And now, dear Phaedrus, I shall pause for an in view, let us now enquire what advantage or instant to ask whether you do not think me, as I disadvantage is likely to ensue from the lover or appear to myself, inspired?
the non-lover to him who accepts their advances.
He who is the victim of his passions and the PHAEDRUS: Yes, Socrates, you seem to have a slave of pleasure will of course desire to make very unusual flow of words.
his beloved as agreeable to himself as possible.
Now to him who has a mind diseased anything SOCRATES: Listen to me, then, in silence; for is agreeable which is not opposed to him, but surely the place is holy; so that you must not that which is equal or superior is hateful to him, wonder, if, as I proceed, I appear to be in a di-and therefore the lover will not brook any supe-vine fury, for already I am getting into riority or equality on the part of his beloved; he dithyrambics.
is always employed in reducing him to inferior-ity. And the ignorant is the inferior of the wise, PHAEDRUS: Nothing can be truer.
the coward of the brave, the slow of speech of the speaker, the dull of the clever. These, and SOCRATES: The responsibility rests with you. But not these only, are the mental defects of the be-hear what follows, and perhaps the fit may be loved;—defects which, when implanted by na-averted; all is in their hands above. I will go on ture, are necessarily a delight to the lover, and talking to my youth. Listen:—
when not implanted, he must contrive to implant Thus, my friend, we have declared and defined them in him, if he would not be deprived of his the nature of the subject. Keeping the definition fleeting joy. And therefore he cannot help being 63
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jealous, and will debar his beloved from the ad-and the sweat of toil, accustomed only to a soft vantages of society which would make a man of and luxurious diet, instead of the hues of health him, and especially from that society which having the colours of paint and ornament, and would have given him wisdom, and thereby he the rest of a piece?—such a life as any one can cannot fail to do him great harm. That is to say, imagine and which I need not detail at length.
in his excessive fear lest he should come to be But I may sum up all that I have to say in a word, despised in his eyes he will be compelled to ban-and pass on. Such a person in war, or in any of ish from him divine philosophy; and there is no the great crises of life, will be the anxiety of his greater injury which he can inflict upon him than friends and also of his lover, and certainly not this. He will contrive that his beloved shall be the terror of his enemies; which nobody can deny.
wholly ignorant, and in everything shall look to And now let us tell what advantage or disad-him; he is to be the delight of the lover’s heart, vantage the beloved will receive from the guard-and a curse to himself. Verily, a lover is a profit-ianship and society of his lover in the matter of able guardian and associate for him in all that his property; this is the next point to be consid-relates to his mind.
ered. The lover will be the first to see what, in-Let us next see how his master, whose law of deed, will be sufficiently evident to all men, that life is pleasure and not good, will keep and train he desires above all things to deprive his beloved the body of his servant. Will he not choose a be-of his dearest and best and holiest possessions, loved who is delicate rather than sturdy and father, mother, kindred, friends, of all whom he strong? One brought up in shady bowers and not thinks may be hinderers or reprovers of their in the bright sun, a stranger to manly exercises most sweet converse; he will even cast a jealous 64
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eye upon his gold and silver or other property, of this; and verily constraint is always said to be because these make him a less easy prey, and grievous. Now the lover is not only unlike his when caught less manageable; hence he is of beloved, but he forces himself upon him. For he necessity displeased at his possession of them is old and his love is young, and neither day nor and rejoices at their loss; and he would like him night will he leave him if he can help; necessity to be wifeless, childless, homeless, as well; and and the sting of desire drive him on, and allure the longer the better, for the longer he is all this, him with the pleasure which he receives from the longer he will enjoy him.
seeing, hearing, touching, perceiving him in ev-There are some sort of animals, such as flatter-ery way. And therefore he is delighted to fasten ers, who are dangerous and mischievous enough, upon him and to minister to him. But what plea-and yet nature has mingled a temporary pleasure or consolation can the beloved be receiving sure and grace in their composition. You may say all this time? Must he not feel the extremity of that a courtesan is hurtful, and disapprove of disgust when he looks at an old shrivelled face such creatures and their practices, and yet for and the remainder to match, which even in a the time they are very pleasant. But the lover is description is disagreeable, and quite detestable not only hurtful to his love; he is also an ex-when he is forced into daily contact with his tremely disagreeable companion. The old prov-lover; moreover he is jealously watched and erb says that ‘birds of a feather flock together’; guarded against everything and everybody, and I suppose that equality of years inclines them to has to hear misplaced and exaggerated praises the same pleasures, and similarity begets friend-of himself, and censures equally inappropriate, ship; yet you may have more than enough even which are intolerable when the man is sober, and, 65
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besides being intolerable, are published all over now grown wise and temperate, does not want the world in all their indelicacy and wearisome-to do as he did or to be as he was before. And so ness when he is drunk.
he runs away and is constrained to be a defaulter; And not only while his love continues is he mis-the oyster-shell (In allusion to a game in which chievous and unpleasant, but when his love two parties fled or pursued according as an oys-ceases he becomes a perfidious enemy of him on ter-shell which was thrown into the air fell with whom he showered his oaths and prayers and the dark or light side uppermost.) has fallen with promises, and yet could hardly prevail upon him the other side uppermost—he changes pursuit to tolerate the tedium of his company even from into flight, while the other is compelled to fol-motives of interest. The hour of payment arrives, low him with passion and imprecation, not know-and now he is the servant of another master; ing that he ought never from the first to have instead of love and infatuation, wisdom and tem-accepted a demented lover instead of a sensible perance are his bosom’s lords; but the beloved non-lover; and that in making such a choice he has not discovered the change which has taken was giving himself up to a faithless, morose, place in him, when he asks for a return and re-envious, disagreeable being, hurtful to his estate, calls to his recollection former sayings and do-hurtful to his bodily health, and still more hurt-ings; he believes himself to be speaking to the ful to the cultivation of his mind, than which same person, and the other, not having the cour-there neither is nor ever will be anything more age to confess the truth, and not knowing how honoured in the eyes both of gods and men. Con-to fulfil the oaths and promises which he made sider this, fair youth, and know that in the friend-when under the dominion of folly, and having ship of the lover there is no real kindness; he 66
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has an appetite and wants to feed upon you: now I will say no more; there has been enough of both of them. Leaving the tale to its fate, I will
‘As wolves love lambs so lovers love their loves.’
cross the river and make the best of my way home, lest a worse thing be inflicted upon me by you.
But I told you so, I am speaking in verse, and therefore I had better make an end; enough.
PHAEDRUS: Not yet, Socrates; not until the heat of the day has passed; do you not see that the PHAEDRUS: I thought that you were only half-hour is almost noon? there is the midday sun way and were going to make a similar speech standing still, as people say, in the meridian. Let about all the advantages of accepting the non-us rather stay and talk over what has been said, lover. Why do you not proceed?
and then return in the cool.
SOCRATES: Does not your simplicity observe that SOCRATES: Your love of discourse, Phaedrus, is I have got out of dithyrambics into heroics, when superhuman, simply marvellous, and I do not only uttering a censure on the lover? And if I am believe that there is any one of your contempo-to add the praises of the non-lover what will be-raries who has either made or in one way or an-come of me? Do you not perceive that I am already other has compelled others to make an equal overtaken by the Nymphs to whom you have mis-number of speeches. I would except Simmias the chievously exposed me? And therefore I will only Theban, but all the rest are far behind you. And add that the non-lover has all the advantages in now I do verily believe that you have been the which the lover is accused of being deficient. And cause of another.