exactly "no the real li"enesses and differences of thingsN P,=E'*:-A ,e $ust% -8C*=TE-A =nd if he is ignorant of the true nature of any subject, ho can he detect the greater or less degree of li"eness in other things to that of hich by the hypothesis he is ignorantN P,=E'*:-A ,e cannot% -8C*=TE-A =nd hen $en are decei!ed and their notions are at !ariance ith realities, it is clear that the error slips in through rese$blancesN P,=E'*:-A Oes, that is the ay% -8C*=TE-A Then he ho ould be a $aster of the art $ust understand the real nature of e!erythingQ or he ill ne!er "no either ho to $a"e the gradual departure fro$ truth into the opposite of truth hich is effected by the help of rese$blances, or ho to a!oid itN P,=E'*:-A ,e ill not% -8C*=TE-A ,e then, ho being ignorant of the truth ai$s at appearances, ill only attain an art of rhetoric hich is ridiculous and is not an art at allN

P,=E'*:-A That $ay be expected% -8C*=TE-A -hall 0 propose that e loo" for exa$ples of art and ant of art, according to our notion of the$, in the speech of <ysias hich you ha!e in your hand, and in $y o n speechN P,=E'*:-A 9othing could be betterQ and indeed 0 thin" that our pre!ious argu$ent has been too abstract and anting in illustrations% -8C*=TE-A OesQ and the t o speeches happen to afford a !ery good exa$ple of the ay in hich the spea"er ho "no s the truth $ay, ithout any serious purpose, steal a ay the hearts of his hearers% This piece of goodE fortune 0 attribute to the local deitiesQ and, perhaps, the prophets of the ;uses ho are singing o!er our heads $ay ha!e i$parted their inspiration to $e% (or 0 do not i$agine that 0 ha!e any rhetorical art of $y o n% P,=E'*:-A GrantedQ if you ill only please to get on% -8C*=TE-A -uppose that you read $e the first ords of <ysiasP speech% P,=E'*:-A POou "no ho $atters stand ith $e, and ho , as 0 concei!e, they $ight be arranged for our co$$on interestQ and 0 $aintain that 0 ought not to fail in $y suit, because 0 a$ not your lo!er% (or lo!ers repentEEP -8C*=TE-A EnoughAEE9o , shall 0 point out the rhetorical error of those ordsN P,=E'*:-A Oes% -8C*=TE-A E!ery one is a are that about so$e things e are agreed, hereas about other things e differ% P,=E'*:-A 0 thin" that 0 understand youQ but ill you explain yourselfN -8C*=TE-A &hen any one spea"s of iron and sil!er, is not the sa$e thing

present in the $inds of allN P,=E'*:-A Certainly% -8C*=TE-A +ut hen any one spea"s of justice and goodness e part co$pany and are at odds ith one another and ith oursel!esN P,=E'*:-A Precisely% -8C*=TE-A Then in so$e things e agree, but not in othersN P,=E'*:-A That is true% -8C*=TE-A 0n hich are e $ore li"ely to be decei!ed, and in hich has rhetoric the greater po erN P,=E'*:-A Clearly, in the uncertain class% -8C*=TE-A Then the rhetorician ought to $a"e a regular di!ision, and acIuire a distinct notion of both classes, as ell of that in hich the $any err, as of that in hich they do not errN P,=E'*:-A ,e ho $ade such a distinction ould ha!e an excellent principle% -8C*=TE-A OesQ and in the next place he $ust ha!e a "een eye for the obser!ation of particulars in spea"ing, and not $a"e a $ista"e about the class to hich they are to be referred% P,=E'*:-A Certainly% -8C*=TE-A 9o to hich class does lo!e belongEEto the debatable or to the undisputed classN P,=E'*:-A To the debatable, clearlyQ for if not, do you thin" that lo!e ould ha!e allo ed you to say as you did, that he is an e!il both to the lo!er and the belo!ed, and also the greatest possible goodN

-8C*=TE-A Capital% +ut ill you tell $e hether 0 defined lo!e at the beginning of $y speechN for, ha!ing been in an ecstasy, 0 cannot ell re$e$ber% P,=E'*:-A Oes, indeedQ that you did, and no $ista"e% -8C*=TE-A Then 0 percei!e that the 9y$phs of =chelous and Pan the son of ,er$es, ho inspired $e, ere far better rhetoricians than <ysias the son of Cephalus% =las# ho inferior to the$ he is# +ut perhaps 0 a$ $ista"enQ and <ysias at the co$$ence$ent of his lo!erPs speech did insist on our supposing lo!e to be so$ething or other hich he fancied hi$ to be, and according to this $odel he fashioned and fra$ed the re$ainder of his discourse% -uppose e read his beginning o!er againA P,=E'*:-A 0f you pleaseQ but you ill not find hat you ant% -8C*=TE-A *ead, that 0 $ay ha!e his exact ords% P,=E'*:-A POou "no ho $atters stand ith $e, and ho , as 0 concei!e, they $ight be arranged for our co$$on interestQ and 0 $aintain 0 ought not to fail in $y suit because 0 a$ not your lo!er, for lo!ers repent of the "indnesses hich they ha!e sho n, hen their lo!e is o!er%P -8C*=TE-A ,ere he appears to ha!e done just the re!erse of hat he oughtQ for he has begun at the end, and is s i$$ing on his bac" through the flood to the place of starting% ,is address to the fair youth begins here the lo!er ould ha!e ended% =$ 0 not right, s eet PhaedrusN P,=E'*:-A Oes, indeed, -ocratesQ he does begin at the end% -8C*=TE-A Then as to the other topicsEEare they not thro n do n anyho N 0s there any principle in the$N &hy should the next topic follo next in order, or any other topicN 0 cannot help fancying in $y ignorance that he rote off boldly just hat ca$e into his head, but 0 dare say that you ould recogni7e a rhetorical necessity in the succession of the se!eral parts of the co$positionN

P,=E'*:-A Oou ha!e too good an opinion of $e if you thin" that 0 ha!e any such insight into his principles of co$position% -8C*=TE-A =t any rate, you ill allo that e!ery discourse ought to be a li!ing creature, ha!ing a body of its o n and a head and feetQ there should be a $iddle, beginning, and end, adapted to one another and to the holeN P,=E'*:-A Certainly% -8C*=TE-A Can this be said of the discourse of <ysiasN -ee hether you can find any $ore connexion in his ords than in the epitaph hich is said by so$e to ha!e been inscribed on the gra!e of ;idas the Phrygian% P,=E'*:-A &hat is there re$ar"able in the epitaphN -8C*=TE-A 0t is as follo sAEE P0 a$ a $aiden of bron7e and lie on the to$b of ;idasQ -o long as ater flo s and tall trees gro , -o long here on this spot by his sad to$b abiding, 0 shall declare to passersEby that ;idas sleeps belo %P 9o in this rhy$e hether a line co$es first or co$es last, as you ill percei!e, $a"es no difference% P,=E'*:-A Oou are $a"ing fun of that oration of ours% -8C*=TE-A &ell, 0 ill say no $ore about your friendPs speech lest 0 should gi!e offence to youQ although 0 thin" that it $ight furnish $any other exa$ples of hat a $an ought rather to a!oid% +ut 0 ill proceed to the other speech, hich, as 0 thin", is also suggesti!e to students of rhetoric% P,=E'*:-A 0n hat ayN -8C*=TE-A The t o speeches, as you $ay re$e$ber, ere unli"eQ the one argued that the lo!er and the other that the nonElo!er ought to be

accepted% P,=E'*:-A =nd right $anfully% -8C*=TE-A Oou should rather say P$adlyQP and $adness as the argu$ent of the$, for, as 0 said, Plo!e is a $adness%P P,=E'*:-A Oes% -8C*=TE-A =nd of $adness there ere t o "indsQ one produced by hu$an infir$ity, the other as a di!ine release of the soul fro$ the yo"e of custo$ and con!ention% P,=E'*:-A True% -8C*=TE-A The di!ine $adness as subdi!ided into four "inds, prophetic, initiatory, poetic, erotic, ha!ing four gods presiding o!er the$Q the first as the inspiration of =pollo, the second that of 'ionysus, the third that of the ;uses, the fourth that of =phrodite and Eros% 0n the description of the last "ind of $adness, hich as also said to be the best, e spo"e of the affection of lo!e in a figure, into hich e introduced a tolerably credible and possibly true though partly erring $yth, hich as also a hy$n in honour of <o!e, ho is your lord and also $ine, Phaedrus, and the guardian of fair children, and to hi$ e sung the hy$n in $easured and sole$n strain% P,=E'*:-A 0 "no that 0 had great pleasure in listening to you% -8C*=TE-A <et us ta"e this instance and note ho the transition as $ade fro$ bla$e to praise% P,=E'*:-A &hat do you $eanN -8C*=TE-A 0 $ean to say that the co$position as $ostly playful% Oet in these chance fancies of the hour ere in!ol!ed t o principles of hich e should be too glad to ha!e a clearer description if art could gi!e us one%

P,=E'*:-A &hat are theyN -8C*=TE-A (irst, the co$prehension of scattered particulars in one ideaQ as in our definition of lo!e, hich hether true or false certainly ga!e clearness and consistency to the discourse, the spea"er should define his se!eral notions and so $a"e his $eaning clear% P,=E'*:-A &hat is the other principle, -ocratesN -8C*=TE-A The second principle is that of di!ision into species according to the natural for$ation, here the joint is, not brea"ing any part as a bad car!er $ight% 1ust as our t o discourses, ali"e assu$ed, first of all, a single for$ of unreasonQ and then, as the body hich fro$ being one beco$es double and $ay be di!ided into a left side and right side, each ha!ing parts right and left of the sa$e na$eEEafter this $anner the spea"er proceeded to di!ide the parts of the left side and did not desist until he found in the$ an e!il or leftEhanded lo!e hich he justly re!iledQ and the other discourse leading us to the $adness hich lay on the right side, found another lo!e, also ha!ing the sa$e na$e, but di!ine, hich the spea"er held up before us and applauded and affir$ed to be the author of the greatest benefits% P,=E'*:-A ;ost true% -8C*=TE-A 0 a$ $yself a great lo!er of these processes of di!ision and generali7ationQ they help $e to spea" and to thin"% =nd if 0 find any $an ho is able to see Pa 8ne and ;anyP in nature, hi$ 0 follo , and P al" in his footsteps as if he ere a god%P =nd those ho ha!e this art, 0 ha!e hitherto been in the habit of calling dialecticiansQ but God "no s hether the na$e is right or not% =nd 0 should li"e to "no hat na$e you ould gi!e to your or to <ysiasP disciples, and hether this $ay not be that fa$ous art of rhetoric hich Thrasy$achus and others teach and practiseN -"ilful spea"ers they are, and i$part their s"ill to any ho is illing to $a"e "ings of the$ and to bring gifts to the$% P,=E'*:-A Oes, they are royal $enQ but their art is not the sa$e ith the art of those ho$ you call, and rightly, in $y opinion, dialecticiansAEE -till e are in the dar" about rhetoric%

-8C*=TE-A &hat do you $eanN The re$ains of it, if there be anything re$aining hich can be brought under rules of art, $ust be a fine thingQ and, at any rate, is not to be despised by you and $e% +ut ho $uch is leftN P,=E'*:-A There is a great deal surely to be found in boo"s of rhetoricN -8C*=TE-A OesQ than" you for re$inding $eAEEThere is the exordiu$, sho ing ho the speech should begin, if 0 re$e$ber rightlyQ that is hat you $eanEE the niceties of the artN P,=E'*:-A Oes% -8C*=TE-A Then follo s the state$ent of facts, and upon that itnessesQ thirdly, proofsQ fourthly, probabilities are to co$eQ the great +y7antian ordE$a"er also spea"s, if 0 a$ not $ista"en, of confir$ation and further confir$ation% P,=E'*:-A Oou $ean the excellent Theodorus% -8C*=TE-A OesQ and he tells ho refutation or further refutation is to be $anaged, hether in accusation or defence% 0 ought also to $ention the illustrious Parian, E!enus, ho first in!ented insinuations and indirect praisesQ and also indirect censures, hich according to so$e he put into !erse to help the $e$ory% +ut shall 0 Pto du$b forgetfulness consignP Tisias and Gorgias, ho are not ignorant that probability is superior to truth, and ho by force of argu$ent $a"e the little appear great and the great little, disguise the ne in old fashions and the old in ne fashions, and ha!e disco!ered for$s for e!erything, either short or going on to infinity% 0 re$e$ber Prodicus laughing hen 0 told hi$ of thisQ he said that he had hi$self disco!ered the true rule of art, hich as to be neither long nor short, but of a con!enient length% P,=E'*:-A &ell done, Prodicus# -8C*=TE-A Then there is ,ippias the Elean stranger, ho probably agrees ith hi$% P,=E'*:-A Oes%

-8C*=TE-A =nd there is also Polus, ho has treasuries of diplasiology, and gno$ology, and ei"onology, and ho teaches in the$ the na$es of hich <icy$nius $ade hi$ a presentQ they ere to gi!e a polish% P,=E'*:-A ,ad not Protagoras so$ething of the sa$e sortN -8C*=TE-A Oes, rules of correct diction and $any other fine preceptsQ for the Psorro s of a poor old $an,P or any other pathetic case, no one is better than the Chalcedonian giantQ he can put a hole co$pany of people into a passion and out of one again by his $ighty $agic, and is firstErate at in!enting or disposing of any sort of calu$ny on any grounds or none% =ll of the$ agree in asserting that a speech should end in a recapitulation, though they do not all agree to use the sa$e ord% P,=E'*:-A Oou $ean that there should be a su$$ing up of the argu$ents in order to re$ind the hearers of the$% -8C*=TE-A 0 ha!e no said all that 0 ha!e to say of the art of rhetoricA ha!e you anything to addN P,=E'*:-A 9ot $uchQ nothing !ery i$portant% -8C*=TE-A <ea!e the uni$portant and let us bring the really i$portant Iuestion into the light of day, hich isA &hat po er has this art of rhetoric, and henN P,=E'*:-A = !ery great po er in public $eetings% -8C*=TE-A 0t has% +ut 0 should li"e to "no hether you ha!e the sa$e feeling as 0 ha!e about the rhetoriciansN To $e there see$ to be a great $any holes in their eb% P,=E'*:-A Gi!e an exa$ple% -8C*=TE-A 0 ill% -uppose a person to co$e to your friend Eryxi$achus, or to his father =cu$enus, and to say to hi$A P0 "no ho to apply drugs

hich shall ha!e either a heating or a cooling effect, and 0 can gi!e a !o$it and also a purge, and all that sort of thingQ and "no ing all this, as 0 do, 0 clai$ to be a physician and to $a"e physicians by i$parting this "no ledge to others,PEE hat do you suppose that they ould sayN P,=E'*:-A They ould be sure to as" hi$ hether he "ne Pto ho$P he ould gi!e his $edicines, and P hen,P and Pho $uch%P -8C*=TE-A =nd suppose that he ere to replyA P9oQ 0 "no nothing of all thatQ 0 expect the patient ho consults $e to be able to do these things for hi$selfPN P,=E'*:-A They ould say in reply that he is a $ad$an or a pedant ho fancies that he is a physician because he has read so$ething in a boo", or has stu$bled on a prescription or t o, although he has no real understanding of the art of $edicine% -8C*=TE-A =nd suppose a person ere to co$e to -ophocles or Euripides and say that he "no s ho to $a"e a !ery long speech about a s$all $atter, and a short speech about a great $atter, and also a sorro ful speech, or a terrible, or threatening speech, or any other "ind of speech, and in teaching this fancies that he is teaching the art of tragedyEEN P,=E'*:-A They too ould surely laugh at hi$ if he fancies that tragedy is anything but the arranging of these ele$ents in a $anner hich ill be suitable to one another and to the hole% -8C*=TE-A +ut 0 do not suppose that they ould be rude or abusi!e to hi$A &ould they not treat hi$ as a $usician a $an ho thin"s that he is a har$onist because he "no s ho to pitch the highest and lo est noteQ happening to $eet such an one he ould not say to hi$ sa!agely, P(ool, you are $ad#P +ut li"e a $usician, in a gentle and har$onious tone of !oice, he ould ans erA P;y good friend, he ho ould be a har$onist $ust certainly "no this, and yet he $ay understand nothing of har$ony if he has not got beyond your stage of "no ledge, for you only "no the preli$inaries

of har$ony and not har$ony itself%P P,=E'*:-A )ery true% -8C*=TE-A =nd ill not -ophocles say to the display of the ouldEbe tragedian, that this is not tragedy but the preli$inaries of tragedyN and ill not =cu$enus say the sa$e of $edicine to the ouldEbe physicianN P,=E'*:-A Ruite true% -8C*=TE-A =nd if =drastus the $ellifluous or Pericles heard of these onderful arts, brachylogies and ei"onologies and all the hard na$es hich e ha!e been endea!ouring to dra into the light of day, hat ould they sayN 0nstead of losing te$per and applying unco$pli$entary epithets, as you and 0 ha!e been doing, to the authors of such an i$aginary art, their superior isdo$ ould rather censure us, as ell as the$% P,a!e a little patience, Phaedrus and -ocrates, they ould sayQ you should not be in such a passion ith those ho fro$ so$e ant of dialectical s"ill are unable to define the nature of rhetoric, and conseIuently suppose that they ha!e found the art in the preli$inary conditions of it, and hen these ha!e been taught by the$ to others, fancy that the hole art of rhetoric has been taught by the$Q but as to using the se!eral instru$ents of the art effecti!ely, or $a"ing the co$position a hole,EEan application of it such as this is they regard as an easy thing hich their disciples $ay $a"e for the$sel!es%P P,=E'*:-A 0 Iuite ad$it, -ocrates, that the art of rhetoric hich these $en teach and of hich they rite is such as you describeEEthere 0 agree ith you% +ut 0 still ant to "no here and ho the true art of rhetoric and persuasion is to be acIuired% -8C*=TE-A The perfection hich is reIuired of the finished orator is, or rather $ust be, li"e the perfection of anything elseQ partly gi!en by nature, but $ay also be assisted by art% 0f you ha!e the natural po er and add to it "no ledge and practice, you ill be a distinguished spea"erQ if you fall short in either of these, you ill be to that extent defecti!e% +ut the art, as far as there is an art, of rhetoric does not lie in the direction of <ysias or Thrasy$achus% P,=E'*:-A 0n hat direction thenN

-8C*=TE-A 0 concei!e Pericles to ha!e been the $ost acco$plished of rhetoricians% P,=E'*:-A &hat of thatN -8C*=TE-A =ll the great arts reIuire discussion and high speculation about the truths of natureQ hence co$e loftiness of thought and co$pleteness of execution% =nd this, as 0 concei!e, as the Iuality hich, in addition to his natural gifts, Pericles acIuired fro$ his intercourse ith =naxagoras ho$ he happened to "no % ,e as thus i$bued ith the higher philosophy, and attained the "no ledge of ;ind and the negati!e of ;ind, hich ere fa!ourite the$es of =naxagoras, and applied hat suited his purpose to the art of spea"ing% P,=E'*:-A Explain% -8C*=TE-A *hetoric is li"e $edicine% P,=E'*:-A ,o soN -8C*=TE-A &hy, because $edicine has to define the nature of the body and rhetoric of the soulEEif e ould proceed, not e$pirically but scientifically, in the one case to i$part health and strength by gi!ing $edicine and food, in the other to i$plant the con!iction or !irtue hich you desire, by the right application of ords and training% P,=E'*:-A There, -ocrates, 0 suspect that you are right% -8C*=TE-A =nd do you thin" that you can "no the nature of the soul intelligently ithout "no ing the nature of the holeN P,=E'*:-A ,ippocrates the =sclepiad says that the nature e!en of the body can only be understood as a hole% BCo$pare Char$ides%C -8C*=TE-A Oes, friend, and he as rightAEEstill, e ought not to be

content ith the na$e of ,ippocrates, but to exa$ine and see hether his argu$ent agrees ith his conception of nature% P,=E'*:-A 0 agree% -8C*=TE-A Then consider hat truth as ell as ,ippocrates says about this or about any other nature% 8ught e not to consider first hether that hich e ish to learn and to teach is a si$ple or $ultifor$ thing, and if si$ple, then to enIuire hat po er it has of acting or being acted upon in relation to other things, and if $ultifor$, then to nu$ber the for$sQ and see first in the case of one of the$, and then in the case of all of the$, hat is that po er of acting or being acted upon hich $a"es each and all of the$ to be hat they areN P,=E'*:-A Oou $ay !ery li"ely be right, -ocrates% -8C*=TE-A The $ethod hich proceeds ithout analysis is li"e the groping of a blind $an% Oet, surely, he ho is an artist ought not to ad$it of a co$parison ith the blind, or deaf% The rhetorician, ho teaches his pupil to spea" scientifically, ill particularly set forth the nature of that being to hich he addresses his speechesQ and this, 0 concei!e, to be the soul% P,=E'*:-A Certainly% -8C*=TE-A ,is hole effort is directed to the soulQ for in that he see"s to produce con!iction% P,=E'*:-A Oes% -8C*=TE-A Then clearly, Thrasy$achus or any one else ho teaches rhetoric in earnest ill gi!e an exact description of the nature of the soulQ hich ill enable us to see hether she be single and sa$e, or, li"e the body, $ultifor$% That is hat e should call sho ing the nature of the soul% P,=E'*:-A Exactly%

-8C*=TE-A ,e ill explain, secondly, the $ode in hich she acts or is acted upon% P,=E'*:-A True% -8C*=TE-A Thirdly, ha!ing classified $en and speeches, and their "inds and affections, and adapted the$ to one another, he ill tell the reasons of his arrange$ent, and sho hy one soul is persuaded by a particular for$ of argu$ent, and another not% P,=E'*:-A Oou ha!e hit upon a !ery good ay% -8C*=TE-A Oes, that is the true and only ay in hich any subject can be set forth or treated by rules of art, hether in spea"ing or riting% +ut the riters of the present day, at hose feet you ha!e sat, craftily conceal the nature of the soul hich they "no Iuite ell% 9or, until they adopt our $ethod of reading and riting, can e ad$it that they rite by rules of artN P,=E'*:-A &hat is our $ethodN -8C*=TE-A 0 cannot gi!e you the exact detailsQ but 0 should li"e to tell you generally, as far as is in $y po er, ho a $an ought to proceed according to rules of art% P,=E'*:-A <et $e hear% -8C*=TE-A 8ratory is the art of enchanting the soul, and therefore he ho ould be an orator has to learn the differences of hu$an soulsEEthey are so $any and of such a nature, and fro$ the$ co$e the differences bet een $an and $an% ,a!ing proceeded thus far in his analysis, he ill next di!ide speeches into their different classesAEEP-uch and such persons,P he ill say, are affected by this or that "ind of speech in this or that ay,P and he ill tell you hy% The pupil $ust ha!e a good theoretical notion of the$ first, and then he $ust ha!e experience of the$ in actual life, and be able to follo the$ ith all his senses about hi$, or he ill ne!er get beyond the precepts of his $asters% +ut hen he understands hat persons are persuaded by hat argu$ents, and sees the person about ho$ he as

spea"ing in the abstract actually before hi$, and "no s that it is he, and can say to hi$self, PThis is the $an or this is the character ho ought to ha!e a certain argu$ent applied to hi$ in order to con!ince hi$ of a certain opinionQPEEhe ho "no s all this, and "no s also hen he should spea" and hen he should refrain, and hen he should use pithy sayings, pathetic appeals, sensational effects, and all the other $odes of speech hich he has learnedQEE hen, 0 say, he "no s the ti$es and seasons of all these things, then, and not till then, he is a perfect $aster of his artQ but if he fail in any of these points, hether in spea"ing or teaching or riting the$, and yet declares that he spea"s by rules of art, he ho says P0 donPt belie!e youP has the better of hi$% &ell, the teacher ill say, is this, Phaedrus and -ocrates, your account of the soEcalled art of rhetoric, or a$ 0 to loo" for anotherN P,=E'*:-A ,e $ust ta"e this, -ocrates, for there is no possibility of another, and yet the creation of such an art is not easy% -8C*=TE-A )ery trueQ and therefore let us consider this $atter in e!ery light, and see hether e cannot find a shorter and easier roadQ there is no use in ta"ing a long rough roundabout ay if there be a shorter and easier one% =nd 0 ish that you ould try and re$e$ber hether you ha!e heard fro$ <ysias or any one else anything hich $ight be of ser!ice to us% P,=E'*:-A 0f trying ould a!ail, then 0 $ightQ but at the $o$ent 0 can thin" of nothing% -8C*=TE-A -uppose 0 tell you so$ething hich so$ebody ho "no s told $e% P,=E'*:-A Certainly% -8C*=TE-A ;ay not Pthe olf,P as the pro!erb says, Pclai$ a hearingPN P,=E'*:-A 'o you say hat can be said for hi$% -8C*=TE-A ,e ill argue that there is no use in putting a sole$n face on these $atters, or in going round and round, until you arri!e at first principlesQ for, as 0 said at first, hen the Iuestion is of justice and good, or is a Iuestion in hich $en are concerned ho are just and good, either by nature or habit, he ho ould be a s"ilful rhetorician has no

need of truthEEfor that in courts of la $en literally care nothing about truth, but only about con!ictionA and this is based on probability, to hich he ho ould be a s"ilful orator should therefore gi!e his hole attention% =nd they say also that there are cases in hich the actual facts, if they are i$probable, ought to be ithheld, and only the probabilities should be told either in accusation or defence, and that al ays in spea"ing, the orator should "eep probability in !ie , and say goodEbye to the truth% =nd the obser!ance of this principle throughout a speech furnishes the hole art% P,=E'*:-A That is hat the professors of rhetoric do actually say, -ocrates% 0 ha!e not forgotten that e ha!e Iuite briefly touched upon this $atter alreadyQ ith the$ the point is allEi$portant% -8C*=TE-A 0 dare say that you are fa$iliar ith Tisias% 'oes he not define probability to be that hich the $any thin"N P,=E'*:-A Certainly, he does% -8C*=TE-A 0 belie!e that he has a cle!er and ingenious case of this sortA EE,e supposes a feeble and !aliant $an to ha!e assaulted a strong and co ardly one, and to ha!e robbed hi$ of his coat or of so$ething or otherQ he is brought into court, and then Tisias says that both parties should tell liesA the co ard should say that he as assaulted by $ore $en than oneQ the other should pro!e that they ere alone, and should argue thusA P,o could a ea" $an li"e $e ha!e assaulted a strong $an li"e hi$NP The co$plainant ill not li"e to confess his o n co ardice, and ill therefore in!ent so$e other lie hich his ad!ersary ill thus gain an opportunity of refuting% =nd there are other de!ices of the sa$e "ind hich ha!e a place in the syste$% =$ 0 not right, PhaedrusN P,=E'*:-A Certainly% -8C*=TE-A +less $e, hat a onderfully $ysterious art is this hich Tisias or so$e other gentle$an, in hate!er na$e or country he rejoices, has disco!ered% -hall e say a ord to hi$ or notN P,=E'*:-A &hat shall e say to hi$N

-8C*=TE-A <et us tell hi$ that, before he appeared, you and 0 ere saying that the probability of hich he spea"s as engendered in the $inds of the $any by the li"eness of the truth, and e had just been affir$ing that he ho "ne the truth ould al ays "no best ho to disco!er the rese$blances of the truth% 0f he has anything else to say about the art of spea"ing e should li"e to hear hi$Q but if not, e are satisfied ith our o n !ie , that unless a $an esti$ates the !arious characters of his hearers and is able to di!ide all things into classes and to co$prehend the$ under single ideas, he ill ne!er be a s"ilful rhetorician e!en ithin the li$its of hu$an po er% =nd this s"ill he ill not attain ithout a great deal of trouble, hich a good $an ought to undergo, not for the sa"e of spea"ing and acting before $en, but in order that he $ay be able to say hat is acceptable to God and al ays to act acceptably to ,i$ as far as in hi$ liesQ for there is a saying of iser $en than oursel!es, that a $an of sense should not try to please his fello Eser!ants Bat least this should not be his first objectC but his good and noble $astersQ and therefore if the ay is long and circuitous, $ar!el not at this, for, here the end is great, there e $ay ta"e the longer road, but not for lesser ends such as yours% Truly, the argu$ent $ay say, Tisias, that if you do not $ind going so far, rhetoric has a fair beginning here% P,=E'*:-A 0 thin", -ocrates, that this is ad$irable, if only practicable% -8C*=TE-A +ut e!en to fail in an honourable object is honourable% P,=E'*:-A True% -8C*=TE-A Enough appears to ha!e been said by us of a true and false art of spea"ing% P,=E'*:-A Certainly% -8C*=TE-A +ut there is so$ething yet to be said of propriety and i$propriety of riting% P,=E'*:-A Oes%

-8C*=TE-A 'o you "no ho you can spea" or act about rhetoric in a $anner hich ill be acceptable to GodN P,=E'*:-A 9o, indeed% 'o youN -8C*=TE-A 0 ha!e heard a tradition of the ancients, hether true or not they only "no Q although if e had found the truth oursel!es, do you thin" that e should care $uch about the opinions of $enN P,=E'*:-A Oour Iuestion needs no ans erQ but 0 ish that you ould tell $e hat you say that you ha!e heard% -8C*=TE-A =t the Egyptian city of 9aucratis, there as a fa$ous old god, hose na$e as TheuthQ the bird hich is called the 0bis is sacred to hi$, and he as the in!entor of $any arts, such as arith$etic and calculation and geo$etry and astrono$y and draughts and dice, but his great disco!ery as the use of letters% 9o in those days the god Tha$us as the "ing of the hole country of EgyptQ and he d elt in that great city of :pper Egypt hich the ,ellenes call Egyptian Thebes, and the god hi$self is called by the$ =$$on% To hi$ ca$e Theuth and sho ed his in!entions, desiring that the other Egyptians $ight be allo ed to ha!e the benefit of the$Q he enu$erated the$, and Tha$us enIuired about their se!eral uses, and praised so$e of the$ and censured others, as he appro!ed or disappro!ed of the$% 0t ould ta"e a long ti$e to repeat all that Tha$us said to Theuth in praise or bla$e of the !arious arts% +ut hen they ca$e to letters, This, said Theuth, ill $a"e the Egyptians iser and gi!e the$ better $e$oriesQ it is a specific both for the $e$ory and for the it% Tha$us repliedA 8 $ost ingenious Theuth, the parent or in!entor of an art is not al ays the best judge of the utility or inutility of his o n in!entions to the users of the$% =nd in this instance, you ho are the father of letters, fro$ a paternal lo!e of your o n children ha!e been led to attribute to the$ a Iuality hich they cannot ha!eQ for this disco!ery of yours ill create forgetfulness in the learnersP souls, because they ill not use their $e$oriesQ they ill trust to the external ritten characters and not re$e$ber of the$sel!es% The specific hich you ha!e disco!ered is an aid not to $e$ory, but to re$iniscence, and you gi!e your disciples not truth,

but only the se$blance of truthQ they ill be hearers of $any things and ill ha!e learned nothingQ they ill appear to be o$niscient and ill generally "no nothingQ they ill be tireso$e co$pany, ha!ing the sho of isdo$ ithout the reality% P,=E'*:-A Oes, -ocrates, you can easily in!ent tales of Egypt, or of any other country% -8C*=TE-A There as a tradition in the te$ple of 'odona that oa"s first ga!e prophetic utterances% The $en of old, unli"e in their si$plicity to young philosophy, dee$ed that if they heard the truth e!en fro$ Poa" or roc",P it as enough for the$Q hereas you see$ to consider not hether a thing is or is not true, but ho the spea"er is and fro$ hat country the tale co$es% P,=E'*:-A 0 ac"no ledge the justice of your rebu"eQ and 0 thin" that the Theban is right in his !ie about letters% -8C*=TE-A ,e ould be a !ery si$ple person, and Iuite a stranger to the oracles of Tha$us or =$$on, ho should lea!e in riting or recei!e in riting any art under the idea that the ritten ord ould be intelligible or certainQ or ho dee$ed that riting as at all better than "no ledge and recollection of the sa$e $attersN P,=E'*:-A That is $ost true% -8C*=TE-A 0 cannot help feeling, Phaedrus, that riting is unfortunately li"e paintingQ for the creations of the painter ha!e the attitude of life, and yet if you as" the$ a Iuestion they preser!e a sole$n silence% =nd the sa$e $ay be said of speeches% Oou ould i$agine that they had intelligence, but if you ant to "no anything and put a Iuestion to one of the$, the spea"er al ays gi!es one un!arying ans er% =nd hen they ha!e been once ritten do n they are tu$bled about any here a$ong those ho $ay or $ay not understand the$, and "no not to ho$ they should reply, to ho$ notA and, if they are $altreated or abused, they ha!e no parent to protect the$Q and they cannot protect or defend the$sel!es% P,=E'*:-A That again is $ost true%

-8C*=TE-A 0s there not another "ind of ord or speech far better than this, and ha!ing far greater po erEEa son of the sa$e fa$ily, but la fully begottenN P,=E'*:-A &ho$ do you $ean, and hat is his originN -8C*=TE-A 0 $ean an intelligent ord gra!en in the soul of the learner, hich can defend itself, and "no s hen to spea" and hen to be silent% P,=E'*:-A Oou $ean the li!ing ord of "no ledge hich has a soul, and of hich the ritten ord is properly no $ore than an i$ageN -8C*=TE-A Oes, of course that is hat 0 $ean% =nd no $ay 0 be allo ed to as" you a IuestionA &ould a husband$an, ho is a $an of sense, ta"e the seeds, hich he !alues and hich he ishes to bear fruit, and in sober seriousness plant the$ during the heat of su$$er, in so$e garden of =donis, that he $ay rejoice hen he sees the$ in eight days appearing in beautyN at least he ould do so, if at all, only for the sa"e of a$use$ent and pasti$e% +ut hen he is in earnest he so s in fitting soil, and practises husbandry, and is satisfied if in eight $onths the seeds hich he has so n arri!e at perfectionN P,=E'*:-A Oes, -ocrates, that ill be his ay hen he is in earnestQ he ill do the other, as you say, only in play% -8C*=TE-A =nd can e suppose that he ho "no s the just and good and honourable has less understanding, than the husband$an, about his o n seedsN P,=E'*:-A Certainly not% -8C*=TE-A Then he ill not seriously incline to P riteP his thoughts Pin aterP ith pen and in", so ing ords hich can neither spea" for the$sel!es nor teach the truth adeIuately to othersN P,=E'*:-A 9o, that is not li"ely%

-8C*=TE-A 9o, that is not li"elyEEin the garden of letters he ill so and plant, but only for the sa"e of recreation and a$use$entQ he ill rite the$ do n as $e$orials to be treasured against the forgetfulness of old age, by hi$self, or by any other old $an ho is treading the sa$e path% ,e ill rejoice in beholding their tender gro thQ and hile others are refreshing their souls ith banIueting and the li"e, this ill be the pasti$e in hich his days are spent% P,=E'*:-A = pasti$e, -ocrates, as noble as the other is ignoble, the pasti$e of a $an ho can be a$used by serious tal", and can discourse $errily about justice and the li"e% -8C*=TE-A True, Phaedrus% +ut nobler far is the serious pursuit of the dialectician, ho, finding a congenial soul, by the help of science so s and plants therein ords hich are able to help the$sel!es and hi$ ho planted the$, and are not unfruitful, but ha!e in the$ a seed hich others brought up in different soils render i$$ortal, $a"ing the possessors of it happy to the ut$ost extent of hu$an happiness% P,=E'*:-A (ar nobler, certainly% -8C*=TE-A =nd no , Phaedrus, ha!ing agreed upon the pre$ises e $ay decide about the conclusion% P,=E'*:-A =bout hat conclusionN -8C*=TE-A =bout <ysias, ho$ e censured, and his art of riting, and his discourses, and the rhetorical s"ill or ant of s"ill hich as sho n in the$EEthese are the Iuestions hich e sought to deter$ine, and they brought us to this point% =nd 0 thin" that e are no pretty ell infor$ed about the nature of art and its opposite% P,=E'*:-A Oes, 0 thin" ith youQ but 0 ish that you ould repeat hat as said%

-8C*=TE-A :ntil a $an "no s the truth of the se!eral particulars of hich he is riting or spea"ing, and is able to define the$ as they are, and ha!ing defined the$ again to di!ide the$ until they can be no longer di!ided, and until in li"e $anner he is able to discern the nature of the soul, and disco!er the different $odes of discourse hich are adapted to different natures, and to arrange and dispose the$ in such a ay that the si$ple for$ of speech $ay be addressed to the si$pler nature, and the co$plex and co$posite to the $ore co$plex natureEEuntil he has acco$plished all this, he ill be unable to handle argu$ents according to rules of art, as far as their nature allo s the$ to be subjected to art, either for the purpose of teaching or persuadingQEEsuch is the !ie hich is i$plied in the hole preceding argu$ent% P,=E'*:-A Oes, that as our !ie , certainly% -8C*=TE-A -econdly, as to the censure hich as passed on the spea"ing or riting of discourses, and ho they $ight be rightly or rongly censuredEE did not our pre!ious argu$ent sho EEN P,=E'*:-A -ho hatN

-8C*=TE-A That hether <ysias or any other riter that e!er as or ill be, hether pri!ate $an or states$an, proposes la s and so beco$es the author of a political treatise, fancying that there is any great certainty and clearness in his perfor$ance, the fact of his so riting is only a disgrace to hi$, hate!er $en $ay say% (or not to "no the nature of justice and injustice, and good and e!il, and not to be able to distinguish the drea$ fro$ the reality, cannot in truth be other ise than disgraceful to hi$, e!en though he ha!e the applause of the hole orld% P,=E'*:-A Certainly% -8C*=TE-A +ut he ho thin"s that in the ritten ord there is necessarily $uch hich is not serious, and that neither poetry nor prose, spo"en or ritten, is of any great !alue, if, li"e the co$positions of the rhapsodes, they are only recited in order to be belie!ed, and not ith any !ie to criticis$ or instructionQ and ho thin"s that e!en the best of ritings are

but a re$iniscence of hat e "no , and that only in principles of justice and goodness and nobility taught and co$$unicated orally for the sa"e of instruction and gra!en in the soul, hich is the true ay of riting, is there clearness and perfection and seriousness, and that such principles are a $anPs o n and his legiti$ate offspringQEEbeing, in the first place, the ord hich he finds in his o n boso$Q secondly, the brethren and descendants and relations of his idea hich ha!e been duly i$planted by hi$ in the souls of othersQEEand ho cares for the$ and no othersEEthis is the right sort of $anQ and you and 0, Phaedrus, ould pray that e $ay beco$e li"e hi$% P,=E'*:-A That is $ost assuredly $y desire and prayer% -8C*=TE-A =nd no the play is played outQ and of rhetoric enough% Go and tell <ysias that to the fountain and school of the 9y$phs e ent do n, and ere bidden by the$ to con!ey a $essage to hi$ and to other co$posers of speechesEEto ,o$er and other riters of poe$s, hether set to $usic or notQ and to -olon and others ho ha!e co$posed ritings in the for$ of political discourses hich they ould ter$ la sEEto all of the$ e are to say that if their co$positions are based on "no ledge of the truth, and they can defend or pro!e the$, hen they are put to the test, by spo"en argu$ents, hich lea!e their ritings poor in co$parison of the$, then they are to be called, not only poets, orators, legislators, but are orthy of a higher na$e, befitting the serious pursuit of their life% P,=E'*:-A &hat na$e ould you assign to the$N -8C*=TE-A &ise, 0 $ay not call the$Q for that is a great na$e hich belongs to God alone,EElo!ers of isdo$ or philosophers is their $odest and befitting title% P,=E'*:-A )ery suitable% -8C*=TE-A =nd he ho cannot rise abo!e his o n co$pilations and co$positions, hich he has been long patching and piecing, adding so$e and ta"ing a ay so$e, $ay be justly called poet or speechE$a"er or la E$a"er%

P,=E'*:-A Certainly% -8C*=TE-A 9o go and tell this to your co$panion% P,=E'*:-A +ut there is also a friend of yours ho ought not to be forgotten% -8C*=TE-A &ho is heN P,=E'*:-A 0socrates the fairAEE&hat $essage ill you send to hi$, and ho shall e describe hi$N -8C*=TE-A 0socrates is still young, PhaedrusQ but 0 a$ illing to ha7ard a prophecy concerning hi$% P,=E'*:-A &hat ould you prophesyN -8C*=TE-A 0 thin" that he has a genius hich soars abo!e the orations of <ysias, and that his character is cast in a finer $ould% ;y i$pression of hi$ is that he ill $ar!ellously i$pro!e as he gro s older, and that all for$er rhetoricians ill be as children in co$parison of hi$% =nd 0 belie!e that he ill not be satisfied ith rhetoric, but that there is in hi$ a di!ine inspiration hich ill lead hi$ to things higher still% (or he has an ele$ent of philosophy in his nature% This is the $essage of the gods d elling in this place, and hich 0 ill $yself deli!er to 0socrates, ho is $y delightQ and do you gi!e the other to <ysias, ho is yours% P,=E'*:-A 0 illQ and no as the heat is abated let us depart% -8C*=TE-A -hould e not offer up a prayer first of all to the local deitiesN P,=E'*:-A +y all $eans% -8C*=TE-A +elo!ed Pan, and all ye other gods ho haunt this place, gi!e $e beauty in the in ard soulQ and $ay the out ard and in ard $an be at one% ;ay 0 rec"on the ise to be the ealthy, and $ay 0 ha!e such a Iuantity of gold as a te$perate $an and he only can bear and carry%EE=nything $oreN

The prayer, 0 thin", is enough for $e% P,=E'*:-A =s" the sa$e for $e, for friends should ha!e all things in co$$on% -8C*=TE-A <et us go%

End of this Project Gutenberg Etext of Phaedrus, by Plato