As I said at the beginning of this tale, I divided prickings and ticklings of desire, the obedient each soul into three—two horses and a charioteer; steed, then as always under the government of and one of the horses was good and the other shame, refrains from leaping on the beloved; but bad: the division may remain, but I have not yet the other, heedless of the pricks and of the blows explained in what the goodness or badness of of the whip, plunges and runs away, giving all either consists, and to that I will now proceed.
manner of trouble to his companion and the The right-hand horse is upright and cleanly charioteer, whom he forces to approach the be-made; he has a lofty neck and an aquiline nose; loved and to remember the joys of love. They at his colour is white, and his eyes dark; he is a first indignantly oppose him and will not be lover of honour and modesty and temperance, urged on to do terrible and unlawful deeds; but and the follower of true glory; he needs no touch at last, when he persists in plaguing them, they of the whip, but is guided by word and admoni-yield and agree to do as he bids them. And now tion only. The other is a crooked lumbering ani-they are at the spot and behold the flashing mal, put together anyhow; he has a short thick beauty of the beloved; which when the charioteer neck; he is flat-faced and of a dark colour, with sees, his memory is carried to the true beauty, grey eyes and blood-red complexion (Or with whom he beholds in company with Modesty like grey and blood-shot eyes.); the mate of insolence an image placed upon a holy pedestal. He sees and pride, shag-eared and deaf, hardly yielding her, but he is afraid and falls backwards in ado-to whip and spur. Now when the charioteer beration, and by his fall is compelled to pull back holds the vision of love, and has his whole soul the reins with such violence as to bring both the warmed through sense, and is full of the steeds on their haunches, the one willing and 83
Plato
unresisting, the unruly one very unwilling; and like a racer at the barrier, and with a still more when they have gone back a little, the one is violent wrench drags the bit out of the teeth of overcome with shame and wonder, and his whole the wild steed and covers his abusive tongue and soul is bathed in perspiration; the other, when jaws with blood, and forces his legs and haunches the pain is over which the bridle and the fall had to the ground and punishes him sorely. And when given him, having with difficulty taken breath, this has happened several times and the villain is full of wrath and reproaches, which he heaps has ceased from his wanton way, he is tamed upon the charioteer and his fellow-steed, for want and humbled, and follows the will of the chari-of courage and manhood, declaring that they oteer, and when he sees the beautiful one he is have been false to their agreement and guilty of ready to die of fear. And from that time forward desertion. Again they refuse, and again he urges the soul of the lover follows the beloved in mod-them on, and will scarce yield to their prayer esty and holy fear.
that he would wait until another time. When the And so the beloved who, like a god, has received appointed hour comes, they make as if they had every true and loyal service from his lover, not forgotten, and he reminds them, fighting and in pretence but in reality, being also himself of a neighing and dragging them on, until at length nature friendly to his admirer, if in former days he on the same thoughts intent, forces them to he has blushed to own his passion and turned draw near again. And when they are near he away his lover, because his youthful companions stoops his head and puts up his tail, and takes or others slanderously told him that he would the bit in his teeth and pulls shamelessly. Then be disgraced, now as years advance, at the ap-the charioteer is worse off than ever; he falls back pointed age and time, is led to receive him into 84
Phaedrus
communion. For fate which has ordained that quickening the passages of the wings, watering there shall be no friendship among the evil has them and inclining them to grow, and filling the also ordained that there shall ever be friendship soul of the beloved also with love. And thus he among the good. And the beloved when he has loves, but he knows not what; he does not un-received him into communion and intimacy, is derstand and cannot explain his own state; he quite amazed at the good-will of the lover; he appears to have caught the infection of blind-recognises that the inspired friend is worth all ness from another; the lover is his mirror in other friends or kinsmen; they have nothing of whom he is beholding himself, but he is not friendship in them worthy to be compared with aware of this. When he is with the lover, both his. And when this feeling continues and he is cease from their pain, but when he is away then nearer to him and embraces him, in gymnastic he longs as he is longed for, and has love’s im-exercises and at other times of meeting, then age, love for love (Anteros) lodging in his breast, the fountain of that stream, which Zeus when which he calls and believes to be not love but he was in love with Ganymede named Desire, friendship only, and his desire is as the desire of overflows upon the lover, and some enters into the other, but weaker; he wants to see him, touch his soul, and some when he is filled flows out him, kiss him, embrace him, and probably not again; and as a breeze or an echo rebounds from long afterwards his desire is accomplished. When the smooth rocks and returns whence it came, they meet, the wanton steed of the lover has a so does the stream of beauty, passing through word to say to the charioteer; he would like to the eyes which are the windows of the soul, come have a little pleasure in return for many pains, back to the beautiful one; there arriving and but the wanton steed of the beloved says not a 85
Plato
word, for he is bursting with passion which he some other careless hour, the two wanton ani-understands not;—he throws his arms round the mals take the two souls when off their guard and lover and embraces him as his dearest friend; bring them together, and they accomplish that and, when they are side by side, he is not in a desire of their hearts which to the many is bliss; state in which he can refuse the lover anything, and this having once enjoyed they continue to if he ask him; although his fellow-steed and the enjoy, yet rarely because they have not the ap-charioteer oppose him with the arguments of proval of the whole soul. They too are dear, but shame and reason. After this their happiness not so dear to one another as the others, either at depends upon their self-control; if the better ele-the time of their love or afterwards. They con-ments of the mind which lead to order and phi-sider that they have given and taken from each losophy prevail, then they pass their life here in other the most sacred pledges, and they may not happiness and harmony—masters of themselves break them and fall into enmity. At last they pass and orderly—enslaving the vicious and emanci-out of the body, unwinged, but eager to soar, and pating the virtuous elements of the soul; and thus obtain no mean reward of love and madness.
when the end comes, they are light and winged For those who have once begun the heavenward for flight, having conquered in one of the three pilgrimage may not go down again to darkness heavenly or truly Olympian victories; nor can and the journey beneath the earth, but they live human discipline or divine inspiration confer any in light always; happy companions in their pil-greater blessing on man than this. If, on the other grimage, and when the time comes at which they hand, they leave philosophy and lead the lower receive their wings they have the same plumage life of ambition, then probably, after wine or in because of their love.