# Plato, *Symposium*

## ΣΥΜΠΟΣΙΟΝ

The Greek text of John Burnet (Oxford, 1901; second edition, 1910), in a later impression printed by John Johnson, with a new English translation and notes.

**The complete dialogue · 172a–223d · Greek and English, with Notes**

Translation by Diotimos Editions, 2026.

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## Introduction

### The dialogue

The *Symposium* is told at two removes. In a short conversation in dramatic form, Apollodorus of Phaleron, a follower of Socrates, agrees to tell an unnamed companion about the dinner at which “the speeches on love” were made, as he had told it only “the day before yesterday” to an acquaintance, Glaucon, as they walked up to town from Phaleron (172a–173b). He was not there himself. The dinner took place “when we were still boys, when Agathon won with his first tragedy, on the day after the one on which he and the members of his chorus made the sacrifice for the victory” (173a), and Apollodorus has it from “a certain Aristodemus, of Cydathenaeum, a small man, always barefoot”, who “had been at the gathering”; he has asked Socrates about some of it, and Socrates “agreed with me that they were as that man told them” (173b). From 174a to the end Apollodorus reports what Aristodemus told him, much of it in reported speech, and he warns that “Aristodemus did not altogether remember all that each one said, nor again do I remember all that he told” (178a).

Aristodemus met Socrates “bathed and with his slippers on, which he seldom did”, on his way to dinner at Agathon’s, and came along uninvited at his bidding (174a–e). At Agathon’s house were the host; Phaedrus; Pausanias; the doctor Eryximachus; the comic poet Aristophanes; and others whom Aristodemus “did not remember very well” (180c). Socrates, who stopped on the way and stood in the neighbours’ porch, arrived “when they were about midway through their dinner” (175a–c). Since most of the company had drunk heavily the day before at the victory feast, they agree to drink as each wants, to send away the pipe-girl, and to spend the evening in speeches in praise of Love, as Eryximachus proposes in Phaedrus’ name (176a–177e). Late in the night Alcibiades arrives drunk with revellers (212c–e), and at the end a second band of revellers breaks up the order of the evening (223b).

Athenaeus, who quotes the frame (5.217b–c), dates the victory, at the Lenaea, to the archonship of Euphemus, 417/16 BC (5.217a–b); the Lenaea fell in midwinter, so the dinner falls early in 416. It is one of Plato’s longer works: fifty-two pages of Stephanus’ edition (172a–223d), seventy-two of Burnet’s. The ancient arrangement of the dialogues by Thrasyllus, which Diogenes Laertius preserves, puts it third in the third tetralogy, after the *Parmenides* and the *Philebus* and before the *Phaedrus*, with the subtitle “or On the Good”, and classes it as “ethical” (3.56, 3.58). The date of composition is not known. Aristophanes’ comparison of the cut halves to the Arcadians broken up “by the Lacedaemonians” (193a) seems to recall the Spartans’ breaking up of Mantinea into villages in 385 BC, and the dialogue is usually dated after that year (interpretation).

### The question and the answers

The question is set by Phaedrus’ complaint, which Eryximachus reports: hymns and paeans have been made to other gods, “while for Love, a god so great and so mighty, not one of so many poets there have been has ever made any encomium” (177a–b). Each guest, “going to the right”, is to “speak a speech in praise of Love”, “the most beautiful he can”, Phaedrus first (177d). The word for love, *erōs*, is both the god and the passion, and the speeches pass between them; the English renders it “Love” where the god is named or praised and “love” for the passion, following Burnet’s capitals (see the Key Words).

Phaedrus praises Love as among “the very oldest” of the gods, with Hesiod, Acusilaus and Parmenides as witnesses, and as “the cause of the greatest goods for us”: shame at shameful things and love of honour in beautiful ones, so that an army “made of lovers and darlings” would defeat, “so to speak, all human beings” (178a–179b). Only lovers are willing to die for another, as Alcestis did for her husband, while the gods sent Orpheus away from Hades with “a phantom” because he would not die for love, and sent Achilles to the Isles of the Blessed for dying after his lover Patroclus (179b–180b). Love is “of the gods both the oldest and the most honoured and the most competent for the getting of virtue and happiness” (180b).

Pausanias answers that Love is not one: as there are two Aphrodites, “Heavenly” and “Common”, there are two Loves (180c–181a). “Every action is like this: done of itself, on its own, it is neither beautiful nor shameful” (180e–181a), and so with being in love. The Common Love loves women no less than boys, and bodies rather than souls; the Heavenly loves boys “when they are already beginning to have sense” (181b–d). The Athenian law about love is “intricate”: it encourages the lover and honours his excesses, yet fathers set tutors over their sons (182a–183d), because it wants to “test soundly and well” which lovers to gratify (183e–184a). The one gratification it allows is the “voluntary slavery” that concerns virtue: “it is wholly and in every way beautiful to gratify for the sake of virtue at least” (184b–185b).

Aristophanes has the hiccup, and Eryximachus speaks in his place (185c–e). He extends Pausanias’ double Love to the whole of nature: in medicine, which is “knowledge of the body’s matters of love with regard to surfeit and emptying” (186c), in music, where he corrects Heraclitus (187a–c), in the seasons, and in divination, “the craftsman of friendship between gods and human beings” (188a–d).

Aristophanes, his hiccup stopped by a sneeze, tells a story (189a–193d). Human beings were once of three kinds, male, female and androgyne, each round, with four hands and four legs and two faces; they “made an attempt on the gods”, and Zeus cut them in two (189d–190e). Each half seeks its other half; and if Hephaestus offered two lovers “to fuse you together and forge you together”, no one would refuse (192d–193a). “So to the desire and pursuit of the whole, love is the name” (192e–193a).

Agathon says that the others have praised Love’s gifts, not Love himself (194e–195a). Love is “the youngest of the gods”, “tender”, “supple in form”, and dwells “among the softest of the things that are”, in characters and souls (195a–196b); he is just, temperate, courageous and wise, “a poet so wise as to make another one too” (196b–197a); since his birth “from being in love with beautiful things every good thing has come to be for gods and human beings alike” (197b). The speech ends in a cascade of short rhyming clauses (197d–e), and the company applauds “on the ground that the young man had spoken in a way befitting both himself and the god” (198a).

### The argument’s main stretch

Socrates professes to be at a loss. He had thought that “one must tell the truth about each thing made the subject of an encomium”; the others, it seems, “attribute to the thing the greatest and most beautiful things possible, whether they are so or not” (198d–e). He will tell the truth, he says, “in my own way”, once he has asked Agathon “a few small things” (199a–b). Love is love “of something”, and desires what it is love of; but “what desires desires what it lacks” (199d–200b). If Love is of beautiful things, as Agathon said, “then Love lacks beauty and does not have it”, and so is not beautiful, nor good (201a–c). “It looks like, Socrates, I knew nothing of what I said then,” says Agathon (201b).

Socrates then tells what he learned from “a woman of Mantinea, Diotima”, who once questioned him as he has questioned Agathon (201d–e). What is not beautiful need not be ugly: there is something “between”, as right opinion is “between intelligence and ignorance” (201e–202a). Love is not a god, since the gods are happy and beautiful and Love lacks beautiful and good things; nor is he mortal, but “a great daimon”, a go-between of gods and human beings (202b–203a). He is the son of Resource and Poverty, conceived at the feast for Aphrodite’s birth: “always poor”, “barefoot and homeless”, but a plotter for the beautiful and the good, “loving wisdom through all his life”, “in the middle between wisdom and ignorance” (203b–204a). So Love is “a lover of wisdom” (204b); Socrates’ mistake was to think Love “the beloved, not what is in love” (204c).

What does the one in love with beautiful things want? “That they become his” (204d). Put “good” for “beautiful”, and the answer is happiness, which needs no further end (204e–205a). All human beings want good things to be theirs always, and “love is of the good’s being one’s own always” (205a–206a). Its work is “giving birth in what is beautiful, both in body and in soul” (206b): all human beings “are pregnant both in body and in soul”, and beauty releases them from their birth-pains (206c–e). “For love, Socrates,” she says, “is not of the beautiful, as you think”, but “of begetting and giving birth in the beautiful”, since for a mortal “begetting is everlasting and immortal” (206e). Mortal nature lives on only by leaving behind “another, new, in place of the old”, in the body, in the soul, and in “our pieces of knowledge” (207d–208b); and the love of honour, which makes men die for immortal fame, is the same desire (208c–e). Those “pregnant in their souls” beget intelligence and virtue, as Homer and Hesiod begot their poems and Lycurgus and Solon their laws (208e–209e).

Then come “the perfect rites and those of the beholding”, which Diotima doubts Socrates could follow (209e–210a). The lover begins with one beautiful body, then all beautiful bodies, then the beauty in souls, in “ways of life and in laws”, in “kinds of knowledge”; “turned towards the great sea of the beautiful”, he gives birth to “many beautiful and magnificent speeches and thoughts”, until he “catches sight of a certain single knowledge” (210a–d), and at the end “will suddenly catch sight of something beautiful, marvellous in its nature” (210e): always being, neither coming to be nor perishing, not beautiful in one respect and ugly in another, nor in something else, but “itself by itself, with itself, single in form”, in which all other beautiful things share (210e–211b). There, “if anywhere, life is worth living for a human being, as he beholds the beautiful itself” (211d); and the one who sees it will give birth “not to images of virtue”, but “to true virtue”; and to him who has given birth to true virtue and nurtured it “it belongs to become loved by the gods, and, if to any other human being, to him too to become immortal” (212a). Socrates says that he is “persuaded”, and tries “to persuade the others too” (212b).

### The ending

As Aristophanes tries to reply, a knocking at the door brings in Alcibiades, “very drunk”, wreathed with ivy and violets, with ribbons to wreathe Agathon for his victory; he finds Socrates beside Agathon, wreathes him too, and makes himself “ruler of the drinking” (212c–213e). Told that he must make a speech, he will praise no one but Socrates, and only “through likenesses”, “for the sake of the truth” (214c–215a). Socrates is like the sileni in the carvers’ shops, which open to show “statues of gods inside”, and like the satyr Marsyas, whose pipe-tunes possess those who hear them; Socrates does the same “with bare words” (215a–d). Before him alone of human beings Alcibiades is ashamed, and he runs from him “as if from the Sirens” (216a–c). Inside, Socrates is full “of temperance”; he despises beauty and wealth, “being ironic and playing with human beings” all his life (216d–e). Then Alcibiades tells “the whole truth” (217b) about how he tried to make Socrates his lover: alone with him, at the gymnasium, at dinner, and at last a whole night under one cloak (217a–219c), after which, he swears, “I had slept with Socrates nothing more out of the ordinary than if I had been sleeping with my father or an elder brother” (219c–d). He adds Socrates’ endurance and courage on campaign at Potidaea and in the retreat from Delium (219e–221c), and returns to the likeness: Socrates’ speeches too are “most like the sileni that are opened”, laughable outside, “most divine” within (221d–222a). He ends with a warning to Agathon (222a–b).

The company laughs; Socrates says Alcibiades has spoken all this to set him and Agathon at odds; they quarrel in fun over the places on the couch (222c–223a). Then “very many revellers” burst in, and order is lost (223b). Eryximachus and Phaedrus and others leave; Aristodemus falls asleep and wakes towards day to find only Agathon, Aristophanes and Socrates awake, drinking from a large bowl, while Socrates compels them “to agree that it belongs to the same man to know how to make comedy and tragedy” (223b–d). Aristophanes falls asleep first, then Agathon; Socrates, “having put them to sleep”, goes to the Lyceum, washes, and passes the day “as at any other time” (223d).

### What is most exposed

A first-time reader is likely to be troubled at six points. The first is the setting of the speeches in Athenian pederasty. The love the guests praise is, for most of them, the love of a grown man, the “lover”, for a youth, his “darling” or “beloved”, and the question Pausanias argues is when it is “beautiful” or “shameful” for the youth “to gratify” his lover (182a–185b), where “gratify” (*charizesthai*) means to grant sexual favours. The English keeps the word throughout, and the Key Words say what it meant. The speakers do not agree about the practice, and the dialogue does not simply endorse it: Diotima’s ascent begins from the love of one beautiful body and leaves it behind (210a–b), and Alcibiades’ story is of a youth who offered himself and was refused (217a–219d).

The second is the word *erōs*. The speakers praise a god and describe a passion with one word, and their arguments move between the two. Socrates’ questioning ends by showing that Love, so described, is neither beautiful nor good (201c), and Diotima denies that he is a god at all (202b–d), so that the series of praises is overturned by the speech that ends it. The capitals of the English follow Burnet’s, and where he prints the god’s name the English has “Love”.

The third is Diotima. No source independent of the dialogue mentions her. Socrates says that she postponed the plague for ten years (201d), presents himself as her pupil, and has her answer “like the perfect sophists” (208c). Whether she is a historical person or Plato’s invention the text does not settle; it gives her the speech in which the dialogue’s argument is made.

The fourth is the turn at 206e: “For love, Socrates,” Diotima says, “is not of the beautiful, as you think”, but “of begetting and giving birth in the beautiful”. Socrates’ questioning had made Love the love of beautiful things (201a–b); Diotima makes beauty the medium of a begetting whose end is immortality (206e–207a), and the ascent then makes the beautiful itself the end (210e–211d). How these fit is the dialogue’s hardest question (interpretation), and the reader should notice where each step is taken.

The fifth is the ascent itself. The lover comes to “believe” first his vehemence for one body “small”, and then “the beautiful concerning the body to be something small” (210b–c), and the beautiful itself is “single in form” and “pure, clean, unmixed” (211b–e). Whether the person one loves is left behind, or loved better, the text does not say in so many words (interpretation).

The sixth is Alcibiades’ speech. It praises the man whose speech has just ended, and in his story Socrates seems to live as Diotima taught, master of himself and indifferent to beauty and wealth (interpretation). The speech is also a drunk man’s, and Socrates calls it a “satyr and silenus play” with a purpose of its own (222c–d). How it bears on Diotima’s teaching is left to the reader. The dialogue’s last argument, that “he who is by craft a maker of tragedy is a maker of comedy too” (223d), is reported only in its conclusion.

Several of Burnet’s choices change the sense, and the notes say where: his own readings and punctuation at 180a, 213e, 214e and 217d; the conjectures of other scholars at 174b, 174c, 183c, 187c, 190d, 194a, 209a and 209b; the papyrus, which he cites from 201a on, against all the manuscripts at 205c, 206b, 209a, 213b and 219c; and, among the witnesses, B’s “the Soft” at 173d and Stobaeus’ “piety” for the manuscripts’ “impiety” at 188d.

### The manner

The *Symposium* is one of Plato’s most comic works, and its comedy is in its persons. Apollodorus, called “the Soft”, pities his rich companions (173c), and one of them tells him that he believes “absolutely everyone is wretched except Socrates, beginning with yourself” (173d). Socrates has made himself beautiful, he says, “so that I may go beautiful to a beautiful man” (174a), and twists a proverb so that the good go uninvited to “Agathon’s feasts” (174b). He stops on the way to dinner and stands in the neighbours’ porch (175a–b), and when Agathon hopes to catch his wisdom by touching him, he answers, “It would be well … if wisdom were the sort of thing to flow from the fuller of us into the emptier, if we touch each other, as the water in cups flows through the wool” (175d). Aristophanes’ hiccup, cured by a sneeze, interrupts the speeches, and he mocks the doctor’s “orderly” Love by wondering whether “the orderly part of the body” desires the noises and ticklings of a sneeze (188c–189a). Pausanias “paused”, and Apollodorus points out his own jingle: “the wise teach me to say equal things like this” (185c). Socrates says he was afraid that Agathon “might send the head of Gorgias, formidable at speaking, in his speech against my speech, and make me myself a stone with speechlessness” (198c), and lets “the tongue” promise, “but the mind” not (199a). Diotima silences him with “Hush!” (201e) and tells him that the answer “is plain by now even to a child” (204b). Alcibiades, drunk, wreathed with ivy and violets, calls for a wine-cooler as his cup (213e–214a), and turns his praise of Socrates into a trial, “gentlemen of the jury; for you are the jury on Socrates’ haughtiness” (219c), and swears “by the gods, by the goddesses” that nothing happened (219c–d). The quarrel over the couch ends in Agathon’s “Hurrah, hurrah!” (223a), and the evening ends with Socrates putting the poets of tragedy and comedy to sleep (223d).

### On reading this edition

Each left-hand page is one page of Burnet’s Greek, line for line, with his margin and apparatus; the right-hand page opposite translates it. The letters in the margins of both pages (a–e) mark the sections of Stephanus’ pages, by which Plato is cited; the numbers (173, 174 and so on) mark where each of his pages begins. The small numbers 5 and 10 in the Greek margin count Burnet’s lines, by which his apparatus is keyed. The dialogue opens with a short conversation in dramatic form between Apollodorus and a companion who is not named; the speakers’ names stand at the head of their speeches (in the English, Apoll. and Comp.), and inside Apollodorus’ speeches Burnet sets in quotation marks the words of the conversation he reports, his own as well as Glaucon’s. From 174a Apollodorus tells, in his own voice, what Aristodemus told him of Agathon’s dinner; Burnet then marks a speech by a capital at its opening, and uses quotation marks only for the slave’s message (175a7–9), a few phrases of Homer and Heraclitus (174c1, 174d2, 183e3–4, 187a5–6), the exchange over Aristophanes’ hiccup (185d–e), the words of Zeus and Hephaestus in Aristophanes’ speech (190c–d, 192d–e), a phrase that Aristotle quotes from the orator Alcidamas and words from two tragedies, which Agathon quotes or adapts (196c–e), a question that Socrates imagines putting to Agathon (199e2–4), and the words of Homer that Socrates quotes in Alcibiades’ story (219a1). Burnet also letterspaces the words of poets and sayings that a speaker quotes or adapts (174b4–5, 174c1, 179b1, 196d1, 196e2–3, 197b3, 199a5–6, 205d2–3, 208c5–6, 219a1, 221b3–4), some of them inside quotation marks as well. The English sets every speech in quotation marks, with Diotima’s words inside Socrates’ speech and the conversation Alcibiades reports inside his in single marks, and sets all such quoted words in quotation marks too. A blank line in the Greek marks where this narration begins (174a3) and where the speeches begin (Phaedrus’ at 178a6, Pausanias’ at 180c1, Eryximachus’ at 185e6, Aristophanes’ at 189c2 and Agathon’s at 194e4, with the interludes at 185c4 and 189a1 and Aristophanes’ last words at 193d6), where Socrates begins to question Agathon (199c3), where he turns to what Diotima taught him (201d1), where the narration resumes after his speech (212c4), where Alcibiades’ speech begins (215a4), and where the narration resumes after it (222c1). Burnet sets verse on lines of its own (178b, 195d, 197c, 214b, 220c), and so does the English. Letters and words in angle brackets ⟨ ⟩, which B, T and W lack, are added by Burnet from a later hand, a later manuscript or another scholar’s conjecture (176b7 Vahlen, 182a5 a later hand in T, 184d7 Baiter, 223d5 Vind. 21, 223d10 Hermann), and are translated; a dagger † marks a word he judges corrupt (183a1). The notes are numbered afresh on each page. At the back of the volume are an Outline of the dialogue, an Editorial Note on Burnet’s text, his apparatus and the translation, a Glossary of the key terms with the places where they occur, and a Note on how this edition was made.

### A note on the persons

What the text itself establishes is this. Apollodorus lives at Phaleron, has spent his time with Socrates for less than three years, and before that, he says, “ran around wherever chance took me” (172c–173a); he is called “the Soft” (173d). Aristodemus is of the deme Cydathenaeum, “a small man, always barefoot”, and, Apollodorus thinks, “a lover of Socrates as much as any man of that time” (173b). Agathon is young (175e), has just won “with his first tragedy” (173a), and is “the wisest and most beautiful”, Alcibiades says (212e). Aristophanes suggests that Pausanias and Agathon are among the lovers who have found their own halves: “perhaps they too are in fact of that number” (193b–c). Eryximachus is “the son of Acumenus” (176b) and a doctor (185d, 186a). Phaedrus is “of Myrrhinus” (176d), the “father of the speech” (177d). Aristophanes’ “whole pastime is with Dionysus and Aphrodite” (177e). Alcibiades heard Pericles speak (215e), was given the prize for valour after a battle in the campaign at Potidaea and was on horseback in the retreat from Delium (220d–221a), and admits, under Socrates’ compulsion, that “I neglect myself and manage the affairs of the Athenians” (216a). Of Socrates the text tells that he seldom wears shoes (174a, 220b), stands lost in thought (175a–b, 220c–d), served at Potidaea and Delium (219e–221c), and drinks without becoming drunk (214a, 220a, 223c–d).

Outside sources add more, and some of it is disputed. Athenaeus gives the date of Agathon’s victory (5.217a–b). Agathon’s *Antheus* invented both its events and its names, as Aristotle notes (*Poetics* 9, 1451b21), and Aristophanes mocks him in the *Women at the Thesmophoria* (411 BC). In the *Protagoras* Pausanias and the young Agathon sit together beside Prodicus (315d–e), and in Xenophon’s *Symposium* Socrates says that “Pausanias, the lover of the poet Agathon”, defending those who wallow in licentiousness, claimed that the bravest army would be one of darlings and lovers (8.32), the argument Plato gives to Phaedrus (178e–179a). Eryximachus and Phaedrus appear together in the *Protagoras* (315c), and Phaedrus gives his name to the *Phaedrus*. Apollodorus is present at Socrates’ death in the *Phaedo* (59a–b, 117d). Xenophon has Socrates talk with “Aristodemus called the Little” (*Memorabilia* 1.4.2). Alcibiades, the ward of Pericles (Plutarch, *Alcibiades* 1.1), was elected a general of the Sicilian expedition in the year after the dinner and recalled to stand trial for profaning the Mysteries (Thucydides 6.8, 6.28, 6.53, 6.61); the dialogue’s readers knew it, and the language of the mysteries in Diotima’s teaching (209e–210a) and in Alcibiades’ “profane and boorish” (218b) can be read in its light (interpretation). Diotima is known from this dialogue alone.

## Key Words of the Dialogue

Each entry says what the word meant in Athens, what the dialogue does with it, and how it is rendered. The Glossary at the back lists the renderings with the places where they occur.

### Love, be in love (erōs, Erōs; eran)

*Erōs* was the passion of desire, above all for a beautiful person, and *Erōs* the god of that passion, one of the first gods in Hesiod, and in later poets often the son of Aphrodite. The verb *eran* meant “to be in love”. Greek wrote no capitals to tell the god from the passion, and the speakers move between them: Phaedrus praises a god “among the very oldest” (178b–c), Pausanias distinguishes two Loves as there are two Aphrodites (180d–e), Eryximachus finds love in the body, the seasons and the stars (186a–188d), Aristophanes makes love “the desire and pursuit of the whole” (192e–193a), and Agathon praises “the youngest of the gods” (195a–c). Socrates’ questioning turns the god back into a relation, “love of something” (199d–200a), and Diotima makes Love “a great daimon” (202d); from 205a on, as she speaks of the passion, Burnet prints the word in lower case: “love is of the good’s being one’s own always” (206a). The English renders *erōs* by one word, “Love” where Burnet prints the capital and “love” where he does not, so that the reader can see where the argument passes from the god to the passion; this was settled with the publisher. The verb *eran* is “be in love”, *ho erōn* “the one in love”, and *ta erōtika* “matters of love”, the subject Socrates says is the only one he knows (177d); *erōtikos* of a person is “given to love” (208e).

### Beautiful (kalos)

*Kalos* was the common word for the beautiful in looks, the fine in workmanship and the noble in conduct, and the adverb *kalōs* meant “well”. Every speaker uses it, and the argument depends on its being one word: Agathon “beautiful” (174a, 212e), Pausanias’ beautiful and shameful actions (180e–181a), the “most beautiful” speech each guest must make (177d), Love who is not beautiful because he lacks beautiful things (201a–c), Diotima’s “giving birth in what is beautiful” (206b), and the ascent through beautiful bodies, souls, ways of life, laws and kinds of knowledge to “the beautiful itself” (210a–211d). The English renders *kalos* “beautiful” in every use, of persons, things, acts, practices and speeches, so that the one word stands at every rung of the ascent, as settled with the publisher; where English would say “fine” or “noble”, the reader should hear those senses in “beautiful”. The adverb *kalōs* is “well” (“you did well indeed”, 174e), and its comparative “better” (182d, 221a). The noun *kallos* is “beauty”, and *kalos kagathos*, the Athenian phrase for a gentleman, is “beautiful and good” (204a, 222a). *Kallonē*, Diotima’s word for the goddess of the birth, is “Beauty” (206d).

### Lover, beloved, darling (erastēs; erōmenos; ta paidika)

In the Athenian practice the speakers take for granted, the *erastēs*, the “lover”, was a grown man who courted a youth, his *erōmenos*, “beloved”, or *paidika*, “darling”, a plural used of one person. The roles were not supposed to be reversed: the lover desires, the beloved is courted and may “gratify” (see *Gratify*). Phaedrus holds that the gods honour a beloved who cherishes his lover more than a lover who cherishes his darling (180a–b); Pausanias holds that a lover’s slavery to his darling is no reproach, and allows the beloved one “willing slavery”, the one that concerns virtue (184b–c); Aristophanes has lovers of both sexes; Diotima corrects Socrates for thinking Love “the beloved, not what is in love” (204c). Alcibiades turns the roles round: he offers himself to Socrates “exactly like a lover laying plots for his darling” (217c), and he warns that Socrates deceives his young men “as though he were a lover, and himself becomes, rather, darling instead of lover” (222b). The English keeps the three words apart, as in the *Lysis*, and keeps “the one in love” for the participle *ho erōn*, so that the reader can see when a speaker means the role and when the passion.

### Gratify (charizesthai)

*Charizesthai* meant to do someone a favour or a kindness, and, of a youth and his lover, to grant him sexual favours. Pausanias’ speech is an argument about when it is “beautiful to gratify lovers” (182a–b) and when shameful, and its argument concludes: “it is wholly and in every way beautiful to gratify for the sake of virtue at least” (185b). Eryximachus transfers the word to medicine and music, where one must “gratify what is good and wholesome in each body” (186c) and “gratify the orderly among human beings” (187d). At the start Eryximachus wants “to gratify” Phaedrus with his proposal (177c), in the ordinary sense, and Alcibiades returns to Pausanias’ sense when he thinks it “very senseless not to gratify you in this too” (218c). The English renders the word “gratify” every time, so that the ordinary and the erotic senses are heard together, as the speakers mean them to be.

### Shameful, ugly (aischros)

*Aischros*, the opposite of *kalos*, meant both “ugly” in looks and “shameful” in conduct. Phaedrus’ “shame at shameful things” (178d) and Pausanias’ account of the law (180e–185a) use the moral sense; Agathon says that “on ugliness there is no love” (197b); and Diotima’s first lesson to Socrates turns on whether what is not beautiful must be ugly (201e–202b). The English renders it “shameful” of acts and practices and “ugly” of persons and in the argument where it answers “beautiful”, so that both senses of *kalos* stay in view; Pausanias’ noblest youths may be “uglier than others” (182d). Diotima’s “ugly” is the opposite of the beauty in which one gives birth (206c–d, 209b), and the beautiful itself is “not beautiful in one respect and ugly in another” (211a).

### Law (nomos)

*Nomos* meant both a written law and an accepted custom, anything “held” (*nomizetai*) in a city. Pausanias contrasts the simple law about love in Elis and Boeotia, the law in Ionia and under barbarians, and the “intricate” law at Athens and Lacedaemon (182a–d), and argues that “our law wants to test soundly and well” which lovers to gratify (183e–184a); Aristophanes’ halves of the male, who as men are pederasts, are compelled to marry “by the law” (192b). The English renders it “law” throughout, as in the rest of the series, although at Athens much of what Pausanias describes was custom rather than statute; a note says so at its first occurrence (181d). The word returns on Diotima’s ascent, where the lover beholds “the beautiful in ways of life and in laws” (210c), and in Agathon’s quotation, “the laws, kings of the city” (196c).

### Encomium, praise (enkōmion; epainos)

An *enkōmion* was a speech or song in praise of someone, and the rhetoricians of Plato’s time taught how to make one. The guests agree that each will “speak a speech in praise of Love” (177d), and the speeches are encomia: Socrates bids Phaedrus “begin, and make an encomium of Love” (177e), Agathon wants first “to speak of how I must speak” (194e), and Socrates, after Agathon’s speech, refuses to “make an encomium in this way”, since it attributes to its subject “the greatest and most beautiful things possible, whether they are so or not” (198d–199a). The English renders *enkōmion* “encomium”, *enkōmiazein* “make an encomium of”, and *epainos*, *epainein* “praise”, and keeps “hymn” for *hymnein* (177c, 193c–d, 197e; the noun at 177a). At the end the words come back as play: Alcibiades will “praise” no one but Socrates (214d), and Socrates must “praise the man on my right”, so that he wishes “to make an encomium of” Agathon (222e–223a).

### Daimon, daimonic (daimōn; daimonios)

A *daimōn* in common speech was a god, or any divine power that one could not name, and *daimonios* meant “heaven-sent” or “marvellous”, and, in address, “my good sir”, often with irony. Diotima makes the word a rank: Love is “a great daimon”, for “everything daimonic is between god and mortal”, “interpreting and ferrying across to gods the things from human beings, and to human beings the things from gods” (202d–e); and “the man wise about such things is a daimonic man” (203a). Socrates’ own sign, which Plato calls “something divine and daimonic” in the *Apology* (31c–d), is not named in the *Symposium*. The English keeps the Greek word “daimon”, since “demon” would mislead, and renders *daimonios* “daimonic” throughout, so that the reader hears Diotima’s word when Alcibiades calls Socrates “daimonic in truth and marvellous” (219b–c) and when Socrates answers him “you daimonic man” (223a).

### Resource, poverty; at a loss (poros, penia; euporein, aporein)

*Poros* was a way across, a passage, and so a means, a resource; *aporia* was the want of a way, and *aporein* “to be at a loss”. Diotima makes the father of Love “Resource”, son of Metis, and his mother “Poverty”, who plots “to get a child from Resource” because of “her own want of resource” (203b–c); Love is therefore “always poor” but “resourceful”, “never at a loss nor rich” (203c–e). The English keeps “resource” for the family where English allows: “resourceful” (203d), “with more resource” (204e), “has resource in speeches about virtue” (209b), “how resourcefully” (223a), and “at a loss” for *aporein*, as when Socrates expects to be “at a loss” after Agathon (198a–b) and Alcibiades “was at a loss” before Socrates (219e). The story of Love’s birth thus speaks in the same words as the speakers’ fear of having nothing to say.

### Love wisdom, lover of wisdom (philosophein; philosophos; philosophia)

*Philosophia*, “philosophy”, was in Plato’s time still felt as the love of wisdom, and *philosophein* as “to love wisdom”. Apollodorus thought he “ought to do anything rather than love wisdom” before he met Socrates (173a). Diotima argues that “no god loves wisdom”, nor do the ignorant, but those between, “of whom Love too would be one”: Love “must be a lover of wisdom” (204a–b). The English keeps the parts of the word, “love wisdom” and “lover of wisdom”, where the argument depends on them, and “philosophy” for the noun (173c, 182c, 210d), as in the *Lysis*; Alcibiades’ “wisdom-loving madness” (218b) renders the adjective.

### Give birth, beget, be pregnant (tiktein, tokos; gennan; kyein)

Diotima’s account of love’s work uses the words of childbirth for men and women alike. *Tiktein* is “give birth” and *tokos* “giving birth”, *gennan* “beget” and *gennēsis* “begetting”, *kyein* “be pregnant” and *kyēma* “what it has conceived”. “All human beings … are pregnant both in body and in soul”, and love’s work is “giving birth in what is beautiful, both in body and in soul” (206b–c); the one who is “pregnant in his soul” seeks a beautiful soul in which to beget, and they rear what is begotten together (209a–c), as Homer and Hesiod left their poems and Lycurgus and Solon their laws (209d–e). The English keeps each word for its own Greek, so that “give birth” and “beget”, which Greek can say of either parent, both stand where Diotima uses them. At the top of the ascent the lover will “give birth not to images of virtue … but to true virtue” (212a).

### Immortal, immortality (athanatos; athanasia)

*Athanatos*, “deathless”, was the gods’ epithet; *thnētos*, “mortal”, was man’s. Diotima places Love between them (202d–e), and then argues that love is of immortality as well as of the good, “if love is of the good’s being one’s own always” (206e–207a): mortal nature “seeks, so far as it can, to be always and immortal”, and can do so only “by birth”, leaving behind something new (207d). The love of honour is the same desire, “laying up immortal fame for all time” (208c), and those pregnant in soul beget children “more beautiful and more immortal” (209c). The one who beholds the beautiful itself may, “if to any other human being”, “become immortal” (212a). The English renders the words “immortal” and “immortality” throughout.

### Ways of life, studies, kinds of knowledge (epitēdeumata; mathēmata; epistēmai)

The rungs of Diotima’s ascent have names that the English keeps distinct. After bodies and souls the lover is led to behold “the beautiful in ways of life and in laws” (210c); *epitēdeumata* are the practices and pursuits of a life, and the English renders them “ways of life” throughout (209c, 210c–d, 211c, 221c). Then come the *epistēmai*, “kinds of knowledge” (210c); the same plural is “pieces of knowledge” at 207e–208a, where Diotima speaks of what is learned and forgotten, and a note at 210c says so. In the summary of the ascent the lover goes “from ways of life to beautiful studies, and from the studies to end at that study which is the study of nothing other than that beautiful itself” (211c); *mathēmata*, “studies”, are things learned, and the change of word from *epistēmai* to *mathēmata* is the Greek’s.

### Behold, catch sight of (theasthai; katidein, kathoran; theōrein)

Diotima frames the ascent in the language of the mysteries of Eleusis, where the highest grade of initiation was the *epopteia*, the “beholding”, and her verbs of seeing take colour from it (interpretation). “The perfect rites and those of the beholding” are what Diotima doubts Socrates could follow (210a). The lover must “behold” (*theasthai*) the beautiful in ways of life (210c); “contemplating” (*theōrein*) the great sea of the beautiful (210d), he “will suddenly catch sight of” (*katopsetai*) something beautiful, marvellous in its nature (210e), and life is worth living “as he beholds the beautiful itself” (211d). The English keeps each verb for its own Greek: “behold” for *theasthai*, “contemplate” for *theōrein*, “catch sight of” for *katidein* and *kathoran*, and “see” for the common verbs, so that the order of the ascent can be followed in the English. The same words are used of ordinary seeing, as when Alcibiades did not “catch sight of” Socrates (213a) and when it “was worth beholding Socrates” at Delium (220e).

### Itself by itself; single in form (auto kath’ hauto; monoeidēs)

At the top of the ascent the beautiful is “itself by itself, with itself, single in form, always being”, and “all the other beautiful things” share in it, while it “becomes neither anything more nor less, nor suffers anything at all” (211b); it is “the divine beautiful itself, single in form” (211e). The phrase *auto kath’ hauto* was used of a thing considered on its own, apart from its relations; Pausanias had used it of the practice of love, which “is, itself by itself, neither beautiful nor shameful” (183d), recalling what he had said of every action (180e–181a). *Monoeidēs*, “of one form”, is a rare word, which Plato uses of the forms in the *Phaedo* (78d, 80b). The English renders the phrase “itself by itself” in both places, so that Pausanias’ relativism and Diotima’s beautiful itself are heard in the same words.

### Insolent, insolence (hybristēs; hybris, hybrizein)

*Hybris* was outrage, violence or contempt for another’s honour, a crime at Athens, and also the arrogance of one who knows no limits; *hybristēs* was a man given to it. Agathon calls Socrates “insolent” in jest (175e); Pausanias’ Heavenly Aphrodite has “no portion of insolence” (181c); Alcibiades calls Socrates “insolent” in earnest (215b), and says that Socrates despised his youth “and treated it with insolence” (219c), and that his speeches wrap round themselves “a hide, as it were, of an insolent satyr” (221e). The English renders the family “insolent”, “insolence” and “treat with insolence” throughout, as in the series, so that the charge Alcibiades brings can be traced back to Agathon’s joke.

### Ironic (eirōneuesthai; eirōnikōs)

An *eirōn* was a dissembler, one who says less than he means or pretends to know less than he does; the word was not a compliment. Alcibiades says that Socrates “goes on all his life being ironic and playing with human beings” (216e), and that he answered Alcibiades’ offer “very ironically, and very much like himself and as he used to” (218d). Aristotle names Socrates as the example of this self-depreciation (*Nicomachean Ethics* 4.7). The English renders the verb “be ironic” and the adverb “ironically”, so that the English word, which comes from it, carries the same charge; it does not mean the modern “ironic” of events.

### Likeness, statue, silenus (eikōn; agalma; silēnos)

Alcibiades will praise Socrates “through likenesses”, *eikones*, “for the sake of the truth, not of the laughable” (215a). An *agalma* was anything to delight a god, and so a statue of a god or a precious image; the sileni in the carvers’ shops, opened, “are seen to have statues of gods inside” (215b), and Alcibiades has seen Socrates’ “statues inside”, “so divine and golden and all-beautiful” (216e–217a); Socrates’ speeches have “the most statues of virtue” (222a). The sileni were the snub-nosed, horse-eared companions of Dionysus, like the satyrs, and Marsyas was a satyr. The English renders *eikōn* “likeness” and *eikazein* “liken” (215a, 216c, 221c–d), *agalma* “statue” throughout, and *silēnos* “silenus”, so that the likeness of 215a returns in the same words when Alcibiades ends with the sileni that open (221d–222a) and when Socrates calls the speech “this satyr and silenus play” (222d).

### Temperance, endurance (sōphrosynē; karteria)

*Sōphrosynē*, “temperance”, was the virtue of self-control and sound sense, the subject of the *Charmides*; *karteria*, “endurance”, was the strength to hold out against hunger, cold and pleasure. Eryximachus speaks of the Love accomplished “with temperance and justice” (188d), and Agathon makes Love “exceptionally temperate” (196c). Diotima calls the ordering of cities “temperance and justice” (209a). Alcibiades finds Socrates, opened, “full … of temperance” (216d), and admires his “nature and temperance and courage” and his “intelligence” and “endurance” (219d); on campaign “the others were nothing at holding out” beside him (220a). The English renders *sōphrosynē* “temperance”, as in the series, *karteria* “endurance” and *karterein* “hold out”, as at 184b and 216a.

### Desire, lack (epithymein; endeēs)

*Epithymein*, “desire”, was the common verb of wanting, of food as of persons. Socrates’ questioning of Agathon turns on it: “what desires desires what it lacks, or does not desire if it does not lack it” (200a–b), as in the *Lysis* (221d–e); so Love, if he is of beautiful things, “lacks beauty and does not have it” (201b). The English renders *endeēs*, with “to be”, “lack”, and keeps “be in need” for *deisthai* (176a, 184e, 199b, 207c, 215c), so that the argument’s word is heard where Agathon used it unknowingly, “he lacks a poet such as Homer was” (195d); until the final reading of this edition that place had “is in need of”. Love is “a housemate of lack” (203d), and Alcibiades is “still in lack of much” (216a).

*In this reading text each Burnet page is given as Greek (line for line, with Burnet’s margin numbers in bold at the line ends; italic marks his letterspaced quotation), his apparatus, then the English and its notes.*

---

## 172a–172c

### Greek (Burnet, page 1)

**ΣΥΜΠΟΣΙΟΝ** · ΑΠΟΛΛΟΔΩΡΟΣ ΕΤΑΙΡΟΣ · *St. III p. 172*

 ΑΠΟΛ. Δοκῶ μοι περὶ ὧν πυνθάνεσθε οὐκ ἀμελέτητος **a**\
εἶναι. καὶ γὰρ ἐτύγχανον πρῴην εἰς ἄστυ οἴκοθεν ἀνιὼν Φαλη-\
ρόθεν· τῶν οὖν γνωρίμων τις ὄπισθεν κατιδών με πόρρωθεν\
ἐκάλεσε, καὶ παίζων ἅμα τῇ κλήσει, “Ὦ Φαληρεύς,” ἔφη,\
“οὗτος Ἀπολλόδωρος, οὐ περιμένεις;” Κἀγὼ ἐπιστὰς περι- **5**\
έμεινα. Καὶ ὅς, “Ἀπολλόδωρε,” ἔφη, “καὶ μὴν καὶ ἔναγχός\
σε ἐζήτουν βουλόμενος διαπυθέσθαι τὴν Ἀγάθωνος συνουσίαν\
καὶ Σωκράτους καὶ Ἀλκιβιάδου καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν τότε ἐν **b**\
τῷ συνδείπνῳ παραγενομένων, περὶ τῶν ἐρωτικῶν λόγων\
τίνες ἦσαν· ἄλλος γάρ τίς μοι διηγεῖτο ἀκηκοὼς Φοίνικος\
τοῦ Φιλίππου, ἔφη δὲ καὶ σὲ εἰδέναι. ἀλλὰ γὰρ οὐδὲν εἶχε\
σαφὲς λέγειν. σὺ οὖν μοι διήγησαι· δικαιότατος γὰρ εἶ **5**\
τοὺς τοῦ ἑταίρου λόγους ἀπαγγέλλειν. πρότερον δέ μοι,”\
ἦ δ’ ὅς, “εἰπέ, σὺ αὐτὸς παρεγένου τῇ συνουσίᾳ ταύτῃ ἢ οὔ;”\
Κἀγὼ εἶπον ὅτι “Παντάπασιν ἔοικέ σοι οὐδὲν διηγεῖσθαι\
σαφὲς ὁ διηγούμενος, εἰ νεωστὶ ἡγῇ τὴν συνουσίαν γεγονέναι **c**\
ταύτην ἣν ἐρωτᾷς, ὥστε καὶ ἐμὲ παραγενέσθαι.” “Ἐγώ γε

> *Apparatus:* **a** 1 οὐκ B T W: νῦν οὐκ Methodius al.   **a** 4 ὦ B T W: ὁ al.   **a** 5 Ἀπολλόδωρος secl. Badham   περιμένεις T W: περιμενεις B: περιμενεῖς al.   **b** 2 συνδείπνῳ B Methodius: συνδειπνεῖν T: συνδείπν<ruby>ῳ<rt>εῖν</rt></ruby> W   **c** 2 καὶ ἐμὲ B T W: κἀμὲ Athenaeus   ἐγώ γε δή, ἔφη scripsi: ἔγωγε δή B T W: ἐγὼ γὰρ ἔφη(ν) Athenaeus: ἔγωγ’, ἔφη Badham

### English

**Apoll.** **[172a]** I think I am not unrehearsed in what you are asking about. For the day before yesterday I was in fact going up to town from my home at Phaleron, and one of my acquaintances, from behind, a long way off, caught sight of me and called out, joking as he called, “O man of Phaleron,”[^1] he said, “you there, Apollodorus,[^2] won’t you wait?” And I stopped and waited. And he said, “Apollodorus, I was indeed looking for you only lately, wanting to find out all about the gathering of Agathon[^3] **[b]** and Socrates and Alcibiades and the others who were at the dinner then, about the speeches on love, what they were. For someone else was telling me about them, who had heard it from Phoenix the son of Philippus, and he said that you knew as well. But he had nothing clear to say. So you tell me; for you have the best right to report your companion’s speeches. But first tell me,” he said, “were you yourself at this gathering or not?” And I said, “It seems that **[c]** the man who was telling it told you nothing clear at all, if you believe the gathering you are asking about took place so lately that I too could have been there.” “I did

[^1]: *O man of Phaleron*: Phaleron was a deme on the coast south-west of Athens, by the old harbour. The joke seems to lie in hailing him by his deme, as in a formal summons (interpretation).

[^2]: Apollodorus of Phaleron, a devoted follower of Socrates; in the *Phaedo* he is present at Socrates’ death and weeps without restraint (59a–b, 117d).

[^3]: Agathon, the tragic poet, who won his first victory at the Lenaea in the archonship of Euphemus, 417/16 BC (Athenaeus 5.217a–b).

---

## 172c–173d

### Greek (Burnet, page 2)

δή,” ἔφη. “Πόθεν, ἦν δ’ ἐγώ, ὦ Γλαύκων; οὐκ οἶσθ’ ὅτι\
πολλῶν ἐτῶν Ἀγάθων ἐνθάδε οὐκ ἐπιδεδήμηκεν, ἀφ’ οὗ δ’\
ἐγὼ Σωκράτει συνδιατρίβω καὶ ἐπιμελὲς πεποίημαι ἑκάστης **5**\
ἡμέρας εἰδέναι ὅτι ἂν λέγῃ ἢ πράττῃ, οὐδέπω τρία ἔτη ἐστίν;\
πρὸ τοῦ δὲ περιτρέχων ὅπῃ τύχοιμι καὶ οἰόμενος τὶ ποιεῖν **173**\
ἀθλιώτερος ἦ ὁτουοῦν, οὐχ ἧττον ἢ σὺ νυνί, οἰόμενος δεῖν\
πάντα μᾶλλον πράττειν ἢ φιλοσοφεῖν.” Καὶ ὅς, “Μὴ\
σκῶπτ’,” ἔφη, “ἀλλ’ εἰπέ μοι πότε ἐγένετο ἡ συνουσία\
αὕτη.” Κἀγὼ εἶπον ὅτι “Παίδων ὄντων ἡμῶν ἔτι, ὅτε τῇ πρώτῃ **5**\
τραγῳδίᾳ ἐνίκησεν Ἀγάθων, τῇ ὑστεραίᾳ ἢ ᾗ τὰ ἐπινίκια\
ἔθυεν αὐτός τε καὶ οἱ χορευταί.” “Πάνυ,” ἔφη, “ἄρα πάλαι,\
ὡς ἔοικεν. ἀλλὰ τίς σοι διηγεῖτο; ἢ αὐτὸς Σωκράτης;”\
“Οὐ μὰ τὸν Δία,” ἦν δ’ ἐγώ, “ἀλλ’ ὅσπερ Φοίνικι. Ἀριστό- **b**\
δημος ἦν τις, Κυδαθηναιεύς, σμικρός, ἀνυπόδητος ἀεί· παρ-\
εγεγόνει δ’ ἐν τῇ συνουσίᾳ, Σωκράτους ἐραστὴς ὢν ἐν τοῖς\
μάλιστα τῶν τότε, ὡς ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ. οὐ μέντοι ἀλλὰ καὶ\
Σωκράτη γε ἔνια ἤδη ἀνηρόμην ὧν ἐκείνου ἤκουσα, καί μοι **5**\
ὡμολόγει καθάπερ ἐκεῖνος διηγεῖτο.” “Τί οὖν,” ἔφη, “οὐ\
διηγήσω μοι; πάντως δὲ ἡ ὁδὸς ἡ εἰς ἄστυ ἐπιτηδεία\
πορευομένοις καὶ λέγειν καὶ ἀκούειν.”\
 Οὕτω δὴ ἰόντες ἅμα τοὺς λόγους περὶ αὐτῶν ἐποιούμεθα,\
ὥστε, ὅπερ ἀρχόμενος εἶπον, οὐκ ἀμελετήτως ἔχω. εἰ οὖν **c**\
δεῖ καὶ ὑμῖν διηγήσασθαι, ταῦτα χρὴ ποιεῖν. καὶ γὰρ ἔγωγε\
καὶ ἄλλως, ὅταν μέν τινας περὶ φιλοσοφίας λόγους ἢ αὐτὸς\
ποιῶμαι ἢ ἄλλων ἀκούω, χωρὶς τοῦ οἴεσθαι ὠφελεῖσθαι\
ὑπερφυῶς ὡς χαίρω· ὅταν δὲ ἄλλους τινάς, ἄλλως τε καὶ **5**\
τοὺς ὑμετέρους τοὺς τῶν πλουσίων καὶ χρηματιστικῶν, αὐτός\
τε ἄχθομαι ὑμᾶς τε τοὺς ἑταίρους ἐλεῶ, ὅτι οἴεσθε τὶ ποιεῖν\
οὐδὲν ποιοῦντες. καὶ ἴσως αὖ ὑμεῖς ἐμὲ ἡγεῖσθε κακοδαίμονα **d**

> *Apparatus:* **c** 4 ἐνθάδε om. Athenaeus   **a** 2 ἦ T b: ἦν pr. B: ἢ W t   νυνί B: νῦν T W   **a** 5 πρώτῃ om. Athenaeus   **a** 6 ἢ ᾗ T W: ἡ B: ἢ Schanz   **a** 8 τίς B: τί T W   **b** 1 ἄλλοσπερ B T W   **b** 2 παραγεγόνει B T W   **b** 4 καὶ B W: om. T   **b** 6 διηγήσω B T: διηγήσῃ W: διηγῇ σὺ vulg.   **b** 7 ἡ εἰς B T: εἰς W   **d** 1 ἐμὲ ἡγεῖσθαι B T: ἡγεῖσθε ἐμὲ W

### English

believe so,” he said.[^4] “Where could you get that, Glaucon?”[^5] I said. “Don’t you know that Agathon has not lived here for many years, and that since I have been spending my time with Socrates, and have made it my concern each day to know whatever he says or does, it is not yet three years? **[173]** Before that I ran around wherever chance took me, and while I thought I was doing something I was more wretched than anyone at all, no less than you are now, thinking that I ought to do anything rather than love wisdom.”[^6] And he said, “Don’t mock, but tell me when this gathering took place.” And I said, “When we were still boys, when Agathon won with his first tragedy, on the day after the one on which he and the members of his chorus made the sacrifice for the victory.” “Very long ago, then, it seems,” he said. “But who told it to you? Was it Socrates himself?” **[b]** “No, by Zeus,” I said, “but the same man who told Phoenix. It was a certain Aristodemus, of Cydathenaeum, a small man, always barefoot.[^7] He had been at the gathering, being a lover of Socrates as much as any man of that time, as it seems to me. Not but that I have also asked Socrates already about some of the things I heard from him, and he agreed with me that they were as that man told them.” “Then why don’t you tell it to me?” he said. “In any case the road to town is suitable for those who walk it, to talk and to listen.”

So as we went along together we talked about these things, **[c]** so that, as I said when I began, I am not unrehearsed. If, then, I must tell it to you too, that is what I must do. For I for my part, besides, whenever I am myself making some talk about philosophy, or hearing others make it, apart from thinking that I am being benefited, am glad beyond measure; but whenever it is some other talk, above all yours, the talk of rich men and money-makers, I am grieved myself and I pity you, my companions, because you think you are doing something **[d]** when you are doing nothing. And perhaps you in turn believe that I am unhappy,

[^4]: *I did believe so*: Burnet’s own reading, *egō ge dē, ephē*; B, T and W have *egōge dē*, without “he said” (apparatus, c2).

[^5]: Glaucon is the acquaintance who hailed Apollodorus on the road, not the companion of the frame, who is never named. Whether he is Plato’s brother Glaucon, who speaks in the *Republic*, is not known.

[^6]: *Love wisdom*: *philosophein*, the verb of *philosophia*, “philosophy” (173c), rendered so throughout, as in the *Lysis* (218a–b).

[^7]: Like Socrates himself, who seldom wore shoes (174a; *Phaedrus* 229a). Xenophon has Socrates talk with “Aristodemus called the Little” (*Memorabilia* 1.4.2).

---

## 173d–174b

### Greek (Burnet, page 3)

εἶναι, καὶ οἴομαι ὑμᾶς ἀληθῆ οἴεσθαι· ἐγὼ μέντοι ὑμᾶς οὐκ\
οἴομαι ἀλλ’ εὖ οἶδα.\
 ΕΤΑΙ. Ἀεὶ ὅμοιος εἶ, ὦ Ἀπολλόδωρε· ἀεὶ γὰρ σαυτόν\
τε κακηγορεῖς καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους, καὶ δοκεῖς μοι ἀτεχνῶς **5**\
πάντας ἀθλίους ἡγεῖσθαι πλὴν Σωκράτους, ἀπὸ σαυτοῦ\
ἀρξάμενος. καὶ ὁπόθεν ποτὲ ταύτην τὴν ἐπωνυμίαν ἔλαβες\
τὸ μαλακὸς καλεῖσθαι, οὐκ οἶδα ἔγωγε· ἐν μὲν γὰρ τοῖς\
λόγοις ἀεὶ τοιοῦτος εἶ, σαυτῷ τε καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἀγριαίνεις\
πλὴν Σωκράτους. **10**\
 ΑΠΟΛ. Ὦ φίλτατε, καὶ δῆλόν γε δὴ ὅτι οὕτω δια- **e**\
νοούμενος καὶ περὶ ἐμαυτοῦ καὶ περὶ ὑμῶν μαίνομαι καὶ\
παραπαίω;\
 ΕΤΑΙ. Οὐκ ἄξιον περὶ τούτων, Ἀπολλόδωρε, νῦν ἐρίζειν·\
ἀλλ’ ὅπερ ἐδεόμεθά σου, μὴ ἄλλως ποιήσῃς, ἀλλὰ διήγησαι **5**\
τίνες ἦσαν οἱ λόγοι.\
 ΑΠΟΛ. Ἦσαν τοίνυν ἐκεῖνοι τοιοίδε τινές—μᾶλλον δ’\
ἐξ ἀρχῆς ὑμῖν ὡς ἐκεῖνος διηγεῖτο καὶ ἐγὼ πειράσομαι **174**\
διηγήσασθαι.\
 \
 Ἔφη γάρ οἱ Σωκράτη ἐντυχεῖν λελουμένον τε καὶ τὰς\
βλαύτας ὑποδεδεμένον, ἃ ἐκεῖνος ὀλιγάκις ἐποίει· καὶ ἐρέσθαι\
αὐτὸν ὅποι ἴοι οὕτω καλὸς γεγενημένος. **5**\
 Καὶ τὸν εἰπεῖν ὅτι Ἐπὶ δεῖπνον εἰς Ἀγάθωνος. χθὲς γὰρ\
αὐτὸν διέφυγον τοῖς ἐπινικίοις, φοβηθεὶς τὸν ὄχλον· ὡμο-\
λόγησα δ’ εἰς τήμερον παρέσεσθαι. ταῦτα δὴ ἐκαλλωπι-\
σάμην, ἵνα καλὸς παρὰ καλὸν ἴω. ἀλλὰ σύ, ἦ δ’ ὅς, πῶς\
ἔχεις πρὸς τὸ ἐθέλειν ἂν ἰέναι ἄκλητος ἐπὶ δεῖπνον; **b**\
 Κἀγώ, ἔφη, εἶπον ὅτι Οὕτως ὅπως ἂν σὺ κελεύῃς.\
 Ἕπου τοίνυν, ἔφη, ἵνα καὶ τὴν παροιμίαν διαφθείρωμεν\
μεταβαλόντες, ὡς ἄρα καὶ *Ἀγάθων’ ἐπὶ δαῖτας ἴασιν*

> *Apparatus:* **d** 8 μαλακὸς B: μα<ruby>λα<rt>νι</rt></ruby>κὸς T W   γὰρ] γε Badham   **a** 5 ὅποι B T: ὅπη W   **b** 1 ἐθέλειν ἂν secl. Cobet   ἂν ἰέναι Stephanus: ἀνιέναι B T W   **b** 4 μεταβαλόντες T W: μεταβάλλοντες B Athenaeus   Ἀγάθων’ Lachmann: ἀγαθῶν B T W

### English

and I think that what you think is true; but as for you, I do not think it but know it well.

**Comp.** You are always the same, Apollodorus. For you are always speaking ill of yourself and of the others, and you seem to me to believe that absolutely everyone is wretched except Socrates, beginning with yourself. And where you ever got that name, of being called “the Soft,”[^8] I for my part do not know; for in your talk, at least, you are always like this, savage with yourself and with the others, except Socrates.

**Apoll.** **[e]** My best of friends,[^9] is it so plain, then, that in thinking this way about myself and about you I am mad and deranged?

**Comp.** It is not worth quarrelling about these things now, Apollodorus; but what we were asking of you, do not do otherwise: tell us what the speeches were.

**Apoll.** Well, they were something like this — or rather, **[174]** from the beginning, just as he told it, I too shall try to tell it to you.

For he said that Socrates met him bathed and with his slippers on, which he seldom did; and that he asked him where he was going, having become so beautiful.

And he said, “To dinner at Agathon’s. For yesterday I escaped him at the victory feast, being afraid of the crowd; but I agreed to be there today. That is why I have made myself beautiful, so that I may go beautiful to a beautiful man. But you,” he said, “how **[b]** do you feel about the idea that you would be willing to go to a dinner uninvited?”[^10]

And I, he said, said, “Just as you tell me.”

“Follow me, then,” he said, “so that we may also ruin the proverb by altering it, so that it says after all: ‘to Agathon’s feasts, too, there go

[^8]: *The Soft*: so B, *malakos*; in T and W *manikos*, “mad,” is written over it, and Apollodorus’ answer, “mad and deranged,” would echo it (interpretation) (apparatus, d8).

[^9]: *My best of friends*: *ō philtate*, the superlative of *philos*, “friend,” which this translation renders “friend” throughout, and never “dear.”

[^10]: *That you would be willing*: Burnet prints Stephanus’ *an ienai*; B, T and W have *anienai*, “to go up”, and Cobet brackets *ethelein an* (apparatus, b1).

---

## 174b–174e

### Greek (Burnet, page 4)

*αὐτόματοι ἀγαθοί.* Ὅμηρος μὲν γὰρ κινδυνεύει οὐ μόνον **5**\
διαφθεῖραι ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑβρίσαι εἰς ταύτην τὴν παροιμίαν·\
ποιήσας γὰρ τὸν Ἀγαμέμνονα διαφερόντως ἀγαθὸν ἄνδρα\
τὰ πολεμικά, τὸν δὲ Μενέλεων *“μαλθακὸν αἰχμητήν,”* **c**\
θυσίαν ποιουμένου καὶ ἑστιῶντος τοῦ Ἀγαμέμνονος ἄκλητον\
ἐποίησεν ἐλθόντα τὸν Μενέλεων ἐπὶ τὴν θοίνην, χείρω ὄντα\
ἐπὶ τὴν τοῦ ἀμείνονος.\
 Ταῦτ’ ἀκούσας εἰπεῖν ἔφη Ἴσως μέντοι κινδυνεύσω καὶ **5**\
ἐγὼ οὐχ ὡς σὺ λέγεις, ὦ Σώκρατες, ἀλλὰ καθ’ Ὅμηρον\
φαῦλος ὢν ἐπὶ σοφοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἰέναι θοίνην ἄκλητος. ὅρα οὖν\
ἄγων με τί ἀπολογήσῃ, ὡς ἐγὼ μὲν οὐχ ὁμολογήσω ἄκλητος\
ἥκειν, ἀλλ’ ὑπὸ σοῦ κεκλημένος. **d**\
 “Σύν τε δύ’,” ἔφη, “ἐρχομένω πρὸ ὁδοῦ” βουλευσόμεθα\
ὅτι ἐροῦμεν. ἀλλ’ ἴωμεν.\
 Τοιαῦτ’ ἄττα σφᾶς ἔφη διαλεχθέντας ἰέναι. τὸν οὖν\
Σωκράτη ἑαυτῷ πως προσέχοντα τὸν νοῦν κατὰ τὴν ὁδὸν **5**\
πορεύεσθαι ὑπολειπόμενον, καὶ περιμένοντος οὗ κελεύειν\
προϊέναι εἰς τὸ πρόσθεν. ἐπειδὴ δὲ γενέσθαι ἐπὶ τῇ οἰκίᾳ\
τῇ Ἀγάθωνος, ἀνεῳγμένην καταλαμβάνειν τὴν θύραν, καί τι **e**\
ἔφη αὐτόθι γελοῖον παθεῖν. οἷ μὲν γὰρ εὐθὺς παῖδά τινα\
τῶν ἔνδοθεν ἀπαντήσαντα ἄγειν οὗ κατέκειντο οἱ ἄλλοι, καὶ\
καταλαμβάνειν ἤδη μέλλοντας δειπνεῖν· εὐθὺς δ’ οὖν ὡς\
ἰδεῖν τὸν Ἀγάθωνα, Ὦ, φάναι, Ἀριστόδημε, εἰς καλὸν ἥκεις **5**\
ὅπως συνδειπνήσῃς· εἰ δ’ ἄλλου τινὸς ἕνεκα ἦλθες, εἰς αὖθις\
ἀναβαλοῦ, ὡς καὶ χθὲς ζητῶν σε ἵνα καλέσαιμι, οὐχ οἷός τ’\
ἦ ἰδεῖν. ἀλλὰ Σωκράτη ἡμῖν πῶς οὐκ ἄγεις;\
 Καὶ ἐγώ, ἔφη, μεταστρεφόμενος οὐδαμοῦ ὁρῶ Σωκράτη

> *Apparatus:* **c** 7, 8 ὅρα . . . τί Badham (*vide* Ficinus): ἄρα . . . τι B: ἆρα . . . τι T: ἆρ’ . . . τί W   **d** 2 πρὸ ὁδοῦ B T W: πρὸ ὁ τοῦ Homerus K 224   **d** 3 ἀλλὰ ἴωμεν T W: ἀλλ ἐῶμεν B   **d** 6 πορευόμενον ὑπολείπεσθαι Rohde   **d** 7 δὲ] δὲ ἓ Cobet: δ’ ἓ Baiter   **e** 2 οἷ Photius b: οἱ B T: τὸν W   **e** 3 τῶν ἔνδοθεν Porson: τῶν ἔνδον Photius: ἔνδοθεν B T W   **e** 5 ὦ T W: ᾧ B   **e** 6 συνδειπνήσῃς B T W: συνδειπνήσεις Laur. xiv. 85   **e** 7 τ’ ῆ· T W: τε B   **e** 9 ἔφη B: ἔφην T W   οὐδαμοῦ B: οὐδαμῇ T W

### English

of their own accord the good.’[^11] For Homer, it looks like, has not only ruined this proverb but even treated it with insolence; for having made Agamemnon an exceptionally good man **[c]** in war, and Menelaus ‘a soft spearman,’ when Agamemnon was making a sacrifice and giving a feast he made Menelaus come to the banquet uninvited, the worse man to the banquet of the better.”[^12]

Hearing this, he said that he said, “Perhaps, though, I too, it looks like, shall go, not as you say, Socrates, but as Homer says, a paltry man, uninvited, to the banquet of a wise one. So since you are bringing me, see what defence you will make;[^13] for I shall not agree that I **[d]** have come uninvited, but invited by you.”

“‘Two going together,’” he said, “‘on the way ahead’ we shall deliberate what we are to say.[^14] But let us go.”

After conversing in some such way, he said, they set off. Then Socrates, paying attention somehow to himself, went along the road falling behind, and when he waited for him, he told him to go on ahead. And when he came to **[e]** Agathon’s house, he found the door open, and there, he said, something laughable happened to him. For a slave from inside met him at once and led him to where the others were reclining, and he found them already about to dine; but anyway, as soon as Agathon saw him, “Ah, Aristodemus,” he said, “you have come at a beautiful moment,[^15] to dine with us; if you came for some other reason, put it off till another time; for yesterday, too, I was looking for you to invite you, and could not see you. But Socrates: how is it you are not bringing him to us?”

And I, he said, turning round, nowhere see Socrates

[^11]: The proverb is recorded in two forms, “the good go of their own accord to the feasts of the good” (*agathōn*) and “… to the feasts of the base” (*deilōn*) (Athenaeus 5.178b, just after quoting this passage). Burnet prints Lachmann’s *Agathōn’*, for *Agathōni*, “to Agathon’s,” where the manuscripts have *agathōn*, “of the good”; either way the joke is on the host’s name (apparatus, b4).

[^12]: Menelaus comes “of his own accord” to Agamemnon’s sacrifice at *Iliad* 2.408; he is called “a soft spearman” at 17.587–588.

[^13]: *See what defence*: Burnet prints Badham’s *hora … ti*, as Ficinus’ Latin implies; B has *ara … ti*, “so you will make some defence,” T and W *āra*, which makes it a question (apparatus, c7–8).

[^14]: Socrates turns Diomedes’ words at *Iliad* 10.224, “when two go together, one sees before the other” (*pro ho tou*), into “on the way ahead” (*pro hodou*) (apparatus, d2).

[^15]: *At a beautiful moment*: *eis kalon*, an idiom for “in good time,” which keeps the word Socrates has just played on (174a) (interpretation).

---

## 174e–175c

### Greek (Burnet, page 5)

ἑπόμενον· εἶπον οὖν ὅτι καὶ αὐτὸς μετὰ Σωκράτους ἥκοιμι, **10**\
κληθεὶς ὑπ’ ἐκείνου δεῦρ’ ἐπὶ δεῖπνον.\
 Καλῶς γ’, ἔφη, ποιῶν σύ· ἀλλὰ ποῦ ἔστιν οὗτος;\
 Ὄπισθεν ἐμοῦ ἄρτι εἰσῄει· ἀλλὰ θαυμάζω καὶ αὐτὸς ποῦ **175**\
ἂν εἴη.\
 Οὐ σκέψῃ, ἔφη, παῖ, φάναι τὸν Ἀγάθωνα, καὶ εἰσάξεις\
Σωκράτη; σὺ δ’, ἦ δ’ ὅς, Ἀριστόδημε, παρ’ Ἐρυξίμαχον\
κατακλίνου. **5**\
 Καὶ ἓ μὲν ἔφη ἀπονίζειν τὸν παῖδα ἵνα κατακέοιτο· ἄλλον\
δέ τινα τῶν παίδων ἥκειν ἀγγέλλοντα ὅτι “Σωκράτης οὗτος\
ἀναχωρήσας ἐν τῷ τῶν γειτόνων προθύρῳ ἕστηκεν, κἀμοῦ\
καλοῦντος οὐκ ἐθέλει εἰσιέναι.”\
 Ἄτοπόν γ’, ἔφη, λέγεις· οὔκουν καλεῖς αὐτὸν καὶ μὴ **10**\
ἀφήσεις;\
 Καὶ ὃς ἔφη εἰπεῖν Μηδαμῶς, ἀλλ’ ἐᾶτε αὐτόν. ἔθος γάρ **b**\
τι τοῦτ’ ἔχει· ἐνίοτε ἀποστὰς ὅποι ἂν τύχῃ ἕστηκεν. ἥξει\
δ’ αὐτίκα, ὡς ἐγὼ οἶμαι. μὴ οὖν κινεῖτε, ἀλλ’ ἐᾶτε.\
 Ἀλλ’ οὕτω χρὴ ποιεῖν, εἰ σοὶ δοκεῖ, ἔφη φάναι τὸν\
Ἀγάθωνα. ἀλλ’ ἡμᾶς, ὦ παῖδες, τοὺς ἄλλους ἑστιᾶτε. **5**\
πάντως παρατίθετε ὅτι ἂν βούλησθε, ἐπειδάν τις ὑμῖν μὴ\
ἐφεστήκῃ—ὃ ἐγὼ οὐδεπώποτε ἐποίησα—νῦν οὖν, νομίζοντες\
καὶ ἐμὲ ὑφ’ ὑμῶν κεκλῆσθαι ἐπὶ δεῖπνον καὶ τούσδε τοὺς\
ἄλλους, θεραπεύετε, ἵν’ ὑμᾶς ἐπαινῶμεν. **c**\
 Μετὰ ταῦτα ἔφη σφᾶς μὲν δειπνεῖν, τὸν δὲ Σωκράτη\
οὐκ εἰσιέναι. τὸν οὖν Ἀγάθωνα πολλάκις κελεύειν μετα-\
πέμψασθαι τὸν Σωκράτη, ἓ δὲ οὐκ ἐᾶν. ἥκειν οὖν αὐτὸν οὐ

> *Apparatus:* **e** 10 ἥκοιμι B² T W: ἥκοι μη B   **e** 12 γ’ T W: om. B   **a** 6 ἓ μὲν Bast (ἓ Stephanus): ἐμὲ B T W   ἔφη B: ἔφην T W   **a** 8 κἀμοῦ W: καὶ οὗ B T   **a** 10 καλεῖς B T: καλοῖς W in marg. T: κάλει rec. b   αὐτὸν] αὖθις Herwerden   **a** 11 ἀφήσεις B W: ἀφήσῃς T   **b** 2 τοῦτ’ B: τοῦτο T: τοιοῦτον W   **b** 4 ἔφη T W: om. B   **b** 6 πάντες W (sed ω s. v.)   ἐπειδάν τις . . . μὴ B T: ἐπεί τις . . . οὐ μὴ L. Schmidt: ἐπεὶ οὐ δή τις . . . μὴ Hug: ἐπεὶ δή τις . . . οὐ μὴ Schanz: fort. ἐπειδὰν αὐτὸς . . . μὴ   **b** 7 ἐφεστήκῃ T: ἀφεστήκη W: ἐφεστήκει B   **c** 4 ἓ δὲ B: ἑ δε W: \*\*\*δὲ T (τὸν δὲ fuisse videtur): αὐτὸν δὲ vulg.: ἳ δὲ ci. Bekker   οὐκ ἐᾶν B W: οὐκαν T   οὖν om. W

### English

following; so I said that I had come with Socrates myself, invited by him here to dinner.

“You did well indeed,” he said; “but where is he?”

**[175]** “He was coming in behind me just now; but I too wonder where he can be.”

“Won’t you look, boy,” Agathon said, he said, “and bring Socrates in? And you, Aristodemus,” he said, “lie down beside Eryximachus.”

And he said that the slave washed him so that he could recline; and another of the slaves came reporting: “Socrates there has withdrawn into the neighbours’ porch and is standing there, and when I call him he is not willing to come in.”

“An outlandish thing you are telling me,” he said; “won’t you call him, then, and not let him go?”

**[b]** And he said that he himself said, “Not at all; let him be. He has this habit, you see: sometimes he goes off wherever it may be and stands there. He will come presently, as I think. So don’t disturb him, but let him be.”

“Well, that is what we must do, if you think so,” Agathon said, he said. “But the rest of us, boys, you must feast. Serve in any case whatever you want, whenever no one is set over you — which I have never yet done[^16] — so now, holding that I too have been invited to dinner by you, and these **[c]** others too, wait on us, so that we may praise you.”

After this, he said, they dined, but Socrates did not come in. Agathon, then, kept telling them to send for Socrates, but he himself would not let them. So he came, not

[^16]: *Which I have never yet done*: Agathon has never set anyone over his slaves (interpretation). The sentence is difficult, and Burnet records four attempts to mend it, three by other scholars and one, offered doubtfully, of his own (apparatus, b6).

---

## 175c–176b

### Greek (Burnet, page 6)

πολὺν χρόνον ὡς εἰώθει διατρίψαντα, ἀλλὰ μάλιστα σφᾶς **5**\
μεσοῦν δειπνοῦντας. τὸν οὖν Ἀγάθωνα—τυγχάνειν γὰρ\
ἔσχατον κατακείμενον μόνον—Δεῦρ’, ἔφη φάναι, Σώκρατες,\
παρ’ ἐμὲ κατάκεισο, ἵνα καὶ τοῦ σοφοῦ ἁπτόμενός σου\
ἀπολαύσω, ὅ σοι προσέστη ἐν τοῖς προθύροις. δῆλον γὰρ **d**\
ὅτι ηὗρες αὐτὸ καὶ ἔχεις· οὐ γὰρ ἂν προαπέστης.\
 Καὶ τὸν Σωκράτη καθίζεσθαι καὶ εἰπεῖν ὅτι Εὖ ἂν ἔχοι,\
φάναι, ὦ Ἀγάθων, εἰ τοιοῦτον εἴη ἡ σοφία ὥστ’ ἐκ τοῦ πληρε-\
στέρου εἰς τὸ κενώτερον ῥεῖν ἡμῶν, ἐὰν ἁπτώμεθα ἀλλήλων, **5**\
ὥσπερ τὸ ἐν ταῖς κύλιξιν ὕδωρ τὸ διὰ τοῦ ἐρίου ῥέον ἐκ τῆς\
πληρεστέρας εἰς τὴν κενωτέραν. εἰ γὰρ οὕτως ἔχει καὶ ἡ\
σοφία, πολλοῦ τιμῶμαι τὴν παρὰ σοὶ κατάκλισιν· οἶμαι γάρ **e**\
με παρὰ σοῦ πολλῆς καὶ καλῆς σοφίας πληρωθήσεσθαι. ἡ μὲν\
γὰρ ἐμὴ φαύλη τις ἂν εἴη, ἢ καὶ ἀμφισβητήσιμος ὥσπερ ὄναρ\
οὖσα, ἡ δὲ σὴ λαμπρά τε καὶ πολλὴν ἐπίδοσιν ἔχουσα, ἥ γε\
παρὰ σοῦ νέου ὄντος οὕτω σφόδρα ἐξέλαμψεν καὶ ἐκφανὴς **5**\
ἐγένετο πρῴην ἐν μάρτυσι τῶν Ἑλλήνων πλέον ἢ τρισμυρίοις.\
 Ὑβριστὴς εἶ, ἔφη, ὦ Σώκρατες, ὁ Ἀγάθων. καὶ ταῦτα\
μὲν καὶ ὀλίγον ὕστερον διαδικασόμεθα ἐγώ τε καὶ σὺ περὶ\
τῆς σοφίας, δικαστῇ χρώμενοι τῷ Διονύσῳ· νῦν δὲ πρὸς τὸ\
δεῖπνον πρῶτα τρέπου. **10**\
 Μετὰ ταῦτα, ἔφη, κατακλινέντος τοῦ Σωκράτους καὶ **176**\
δειπνήσαντος καὶ τῶν ἄλλων, σπονδάς τε σφᾶς ποιήσασθαι,\
καὶ ᾄσαντας τὸν θεὸν καὶ τἆλλα τὰ νομιζόμενα, τρέπεσθαι\
πρὸς τὸν πότον· τὸν οὖν Παυσανίαν ἔφη λόγου τοιούτου\
τινὸς κατάρχειν. Εἶεν, ἄνδρες, φάναι, τίνα τρόπον ῥᾷστα **5**\
πιόμεθα; ἐγὼ μὲν οὖν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι τῷ ὄντι πάνυ χαλεπῶς\
ἔχω ὑπὸ τοῦ χθὲς πότου καὶ δέομαι ἀναψυχῆς τινος—οἶμαι\
δὲ καὶ ὑμῶν τοὺς πολλούς· παρῆστε γὰρ χθές—σκοπεῖσθε\
οὖν τίνι τρόπῳ ἂν ὡς ῥᾷστα πίνοιμεν. **b**

> *Apparatus:* **c** 6 τυγχάνειν B T: τυχεῖν W   **c** 8 ἁπτόμενός σου T W: om. B   **d** 1 προσέστη T W: πρόσεστιν B   **d** 5 τὸ B T W: τὸν corr. Coisl.   κενώτερον re vera B T W   **e** 1 τιμῶμαι T W: τιμῶμεν B   **e** 3 ἢ καὶ T W: καὶ B   **e** 4 ἥ γε T W: εἴ γε B   **e** 8 μὲν καὶ B T: μὲν W   **a** 5 ῥᾷστα B T W: ἥδιστα γρ. t   **a** 8 παρῆστε B T W: παρῆτε in marg. rec. b

### English

after spending a long time, as was his custom, but when they were about midway through their dinner. Then Agathon — for he was in fact reclining alone in the last place — said, he said, “Here, Socrates, recline beside me, so that by touching you[^17] I too may **[d]** enjoy the wise thing that came to you in the porch. For plainly you have found it and have it; for you would not have left off before.”

And Socrates sat down and said, “It would be well, Agathon,” he said, “if wisdom were the sort of thing to flow from the fuller of us into the emptier, if we touch each other, as the water in cups flows through the wool from the fuller into the emptier.[^18] For if **[e]** wisdom too is like this, I put a high price on my place beside you; for I think I shall be filled from you with much and beautiful wisdom. For mine would be a paltry sort, or even disputable, being like a dream, but yours is brilliant and has much growth in it, yours that shone out so strongly from you,[^19] young as you are, and was made manifest the day before yesterday, with more than thirty thousand Greeks as witnesses.”[^20]

“You are insolent, Socrates,” said Agathon. “These things you and I shall take to court a little later, about our wisdom, with Dionysus as our judge;[^21] but now turn first to your dinner.”

**[176]** After this, he said, when Socrates had lain down and dined, and the others too, they made libations, and after singing to the god and the other customary things they turned to the drinking. Then Pausanias,[^22] he said, began the talk somewhat like this: “Very well, gentlemen,” he said, “in what way shall we drink most easily? For my part, I tell you that I am really in a very bad way from yesterday’s drinking, and am in need of some respite — and so, I think, are most of you; for you were there yesterday — **[b]** so look into what way we might drink most easily.”

[^17]: *By touching you*: so T and W; B leaves the words out (apparatus, c8).

[^18]: A strand of wool laid from a full cup into an empty one draws the water across.

[^19]: *Yours that shone out*: so T and W; B has “if indeed it shone out” (apparatus, e4).

[^20]: The audience in the theatre at his victory (173a).

[^21]: Dionysus, the god of the dramatic festivals, as of wine.

[^22]: Pausanias of Cerameis, Agathon’s lover, with whom Agathon is found in the *Protagoras* (315d–e).

---

## 176b–176e

### Greek (Burnet, page 7)

 Τὸν οὖν Ἀριστοφάνη εἰπεῖν, Τοῦτο μέντοι εὖ λέγεις, ὦ\
Παυσανία, τὸ παντὶ τρόπῳ παρασκευάσασθαι ῥᾳστώνην τινὰ\
τῆς πόσεως· καὶ γὰρ αὐτός εἰμι τῶν χθὲς βεβαπτισμένων.\
 Ἀκούσαντα οὖν αὐτῶν ἔφη Ἐρυξίμαχον τὸν Ἀκουμενοῦ **5**\
Ἦ καλῶς, φάναι, λέγετε. καὶ ἔτι ἑνὸς δέομαι ὑμῶν ἀκοῦσαι\
πῶς ἔχει πρὸς τὸ ἐρρῶσθαι πίνειν, Ἀγάθων⟨ος⟩.\
 Οὐδαμῶς, φάναι, οὐδ’ αὐτὸς ἔρρωμαι.\
 Ἕρμαιον ἂν εἴη ἡμῖν, ἦ δ’ ὅς, ὡς ἔοικεν, ἐμοί τε καὶ **c**\
Ἀριστοδήμῳ καὶ Φαίδρῳ καὶ τοῖσδε, εἰ ὑμεῖς οἱ δυνατώτατοι\
πίνειν νῦν ἀπειρήκατε· ἡμεῖς μὲν γὰρ ἀεὶ ἀδύνατοι. Σω-\
κράτη δ’ ἐξαιρῶ λόγου· ἱκανὸς γὰρ καὶ ἀμφότερα, ὥστ’\
ἐξαρκέσει αὐτῷ ὁπότερ’ ἂν ποιῶμεν. ἐπειδὴ οὖν μοι δοκεῖ **5**\
οὐδεὶς τῶν παρόντων προθύμως ἔχειν πρὸς τὸ πολὺν πίνειν\
οἶνον, ἴσως ἂν ἐγὼ περὶ τοῦ μεθύσκεσθαι οἷόν ἐστι τἀληθῆ\
λέγων ἧττον ἂν εἴην ἀηδής. ἐμοὶ γὰρ δὴ τοῦτό γε οἶμαι\
κατάδηλον γεγονέναι ἐκ τῆς ἰατρικῆς, ὅτι χαλεπὸν τοῖς **d**\
ἀνθρώποις ἡ μέθη ἐστίν· καὶ οὔτε αὐτὸς ἑκὼν εἶναι πόρρω\
ἐθελήσαιμι ἂν πιεῖν οὔτε ἄλλῳ συμβουλεύσαιμι, ἄλλως τε\
καὶ κραιπαλῶντα ἔτι ἐκ τῆς προτεραίας.\
 Ἀλλὰ μήν, ἔφη φάναι ὑπολαβόντα Φαῖδρον τὸν Μυρρινού- **5**\
σιον, ἔγωγέ σοι εἴωθα πείθεσθαι ἄλλως τε καὶ ἅττ’ ἂν περὶ\
ἰατρικῆς λέγῃς· νῦν δ’, ἂν εὖ βουλεύωνται, καὶ οἱ λοιποί.\
ταῦτα δὴ ἀκούσαντας συγχωρεῖν πάντας μὴ διὰ μέθης **e**\
ποιήσασθαι τὴν ἐν τῷ παρόντι συνουσίαν, ἀλλ’ οὕτω πίνοντας\
πρὸς ἡδονήν.\
 Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν, φάναι τὸν Ἐρυξίμαχον, τοῦτο μὲν δέ-\
δοκται, πίνειν ὅσον ἂν ἕκαστος βούληται, ἐπάναγκες δὲ μηδὲν **5**

> *Apparatus:* **b** 3 παρασκευάσασθαι T W: παρασκευάζεσθαι B   **b** 5 αὐτῶν T W: αὐτὸν B   Ἐρυξίμαχον T: Εὐρυξίμαχον W: τὸν Ἐρυξιμαχον B   ἀκουμένου B T W   **b** 7 Ἀγάθωνος Vahlen: ἀγάθων B T W   **c** 4 ἐξαιρῶ Heindorf: ἐξαίρω B T W   **c** 8 ἀηδής T W: ἀηλης B   **d** 4 κραιπαλῶντα T W: κραιπαλοῦντα B   **d** 5 φαῖδρον T W: φαιδρων B   μυρρινούσιον B: μυρινούσιον T W   **d** 7 λέγῃς B W: λέγεις T   δ’ ἂν εὖ T W: δ’ αὖ εὖ B   βουλεύωνται corr. Coisl.: βούλωνται B T W

### English

Then Aristophanes said, “This indeed you say well, Pausanias, that we should provide in every way for some ease in the drinking; for I myself am one of those who were soaked yesterday.”[^23]

Hearing them, he said, Eryximachus the son of Acumenus[^24] said, “Truly you speak well. And there is still one of you I need to hear from, how he stands as to his strength for drinking: Agathon.”[^25]

“Not at all,” he said; “I have no strength either.”

**[c]** “It would be a godsend for us,[^26] it seems,” he said, “for me and Aristodemus and Phaedrus and these here, if you, the ablest drinkers, have now given up; for we are always unable. Socrates I leave out of the reckoning; for he is capable of both, so that whichever we do will be enough for him. Since, then, none of those present seems to me eager to drink much wine, perhaps if I were to tell the truth about getting drunk, what it is, I should be less disagreeable. For this at least, I think, **[d]** has become quite plain to me from medicine: that drunkenness is a harsh thing for human beings; and neither would I myself, so far as it rests with me, be willing to drink deep, nor would I advise another to, especially one still heavy-headed from the day before.”

“Why,” said Phaedrus of Myrrhinus,[^27] taking him up, he said, “I for my part am in the habit of obeying you, especially in whatever you say about medicine; and now the rest will too, if they deliberate well.”[^28] **[e]** When they heard this, they all granted that they would not make the present gathering a drunken one, but would drink simply for pleasure.

“Since, then,” said Eryximachus, “this has been resolved, that each should drink as much as he wants, and that nothing

[^23]: *Soaked*: literally “dipped,” a drinker’s word.

[^24]: Eryximachus, a doctor, as was his father Acumenus (*Phaedrus* 227a, 268a–269a); he sits with Phaedrus round the sophist Hippias in the *Protagoras* (315c).

[^25]: *Agathon*: Burnet supplies the genitive ending with Vahlen, “one of you, Agathon”; the manuscripts have *Agathōn*, the name standing outside the construction (apparatus, b7).

[^26]: *Godsend*: *hermaion*, a lucky find, held to be a gift of Hermes.

[^27]: Phaedrus, son of Pythocles, of the deme Myrrhinus (*Phaedrus* 244a), whose name the *Phaedrus* bears.

[^28]: *If they deliberate well*: so a correction in the Coislinianus, which Burnet prints; B, T and W have *boulōntai*, “want” (apparatus, d7).

---

## 176e–177d

### Greek (Burnet, page 8)

εἶναι, τὸ μετὰ τοῦτο εἰσηγοῦμαι τὴν μὲν ἄρτι εἰσελθοῦσαν\
αὐλητρίδα χαίρειν ἐᾶν, αὐλοῦσαν ἑαυτῇ ἢ ἂν βούληται ταῖς\
γυναιξὶ ταῖς ἔνδον, ἡμᾶς δὲ διὰ λόγων ἀλλήλοις συνεῖναι\
τὸ τήμερον· καὶ δι’ οἵων λόγων, εἰ βούλεσθε, ἐθέλω ὑμῖν\
εἰσηγήσασθαι. **10**\
 Φάναι δὴ πάντας καὶ βούλεσθαι καὶ κελεύειν αὐτὸν **177**\
εἰσηγεῖσθαι. εἰπεῖν οὖν τὸν Ἐρυξίμαχον ὅτι Ἡ μέν μοι\
ἀρχὴ τοῦ λόγου ἐστὶ κατὰ τὴν Εὐριπίδου Μελανίππην· οὐ\
γὰρ ἐμὸς ὁ μῦθος, ἀλλὰ Φαίδρου τοῦδε, ὃν μέλλω λέγειν.\
Φαῖδρος γὰρ ἑκάστοτε πρός με ἀγανακτῶν λέγει Οὐ δεινόν, **5**\
φησίν, ὦ Ἐρυξίμαχε, ἄλλοις μέν τισι θεῶν ὕμνους καὶ\
παίωνας εἶναι ὑπὸ τῶν ποιητῶν πεποιημένους, τῷ δὲ Ἔρωτι,\
τηλικούτῳ ὄντι καὶ τοσούτῳ θεῷ, μηδὲ ἕνα πώποτε τοσούτων\
γεγονότων ποιητῶν πεποιηκέναι μηδὲν ἐγκώμιον; εἰ δὲ βούλει **b**\
αὖ σκέψασθαι τοὺς χρηστοὺς σοφιστάς, Ἡρακλέους μὲν καὶ\
ἄλλων ἐπαίνους καταλογάδην συγγράφειν, ὥσπερ ὁ βέλτιστος\
Πρόδικος—καὶ τοῦτο μὲν ἧττον καὶ θαυμαστόν, ἀλλ’ ἔγωγε\
ἤδη τινὶ ἐνέτυχον βιβλίῳ ἀνδρὸς σοφοῦ, ἐν ᾧ ἐνῆσαν ἅλες **5**\
ἔπαινον θαυμάσιον ἔχοντες πρὸς ὠφελίαν, καὶ ἄλλα τοιαῦτα\
συχνὰ ἴδοις ἂν ἐγκεκωμιασμένα—τὸ οὖν τοιούτων μὲν πέρι **c**\
πολλὴν σπουδὴν ποιήσασθαι, Ἔρωτα δὲ μηδένα πω ἀνθρώπων\
τετολμηκέναι εἰς ταυτηνὶ τὴν ἡμέραν ἀξίως ὑμνῆσαι· ἀλλ’\
οὕτως ἠμέληται τοσοῦτος θεός. ταῦτα δή μοι δοκεῖ εὖ\
λέγειν Φαῖδρος. ἐγὼ οὖν ἐπιθυμῶ ἅμα μὲν τούτῳ ἔρανον **5**\
εἰσενεγκεῖν καὶ χαρίσασθαι, ἅμα δ’ ἐν τῷ παρόντι πρέπον\
μοι δοκεῖ εἶναι ἡμῖν τοῖς παροῦσι κοσμῆσαι τὸν θεόν. εἰ οὖν\
συνδοκεῖ καὶ ὑμῖν, γένοιτ’ ἂν ἡμῖν ἐν λόγοις ἱκανὴ διατριβή· **d**\
δοκεῖ γάρ μοι χρῆναι ἕκαστον ἡμῶν λόγον εἰπεῖν ἔπαινον\
Ἔρωτος ἐπὶ δεξιὰ ὡς ἂν δύνηται κάλλιστον, ἄρχειν δὲ

> *Apparatus:* **e** 7 αὐλητρίδα T: αὐλιτρίδα B W   ηὰν B: ἢ ἐὰν W: ἐὰν T   **a** 1 καὶ prius secl. Hermann   **a** 7 παί<ruby>α<rt>ω</rt></ruby>νας W: παίονας B T: παιᾶνας b t   **b** 1 μηδὲν] μηδὲ Valckenaer   **b** 5 ἀνδρὸς σοφοῦ T W: om. B   **b** 6 ὠφελίαν T: ὠφέλειαν B W   **c** 3 ἀξίως T W: ἀξιῶ B   **d** 3 κάλλιστον B T: κάλλιστα W

### English

be compulsory, what I propose next is that we bid farewell to the pipe-girl who has just come in, and let her pipe for herself, or, if she wants, for the women inside, and that we be with one another today through speeches; and through what kind of speeches, if you want, I am willing to propose to you.”

**[177]** Then they all said that they wanted it, and told him to propose it. So Eryximachus said, “The beginning of my speech follows Euripides’ *Melanippe*: for the tale is not mine,[^29] but Phaedrus’ here, that I am about to tell. For Phaedrus is always saying to me in vexation, ‘Is it not dreadful, Eryximachus,’ he says, ‘that hymns and paeans have been made by the poets to some other gods, while for Love,[^30] a god so great and so mighty, not one of so many **[b]** poets there have been has ever made any encomium?[^31] And if you want to look into the decent sophists in turn, they compose praises of Heracles and others in prose, like the most excellent Prodicus[^32] — and this is less marvellous; but I for my part once came across a book by a wise man[^33] in which there was salt, given a marvellous praise for its benefit,[^34] and other such things, **[c]** many of them, you could see made the subject of encomia — that so much earnestness should be spent on such things, and that no human being should yet have dared, to this very day, to hymn Love worthily! So neglected has so great a god been.’ In this, I think, Phaedrus speaks well. So I desire both to bring him my contribution and to gratify him, and at the same time it seems to me fitting, on the present occasion, for us who are present to adorn the god. If, then, **[d]** you think so too, we should have sufficient pastime in speeches; for I think each of us should speak a speech in praise of Love, going to the right, the most beautiful he can, and that Phaedrus should begin

[^29]: Euripides, *Melanippe the Wise*, fragment 484 Nauck: “the tale is not mine, but from my mother.”

[^30]: *Love*: *Erōs*, the god and the passion in one word; this translation writes “Love” for the god and “love” for the passion.

[^31]: *Encomium*: *enkōmion*, a speech or song in praise.

[^32]: Prodicus of Ceos, the sophist; his story of Heracles choosing between Virtue and Vice is retold in Xenophon, *Memorabilia* 2.1.21–34.

[^33]: *By a wise man*: so T and W; B leaves the words out (apparatus, b5).

[^34]: Isocrates too mocks those who praised bumble-bees and salt (*Helen* 12).

---

## 177d–178b

### Greek (Burnet, page 9)

Φαῖδρον πρῶτον, ἐπειδὴ καὶ πρῶτος κατάκειται καὶ ἔστιν\
ἅμα πατὴρ τοῦ λόγου. **5**\
 Οὐδείς σοι, ὦ Ἐρυξίμαχε, φάναι τὸν Σωκράτη, ἐναντία\
ψηφιεῖται. οὔτε γὰρ ἄν που ἐγὼ ἀποφήσαιμι, ὃς οὐδέν\
φημι ἄλλο ἐπίστασθαι ἢ τὰ ἐρωτικά, οὔτε που Ἀγάθων καὶ\
Παυσανίας, οὐδὲ μὴν Ἀριστοφάνης, ᾧ περὶ Διόνυσον καὶ **e**\
Ἀφροδίτην πᾶσα ἡ διατριβή, οὐδὲ ἄλλος οὐδεὶς τουτωνὶ ὧν\
ἐγὼ ὁρῶ. καίτοι οὐκ ἐξ ἴσου γίγνεται ἡμῖν τοῖς ὑστάτοις\
κατακειμένοις· ἀλλ’ ἐὰν οἱ πρόσθεν ἱκανῶς καὶ καλῶς\
εἴπωσιν, ἐξαρκέσει ἡμῖν. ἀλλὰ τύχῃ ἀγαθῇ καταρχέτω **5**\
Φαῖδρος καὶ ἐγκωμιαζέτω τὸν Ἔρωτα.\
 Ταῦτα δὴ καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι πάντες ἄρα συνέφασάν τε καὶ\
ἐκέλευον ἅπερ ὁ Σωκράτης. πάντων μὲν οὖν ἃ ἕκαστος **178**\
εἶπεν, οὔτε πάνυ ὁ Ἀριστόδημος ἐμέμνητο οὔτ’ αὖ ἐγὼ\
ἃ ἐκεῖνος ἔλεγε πάντα· ἃ δὲ μάλιστα καὶ ὧν ἔδοξέ\
μοι ἀξιομνημόνευτον, τούτων ὑμῖν ἐρῶ ἑκάστου τὸν\
λόγον. **5**\
 \
 Πρῶτον μὲν γάρ, ὥσπερ λέγω, ἔφη Φαῖδρον ἀρξάμενον\
ἐνθένδε ποθὲν λέγειν, ὅτι μέγας θεὸς εἴη ὁ Ἔρως καὶ\
θαυμαστὸς ἐν ἀνθρώποις τε καὶ θεοῖς, πολλαχῇ μὲν καὶ ἄλλῃ,\
οὐχ ἥκιστα δὲ κατὰ τὴν γένεσιν. τὸ γὰρ ἐν τοῖς πρεσβύ-\
τατον εἶναι τὸν θεὸν τίμιον, ἦ δ’ ὅς, τεκμήριον δὲ τούτου· **b**\
γονῆς γὰρ Ἔρωτος οὔτ’ εἰσὶν οὔτε λέγονται ὑπ’ οὐδενὸς οὔτε\
ἰδιώτου οὔτε ποιητοῦ, ἀλλ’ Ἡσίοδος πρῶτον μὲν Χάος φησὶ\
γενέσθαι—\
               αὐτὰρ ἔπειτα **5**\
  Γαῖ’ εὐρύστερνος, πάντων ἕδος ἀσφαλὲς αἰεί,\
  ἠδ’ Ἔρος

> *Apparatus:* **e** 2 ἡ B Aristaenetus: om. T W   **e** 7 ἄρα] ἅμα Wyttenbach   **a** 1 ἃ B T W: ὅσα in marg. t   **a** 4 ἀξιομνημόνευτον B: ἀξιομνημόνευτον εἶναι T W: ἀξιομνημονεύτων b   **a** 9 πρεσβύτατον . . . τὸν θεὸν W: πρεσβύτατον . . . τῶν θεῶν B: πρεσβυτάτοις . . . τῶν θεῶν T   **b** 2 γονῆς B T W: γοναὶ Stobaeus

### English

first, since he is reclining first and is at the same time the father of the speech.”

“No one, Eryximachus,” said Socrates, “will cast a vote against you. For neither, I take it, would I refuse, who say I know nothing other than matters of love,[^35] nor, I take it, Agathon and **[e]** Pausanias, nor indeed Aristophanes, whose whole pastime is with Dionysus and Aphrodite, nor anyone else of these whom I see. And yet it does not turn out on equal terms for us who recline last; but if those before us speak sufficiently and well, it will be enough for us. But with good fortune let Phaedrus begin, and make an encomium of Love.”

To this, then, all the others too concurred, and **[178]** urged just what Socrates did. Now Aristodemus did not altogether remember all that each one said, nor again do I remember all that he told; but what, and whose, seemed to me most worth remembering, of these I shall tell you each one’s speech.

For first, as I say, he said that Phaedrus began his speech from somewhere about here: that Love was a great god, and marvellous among human beings and gods, in many other ways and not least in his birth. “For **[b]** to be among the very oldest is an honour for the god,”[^36] he said, “and here is a piece of evidence for it: Love has no parents, nor are any spoken of by anyone, private person or poet, but Hesiod says that first Chaos came to be —

> *but then*\
> *broad-breasted Earth, the ever-safe seat of all things,*\
> *and Love.[^37]*

[^35]: Socrates makes the same claim at *Theages* 128b; compare *Lysis* 204b–c.

[^36]: *For the god*: Burnet prints W’s *ton theon*; B and T have *tōn theōn*, “of the gods”: “to be among the very oldest of the gods is an honour” (apparatus, a9).

[^37]: Hesiod, *Theogony* 116–117 and 120; Phaedrus leaves out the lines between, on the immortals of Olympus and on Tartarus.

---

## 178b–179a

### Greek (Burnet, page 10)

Ἡσιόδῳ δὲ καὶ Ἀκουσίλεως σύμφησιν μετὰ τὸ Χάος δύο\
τούτω γενέσθαι, Γῆν τε καὶ Ἔρωτα. Παρμενίδης δὲ τὴν\
γένεσιν λέγει— **10**\
  πρώτιστον μὲν Ἔρωτα θεῶν μητίσατο πάντων.\
οὕτω πολλαχόθεν ὁμολογεῖται ὁ Ἔρως ἐν τοῖς πρεσβύ- **c**\
τατος εἶναι. πρεσβύτατος δὲ ὢν μεγίστων ἀγαθῶν ἡμῖν\
αἴτιός ἐστιν. οὐ γὰρ ἔγωγ’ ἔχω εἰπεῖν ὅτι μεῖζόν ἐστιν\
ἀγαθὸν εὐθὺς νέῳ ὄντι ἢ ἐραστὴς χρηστὸς καὶ ἐραστῇ\
παιδικά. ὃ γὰρ χρὴ ἀνθρώποις ἡγεῖσθαι παντὸς τοῦ βίου **5**\
τοῖς μέλλουσι καλῶς βιώσεσθαι, τοῦτο οὔτε συγγένεια οἵα\
τε ἐμποιεῖν οὕτω καλῶς οὔτε τιμαὶ οὔτε πλοῦτος οὔτ’ ἄλλο\
οὐδὲν ὡς ἔρως. λέγω δὲ δὴ τί τοῦτο; τὴν ἐπὶ μὲν τοῖς **d**\
αἰσχροῖς αἰσχύνην, ἐπὶ δὲ τοῖς καλοῖς φιλοτιμίαν· οὐ γὰρ\
ἔστιν ἄνευ τούτων οὔτε πόλιν οὔτε ἰδιώτην μεγάλα καὶ\
καλὰ ἔργα ἐξεργάζεσθαι. φημὶ τοίνυν ἐγὼ ἄνδρα ὅστις\
ἐρᾷ, εἴ τι αἰσχρὸν ποιῶν κατάδηλος γίγνοιτο ἢ πάσχων **5**\
ὑπό του δι’ ἀνανδρίαν μὴ ἀμυνόμενος, οὔτ’ ἂν ὑπὸ πατρὸς\
ὀφθέντα οὕτως ἀλγῆσαι οὔτε ὑπὸ ἑταίρων οὔτε ὑπ’ ἄλλου\
οὐδενὸς ὡς ὑπὸ παιδικῶν. ταὐτὸν δὲ τοῦτο καὶ τὸν ἐρώ- **e**\
μενον ὁρῶμεν, ὅτι διαφερόντως τοὺς ἐραστὰς αἰσχύνεται,\
ὅταν ὀφθῇ ἐν αἰσχρῷ τινι ὤν. εἰ οὖν μηχανή τις γένοιτο\
ὥστε πόλιν γενέσθαι ἢ στρατόπεδον ἐραστῶν τε καὶ παι-\
δικῶν, οὐκ ἔστιν ὅπως ἂν ἄμεινον οἰκήσειαν τὴν ἑαυτῶν ἢ **5**\
ἀπεχόμενοι πάντων τῶν αἰσχρῶν καὶ φιλοτιμούμενοι πρὸς\
ἀλλήλους, καὶ μαχόμενοί γ’ ἂν μετ’ ἀλλήλων οἱ τοιοῦτοι **179**\
νικῷεν ἂν ὀλίγοι ὄντες ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν πάντας ἀνθρώπους.\
ἐρῶν γὰρ ἀνὴρ ὑπὸ παιδικῶν ὀφθῆναι ἢ λιπὼν τάξιν ἢ\
ὅπλα ἀποβαλὼν ἧττον ἂν δήπου δέξαιτο ἢ ὑπὸ πάντων τῶν

> *Apparatus:* **b** 8 Ἡσιόδῳ δὲ καὶ Ἀκουσίλεως ὁμολογεῖ add. B T W post b11 πάντων: huc transposuit Schanz auctore F. A. Wolf   σύμφησιν] ξύμφησιν Stobaeus: ὁμολογεῖ B T W   ante μετὰ add. φησὶ B T W: ⟨ὅς⟩ φησι Schanz: post σύμφησιν omisi   **c** 1 πρεσβύτατος B T W: πρεσβυτάτοις Stobaeus   **c** 6 συγγένεια B T W: εὐγένεια Wyttenbach   **e** 5 ἢ secl. Rückert   **a** 1 γ’ ἂν B T: <ruby>δ’<rt>γ’</rt></ruby> ἂν W: γ’ αὖ Vermehren

### English

And Acusilaus too concurs with Hesiod[^38] that after Chaos these two came to be, Earth and Love. And Parmenides tells of the birth —

> *first of all the gods she devised Love.[^39]*

**[c]** So from many quarters it is agreed that Love is among the very oldest. And being the oldest, he is the cause of the greatest goods for us. For I for my part cannot say what greater good there is for one who is young, from the very first, than a decent lover, and for a lover than a darling. For what ought to guide human beings through the whole of life, those who are going to live well, this neither kinship can implant so well, nor honours, nor wealth, nor **[d]** anything else, as love. And what do I say this is? Shame at shameful things, and love of honour in beautiful ones; for without these neither a city nor a private person can accomplish great and beautiful works. So I say that a man who is in love, if he were found out doing something shameful, or suffering it at someone’s hands and not defending himself through unmanliness, would not be so pained at being seen by his father, or by his companions, or by **[e]** anyone else, as by his darling. And we see this same thing in the beloved too, that he is ashamed before his lovers above all, when he is seen to be in something shameful. If, then, there were some device by which a city or an army[^40] might come to be made of lovers and darlings, there is no way they could govern their own better than by holding back from everything shameful and vying in honour with **[179]** one another; and what is more, fighting alongside one another, such men, though few, would defeat, so to speak, all human beings. For a man who is in love would surely accept being seen by his darling leaving his post or throwing away his arms less than by all the

[^38]: *And Acusilaus too concurs with Hesiod*: in the manuscripts these words stand after the line of Parmenides, with *homologei*, “agrees”, and “he says” stands before “after Chaos”; Burnet follows Schanz, after F. A. Wolf, in moving them here, takes the verb, *symphēsin*, “concurs”, from Stobaeus and leaves out “he says” (apparatus, b8). Acusilaus of Argos set out the genealogies of gods and heroes in prose.

[^39]: Parmenides, fragment 13 Diels–Kranz. The Greek line has no subject; “she” follows Simplicius, who takes it to be the goddess who “steers all things” (fragment 12; *On Aristotle’s Physics* 39.18) (interpretation). Aristotle quotes the same line from Parmenides’ account of “the coming-to-be of the universe” (*Metaphysics* 984b23–27).

[^40]: A Theban “Sacred Band” of three hundred men, lovers and beloved, was formed later, about 378 BC (Plutarch, *Pelopidas* 18–19).

---

## 179a–179e

### Greek (Burnet, page 11)

ἄλλων, καὶ πρὸ τούτου τεθνάναι ἂν πολλάκις ἕλοιτο. καὶ **5**\
μὴν ἐγκαταλιπεῖν γε τὰ παιδικὰ ἢ μὴ βοηθῆσαι κινδυνεύοντι—\
οὐδεὶς οὕτω κακὸς ὅντινα οὐκ ἂν αὐτὸς ὁ Ἔρως ἔνθεον\
ποιήσειε πρὸς ἀρετήν, ὥστε ὅμοιον εἶναι τῷ ἀρίστῳ φύσει·\
καὶ ἀτεχνῶς, ὃ ἔφη Ὅμηρος, *μένος ἐμπνεῦσαι* ἐνίοις **b**\
τῶν ἡρώων τὸν θεόν, τοῦτο ὁ Ἔρως τοῖς ἐρῶσι παρέχει\
γιγνόμενον παρ’ αὑτοῦ.\
 Καὶ μὴν ὑπεραποθνῄσκειν γε μόνοι ἐθέλουσιν οἱ ἐρῶντες,\
οὐ μόνον ὅτι ἄνδρες, ἀλλὰ καὶ αἱ γυναῖκες. τούτου δὲ καὶ **5**\
ἡ Πελίου θυγάτηρ Ἄλκηστις ἱκανὴν μαρτυρίαν παρέχεται\
ὑπὲρ τοῦδε τοῦ λόγου εἰς τοὺς Ἕλληνας, ἐθελήσασα μόνη\
ὑπὲρ τοῦ αὑτῆς ἀνδρὸς ἀποθανεῖν, ὄντων αὐτῷ πατρός τε\
καὶ μητρός, οὓς ἐκείνη τοσοῦτον ὑπερεβάλετο τῇ φιλίᾳ διὰ **c**\
τὸν ἔρωτα, ὥστε ἀποδεῖξαι αὐτοὺς ἀλλοτρίους ὄντας τῷ ὑεῖ\
καὶ ὀνόματι μόνον προσήκοντας, καὶ τοῦτ’ ἐργασαμένη τὸ\
ἔργον οὕτω καλὸν ἔδοξεν ἐργάσασθαι οὐ μόνον ἀνθρώποις\
ἀλλὰ καὶ θεοῖς, ὥστε πολλῶν πολλὰ καὶ καλὰ ἐργασαμένων **5**\
εὐαριθμήτοις δή τισιν ἔδοσαν τοῦτο γέρας οἱ θεοί, ἐξ Ἅιδου\
ἀνεῖναι πάλιν τὴν ψυχήν, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἐκείνης ἀνεῖσαν ἀγα-\
σθέντες τῷ ἔργῳ· οὕτω καὶ θεοὶ τὴν περὶ τὸν ἔρωτα σπουδήν **d**\
τε καὶ ἀρετὴν μάλιστα τιμῶσιν. Ὀρφέα δὲ τὸν Οἰάγρου\
ἀτελῆ ἀπέπεμψαν ἐξ Ἅιδου, φάσμα δείξαντες τῆς γυναικὸς\
ἐφ’ ἣν ἧκεν, αὐτὴν δὲ οὐ δόντες, ὅτι μαλθακίζεσθαι ἐδό-\
κει, ἅτε ὢν κιθαρῳδός, καὶ οὐ τολμᾶν ἕνεκα τοῦ ἔρωτος **5**\
ἀποθνῄσκειν ὥσπερ Ἄλκηστις, ἀλλὰ διαμηχανᾶσθαι ζῶν\
εἰσιέναι εἰς Ἅιδου. τοιγάρτοι διὰ ταῦτα δίκην αὐτῷ ἐπέ-\
θεσαν, καὶ ἐποίησαν τὸν θάνατον αὐτοῦ ὑπὸ γυναικῶν\
γενέσθαι, οὐχ ὥσπερ Ἀχιλλέα τὸν τῆς Θέτιδος ὑὸν ἐτίμη- **e**

> *Apparatus:* **a** 6 μὴν B: μὴ T W   **b** 5 οὐ μόνον ὅτι] οὐ μόνον οἱ ci. Stephanus: οὐχ ὅτι ci. Fischer   αἱ B: om. T W   **b** 7 ὑπὲρ τοῦδε τοῦ λόγου del. ci. Stephanus   **c** 6 δὴ post ἔδοσαν iterant T W   **c** 7 ἀνεῖναι] ἀνιέναι Hommel   ἀλλὰ τὴν ἐκείνης] ἀλλ’ αὐτὴν ἐκείνην Earle   **d** 1 τῷ ἔργῳ secl. Baiter   **d** 3 φάσμα B: φάντασμα T W   **d** 6 διαμηχανᾶσθαι B T: διαμηχανήσασθαι W   ζῶν εἰσιέναι B: ζῆν ἰέναι T: ζῶν ἰέναι W

### English

others, and he would choose to die many times over rather than this. And indeed, as for deserting his darling, or not helping him in danger — no one is so bad that Love himself would not make him god-filled for virtue, so that he is like the man who is best by nature; **[b]** and simply, what Homer said, that the god ‘breathed might’[^41] into some of the heroes, this Love provides to those who are in love, as coming from himself.

“And indeed, to die for another only those who are in love are willing, not only men but women too. And of this, Alcestis too,[^42] the daughter of Pelias, provides sufficient testimony for this account before the Greeks, being willing, alone, to die for her own husband, though he had a father **[c]** and a mother living, whom she so far surpassed in friendship through her love that she showed them to be strangers to their son, related in name only; and in doing this deed she seemed, not only to human beings but also to gods, to have done a deed so beautiful that, while many have done many beautiful deeds, the gods have given to only a few, easily counted, this prize, to send their soul up again from Hades; but hers they sent up, admiring **[d]** her deed; so do gods too honour above all the earnestness and the virtue that concern love. But Orpheus the son of Oeagrus they sent away from Hades unsuccessful, showing him a phantom of the wife he had come for, but not giving him the woman herself, because he seemed to be soft, being a singer to the lyre, and not to dare to die for the sake of love as Alcestis did, but to contrive to go into Hades alive.[^43] Therefore for this they imposed a penalty on him, and made his death **[e]** come about at the hands of women, not as they honoured Achilles, the son of Thetis,

[^41]: *Breathed might*: a Homeric phrase (*Iliad* 10.482, 15.262), which Burnet letterspaces.

[^42]: Alcestis, wife of Admetus of Pherae, died in his place when his old father and mother would not (Euripides, *Alcestis* 15–18).

[^43]: In the story best known later, Orpheus wins his wife back from Hades and loses her by looking back (Virgil, *Georgics* 4.485–503); in Phaedrus’ version the gods show him only a phantom.

---

## 179e–180d

### Greek (Burnet, page 12)

σαν καὶ εἰς μακάρων νήσους ἀπέπεμψαν, ὅτι πεπυσμένος\
παρὰ τῆς μητρὸς ὡς ἀποθανοῖτο ἀποκτείνας Ἕκτορα, μὴ\
ποιήσας δὲ τοῦτο οἴκαδε ἐλθὼν γηραιὸς τελευτήσοι,\
ἐτόλμησεν ἑλέσθαι βοηθήσας τῷ ἐραστῇ Πατρόκλῳ καὶ **5**\
τιμωρήσας οὐ μόνον ὑπεραποθανεῖν ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπαποθανεῖν **180**\
τετελευτηκότι· ὅθεν δὴ καὶ ὑπεραγασθέντες οἱ θεοὶ διαφε-\
ρόντως αὐτὸν ἐτίμησαν, ὅτι τὸν ἐραστὴν οὕτω περὶ πολλοῦ\
ἐποιεῖτο. Αἰσχύλος δὲ φλυαρεῖ φάσκων Ἀχιλλέα Πα-\
τρόκλου ἐρᾶν, ὃς ἦν καλλίων οὐ μόνον Πατρόκλου ἀλλ’ **5**\
ἅμα καὶ τῶν ἡρώων ἁπάντων, καὶ ἔτι ἀγένειος, ἔπειτα\
νεώτερος πολύ, ὥς φησιν Ὅμηρος. ἀλλὰ γὰρ τῷ ὄντι\
μάλιστα μὲν ταύτην τὴν ἀρετὴν οἱ θεοὶ τιμῶσιν τὴν περὶ\
τὸν ἔρωτα, μᾶλλον μέντοι θαυμάζουσιν καὶ ἄγανται καὶ **b**\
εὖ ποιοῦσιν ὅταν ὁ ἐρώμενος τὸν ἐραστὴν ἀγαπᾷ, ἢ ὅταν\
ὁ ἐραστὴς τὰ παιδικά. θειότερον γὰρ ἐραστὴς παιδικῶν·\
ἔνθεος γάρ ἐστι. διὰ ταῦτα καὶ τὸν Ἀχιλλέα τῆς Ἀλκήσ-\
τιδος μᾶλλον ἐτίμησαν, εἰς μακάρων νήσους ἀποπέμψαντες. **5**\
 Οὕτω δὴ ἔγωγέ φημι Ἔρωτα θεῶν καὶ πρεσβύτατον καὶ\
τιμιώτατον καὶ κυριώτατον εἶναι εἰς ἀρετῆς καὶ εὐδαιμονίας\
κτῆσιν ἀνθρώποις καὶ ζῶσι καὶ τελευτήσασιν.\
 \
 Φαῖδρον μὲν τοιοῦτόν τινα λόγον ἔφη εἰπεῖν, μετὰ δὲ **c**\
Φαῖδρον ἄλλους τινὰς εἶναι ὧν οὐ πάνυ διεμνημόνευε· οὓς\
παρεὶς τὸν Παυσανίου λόγον διηγεῖτο. εἰπεῖν δ’ αὐτὸν\
ὅτι Οὐ καλῶς μοι δοκεῖ, ὦ Φαῖδρε, προβεβλῆσθαι ἡμῖν\
ὁ λόγος, τὸ ἁπλῶς οὕτως παρηγγέλθαι ἐγκωμιάζειν Ἔρωτα. **5**\
εἰ μὲν γὰρ εἷς ἦν ὁ Ἔρως, καλῶς ἂν εἶχε, νῦν δὲ οὐ γάρ\
ἐστιν εἷς· μὴ ὄντος δὲ ἑνὸς ὀρθότερόν ἐστι πρότερον προρ-\
ρηθῆναι ὁποῖον δεῖ ἐπαινεῖν. ἐγὼ οὖν πειράσομαι τοῦτο **d**

> *Apparatus:* **e** 3 ἀποθάνοιτο (sic) T W: ἀποθάνοι B   **e** 4 ποιήσας δὲ τοῦτο T W: ἀποκτείνας δὲ τοῦτον B   οἴκαδ’ T W: οἴκαδε δ’ B   **e** 5 βοηθήσας B T: βοηθῆσαι W   **a** 5, 6 ἀλλ’ ἅμα scripsi: ἀλλὰ ἄρα T W: ἀλλὰ B   **b** 6 καὶ πρεσβύτατον B: πρεσβύτατον T W   καὶ τιμιώτατον B W: om. T (add. in marg. t)   **b** 7 κυριώτατον B: κυριώτερον T W   **d** 1 ὁποῖον] ὁπότερον Hermann   δεῖ B T W (sed δεῖ ex δὴ T)

### English

and sent him away to the Isles of the Blessed,[^44] because, having been told by his mother that he would die if he killed Hector, but if he did not do this would go home and die an old man,[^45] he dared to choose, by helping his lover Patroclus and **[180]** avenging him, not only to die for him but to die after him, now that he had met his end; and that is why the gods, admiring him beyond measure, honoured him above all, because he valued his lover so highly. And Aeschylus is talking nonsense in claiming that Achilles was in love with Patroclus[^46] — Achilles, who was more beautiful not only than Patroclus but at the same time than all the heroes too,[^47] and still beardless, and besides much younger, as Homer says.[^48] But really, though the gods honour most of all this virtue that concerns **[b]** love, they marvel and admire and do good more when the beloved cherishes his lover than when the lover cherishes his darling. For a lover is a more divine thing than a darling; for he is god-filled. That is also why they honoured Achilles more than Alcestis, sending him away to the Isles of the Blessed.

“So I for my part say that Love is of the gods both the oldest and the most honoured and the most competent for the getting of virtue and happiness, for human beings both living and dead.”

**[c]** Phaedrus, he said, spoke some such speech, and after Phaedrus there were some others whom he did not remember very well; passing over them, he told Pausanias’ speech. And Pausanias said, “It does not seem to me, Phaedrus, that the speech has been well set before us, that we have been told simply like this to make an encomium of Love. For if Love were one, it would be well; but as it is, he is not one; and since he is not one, it is more right to state first **[d]** what kind we must praise. So I shall try to set this

[^44]: Pindar too places Achilles on the island of the blessed, where his mother brought him (*Olympian* 2.70–80).

[^45]: Thetis’ warnings: *Iliad* 9.410–416 and 18.94–96.

[^46]: In his lost *Myrmidons* Aeschylus made Achilles the lover of Patroclus (fragments 135–136 Radt).

[^47]: *But at the same time than all the heroes too*: Burnet’s own reading, *all’ hama*; T and W have *alla ara*, B *alla* (apparatus, a5–6).

[^48]: In the *Iliad* Nestor recalls the charge of Patroclus’ father, Menoetius: Achilles is of higher birth, but Patroclus is the elder (11.786–787).

---

## 180d–181c

### Greek (Burnet, page 13)

ἐπανορθώσασθαι, πρῶτον μὲν Ἔρωτα φράσαι ὃν δεῖ ἐπαι-\
νεῖν, ἔπειτα ἐπαινέσαι ἀξίως τοῦ θεοῦ. πάντες γὰρ ἴσμεν\
ὅτι οὐκ ἔστιν ἄνευ Ἔρωτος Ἀφροδίτη. μιᾶς μὲν οὖν\
οὔσης εἷς ἂν ἦν Ἔρως· ἐπεὶ δὲ δὴ δύο ἐστόν, δύο ἀνάγκη **5**\
καὶ Ἔρωτε εἶναι. πῶς δ’ οὐ δύο τὼ θεά; ἡ μέν γέ που\
πρεσβυτέρα καὶ ἀμήτωρ Οὐρανοῦ θυγάτηρ, ἣν δὴ καὶ\
Οὐρανίαν ἐπονομάζομεν· ἡ δὲ νεωτέρα Διὸς καὶ Διώνης,\
ἣν δὴ Πάνδημον καλοῦμεν. ἀναγκαῖον δὴ καὶ Ἔρωτα τὸν **e**\
μὲν τῇ ἑτέρᾳ συνεργὸν Πάνδημον ὀρθῶς καλεῖσθαι, τὸν δὲ\
Οὐράνιον. ἐπαινεῖν μὲν οὖν δεῖ πάντας θεούς, ἃ δ’ οὖν\
ἑκάτερος εἴληχε πειρατέον εἰπεῖν. πᾶσα γὰρ πρᾶξις ὧδ’\
ἔχει· αὐτὴ ἐφ’ ἑαυτῆς πραττομένη οὔτε καλὴ οὔτε αἰσχρά. **5**\
οἷον ὃ νῦν ἡμεῖς ποιοῦμεν, ἢ πίνειν ἢ ᾄδειν ἢ διαλέγεσθαι, **181**\
οὐκ ἔστι τούτων αὐτὸ καλὸν οὐδέν, ἀλλ’ ἐν τῇ πράξει, ὡς\
ἂν πραχθῇ, τοιοῦτον ἀπέβη· καλῶς μὲν γὰρ πραττόμενον\
καὶ ὀρθῶς καλὸν γίγνεται, μὴ ὀρθῶς δὲ αἰσχρόν. οὕτω δὴ\
καὶ τὸ ἐρᾶν καὶ ὁ Ἔρως οὐ πᾶς ἐστι καλὸς οὐδὲ ἄξιος **5**\
ἐγκωμιάζεσθαι, ἀλλὰ ὁ καλῶς προτρέπων ἐρᾶν.\
 Ὁ μὲν οὖν τῆς Πανδήμου Ἀφροδίτης ὡς ἀληθῶς πάν-\
δημός ἐστι καὶ ἐξεργάζεται ὅτι ἂν τύχῃ· καὶ οὗτός ἐστιν **b**\
ὃν οἱ φαῦλοι τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐρῶσιν. ἐρῶσι δὲ οἱ τοιοῦτοι\
πρῶτον μὲν οὐχ ἧττον γυναικῶν ἢ παίδων, ἔπειτα ὧν καὶ\
ἐρῶσι τῶν σωμάτων μᾶλλον ἢ τῶν ψυχῶν, ἔπειτα ὡς ἂν\
δύνωνται ἀνοητοτάτων, πρὸς τὸ διαπράξασθαι μόνον βλέ- **5**\
ποντες, ἀμελοῦντες δὲ τοῦ καλῶς ἢ μή· ὅθεν δὴ συμβαίνει\
αὐτοῖς ὅτι ἂν τύχωσι τοῦτο πράττειν, ὁμοίως μὲν ἀγαθόν,\
ὁμοίως δὲ τοὐναντίον. ἔστι γὰρ καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς θεοῦ νεωτέρας\
τε οὔσης πολὺ ἢ τῆς ἑτέρας, καὶ μετεχούσης ἐν τῇ γενέσει **c**

> *Apparatus:* **d** 4 οὖν B T W: om. Stobaeus   **d** 5 δὲ δὴ B W: δὲ T Stobaeus   **d** 6 ἔρωτε B T W: ἔρωτας Stobaeus   τὼ θεά B T W: τὰ θεά Stobaeus: τὼ θεώ Cobet   **d** 8 διώνης T W: διόνης B   **e** 5 πραττομένη B T W Stobaeus: om. Proclus   **a** 2 αὐτὸ B T W Stobaeus: αὐτὸ καθ’ αὑτὸ t   τῇ B T W: om. Stobaeus   **a** 5 καλὸς B W: καλῶς T   **b** 8 ἀπὸ secl. Schanz

### English

right: first to tell which Love we must praise, and then to praise him worthily of the god. For we all know that there is no Aphrodite without Love. Now if she were one, Love would be one; but since there are indeed two, there must also be two Loves. And how are the goddesses not two? One, I take it, is older and motherless, the daughter of Heaven, whom we also name Heavenly; the other is younger, the daughter of Zeus and Dione, **[e]** whom we call Common.[^49] It must be, then, that Love too, the one who works with the one goddess, is rightly called Common, and the other Heavenly. Now we must praise all gods, but at any rate we must try to tell what each of these two has received as his lot. For every action is like this: done of itself, on its own, it is neither beautiful nor shameful. **[181]** For example, what we are doing now, drinking or singing or conversing: none of these is beautiful in itself, but in the action, as it is done, so it turns out; for done well and rightly it becomes beautiful, and not rightly, shameful. So too with being in love, and with Love: not every Love is beautiful, nor worthy to have an encomium made of him, but the one who urges us to be in love well.

“Now the Love of Common Aphrodite **[b]** is in truth common, and does whatever comes his way; and this is the love with which the paltry sort of human beings are in love. Such men are in love, first, with women no less than with boys; then, with the bodies of those they are in love with rather than their souls; then with the most senseless they can find, looking only to getting it done, and heedless whether it is done well or not; and so it turns out that they do whatever comes their way, good and its opposite alike. For he also comes from the goddess who **[c]** is much younger than the other and has a share, in her birth,

[^49]: *Heaven*: *Ouranos*, from whose severed parts Aphrodite is born in Hesiod (*Theogony* 188–200); in Homer she is the daughter of Zeus and Dione (*Iliad* 5.312, 5.370–371). *Heavenly* is *Ourania*, *Common* *Pandēmos*, “of all the people”; Aphrodite had shrines under both names at Athens (Pausanias the traveller, 1.14.7, 1.22.3).

---

## 181c–182b

### Greek (Burnet, page 14)

καὶ θήλεος καὶ ἄρρενος. ὁ δὲ τῆς Οὐρανίας πρῶτον μὲν οὐ\
μετεχούσης θήλεος ἀλλ’ ἄρρενος μόνον—καὶ ἔστιν οὗτος ὁ\
τῶν παίδων ἔρως—ἔπειτα πρεσβυτέρας, ὕβρεως ἀμοίρου· ὅθεν\
δὴ ἐπὶ τὸ ἄρρεν τρέπονται οἱ ἐκ τούτου τοῦ ἔρωτος ἔπιπνοι, **5**\
τὸ φύσει ἐρρωμενέστερον καὶ νοῦν μᾶλλον ἔχον ἀγαπῶντες.\
καί τις ἂν γνοίη καὶ ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ παιδεραστίᾳ τοὺς εἰλικρινῶς\
ὑπὸ τούτου τοῦ ἔρωτος ὡρμημένους· οὐ γὰρ ἐρῶσι παίδων, **d**\
ἀλλ’ ἐπειδὰν ἤδη ἄρχωνται νοῦν ἴσχειν, τοῦτο δὲ πλησιάζει\
τῷ γενειάσκειν. παρεσκευασμένοι γὰρ οἶμαί εἰσιν οἱ ἐν-\
τεῦθεν ἀρχόμενοι ἐρᾶν ὡς τὸν βίον ἅπαντα συνεσόμενοι\
καὶ κοινῇ συμβιωσόμενοι, ἀλλ’ οὐκ ἐξαπατήσαντες, ἐν **5**\
ἀφροσύνῃ λαβόντες ὡς νέον, καταγελάσαντες οἰχήσεσθαι\
ἐπ’ ἄλλον ἀποτρέχοντες. χρῆν δὲ καὶ νόμον εἶναι μὴ ἐρᾶν\
παίδων, ἵνα μὴ εἰς ἄδηλον πολλὴ σπουδὴ ἀνηλίσκετο· τὸ **e**\
γὰρ τῶν παίδων τέλος ἄδηλον οἷ τελευτᾷ κακίας καὶ ἀρετῆς\
ψυχῆς τε πέρι καὶ σώματος. οἱ μὲν οὖν ἀγαθοὶ τὸν νόμον\
τοῦτον αὐτοὶ αὑτοῖς ἑκόντες τίθενται, χρῆν δὲ καὶ τούτους\
τοὺς πανδήμους ἐραστὰς προσαναγκάζειν τὸ τοιοῦτον, ὥσπερ **5**\
καὶ τῶν ἐλευθέρων γυναικῶν προσαναγκάζομεν αὐτοὺς καθ’\
ὅσον δυνάμεθα μὴ ἐρᾶν. οὗτοι γάρ εἰσιν οἱ καὶ τὸ ὄνειδος **182**\
πεποιηκότες, ὥστε τινὰς τολμᾶν λέγειν ὡς αἰσχρὸν χαρί-\
ζεσθαι ἐρασταῖς· λέγουσι δὲ εἰς τούτους ἀποβλέποντες,\
ὁρῶντες αὐτῶν τὴν ἀκαιρίαν καὶ ἀδικίαν, ἐπεὶ οὐ δήπου\
κοσμίως γε καὶ νομίμως ὁτιοῦν ⟨πρᾶγμα⟩ πραττόμενον ψόγον **5**\
ἂν δικαίως φέροι.\
 Καὶ δὴ καὶ ὁ περὶ τὸν ἔρωτα νόμος ἐν μὲν ταῖς ἄλλαις\
πόλεσι νοῆσαι ῥᾴδιος, ἁπλῶς γὰρ ὥρισται· ὁ δ’ ἐνθάδε\
καὶ ἐν Λακεδαίμονι ποικίλος. ἐν Ἤλιδι μὲν γὰρ καὶ ἐν **b**\
Βοιωτοῖς, καὶ οὗ μὴ σοφοὶ λέγειν, ἁπλῶς νενομοθέτηται

> *Apparatus:* **c** 3 καὶ . . . ἔρως secl. Schütz   **d** 2 ἀλλ’] ἀλλ’ ἢ ci. Stephanus   **d** 6 οἴχεσθαι Herwerden   **e** 2 τέλος secl. Badham   **e** 4 χρην B: χρὴ T W   **a** 2 τινὰς B T W: τινὰ vulg.   **a** 5 πρᾶγμα in marg. t: om. B T W   **b** 1 καὶ ἐν Λακεδαίμονι secl. Winckelmann   ὁ supra ἐν Λακεδαίμονι add. T   **b** 2 οὗ μὴ T W: οὐ μὴ B

### English

of both female and male. But the Love of the Heavenly comes from a goddess who, first, has no share of female but only of male — and this is the love of boys — and then is older, having no portion of insolence; and so those whom this love inspires turn to the male, cherishing what is by nature stronger and has more sense. And one could recognize, even within pederasty[^50] itself, those who are moved purely **[d]** by this love; for they are not in love with boys, but with boys when they are already beginning to have sense, and this comes near the time the beard grows. For those who begin to be in love from that point are prepared, I think, to be together all their life and to share their life in common, and not to deceive him, taking him in his folly as a youth, and then laugh at him and be gone, running off to another. There ought to have been a law,[^51] too, against being in love with **[e]** boys, so that much earnestness would not be spent on what is uncertain; for the end of boys is uncertain, where it ends up in vice or virtue, of soul and of body. Now good men lay down this law for themselves willingly, but these common lovers too ought to be compelled to something of the kind, just as we compel them, **[182]** so far as we can, not to be in love with free-born women. For these are the ones who have brought on the reproach too, so that some dare to say that it is shameful to gratify lovers; and they say it looking at these men, seeing their untimeliness and injustice, since surely no thing done in an orderly way at least, and lawfully,[^52] could justly bring blame.

“And indeed the law about love in the other cities is easy to understand, for it is defined simply; but the law here **[b]** and in Lacedaemon is intricate. For in Elis and among the Boeotians,[^53] and where men are not wise in speaking, it is laid down by law simply

[^50]: *Pederasty*: *paiderastia*, the love of a grown man for a youth.

[^51]: *Law*: *nomos*, which covers both a written law and an accepted custom; it is rendered “law” throughout, as in the series.

[^52]: *Thing*: added in the margin of T by a later hand and printed by Burnet; B, T and W lack it (apparatus, a5).

[^53]: Xenophon too names the Boeotians and the Eleans for this custom (*Constitution of the Lacedaemonians* 2.12).

---

## 182b–183a

### Greek (Burnet, page 15)

καλὸν τὸ χαρίζεσθαι ἐρασταῖς, καὶ οὐκ ἄν τις εἴποι οὔτε\
νέος οὔτε παλαιὸς ὡς αἰσχρόν, ἵνα οἶμαι μὴ πράγματ’\
ἔχωσιν λόγῳ πειρώμενοι πείθειν τοὺς νέους, ἅτε ἀδύνα- **5**\
τοι λέγειν· τῆς δὲ Ἰωνίας καὶ ἄλλοθι πολλαχοῦ αἰσχρὸν\
νενόμισται, ὅσοι ὑπὸ βαρβάροις οἰκοῦσιν. τοῖς γὰρ βαρ-\
βάροις διὰ τὰς τυραννίδας αἰσχρὸν τοῦτό γε καὶ ἥ γε\
φιλοσοφία καὶ ἡ φιλογυμναστία· οὐ γὰρ οἶμαι συμφέρει **c**\
τοῖς ἄρχουσι φρονήματα μεγάλα ἐγγίγνεσθαι τῶν ἀρχο-\
μένων, οὐδὲ φιλίας ἰσχυρὰς καὶ κοινωνίας, ὃ δὴ μάλιστα\
φιλεῖ τά τε ἄλλα πάντα καὶ ὁ ἔρως ἐμποιεῖν. ἔργῳ δὲ\
τοῦτο ἔμαθον καὶ οἱ ἐνθάδε τύραννοι· ὁ γὰρ Ἀριστογεί- **5**\
τονος ἔρως καὶ ἡ Ἁρμοδίου φιλία βέβαιος γενομένη κατ-\
έλυσεν αὐτῶν τὴν ἀρχήν. οὕτως οὗ μὲν αἰσχρὸν ἐτέθη\
χαρίζεσθαι ἐρασταῖς, κακίᾳ τῶν θεμένων κεῖται, τῶν μὲν **d**\
ἀρχόντων πλεονεξίᾳ, τῶν δὲ ἀρχομένων ἀνανδρίᾳ· οὗ δὲ\
καλὸν ἁπλῶς ἐνομίσθη, διὰ τὴν τῶν θεμένων τῆς ψυχῆς\
ἀργίαν. ἐνθάδε δὲ πολὺ τούτων κάλλιον νενομοθέτηται, καὶ\
ὅπερ εἶπον, οὐ ῥᾴδιον κατανοῆσαι. ἐνθυμηθέντι γὰρ ὅτι **5**\
λέγεται κάλλιον τὸ φανερῶς ἐρᾶν τοῦ λάθρᾳ, καὶ μάλιστα\
τῶν γενναιοτάτων καὶ ἀρίστων, κἂν αἰσχίους ἄλλων ὦσι, καὶ\
ὅτι αὖ ἡ παρακέλευσις τῷ ἐρῶντι παρὰ πάντων θαυμαστή,\
οὐχ ὥς τι αἰσχρὸν ποιοῦντι, καὶ ἑλόντι τε καλὸν δοκεῖ εἶναι\
καὶ μὴ ἑλόντι αἰσχρόν, καὶ πρὸς τὸ ἐπιχειρεῖν ἑλεῖν ἐξου- **e**\
σίαν ὁ νόμος δέδωκε τῷ ἐραστῇ θαυμαστὰ ἔργα ἐργαζομένῳ\
ἐπαινεῖσθαι, ἃ εἴ τις τολμῴη ποιεῖν ἄλλ’ ὁτιοῦν διώκων καὶ\
βουλόμενος διαπράξασθαι πλὴν τοῦτο, †φιλοσοφίας τὰ μέ- **183**\
γιστα καρποῖτ’ ἂν ὀνείδη—εἰ γὰρ ἢ χρήματα βουλόμενος\
παρά του λαβεῖν ἢ ἀρχὴν ἄρξαι ἤ τινα ἄλλην δύναμιν\
ἐθέλοι ποιεῖν οἷάπερ οἱ ἐρασταὶ πρὸς τὰ παιδικά, ἱκετείας

> *Apparatus:* **b** 3 τὸ B T W: del. t   **c** 7 οὗ B² T W: ου B   **d** 2 οὗ δὲ T W: οὐ δὲ B   **d** 4 δὲ B: om. T W   **d** 5 ἐνθυμηθέντι B T W: γρ. καὶ ἐνεθυμήθην in marg. W   **d** 9 τε T W: om. B   **e** 3 ἃ εἰ T W: αἰεὶ B: γρ. καὶ αἰεὶ in marg. W   **a** 1 φιλοσοφίας secl. ci. Schleiermacher   **a** 2 εἰ B T: ἢ W   **a** 4 ἐθέλοι B: ἐθέλει T W

### English

that it is beautiful to gratify lovers, and no one, young or old, would say that it is shameful, so that, I think, they may have no bother in trying to persuade the young by speech, since they are unable to speak; but in many places in Ionia and elsewhere, among all who live under barbarians,[^54] it is held to be shameful. For among barbarians, because of their tyrannies, this is shameful, and so indeed are **[c]** philosophy and the love of exercise; for it is not to the advantage of the rulers, I think, that great thoughts should arise in those they rule, nor strong friendships and partnerships, which all other things, and love above all, tend to implant. The tyrants here too learned this in deed; for Aristogiton’s love and Harmodius’ friendship, once it became firm, put an end to their rule.[^55] So where it has been laid down that it is shameful **[d]** to gratify lovers, this rests on the vice of those who laid it down, the greed of the rulers and the unmanliness of the ruled; and where it was held to be simply beautiful, on the idleness of soul of those who laid it down. But here it has been laid down by law far better than in these places, and, as I said, it is not easy to understand. For reflect: it is said to be more beautiful to be in love openly than in secret, and especially with the noblest and best, even if they are uglier than others; and again, the encouragement that comes from everyone to the one in love is marvellous, not as to one doing something shameful; and when he makes his catch it seems beautiful, **[e]** and when he fails, shameful; and for the attempt to make his catch the law has given the lover licence to be praised for doing marvellous deeds, deeds which, if anyone dared to do them in pursuit of anything else and **[183]** wanting to achieve anything but this, he would reap the greatest reproaches †of philosophy[^56] — for if, wanting to get money from someone, or to hold an office, or some other power, he were willing to do what lovers do toward their darlings, making supplications

[^54]: After the King’s Peace of 387/6 BC the Greek cities of Ionia were subject to Persia (Xenophon, *Hellenica* 5.1.31); at the dinner’s date, 416 BC, most were allied to Athens, so the remark suits Plato’s own time (interpretation).

[^55]: In 514 BC Harmodius and his lover Aristogiton killed Hipparchus, brother of the tyrant Hippias. Thucydides insists that this did not end the tyranny, which grew harsher until the Spartans put it down four years later (6.53.3, 6.54–59).

[^56]: *Of philosophy*: Burnet marks the word as corrupt (†); Schleiermacher proposed to bracket it as spurious (apparatus, a1).

---

## 183a–183d

### Greek (Burnet, page 16)

τε καὶ ἀντιβολήσεις ἐν ταῖς δεήσεσιν ποιούμενοι, καὶ ὅρκους **5**\
ὀμνύντες, καὶ κοιμήσεις ἐπὶ θύραις, καὶ ἐθέλοντες δουλείας\
δουλεύειν οἵας οὐδ’ ἂν δοῦλος οὐδείς, ἐμποδίζοιτο ἂν μὴ\
πράττειν οὕτω τὴν πρᾶξιν καὶ ὑπὸ φίλων καὶ ὑπὸ ἐχθρῶν,\
τῶν μὲν ὀνειδιζόντων κολακείας καὶ ἀνελευθερίας, τῶν δὲ **b**\
νουθετούντων καὶ αἰσχυνομένων ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν—τῷ δ’ ἐρῶντι\
πάντα ταῦτα ποιοῦντι χάρις ἔπεστι, καὶ δέδοται ὑπὸ τοῦ\
νόμου ἄνευ ὀνείδους πράττειν, ὡς πάγκαλόν τι πρᾶγμα\
διαπραττομένου· ὃ δὲ δεινότατον, ὥς γε λέγουσιν οἱ πολ- **5**\
λοί, ὅτι καὶ ὀμνύντι μόνῳ συγγνώμη παρὰ θεῶν ἐκβάντι\
τῶν ὅρκων—ἀφροδίσιον γὰρ ὅρκον οὔ φασιν εἶναι· οὕτω\
καὶ οἱ θεοὶ καὶ οἱ ἄνθρωποι πᾶσαν ἐξουσίαν πεποιήκασι τῷ **c**\
ἐρῶντι, ὡς ὁ νόμος φησὶν ὁ ἐνθάδε—ταύτῃ μὲν οὖν οἰηθείη\
ἄν τις πάγκαλον νομίζεσθαι ἐν τῇδε τῇ πόλει καὶ τὸ ἐρᾶν\
καὶ τὸ φίλους γίγνεσθαι τοῖς ἐρασταῖς. ἐπειδὰν δὲ παι-\
δαγωγοὺς ἐπιστήσαντες οἱ πατέρες τοῖς ἐρωμένοις μὴ ἐῶσι **5**\
διαλέγεσθαι τοῖς ἐρασταῖς, καὶ τῷ παιδαγωγῷ ταῦτα προσ-\
τεταγμένα ᾖ, ἡλικιῶται δὲ καὶ ἑταῖροι ὀνειδίζωσιν ἐάν τι\
ὁρῶσιν τοιοῦτον γιγνόμενον, καὶ τοὺς ὀνειδίζοντας αὖ οἱ\
πρεσβύτεροι μὴ διακωλύωσι μηδὲ λοιδορῶσιν ὡς οὐκ ὀρθῶς **d**\
λέγοντας, εἰς δὲ ταῦτά τις αὖ βλέψας ἡγήσαιτ’ ἂν πάλιν\
αἴσχιστον τὸ τοιοῦτον ἐνθάδε νομίζεσθαι. τὸ δὲ οἶμαι ὧδ’\
ἔχει· οὐχ ἁπλοῦν ἐστιν, ὅπερ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐλέχθη οὔτε καλὸν\
εἶναι αὐτὸ καθ’ αὑτὸ οὔτε αἰσχρόν, ἀλλὰ καλῶς μὲν πρατ- **5**\
τόμενον καλόν, αἰσχρῶς δὲ αἰσχρόν. αἰσχρῶς μὲν οὖν\
ἐστι πονηρῷ τε καὶ πονηρῶς χαρίζεσθαι, καλῶς δὲ χρηστῷ\
τε καὶ καλῶς. πονηρὸς δ’ ἐστὶν ἐκεῖνος ὁ ἐραστὴς ὁ πάν-

> *Apparatus:* **a** 6 ὀμνύντες secl. Hertz   ἐθέλοντες B T W: ἐθελοντὰς vulg.   **b** 2 αὐτὼν] αὐτοῦ Orelli   **b** 3 πάντα ταῦτα B: ταῦτα πάντα T W   ἔπεστι T W: επεται (sic) B   **b** 7 τῶν ὅρκων T W: τῶν ὅρκον B: τὸν ὅρκον al. ὅρκον ⟨ὅρκον⟩ Hertz   εἶναι B T W Stobaeus Cyrillus: εἶναι ἐμποίνιμον Osann e schol.   **c** 1 οἱ (bis) B T: om. W   **c** 6 καὶ . . . c7 ᾖ secl. Jahn   **c** 7 ᾖ T W: οἱ B: ᾖ οἱ al.   ἑταῖροι Heindorf: ἕτεροι B T W   ὀνειδίζουσιν W   **d** 7 καλῶς δὲ Par. 1810: καλὸν δὲ B T W

### English

and entreaties in their pleading, and swearing oaths, and sleeping at doors, and being willing to be slaves in a slavery such as not even a slave would be, he would be hindered from acting in this way both by friends and by enemies, **[b]** the ones reproaching them with flattery and servility, the others admonishing them and being ashamed on their behalf — but on the one in love who does all these things grace attends, and he is allowed by the law to act without reproach, as one achieving something altogether beautiful; and what is most dreadful, as the many say at least, he alone is pardoned by the gods when he swears an oath and breaks it — for an oath of Aphrodite, they say, is no oath;[^57] so **[c]** both gods and human beings have granted complete licence to the one in love, as the law here declares — in this way, then, one would think that in this city both being in love and becoming friends to lovers are held to be altogether beautiful. But when fathers set tutors over the beloved and do not let them converse with their lovers, and the tutor has been given these orders, and their age-mates and companions[^58] reproach them if they see anything of the kind happening, and the **[d]** elders in turn do not stop those who reproach them, nor revile them as not speaking rightly, then anyone looking in turn at these things would believe, on the contrary, that such a thing is held here to be most shameful. But it is like this, I think: it is not simple; as was said at the beginning, it is, itself by itself, neither beautiful nor shameful, but done well it is beautiful, and done shamefully, shameful. Now to gratify a base man, and basely, is to do it shamefully; and to gratify a decent man, and well, is to do it well.[^59] And base is that lover, the common

[^57]: *An oath of Aphrodite*: an oath sworn in love. The saying goes back to Hesiod (fragment 124 Merkelbach–West, from Apollodorus, *Library* 2.1.3).

[^58]: *Companions*: Heindorf’s *hetairoi*; B, T and W have *heteroi*, “others” (apparatus, c7).

[^59]: *Is to do it well*: *kalōs*, from a Paris manuscript (Parisinus 1810), which Burnet prints; B, T and W have *kalon*, “it is beautiful” (apparatus, d7).

---

## 183e–184c

### Greek (Burnet, page 17)

δημος, ὁ τοῦ σώματος μᾶλλον ἢ τῆς ψυχῆς ἐρῶν· καὶ γὰρ **e**\
οὐδὲ μόνιμός ἐστιν, ἅτε οὐδὲ μονίμου ἐρῶν πράγματος.\
ἅμα γὰρ τῷ τοῦ σώματος ἄνθει λήγοντι, οὗπερ ἤρα, “οἴ-\
χεται ἀποπτάμενος,” πολλοὺς λόγους καὶ ὑποσχέσεις καται-\
σχύνας· ὁ δὲ τοῦ ἤθους χρηστοῦ ὄντος ἐραστὴς διὰ βίου **5**\
μένει, ἅτε μονίμῳ συντακείς. τούτους δὴ βούλεται ὁ\
ἡμέτερος νόμος εὖ καὶ καλῶς βασανίζειν, καὶ τοῖς μὲν **184**\
χαρίσασθαι, τοὺς δὲ διαφεύγειν. διὰ ταῦτα οὖν τοῖς μὲν\
διώκειν παρακελεύεται, τοῖς δὲ φεύγειν, ἀγωνοθετῶν καὶ\
βασανίζων ποτέρων ποτέ ἐστιν ὁ ἐρῶν καὶ ποτέρων ὁ\
ἐρώμενος. οὕτω δὴ ὑπὸ ταύτης τῆς αἰτίας πρῶτον μὲν τὸ **5**\
ἁλίσκεσθαι ταχὺ αἰσχρὸν νενόμισται, ἵνα χρόνος ἐγγένηται,\
ὃς δὴ δοκεῖ τὰ πολλὰ καλῶς βασανίζειν, ἔπειτα τὸ ὑπὸ\
χρημάτων καὶ ὑπὸ πολιτικῶν δυνάμεων ἁλῶναι αἰσχρόν,\
ἐάν τε κακῶς πάσχων πτήξῃ καὶ μὴ καρτερήσῃ, ἄν τ’ **b**\
εὐεργετούμενος εἰς χρήματα ἢ εἰς διαπράξεις πολιτικὰς μὴ\
καταφρονήσῃ· οὐδὲν γὰρ δοκεῖ τούτων οὔτε βέβαιον οὔτε\
μόνιμον εἶναι, χωρὶς τοῦ μηδὲ πεφυκέναι ἀπ’ αὐτῶν γεν-\
ναίαν φιλίαν. μία δὴ λείπεται τῷ ἡμετέρῳ νόμῳ ὁδός, εἰ **5**\
μέλλει καλῶς χαριεῖσθαι ἐραστῇ παιδικά. ἔστι γὰρ ἡμῖν\
νόμος, ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τοῖς ἐρασταῖς ἦν δουλεύειν ἐθέλοντα\
ἡντινοῦν δουλείαν παιδικοῖς μὴ κολακείαν εἶναι μηδὲ ἐπο- **c**\
νείδιστον, οὕτω δὴ καὶ ἄλλη μία μόνη δουλεία ἑκούσιος\
λείπεται οὐκ ἐπονείδιστος· αὕτη δ’ ἐστὶν ἡ περὶ τὴν ἀρετήν.\
νενόμισται γὰρ δὴ ἡμῖν, ἐάν τις ἐθέλῃ τινὰ θεραπεύειν\
ἡγούμενος δι’ ἐκεῖνον ἀμείνων ἔσεσθαι ἢ κατὰ σοφίαν τινὰ **5**

> *Apparatus:* **e** 1 ἢ τῆς ψυχῆς ἐρῶν B: ἐρῶν ἢ τῆς ψυχῆς T W   **e** 2 ἅτε οὐδὲ T W: ἅτε οὐ B   **a** 1 καὶ . . . διαφεύγειν secl. Badham   **a** 5 δὴ B T: δὴ καὶ W   **b** 1 ἄν τ’ εὐεργετούμενος B W: ἀντευεργετούμενος T   **b** 2 εἰς χρήματα . . . πολιτικὰς secl. Hirschig   **b** 6 ἔστι . . . νόμος om. Schanz auctore Vermehren   **b** 7 ὥσπερ T W: ὅσπερ B Stobaeus: ὥσπερ γὰρ Vermehren Schanz   ἐθέλοντα B T W: ἐθέλοντας vel ἐθελοντὰς Stobaeus   **c** 2 μία μόνη] μία μῶν B: μία μόνον T W: μόνη μία Stobaeus: μία ἐρωμένῳ Usener: μία ⟨τῶν ἐρωμένων τῷ ἡμετέρῳ νό⟩μῳ Schanz: μία νέων Hug   **c** 4 τις ἐθέλῃ τινὰ B T W: τίς τινα θέλῃ Stobaeus   **c** 5 ἐκεῖνον T W Stobaeus: ἐκεῖνο B

### English

one, **[e]** who is in love with the body rather than the soul; for he is not lasting either, since he is in love with a thing that is not lasting either. For along with the fading bloom of the body he was in love with, ‘he is gone, flown away,’[^60] having disgraced his many speeches and promises; but the lover of a decent character remains through life, since he has been fused with something lasting. These **[184]** our law wants to test soundly and well, and wants the ones to be gratified and the others to be fled from. That is why it urges the ones to pursue and the others to flee, acting as judge of the contest and testing to which of the two the one in love belongs, and to which the beloved. For this reason, then, first, being caught quickly is held to be shameful, so that time may come in, which is thought to test most things well; then, being caught by money and by political power is shameful, **[b]** whether he cowers when badly treated and does not hold out, or, when he is done a kindness in money or in political achievements, does not despise it; for none of these seems either firm or lasting, apart from the fact that no noble friendship can even grow from them. One road, then, is left to our law, if a darling is going to gratify a lover well. For we have a law: just as with lovers it was not flattery, nor to be reproached, for one to be willing to be a slave to his darling in **[c]** any slavery whatever, so too one other voluntary slavery alone is left that is not to be reproached; and this is the one that concerns virtue. For it is held among us that if anyone is willing to wait on someone, believing that through him he will be better, whether in some wisdom

[^60]: *Iliad* 2.71, of the Dream that Zeus sent to Agamemnon.

---

## 184c–185b

### Greek (Burnet, page 18)

ἢ κατὰ ἄλλο ὁτιοῦν μέρος ἀρετῆς, αὕτη αὖ ἡ ἐθελοδουλεία\
οὐκ αἰσχρὰ εἶναι οὐδὲ κολακεία. δεῖ δὴ τὼ νόμω τούτω\
συμβαλεῖν εἰς ταὐτόν, τόν τε περὶ τὴν παιδεραστίαν καὶ\
τὸν περὶ τὴν φιλοσοφίαν τε καὶ τὴν ἄλλην ἀρετήν, εἰ **d**\
μέλλει συμβῆναι καλὸν γενέσθαι τὸ ἐραστῇ παιδικὰ χαρί-\
σασθαι. ὅταν γὰρ εἰς τὸ αὐτὸ ἔλθωσιν ἐραστής τε καὶ\
παιδικά, νόμον ἔχων ἑκάτερος, ὁ μὲν χαρισαμένοις παιδικοῖς\
ὑπηρετῶν ὁτιοῦν δικαίως ἂν ὑπηρετεῖν, ὁ δὲ τῷ ποιοῦντι **5**\
αὐτὸν σοφόν τε καὶ ἀγαθὸν δικαίως αὖ ὁτιοῦν ἂν ὑπουρ-\
γῶν ⟨ὑπουργεῖν⟩, καὶ ὁ μὲν δυνάμενος εἰς φρόνησιν καὶ τὴν\
ἄλλην ἀρετὴν συμβάλλεσθαι, ὁ δὲ δεόμενος εἰς παίδευσιν **e**\
καὶ τὴν ἄλλην σοφίαν κτᾶσθαι, τότε δὴ τούτων συνιόντων\
εἰς ταὐτὸν τῶν νόμων μοναχοῦ ἐνταῦθα συμπίπτει τὸ καλὸν\
εἶναι παιδικὰ ἐραστῇ χαρίσασθαι, ἄλλοθι δὲ οὐδαμοῦ. ἐπὶ\
τούτῳ καὶ ἐξαπατηθῆναι οὐδὲν αἰσχρόν· ἐπὶ δὲ τοῖς ἄλλοις **5**\
πᾶσι καὶ ἐξαπατωμένῳ αἰσχύνην φέρει καὶ μή. εἰ γάρ τις\
ἐραστῇ ὡς πλουσίῳ πλούτου ἕνεκα χαρισάμενος ἐξαπατηθείη **185**\
καὶ μὴ λάβοι χρήματα, ἀναφανέντος τοῦ ἐραστοῦ πένητος,\
οὐδὲν ἧττον αἰσχρόν· δοκεῖ γὰρ ὁ τοιοῦτος τό γε αὑτοῦ\
ἐπιδεῖξαι, ὅτι ἕνεκα χρημάτων ὁτιοῦν ἂν ὁτῳοῦν ὑπηρετοῖ,\
τοῦτο δὲ οὐ καλόν. κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν δὴ λόγον κἂν εἴ τις **5**\
ὡς ἀγαθῷ χαρισάμενος καὶ αὐτὸς ὡς ἀμείνων ἐσόμενος διὰ\
τὴν φιλίαν ἐραστοῦ ἐξαπατηθείη, ἀναφανέντος ἐκείνου κακοῦ\
καὶ οὐ κεκτημένου ἀρετήν, ὅμως καλὴ ἡ ἀπάτη· δοκεῖ γὰρ **b**\
αὖ καὶ οὗτος τὸ καθ’ αὑτὸν δεδηλωκέναι, ὅτι ἀρετῆς γ’\
ἕνεκα καὶ τοῦ βελτίων γενέσθαι πᾶν ἂν παντὶ προθυμηθείη,\
τοῦτο δὲ αὖ πάντων κάλλιστον· οὕτω πᾶν πάντως γε καλὸν

> *Apparatus:* **c** 7 τὼ νόμω τούτω apographa: τῷ νόμῳ τούτῳ B T W   **d** 2 τὸ T: τῷ B W   **d** 5 ἂν T W: οὖν B   **d** 6 ἂν T W: αὖ B   ὑπουργῶν ὑπουργεῖν Baiter: ὑπουργῶν B T W: ὑπουργεῖν vulg.   **e** 1 ξυμβάλλεσθαι T W: ξυμβαλέσθαι B   εἰς del. Schütz   **e** 2 κτᾶσθαι] ἵστασθαι Schanz   **e** 3 τῶν νόμων del. Bast   **a** 7 ἐραστοῦ B T W: τοῦ ἐραστοῦ al.   **b** 1 ἡ B W t: om. pr. T   **b** 4 πᾶν Stobaeus: om. B T W

### English

or in any other part of virtue whatever, this willing slavery in its turn is not shameful, nor is it flattery. So these two laws[^61] must be brought together into one, the one about pederasty and **[d]** the one about philosophy and the rest of virtue, if it is going to turn out beautiful for a darling to gratify a lover. For when lover and darling come together, each with his law, the one that in serving the darling who has gratified him in anything whatever he would serve justly, the other that in doing service of any kind to the one who is making him wise and good he would in turn do service justly,[^62] and the one is able to contribute to intelligence and the **[e]** rest of virtue, and the other is in need of acquiring them for his education and the rest of wisdom, then, when these laws come together into one, there and there alone does it coincide that it is beautiful for a darling to gratify a lover, and nowhere else. In this case even to be deceived is not shameful at all; but in all the others it brings shame whether one is deceived or not. For if someone gratified **[185]** a lover as being rich, for the sake of wealth, and were deceived and got no money, the lover turning out to be poor, it is no less shameful; for such a one seems to have shown what he himself, at least, is, that for the sake of money he would serve anyone in anything; and that is not beautiful. By the same account, even if someone gratified a man as being good, and as going to be better himself through the friendship of a lover, and were deceived, the man turning out bad **[b]** and not possessed of virtue, still the deception is beautiful; for this one too, in turn, seems to have made plain what he himself is, that for the sake of virtue at least, and of becoming better, he would be eager to do anything for anyone; and this, again, is the most beautiful thing of all. So it is wholly and in every way beautiful

[^61]: *These two laws*: the dual, *tō nomō toutō*, from later copies of the manuscripts, which Burnet prints; B, T and W have the singular, *tōi nomōi toutōi*, “this law” (apparatus, c7).

[^62]: *He would in turn do service*: the infinitive *hupourgein* is supplied by Baiter; B, T and W have only the participle (apparatus, d6).

---

## 185b–186a

### Greek (Burnet, page 19)

ἀρετῆς γ’ ἕνεκα χαρίζεσθαι. οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ τῆς οὐρανίας θεοῦ **5**\
ἔρως καὶ οὐράνιος καὶ πολλοῦ ἄξιος καὶ πόλει καὶ ἰδιώταις,\
πολλὴν ἐπιμέλειαν ἀναγκάζων ποιεῖσθαι πρὸς ἀρετὴν τόν\
τε ἐρῶντα αὐτὸν αὑτοῦ καὶ τὸν ἐρώμενον· οἱ δ’ ἕτεροι **c**\
πάντες τῆς ἑτέρας, τῆς πανδήμου. ταῦτά σοι, ἔφη, ὡς ἐκ\
τοῦ παραχρῆμα, ὦ Φαῖδρε, περὶ Ἔρωτος συμβάλλομαι.\
 \
 Παυσανίου δὲ παυσαμένου—διδάσκουσι γάρ με ἴσα λέγειν\
οὑτωσὶ οἱ σοφοί—ἔφη ὁ Ἀριστόδημος δεῖν μὲν Ἀριστοφάνη **5**\
λέγειν, τυχεῖν δὲ αὐτῷ τινα ἢ ὑπὸ πλησμονῆς ἢ ὑπό τινος\
ἄλλου λύγγα ἐπιπεπτωκυῖαν καὶ οὐχ οἷόν τε εἶναι λέγειν,\
ἀλλ’ εἰπεῖν αὐτόν—ἐν τῇ κάτω γὰρ αὐτοῦ τὸν ἰατρὸν Ἐρυξί- **d**\
μαχον κατακεῖσθαι—“Ὦ Ἐρυξίμαχε, δίκαιος εἶ ἢ παῦσαί\
με τῆς λυγγὸς ἢ λέγειν ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ, ἕως ἂν ἐγὼ παύσωμαι.”\
καὶ τὸν Ἐρυξίμαχον εἰπεῖν “Ἀλλὰ ποιήσω ἀμφότερα ταῦτα·\
ἐγὼ μὲν γὰρ ἐρῶ ἐν τῷ σῷ μέρει, σὺ δ’ ἐπειδὰν παύσῃ, ἐν **5**\
τῷ ἐμῷ. ἐν ᾧ δ’ ἂν ἐγὼ λέγω, ἐὰν μέν σοι ἐθέλῃ ἀπνευστὶ\
ἔχοντι πολὺν χρόνον παύεσθαι ἡ λύγξ· εἰ δὲ μή, ὕδατι\
ἀνακογχυλίασον. εἰ δ’ ἄρα πάνυ ἰσχυρά ἐστιν, ἀναλαβών **e**\
τι τοιοῦτον οἵῳ κινήσαις ἂν τὴν ῥῖνα, πτάρε· καὶ ἐὰν τοῦτο\
ποιήσῃς ἅπαξ ἢ δίς, καὶ εἰ πάνυ ἰσχυρά ἐστι, παύσεται.”\
“Οὐκ ἂν φθάνοις λέγων,” φάναι τὸν Ἀριστοφάνη· “ἐγὼ\
δὲ ταῦτα ποιήσω.” **5**\
 \
 Εἰπεῖν δὴ τὸν Ἐρυξίμαχον, Δοκεῖ τοίνυν μοι ἀναγκαῖον\
εἶναι, ἐπειδὴ Παυσανίας ὁρμήσας ἐπὶ τὸν λόγον καλῶς οὐχ\
ἱκανῶς ἀπετέλεσε, δεῖν ἐμὲ πειρᾶσθαι τέλος ἐπιθεῖναι τῷ **186**\
λόγῳ. τὸ μὲν γὰρ διπλοῦν εἶναι τὸν Ἔρωτα δοκεῖ μοι\
καλῶς διελέσθαι· ὅτι δὲ οὐ μόνον ἐστὶν ἐπὶ ταῖς ψυχαῖς

> *Apparatus:* **b** 5 ἀρετῆς γ’ ἕνεκα T W: ἀρετῆς ἕνεκα B: ἕνεκα ἀρετῆς Stobaeus   **c** 3 συμβάλλομαι T W: συμβάλλομεν B   **c** 7 λέγειν B T: om. W   **d** 1 τὸν ἰατρὸν T W: τῶν ἰατρῶν B   **d** 6 π\*\*ν χρόνον ἀπνευστὶ ἔχοντι W   **e** 2 κινήσαις B T W Stobaeus et legit Athenaeus: κνήσαις Wyttenbach   **e** 4 φᾶναι (sic) B: εἰπεῖν T W

### English

to gratify for the sake of virtue at least. This is the love of the heavenly goddess, and heavenly, and worth much both to a city and to private persons, compelling the **[c]** one in love to take much care of himself for virtue, and the beloved too; and all the others belong to the other goddess, the common one. This,” he said, “is what I contribute to you about Love, Phaedrus, as well as one can on the spot.”

When Pausanias had paused[^63] — for the wise teach me to say equal things like this — Aristodemus said that Aristophanes was to speak, but that a hiccup had in fact come upon him, from surfeit or from something else, and that he was not able to speak, **[d]** but said — for the doctor Eryximachus was reclining in the place below him — “Eryximachus, it is just that you either stop my hiccup or speak for me until I stop.” And Eryximachus said, “Well, I shall do both of these: I shall speak in your turn, and you, when you have stopped, in mine. While I am speaking, your hiccup may be willing to stop if you hold your breath for a long time; but if not, **[e]** gargle with water. And if after all it is very strong, take something with which you could stir your nose, and sneeze; and if you do this once or twice, even if it is very strong, it will stop.” “You cannot speak too soon,” said Aristophanes; “and I shall do these things.”

So Eryximachus said, “It seems to me, then, necessary, since Pausanias set out well on his speech but did not **[186]** sufficiently bring it to its end, that I should try to add the end to the speech. For that Love is double, he seems to me to have distinguished well; but that he is not only in the souls

[^63]: *Pausanias … paused*: *Pausaniou … pausamenou*. Apollodorus mocks the sophists’ taste for matching sounds and clauses, “saying equal things” (interpretation).

---

## 186a–186e

### Greek (Burnet, page 20)

τῶν ἀνθρώπων πρὸς τοὺς καλοὺς ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς ἄλλα πολλὰ\
καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις, τοῖς τε σώμασι τῶν πάντων ζῴων καὶ **5**\
τοῖς ἐν τῇ γῇ φυομένοις καὶ ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς\
οὖσι, καθεωρακέναι μοι δοκῶ ἐκ τῆς ἰατρικῆς, τῆς ἡμετέρας\
τέχνης, ὡς μέγας καὶ θαυμαστὸς καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶν ὁ θεὸς τείνει **b**\
καὶ κατ’ ἀνθρώπινα καὶ κατὰ θεῖα πράγματα. ἄρξομαι δὲ\
ἀπὸ τῆς ἰατρικῆς λέγων, ἵνα καὶ πρεσβεύωμεν τὴν τέχνην.\
ἡ γὰρ φύσις τῶν σωμάτων τὸν διπλοῦν Ἔρωτα τοῦτον ἔχει·\
τὸ γὰρ ὑγιὲς τοῦ σώματος καὶ τὸ νοσοῦν ὁμολογουμένως **5**\
ἕτερόν τε καὶ ἀνόμοιόν ἐστι, τὸ δὲ ἀνόμοιον ἀνομοίων ἐπι-\
θυμεῖ καὶ ἐρᾷ. ἄλλος μὲν οὖν ὁ ἐπὶ τῷ ὑγιεινῷ ἔρως, ἄλλος\
δὲ ὁ ἐπὶ τῷ νοσώδει. ἔστιν δή, ὥσπερ ἄρτι Παυσανίας\
ἔλεγεν τοῖς μὲν ἀγαθοῖς καλὸν χαρίζεσθαι τῶν ἀνθρώπων,\
τοῖς δ’ ἀκολάστοις αἰσχρόν, οὕτω καὶ ἐν αὐτοῖς τοῖς σώμασιν **c**\
τοῖς μὲν ἀγαθοῖς ἑκάστου τοῦ σώματος καὶ ὑγιεινοῖς καλὸν\
χαρίζεσθαι καὶ δεῖ, καὶ τοῦτό ἐστιν ᾧ ὄνομα τὸ ἰατρικόν,\
τοῖς δὲ κακοῖς καὶ νοσώδεσιν αἰσχρόν τε καὶ δεῖ ἀχαριστεῖν,\
εἰ μέλλει τις τεχνικὸς εἶναι. ἔστι γὰρ ἰατρική, ὡς ἐν **5**\
κεφαλαίῳ εἰπεῖν, ἐπιστήμη τῶν τοῦ σώματος ἐρωτικῶν πρὸς\
πλησμονὴν καὶ κένωσιν, καὶ ὁ διαγιγνώσκων ἐν τούτοις τὸν\
καλόν τε καὶ αἰσχρὸν ἔρωτα, οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἰατρικώτατος, **d**\
καὶ ὁ μεταβάλλειν ποιῶν, ὥστε ἀντὶ τοῦ ἑτέρου ἔρωτος τὸν\
ἕτερον κτᾶσθαι, καὶ οἷς μὴ ἔνεστιν ἔρως, δεῖ δ’ ἐγγενέσθαι,\
ἐπιστάμενος ἐμποιῆσαι καὶ ἐνόντα ἐξελεῖν, ἀγαθὸς ἂν εἴη\
δημιουργός. δεῖ γὰρ δὴ τὰ ἔχθιστα ὄντα ἐν τῷ σώματι **5**\
φίλα οἷόν τ’ εἶναι ποιεῖν καὶ ἐρᾶν ἀλλήλων. ἔστι δὲ ἔχθιστα\
τὰ ἐναντιώτατα, ψυχρὸν θερμῷ, πικρὸν γλυκεῖ, ξηρὸν ὑγρῷ,\
πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα· τούτοις ἐπιστηθεὶς ἔρωτα ἐμποιῆσαι καὶ **e**\
ὁμόνοιαν ὁ ἡμέτερος πρόγονος Ἀσκληπιός, ὥς φασιν οἵδε οἱ

> *Apparatus:* **b** 2 κατὰ τἀνθρώπινα Stobaeus   κατὰ τὰ θεῖα Stobaeus   **b** 3 καὶ B T W: om. Stobaeus   **b** 4 ἔχει T W: ἔχῃ B   **b** 5 ὁμολογουμένως B: ὁμολογοῦμεν ὡς T W Stobaeus   **b** 7 ὑγιεινῷ ἔρως T W: ὑγιεῖ νοερος B   **d** 3 κτᾶσθαι B: κτήσασθαι T W   ἔρως secl. Usener   **d** 4 καὶ . . . ἐξελεῖν secl. Schanz

### English

of human beings toward the beautiful ones, but also toward many other things and in the other things, in the bodies of all animals and in what grows in the earth and, so to speak, in all the things that are, this I think I have caught sight of from medicine, our **[b]** craft, and of how great and marvellous the god is, and how he extends to everything, both in human and in divine affairs. And I shall begin by speaking from medicine, so that we may also give the craft its precedence. For the nature of bodies has this double Love: the healthy and the sick in the body are, as is agreed, different and unlike, and the unlike desires and is in love with unlike things. So the love in the wholesome is one thing, and the love in the unwholesome another. Now just as Pausanias was saying a moment ago that it is beautiful to gratify the good among human beings, **[c]** and shameful to gratify the licentious, so also in bodies themselves it is beautiful, and necessary, to gratify what is good and wholesome in each body, and this is what has the name ‘the medical’; and it is shameful to gratify what is bad and unwholesome, and one must refuse it gratification, if one is to be a master of the craft. For medicine is, to put it in a word, knowledge of the body’s matters of love with regard to surfeit and emptying; and the one who distinguishes in these the **[d]** beautiful and the shameful love, he is the most skilled in medicine; and the one who brings about a change, so that the one love is acquired in place of the other, and who knows how to implant love in those in whom it is not present but ought to be, and to remove it when it is present, would be a good craftsman. For indeed he must be able to make the things in the body that are most hostile friends, and in love with one another. And the most hostile are the most opposite: cold to hot, bitter to sweet, dry to wet, **[e]** all such things; knowing how to implant love and concord in these, our ancestor Asclepius, as these

---

## 186e–187d

### Greek (Burnet, page 21)

ποιηταὶ καὶ ἐγὼ πείθομαι, συνέστησεν τὴν ἡμετέραν τέχνην.\
ἥ τε οὖν ἰατρική, ὥσπερ λέγω, πᾶσα διὰ τοῦ θεοῦ τούτου\
κυβερνᾶται, ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ γυμναστικὴ καὶ γεωργία· μουσικὴ **187**\
δὲ καὶ παντὶ κατάδηλος τῷ καὶ σμικρὸν προσέχοντι τὸν νοῦν\
ὅτι κατὰ ταὐτὰ ἔχει τούτοις, ὥσπερ ἴσως καὶ Ἡράκλειτος\
βούλεται λέγειν, ἐπεὶ τοῖς γε ῥήμασιν οὐ καλῶς λέγει. τὸ\
ἓν γάρ φησι “διαφερόμενον αὐτὸ αὑτῷ συμφέρεσθαι,” **5**\
“ὥσπερ ἁρμονίαν τόξου τε καὶ λύρας.” ἔστι δὲ πολλὴ\
ἀλογία ἁρμονίαν φάναι διαφέρεσθαι ἢ ἐκ διαφερομένων ἔτι\
εἶναι. ἀλλὰ ἴσως τόδε ἐβούλετο λέγειν, ὅτι ἐκ διαφερομένων\
πρότερον τοῦ ὀξέος καὶ βαρέος, ἔπειτα ὕστερον ὁμολογη- **b**\
σάντων γέγονεν ὑπὸ τῆς μουσικῆς τέχνης. οὐ γὰρ δήπου\
ἐκ διαφερομένων γε ἔτι τοῦ ὀξέος καὶ βαρέος ἁρμονία ἂν\
εἴη· ἡ γὰρ ἁρμονία συμφωνία ἐστίν, συμφωνία δὲ ὁμολογία\
τις—ὁμολογίαν δὲ ἐκ διαφερομένων, ἕως ἂν διαφέρωνται, **5**\
ἀδύνατον εἶναι· διαφερόμενον δὲ αὖ καὶ μὴ ὁμολογοῦν ἀδύ-\
νατον ἁρμόσαι—ὥσπερ γε καὶ ὁ ῥυθμὸς ἐκ τοῦ ταχέος καὶ\
βραδέος, ἐκ διενηνεγμένων πρότερον, ὕστερον δὲ ὁμολογη- **c**\
σάντων γέγονε. τὴν δὲ ὁμολογίαν πᾶσι τούτοις, ὥσπερ\
ἐκεῖ ἡ ἰατρική, ἐνταῦθα ἡ μουσικὴ ἐντίθησιν, ἔρωτα καὶ\
ὁμόνοιαν ἀλλήλων ἐμποιήσασα· καὶ ἔστιν αὖ μουσικὴ περὶ\
ἁρμονίαν καὶ ῥυθμὸν ἐρωτικῶν ἐπιστήμη. καὶ ἐν μέν γε **5**\
αὐτῇ τῇ συστάσει ἁρμονίας τε καὶ ῥυθμοῦ οὐδὲν χαλεπὸν τὰ\
ἐρωτικὰ διαγιγνώσκειν, οὐδὲ ὁ διπλοῦς ἔρως ἐνταῦθά πω\
ἔστιν· ἀλλ’ ἐπειδὰν δέῃ πρὸς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους καταχρῆσθαι\
ῥυθμῷ τε καὶ ἁρμονίᾳ ἢ ποιοῦντα, ὃ δὴ μελοποιίαν καλοῦσιν, **d**\
ἢ χρώμενον ὀρθῶς τοῖς πεποιημένοις μέλεσί τε καὶ μέτροις,\
ὃ δὴ παιδεία ἐκλήθη, ἐνταῦθα δὴ καὶ χαλεπὸν καὶ ἀγαθοῦ\
δημιουργοῦ δεῖ. πάλιν γὰρ ἥκει ὁ αὐτὸς λόγος, ὅτι τοῖς μὲν\
κοσμίοις τῶν ἀνθρώπων, καὶ ὡς ἂν κοσμιώτεροι γίγνοιντο **5**\
οἱ μήπω ὄντες, δεῖ χαρίζεσθαι καὶ φυλάττειν τὸν τούτων

> *Apparatus:* **a** 2 σμικρὸν B T: σμικρῷ W   **c** 1 ἐκ B T W: om. Vindob. 21   **c** 4 ἀλλήλων B: ἀλλήλοις T W   **c** 7 πω Badham: πῶς B T W   **d** 2 μέτροις B T: ῥυθμοῖς W

### English

poets here[^64] say and I am persuaded, founded our craft. So medicine, as I say, all of it, **[187]** is steered through this god, and in the same way gymnastics and farming too; and music, it is quite plain to anyone who pays even a little attention, is in the same case as these, as perhaps Heraclitus too means to say, since in his expressions at least he does not say it well. For he says that the one, ‘differing from itself, is in accord with itself,’ ‘like the harmony of a bow and a lyre.’[^65] But it is a great want of sense to say that a harmony differs, or is made of things that still differ. But perhaps he meant this: that from **[b]** the high and the low, which differed before and afterwards agreed, it has come into being by the craft of music. For surely there could be no harmony from the high and the low while they still differ; for harmony is consonance, and consonance a kind of agreement — and agreement from things that differ, while they differ, is impossible; and again, what differs and does not agree it is impossible to harmonize — just as rhythm too has come into being from the fast and the **[c]** slow, which had differed before but afterwards agreed. And the agreement in all these, as medicine does there, here music puts in, implanting love and concord for one another; and music in its turn is knowledge of matters of love concerning harmony and rhythm. And in the very composition of harmony and rhythm it is not at all hard to distinguish the matters of love, nor is the double love there yet;[^66] but when one has to use **[d]** rhythm and harmony on human beings, either in making, which they call song-making, or in using rightly the songs and metres already made, which has been called education, then it is hard, and there is need of a good craftsman. For the same account comes back again: that one must gratify the orderly among human beings — and so that those who are not yet orderly may become more orderly — and guard their

[^64]: *These poets here*: Agathon and Aristophanes, at the table (interpretation). Doctors traced their craft to Asclepius, god of healing, and were called Asclepiads (Plato, *Protagoras* 311b, *Phaedrus* 270c, *Republic* 405d).

[^65]: Heraclitus, fragment 51 Diels–Kranz, which Hippolytus quotes more fully and in other words (*Refutation of All Heresies* 9.9.2).

[^66]: *Yet*: Badham’s *pō*, which Burnet prints; B, T and W have *pōs*, accented as “how” (apparatus, c7).

---

## 187d–188c

### Greek (Burnet, page 22)

ἔρωτα, καὶ οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ καλός, ὁ οὐράνιος, ὁ τῆς Οὐρανίας\
μούσης Ἔρως· ὁ δὲ Πολυμνίας ὁ πάνδημος, ὃν δεῖ εὐλαβού- **e**\
μενον προσφέρειν οἷς ἂν προσφέρῃ, ὅπως ἂν τὴν μὲν ἡδονὴν\
αὐτοῦ καρπώσηται, ἀκολασίαν δὲ μηδεμίαν ἐμποιήσῃ, ὥσπερ\
ἐν τῇ ἡμετέρᾳ τέχνῃ μέγα ἔργον ταῖς περὶ τὴν ὀψοποιικὴν\
τέχνην ἐπιθυμίαις καλῶς χρῆσθαι, ὥστ’ ἄνευ νόσου τὴν **5**\
ἡδονὴν καρπώσασθαι. καὶ ἐν μουσικῇ δὴ καὶ ἐν ἰατρικῇ\
καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις πᾶσι καὶ τοῖς ἀνθρωπείοις καὶ τοῖς θείοις,\
καθ’ ὅσον παρείκει, φυλακτέον ἑκάτερον τὸν Ἔρωτα· ἔνεστον\
γάρ. ἐπεὶ καὶ ἡ τῶν ὡρῶν τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ σύστασις μεστή **188**\
ἐστιν ἀμφοτέρων τούτων, καὶ ἐπειδὰν μὲν πρὸς ἄλληλα τοῦ\
κοσμίου τύχῃ ἔρωτος ἃ νυνδὴ ἐγὼ ἔλεγον, τά τε θερμὰ καὶ\
τὰ ψυχρὰ καὶ ξηρὰ καὶ ὑγρά, καὶ ἁρμονίαν καὶ κρᾶσιν λάβῃ\
σώφρονα, ἥκει φέροντα εὐετηρίαν τε καὶ ὑγίειαν ἀνθρώποις **5**\
καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ζῴοις τε καὶ φυτοῖς, καὶ οὐδὲν ἠδίκησεν·\
ὅταν δὲ ὁ μετὰ τῆς ὕβρεως Ἔρως ἐγκρατέστερος περὶ τὰς\
τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ ὥρας γένηται, διέφθειρέν τε πολλὰ καὶ ἠδίκησεν.\
οἵ τε γὰρ λοιμοὶ φιλοῦσι γίγνεσθαι ἐκ τῶν τοιούτων καὶ **b**\
ἄλλα ἀνόμοια πολλὰ νοσήματα καὶ τοῖς θηρίοις καὶ τοῖς\
φυτοῖς· καὶ γὰρ πάχναι καὶ χάλαζαι καὶ ἐρυσῖβαι ἐκ\
πλεονεξίας καὶ ἀκοσμίας περὶ ἄλληλα τῶν τοιούτων γίγνεται\
ἐρωτικῶν, ὧν ἐπιστήμη περὶ ἄστρων τε φορὰς καὶ ἐνιαυτῶν **5**\
ὥρας ἀστρονομία καλεῖται. ἔτι τοίνυν καὶ αἱ θυσίαι πᾶσαι\
καὶ οἷς μαντικὴ ἐπιστατεῖ—ταῦτα δ’ ἐστὶν ἡ περὶ θεούς τε\
καὶ ἀνθρώπους πρὸς ἀλλήλους κοινωνία—οὐ περὶ ἄλλο τί **c**\
ἐστιν ἢ περὶ Ἔρωτος φυλακήν τε καὶ ἴασιν. πᾶσα γὰρ\
ἀσέβεια φιλεῖ γίγνεσθαι ἐὰν μή τις τῷ κοσμίῳ Ἔρωτι

> *Apparatus:* **e** 4 ἔργον ταῖς B² T W: ἐργῶντες B   **e** 8 παρείκει W t: παρήκει B T   ἐνεστον T: ενεστον B: ἓν ἐστὸν W   **a** 3 κοσμίου B t Stobaeus: κόσμου T   ἐγὼ ἔλεγον] λέγω Stobaeus   ξηρὰ] τὰ ξηρὰ Stobaeus   **a** 7 περὶ] καὶ περὶ Stobaeus   **a** 8 διέφθειρε(ν) T W Stobaeus: διαφθείρει B   **b** 2 πολλὰ] καὶ πολλὰ Stobaeus   **b** 4 γίγνεται] γίγνονται Canter   **b** 5 φορὰς W Stobaeus: φορας B: φορᾶς T   **b** 6 αἱ T W Stobaeus: om. B   πᾶσαι B Stobaeus: ἅπασαι T W   **b** 7 ἐπιστατεῖ] ἐπιστατεῖ τέχνη Stobaeus   **c** 3 ἀσέβεια Stobaeus: ἡ ἀσέβεια B T W

### English

love; and this is the beautiful one, the heavenly, the **[e]** Love of the Heavenly Muse; but the common one is Polyhymnia’s,[^67] which one must apply with caution to those to whom one applies it, so that one may reap its pleasure but implant no licentiousness, just as in our craft it is a great work to use well the desires that concern the craft of cookery, so as to reap the pleasure without disease. So in music and in medicine and in all the others, both human and divine, so far as it allows,[^68] each Love must be guarded; **[188]** for both are present in them. For the composition of the seasons of the year, too, is full of both of these, and whenever the things I spoke of a moment ago, the hot and the cold and dry and wet, meet with the orderly love toward one another, and receive a temperate harmony and blend, they come bringing good seasons and health to human beings and to the other animals and plants, and do no wrong; but whenever the Love that goes with insolence gains the upper hand over the seasons of the year, he destroys many things and does wrong. **[b]** For plagues tend to arise from such things, and many other unlike diseases, both in beasts and in plants; for frosts and hails and blights arise from the greed and disorder of such matters of love toward one another, the knowledge of which, concerning the motions of the stars and the seasons of the years, is called astronomy. Further, all the sacrifices too, and the things over which divination presides — that is, the **[c]** partnership of gods and human beings with one another — are concerned with nothing else than the guarding and healing of Love. For all impiety tends to arise if one does not

[^67]: Urania, “Heavenly”, and Polyhymnia (*Polymnia* in the Greek) are two of the nine Muses (Hesiod, *Theogony* 78). Eryximachus attaches his two Loves to two Muses, as Pausanias attached his to the two Aphrodites (“the Love of Common Aphrodite”, 181a).

[^68]: *So far as it allows*: *pareikei*, the reading of W and a later hand in T, which Burnet prints; B and T have *parēkei*, “so far as it extends” (apparatus, e8).

---

## 188c–189b

### Greek (Burnet, page 23)

χαρίζηται μηδὲ τιμᾷ τε αὐτὸν καὶ πρεσβεύῃ ἐν παντὶ ἔργῳ,\
ἀλλὰ τὸν ἕτερον, καὶ περὶ γονέας καὶ ζῶντας καὶ τετελευ- **5**\
τηκότας καὶ περὶ θεούς· ἃ δὴ προστέτακται τῇ μαντικῇ\
ἐπισκοπεῖν τοὺς ἐρῶντας καὶ ἰατρεύειν, καὶ ἔστιν αὖ ἡ\
μαντικὴ φιλίας θεῶν καὶ ἀνθρώπων δημιουργὸς τῷ ἐπί- **d**\
στασθαι τὰ κατὰ ἀνθρώπους ἐρωτικά, ὅσα τείνει πρὸς θέμιν\
καὶ εὐσέβειαν.\
 Οὕτω πολλὴν καὶ μεγάλην, μᾶλλον δὲ πᾶσαν δύναμιν ἔχει\
συλλήβδην μὲν ὁ πᾶς Ἔρως, ὁ δὲ περὶ τἀγαθὰ μετὰ σωφρο- **5**\
σύνης καὶ δικαιοσύνης ἀποτελούμενος καὶ παρ’ ἡμῖν καὶ\
παρὰ θεοῖς, οὗτος τὴν μεγίστην δύναμιν ἔχει καὶ πᾶσαν ἡμῖν\
εὐδαιμονίαν παρασκευάζει καὶ ἀλλήλοις δυναμένους ὁμιλεῖν\
καὶ φίλους εἶναι καὶ τοῖς κρείττοσιν ἡμῶν θεοῖς. ἴσως μὲν\
οὖν καὶ ἐγὼ τὸν Ἔρωτα ἐπαινῶν πολλὰ παραλείπω, οὐ μέντοι **e**\
ἑκών γε. ἀλλ’ εἴ τι ἐξέλιπον, σὸν ἔργον, ὦ Ἀριστόφανες,\
ἀναπληρῶσαι· ἢ εἴ πως ἄλλως ἐν νῷ ἔχεις ἐγκωμιάζειν τὸν\
θεόν, ἐγκωμίαζε, ἐπειδὴ καὶ τῆς λυγγὸς πέπαυσαι.\
 \
 Ἐκδεξάμενον οὖν ἔφη εἰπεῖν τὸν Ἀριστοφάνη ὅτι Καὶ **189**\
μάλ’ ἐπαύσατο, οὐ μέντοι πρίν γε τὸν πταρμὸν προσενεχθῆναι\
αὐτῇ, ὥστε με θαυμάζειν εἰ τὸ κόσμιον τοῦ σώματος ἐπι-\
θυμεῖ τοιούτων ψόφων καὶ γαργαλισμῶν, οἷον καὶ ὁ πταρμός\
ἐστιν· πάνυ γὰρ εὐθὺς ἐπαύσατο, ἐπειδὴ αὐτῷ τὸν πταρμὸν **5**\
προσήνεγκα.\
 Καὶ τὸν Ἐρυξίμαχον, Ὠγαθέ, φάναι, Ἀριστόφανες, ὅρα\
τί ποιεῖς. γελωτοποιεῖς μέλλων λέγειν, καὶ φύλακά με τοῦ\
λόγου ἀναγκάζεις γίγνεσθαι τοῦ σεαυτοῦ, ἐάν τι γελοῖον **b**\
εἴπῃς, ἐξόν σοι ἐν εἰρήνῃ λέγειν.\
 Καὶ τὸν Ἀριστοφάνη γελάσαντα εἰπεῖν Εὖ λέγεις, ὦ

> *Apparatus:* **c** 5 τὸν Stobaeus: περὶ τὸν B T W   **c** 6 προστέτακται B T W: προτέτακται Stobaeus   **c** 7 ἐρῶντας W Stobaeus: ἔρωτας B T: τοὺς ἔρωτας secl. Hermann   **d** 3 εὐσέβειαν Stobaeus: ἀσέβειαν B T W   **d** 8 δυναμένους . . . φίλους B T W Stobaeus (sed ex δυνάμενος fecit T)   **a** 7 ὦγαθὲ φάναι T W: ὦγαθὲ φᾶναι ὦγαθὲ B

### English

gratify the orderly Love, nor honour him and give him precedence in every deed, but the other one, both toward parents, living and dead, and toward gods; and these are the things divination has been assigned: to watch over those who are in love[^69] and to heal them; and **[d]** divination in turn is the craftsman of friendship between gods and human beings, by knowing the matters of love among human beings, all that bear on right and piety.[^70]

“So much and so great a power, or rather all power, has Love as a whole, taken all together; but the Love that is accomplished concerning good things with temperance and justice, both among us and among gods, he has the greatest power, and provides us with all happiness, and makes us able to keep company with one another and to be friends even with the gods, who are stronger than we. Perhaps, **[e]** then, I too, in praising Love, leave out much, though not willingly at least. But if I have left anything out, it is your work, Aristophanes, to fill it in; or if you have it in mind to make an encomium of the god in some other way, make your encomium, since you have stopped your hiccup too.”

**[189]** Then Aristophanes, he said, took over and said, “It has stopped all right, but not before the sneeze was applied to it, so that I wonder whether the orderly part of the body desires such noises and ticklings as a sneeze is; for it stopped at once when I applied the sneeze to that part.”

And Eryximachus said, “My good friend Aristophanes, see what you are doing. You are making jokes when you are about to speak, and **[b]** you are forcing me to become a guard over your own speech, in case you say something laughable, when you could speak in peace.”

And Aristophanes laughed and said, “You speak well,

[^69]: *Those who are in love*: so W and Stobaeus, which Burnet prints; B and T have *erōtas*, “the loves” (apparatus, c7).

[^70]: *Piety*: so Stobaeus, which Burnet prints; B, T and W have *asebeian*, “impiety” (apparatus, d3).

---

## 189b–189e

### Greek (Burnet, page 24)

Ἐρυξίμαχε, καί μοι ἔστω ἄρρητα τὰ εἰρημένα. ἀλλὰ μή με\
φύλαττε, ὡς ἐγὼ φοβοῦμαι περὶ τῶν μελλόντων ῥηθήσεσθαι, **5**\
οὔ τι μὴ γελοῖα εἴπω—τοῦτο μὲν γὰρ ἂν κέρδος εἴη καὶ τῆς\
ἡμετέρας μούσης ἐπιχώριον—ἀλλὰ μὴ καταγέλαστα.\
 Βαλών γε, φάναι, ὦ Ἀριστόφανες, οἴει ἐκφεύξεσθαι·\
ἀλλὰ πρόσεχε τὸν νοῦν καὶ οὕτως λέγε ὡς δώσων λόγον.\
ἴσως μέντοι, ἂν δόξῃ μοι, ἀφήσω σε. **c**\
 \
 Καὶ μήν, ὦ Ἐρυξίμαχε, εἰπεῖν τὸν Ἀριστοφάνη, ἄλλῃ\
γέ πῃ ἐν νῷ ἔχω λέγειν ἢ ᾗ σύ τε καὶ Παυσανίας εἰπέτην.\
ἐμοὶ γὰρ δοκοῦσιν ἅνθρωποι παντάπασι τὴν τοῦ ἔρωτος\
δύναμιν οὐκ ᾐσθῆσθαι, ἐπεὶ αἰσθανόμενοί γε μέγιστ’ ἂν **5**\
αὐτοῦ ἱερὰ κατασκευάσαι καὶ βωμούς, καὶ θυσίας ἂν ποιεῖν\
μεγίστας, οὐχ ὥσπερ νῦν τούτων οὐδὲν γίγνεται περὶ αὐτόν,\
δέον πάντων μάλιστα γίγνεσθαι. ἔστι γὰρ θεῶν φιλαν-\
θρωπότατος, ἐπίκουρός τε ὢν τῶν ἀνθρώπων καὶ ἰατρὸς **d**\
τούτων ὧν ἰαθέντων μεγίστη εὐδαιμονία ἂν τῷ ἀνθρωπείῳ\
γένει εἴη. ἐγὼ οὖν πειράσομαι ὑμῖν εἰσηγήσασθαι τὴν\
δύναμιν αὐτοῦ, ὑμεῖς δὲ τῶν ἄλλων διδάσκαλοι ἔσεσθε.\
δεῖ δὲ πρῶτον ὑμᾶς μαθεῖν τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην φύσιν καὶ τὰ **5**\
παθήματα αὐτῆς. ἡ γὰρ πάλαι ἡμῶν φύσις οὐχ αὑτὴ ἦν\
ἥπερ νῦν, ἀλλ’ ἀλλοία. πρῶτον μὲν γὰρ τρία ἦν τὰ γένη\
τὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, οὐχ ὥσπερ νῦν δύο, ἄρρεν καὶ θῆλυ,\
ἀλλὰ καὶ τρίτον προσῆν κοινὸν ὂν ἀμφοτέρων τούτων, οὗ **e**\
νῦν ὄνομα λοιπόν, αὐτὸ δὲ ἠφάνισται· ἀνδρόγυνον γὰρ ἓν\
τότε μὲν ἦν καὶ εἶδος καὶ ὄνομα ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων κοινὸν τοῦ\
τε ἄρρενος καὶ θήλεος, νῦν δὲ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀλλ’ ἢ ἐν ὀνείδει\
ὄνομα κείμενον. ἔπειτα ὅλον ἦν ἑκάστου τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τὸ **5**

> *Apparatus:* **b** 5 ῥηθήσεσθαι T W: ἡττηθήσεσθαι B (sed ἡτ extra versum): ἤδη ῥηθήσεσθαι Rettig   **c** 4 ἅνθρωποι Bekker: ἄνθρωποι B T: οἱ ἄνθρωποι W   **d** 4 ἔσεσθε B: ἔσεσθαι T   **d** 6 αὑτὴ B: αὕτη T: ἡ αὐτὴ Eusebius   ἦν B T: om. W   **d** 7 πρῶτον B T: πρῶτα W   **d** 8 τὰ τῶν B T: τῶν W Eusebius Stobaeus   **e** 2 ἓν B W: om. T Eusebius Stobaeus   **e** 4 ἐν ὀνείδει T W: ἓν ὂν εἴδει B

### English

Eryximachus, and for my part let what has been said be unsaid. But do not guard me, since I am afraid, about what is going to be said, not that I may say laughable things — for that would be a gain, and native to our Muse — but ridiculous ones.”

“Having taken your shot,” he said, “Aristophanes, you think you will get away; but pay attention, and speak as one who will have to give an account. **[c]** Perhaps, though, if I think fit, I shall let you go.”

“And indeed, Eryximachus,” said Aristophanes, “I have it in mind to speak in some other way than you and Pausanias spoke. For it seems to me that human beings have not perceived the power of love at all, since if they perceived it, at least, they would have built him the greatest temples and altars, and would make him the greatest sacrifices, not as now, when none of this takes place in his honour, though it ought to take place most of all. For he is of the gods the friendliest to human beings, **[d]** being their helper and the doctor of those things whose healing would be the greatest happiness for the human race. So I shall try to introduce his power to you, and you will be the teachers of the others. But first you must learn human nature and its sufferings. For our nature long ago was not the same as it is now, but different. First, the kinds of human beings were three, not two as now, male and female, **[e]** but there was also a third besides, common to both of these, whose name now remains, though it has itself vanished; for the androgyne[^71] was then one thing, both in form and in name, made up from both, common to the male and the female; but now it is nothing but a name lying in reproach. Then each human being’s whole

[^71]: *Androgyne*: *androgynos*, “man-woman”, in Athens also a word of abuse for an effeminate man (Aeschines, *On the Embassy* 127; LSJ s.v.).

---

## 189e–190d

### Greek (Burnet, page 25)

εἶδος στρογγύλον, νῶτον καὶ πλευρὰς κύκλῳ ἔχον, χεῖρας\
δὲ τέτταρας εἶχε, καὶ σκέλη τὰ ἴσα ταῖς χερσίν, καὶ πρόσωπα\
δύ’ ἐπ’ αὐχένι κυκλοτερεῖ, ὅμοια πάντῃ· κεφαλὴν δ’ ἐπ’ **190**\
ἀμφοτέροις τοῖς προσώποις ἐναντίοις κειμένοις μίαν, καὶ\
ὦτα τέτταρα, καὶ αἰδοῖα δύο, καὶ τἆλλα πάντα ὡς ἀπὸ\
τούτων ἄν τις εἰκάσειεν. ἐπορεύετο δὲ καὶ ὀρθὸν ὥσπερ\
νῦν, ὁποτέρωσε βουληθείη· καὶ ὁπότε ταχὺ ὁρμήσειεν θεῖν, **5**\
ὥσπερ οἱ κυβιστῶντες καὶ εἰς ὀρθὸν τὰ σκέλη περιφερό-\
μενοι κυβιστῶσι κύκλῳ, ὀκτὼ τότε οὖσι τοῖς μέλεσιν\
ἀπερειδόμενοι ταχὺ ἐφέροντο κύκλῳ. ἦν δὲ διὰ ταῦτα τρία\
τὰ γένη καὶ τοιαῦτα, ὅτι τὸ μὲν ἄρρεν ἦν τοῦ ἡλίου τὴν **b**\
ἀρχὴν ἔκγονον, τὸ δὲ θῆλυ τῆς γῆς, τὸ δὲ ἀμφοτέρων μετέχον\
τῆς σελήνης, ὅτι καὶ ἡ σελήνη ἀμφοτέρων μετέχει· περιφερῆ\
δὲ δὴ ἦν καὶ αὐτὰ καὶ ἡ πορεία αὐτῶν διὰ τὸ τοῖς γονεῦσιν\
ὅμοια εἶναι. ἦν οὖν τὴν ἰσχὺν δεινὰ καὶ τὴν ῥώμην, καὶ **5**\
τὰ φρονήματα μεγάλα εἶχον, ἐπεχείρησαν δὲ τοῖς θεοῖς,\
καὶ ὃ λέγει Ὅμηρος περὶ Ἐφιάλτου τε καὶ Ὤτου, περὶ\
ἐκείνων λέγεται, τὸ εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀνάβασιν ἐπιχειρεῖν\
ποιεῖν, ὡς ἐπιθησομένων τοῖς θεοῖς. ὁ οὖν Ζεὺς καὶ οἱ **c**\
ἄλλοι θεοὶ ἐβουλεύοντο ὅτι χρὴ αὐτοὺς ποιῆσαι, καὶ ἠπό-\
ρουν· οὔτε γὰρ ὅπως ἀποκτείναιεν εἶχον καὶ ὥσπερ τοὺς\
γίγαντας κεραυνώσαντες τὸ γένος ἀφανίσαιεν—αἱ τιμαὶ\
γὰρ αὐτοῖς καὶ ἱερὰ τὰ παρὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἠφανίζετο— **5**\
οὔτε ὅπως ἐῷεν ἀσελγαίνειν. μόγις δὴ ὁ Ζεὺς ἐννοήσας\
λέγει ὅτι “Δοκῶ μοι,” ἔφη, “ἔχειν μηχανήν, ὡς ἂν εἶέν\
τε ἅνθρωποι καὶ παύσαιντο τῆς ἀκολασίας ἀσθενέστεροι\
γενόμενοι. νῦν μὲν γὰρ αὐτούς, ἔφη, διατεμῶ δίχα ἕκαστον, **d**\
καὶ ἅμα μὲν ἀσθενέστεροι ἔσονται, ἅμα δὲ χρησιμώτεροι\
ἡμῖν διὰ τὸ πλείους τὸν ἀριθμὸν γεγονέναι· καὶ βαδιοῦνται

> *Apparatus:* **a** 5 θεῖν B Stobaeus: ἐλθεῖν T W   **a** 7 ὀκτὼ τότε B: τότε ὀκτὼ T: ὀκτὼ . . . a8 κύκλῳ om. W   **a** 8 ἀπερειδόμενοι T W: ἅπερ εἰδόμενοι B   **b** 2 ἀμφοτέρων B W: ἀμφότερον T   **b** 7 τε καὶ B T: καὶ W   **c** 3, 4 ἀποκτείνειεν . . . ἀφανίσειεν W   **c** 5 γὰρ ⟨ἂν⟩ Ast   ἱερὰ B T W: τὰ ἱερὰ Stobaeus   **c** 7 ἔφη ἔχειν B T: ἔχειν ἔφη W   **c** 8 ἅνθρωποι Voegelin: ἄνθρωποι B T W

### English

form was round, having back and sides in a circle; it had four hands, and legs equal in number to its hands, and **[190]** two faces on a rounded neck, alike in every way; and one head for both the faces, which were set opposite each other, and four ears, and two sets of genitals, and all the rest as one might guess from these. It walked upright, too, as now, in whichever direction it wanted; and whenever it set out to run fast, just as tumblers turn cartwheels, swinging their legs round to the upright, so they, pushing off on their limbs, which were then eight, were carried swiftly round in a circle. And **[b]** the kinds were three, and of this sort, for this reason: that the male was in origin the offspring of the sun, the female of the earth, and the one that shared in both of the moon, because the moon too shares in both; and they were round, both themselves and their way of going, through being like their parents. So they were dreadful in their strength and might, and had great thoughts, and they made an attempt on the gods; and what Homer says of Ephialtes and Otus is said of them, the attempt **[c]** to make an ascent to heaven, to attack the gods.[^72] So Zeus and the other gods deliberated what they should do, and were at a loss; for they could neither kill them and make the race vanish by thunderbolts, as they had the Giants — for then the honours and sacrifices they had from human beings were vanishing — nor let them run riot. With difficulty Zeus, having considered, says, ‘I think,’ he said, ‘I have a device by which human beings could both go on existing and stop their licentiousness by **[d]** becoming weaker. For now,’ he said, ‘I shall cut each of them in two, and at the same time they will be weaker, and also more useful to us through having become more in number; and they will walk

[^72]: In Homer, Otus and Ephialtes were eager to pile Ossa on Olympus and Pelion on Ossa, so that heaven might be climbed; Apollo killed them before they were grown (*Odyssey* 11.305–320).

---

## 190d–191b

### Greek (Burnet, page 26)

ὀρθοὶ ἐπὶ δυοῖν σκελοῖν. ἐὰν δ’ ἔτι δοκῶσιν ἀσελγαίνειν\
καὶ μὴ ’θέλωσιν ἡσυχίαν ἄγειν, πάλιν αὖ, ἔφη, τεμῶ δίχα, **5**\
ὥστ’ ἐφ’ ἑνὸς πορεύσονται σκέλους ἀσκωλιάζοντες.” ταῦτα\
εἰπὼν ἔτεμνε τοὺς ἀνθρώπους δίχα, ὥσπερ οἱ τὰ ὄα τέμ-\
νοντες καὶ μέλλοντες ταριχεύειν, ἢ ὥσπερ οἱ τὰ ᾠὰ ταῖς **e**\
θριξίν· ὅντινα δὲ τέμοι, τὸν Ἀπόλλω ἐκέλευεν τό τε\
πρόσωπον μεταστρέφειν καὶ τὸ τοῦ αὐχένος ἥμισυ πρὸς\
τὴν τομήν, ἵνα θεώμενος τὴν αὑτοῦ τμῆσιν κοσμιώτερος\
εἴη ὁ ἄνθρωπος, καὶ τἆλλα ἰᾶσθαι ἐκέλευεν. ὁ δὲ τό τε **5**\
πρόσωπον μετέστρεφε, καὶ συνέλκων πανταχόθεν τὸ δέρμα\
ἐπὶ τὴν γαστέρα νῦν καλουμένην, ὥσπερ τὰ σύσπαστα\
βαλλάντια, ἓν στόμα ποιῶν ἀπέδει κατὰ μέσην τὴν γαστέρα,\
ὃ δὴ τὸν ὀμφαλὸν καλοῦσι. καὶ τὰς μὲν ἄλλας ῥυτίδας\
τὰς πολλὰς ἐξελέαινε καὶ τὰ στήθη διήρθρου, ἔχων τι **191**\
τοιοῦτον ὄργανον οἷον οἱ σκυτοτόμοι περὶ τὸν καλάποδα\
λεαίνοντες τὰς τῶν σκυτῶν ῥυτίδας· ὀλίγας δὲ κατέλιπε,\
τὰς περὶ αὐτὴν τὴν γαστέρα καὶ τὸν ὀμφαλόν, μνημεῖον\
εἶναι τοῦ παλαιοῦ πάθους. ἐπειδὴ οὖν ἡ φύσις δίχα **5**\
ἐτμήθη, ποθοῦν ἕκαστον τὸ ἥμισυ τὸ αὑτοῦ συνῄει, καὶ\
περιβάλλοντες τὰς χεῖρας καὶ συμπλεκόμενοι ἀλλήλοις,\
ἐπιθυμοῦντες συμφῦναι, ἀπέθνῃσκον ὑπὸ λιμοῦ καὶ τῆς\
ἄλλης ἀργίας διὰ τὸ μηδὲν ἐθέλειν χωρὶς ἀλλήλων ποιεῖν. **b**\
καὶ ὁπότε τι ἀποθάνοι τῶν ἡμίσεων, τὸ δὲ λειφθείη, τὸ\
λειφθὲν ἄλλο ἐζήτει καὶ συνεπλέκετο, εἴτε γυναικὸς τῆς\
ὅλης ἐντύχοι ἡμίσει—ὃ δὴ νῦν γυναῖκα καλοῦμεν—εἴτε\
ἀνδρός· καὶ οὕτως ἀπώλλυντο. ἐλεήσας δὲ ὁ Ζεὺς ἄλλην **5**\
μηχανὴν πορίζεται, καὶ μετατίθησιν αὐτῶν τὰ αἰδοῖα εἰς

> *Apparatus:* **d** 4 δ’ ἔτι Stobaeus: δέ τι B T W   **d** 5 θέλωσιν B Stobaeus: ἐθέλωσιν T: ἐθέλουσιν W   **d** 6 ἀσκωλιάζοντες W: ἀσκωλίζοντες B T   **d** 7 ὄα Ruhnken ex Timaeo s. v.: ὠὰ W Stobaeus: ὠιὰ B T   **e** 1 οἱ T W Stobaeus: om. B   **e** 4 θεόμενος W   **e** 8 βαλλάντια T: βαλάντια W: βάλλοντα B   **a** 2 καλάποδα T: καλόποδα B W   **a** 6 ξυνῄει T W Stobaeus: ξυνεῖναι B   **a** 8 λιμοῦ B: τοῦ λιμοῦ T Stobaeus: τῆς λιμοῦ W   **b** 4 δὴ νῦν B T: μηδὲ W   **b** 5 ἀπώλλυντο T W: ἀπολλυντο B

### English

upright, on two legs. And if they still[^73] seem to run riot and are not willing to keep quiet, I shall cut them in two again,’ he said, ‘so that they will go about on one leg, hopping.’ Having said this, he cut human beings in two, as people cut sorb-apples[^74] **[e]** when they are going to preserve them, or as they cut eggs with hairs; and whomever he cut, he told Apollo to turn his face and the half of his neck round toward the cut, so that the human being, beholding his own cutting, might be more orderly; and he told him to heal the rest. And Apollo turned the face round, and drawing the skin together from all sides onto what is now called the belly, like drawstring purses, he made one mouth and tied it off in the middle of the belly, which they call the navel. And the other wrinkles, **[191]** the many, he smoothed out, and he shaped the chest, holding some such tool as shoemakers do when they smooth the wrinkles of the leathers on the last; but he left a few, those about the belly itself and the navel, to be a memorial of their old suffering. So when their nature had been cut in two, each, yearning for its own half, came together with it; and throwing their arms round each other and twining together, desiring to grow together, they died of hunger and of their **[b]** idleness besides, through not being willing to do anything apart from one another. And whenever one of the halves died and the other was left, the one left sought another and twined with it, whether it met half of a whole woman — what we now call a woman — or of a man; and so they were perishing. But Zeus took pity, and procures another device, and moves their genitals round to

[^73]: *Still*: so Stobaeus, which Burnet prints; B, T and W have *de ti*, “at all” (apparatus, d4).

[^74]: *Sorb-apples*: Ruhnken’s *oa*, from the lexicon of Timaeus, which Burnet prints; W and Stobaeus have *ōa* and B and T *ōia*, “eggs” (apparatus, d7).

---

## 191b–192a

### Greek (Burnet, page 27)

τὸ πρόσθεν—τέως γὰρ καὶ ταῦτα ἐκτὸς εἶχον, καὶ ἐγέννων\
καὶ ἔτικτον οὐκ εἰς ἀλλήλους ἀλλ’ εἰς γῆν, ὥσπερ οἱ τέτ- **c**\
τιγες—μετέθηκέ τε οὖν οὕτω αὐτῶν εἰς τὸ πρόσθεν καὶ\
διὰ τούτων τὴν γένεσιν ἐν ἀλλήλοις ἐποίησεν, διὰ τοῦ\
ἄρρενος ἐν τῷ θήλει, τῶνδε ἕνεκα, ἵνα ἐν τῇ συμπλοκῇ\
ἅμα μὲν εἰ ἀνὴρ γυναικὶ ἐντύχοι, γεννῷεν καὶ γίγνοιτο τὸ **5**\
γένος, ἅμα δ’ εἰ καὶ ἄρρην ἄρρενι, πλησμονὴ γοῦν γίγνοιτο\
τῆς συνουσίας καὶ διαπαύοιντο καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ ἔργα τρέποιντο\
καὶ τοῦ ἄλλου βίου ἐπιμελοῖντο. ἔστι δὴ οὖν ἐκ τόσου\
ὁ ἔρως ἔμφυτος ἀλλήλων τοῖς ἀνθρώποις καὶ τῆς ἀρχαίας **d**\
φύσεως συναγωγεὺς καὶ ἐπιχειρῶν ποιῆσαι ἓν ἐκ δυοῖν καὶ\
ἰάσασθαι τὴν φύσιν τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην. ἕκαστος οὖν ἡμῶν\
ἐστιν ἀνθρώπου σύμβολον, ἅτε τετμημένος ὥσπερ αἱ ψῆτται,\
ἐξ ἑνὸς δύο· ζητεῖ δὴ ἀεὶ τὸ αὑτοῦ ἕκαστος σύμβολον. **5**\
ὅσοι μὲν οὖν τῶν ἀνδρῶν τοῦ κοινοῦ τμῆμά εἰσιν, ὃ δὴ\
τότε ἀνδρόγυνον ἐκαλεῖτο, φιλογύναικές τέ εἰσι καὶ οἱ\
πολλοὶ τῶν μοιχῶν ἐκ τούτου τοῦ γένους γεγόνασιν, καὶ\
ὅσαι αὖ γυναῖκες φίλανδροί τε καὶ μοιχεύτριαι ἐκ τούτου **e**\
τοῦ γένους γίγνονται. ὅσαι δὲ τῶν γυναικῶν γυναικὸς\
τμῆμά εἰσιν, οὐ πάνυ αὗται τοῖς ἀνδράσι τὸν νοῦν προσ-\
έχουσιν, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον πρὸς τὰς γυναῖκας τετραμμέναι\
εἰσί, καὶ αἱ ἑταιρίστριαι ἐκ τούτου τοῦ γένους γίγνονται. **5**\
ὅσοι δὲ ἄρρενος τμῆμά εἰσι, τὰ ἄρρενα διώκουσι, καὶ τέως\
μὲν ἂν παῖδες ὦσιν, ἅτε τεμάχια ὄντα τοῦ ἄρρενος, φιλοῦσι\
τοὺς ἄνδρας καὶ χαίρουσι συγκατακείμενοι καὶ συμπεπλε-\
γμένοι τοῖς ἀνδράσι, καί εἰσιν οὗτοι βέλτιστοι τῶν παίδων **192**\
καὶ μειρακίων, ἅτε ἀνδρειότατοι ὄντες φύσει. φασὶ δὲ δή\
τινες αὐτοὺς ἀναισχύντους εἶναι, ψευδόμενοι· οὐ γὰρ ὑπ’

> *Apparatus:* **c** 2 αυτῶν B: αὐτῶν T W: αὖ Schanz   πρόσθεν B T W: ἔμπροσθεν Stobaeus   **c** 3 γένεσιν] γέννησιν Vermehren   διὰ . . . θήλει secl. Jahn   **c** 5 τὸ B T W: del. Usener   **c** 6 ἄρρην B T W: ἄρρεν al. Stobaeus   **d** 5 δὴ B T: δὲ W   ἕκαστος T W: ἕκαστον B Stobaeus   **e** 2 γυναικὸς B T: γυναικῶν W   **e** 5 αἱ B T: om. W Stobaeus   **e** 6 τέως B T W Stobaeus: ἕως Ast

### English

the front — for until then they had these too on the outside, and they begot **[c]** and gave birth not into one another but into the earth, like cicadas — so he moved them round to the front in this way, and through them made birth take place in one another, through the male in the female, for these reasons: so that in their intertwining, if a man met a woman, they might beget and the race might continue, and at the same time, if male met male, there might at least be a surfeit of their intercourse, and they might pause and turn to their work and take care of the rest of their life. So it is from so long ago that **[d]** love of one another is inborn in human beings, the bringer-together of their ancient nature, trying to make one out of two and to heal human nature. Each of us, then, is a tally of a human being,[^75] since each has been cut like the flatfish, two from one; and each is always seeking his own tally. Now those men who are a section of the kind common to both, which was then called androgyne, are lovers of women, and most adulterers have come from this kind; and **[e]** the women in turn who are lovers of men, and adulteresses, come from this kind. But those women who are a section of a woman pay no great attention to men, but are turned rather toward women, and the *hetairistriai* come from this kind.[^76] And those who are a section of a male pursue males, and as long as they are boys, being slices of the male, they love men and enjoy lying with and twining with **[192]** men, and these are the most excellent of the boys and lads, since they are the most courageous by nature. Some say indeed that they are shameless, but they lie; for it is not from

[^75]: *Tally*: *symbolon*, one half of a token broken between two parties, each keeping a half to match the other’s (LSJ s.v.).

[^76]: *Hetairistriai*: a rare word for women whose lovers are women (LSJ s.v. *hetairistēs*, citing this place and Lucian, *Dialogues of the Courtesans* 5.2).

---

## 192a–192e

### Greek (Burnet, page 28)

ἀναισχυντίας τοῦτο δρῶσιν ἀλλ’ ὑπὸ θάρρους καὶ ἀνδρείας\
καὶ ἀρρενωπίας, τὸ ὅμοιον αὐτοῖς ἀσπαζόμενοι. μέγα δὲ **5**\
τεκμήριον· καὶ γὰρ τελεωθέντες μόνοι ἀποβαίνουσιν εἰς\
τὰ πολιτικὰ ἄνδρες οἱ τοιοῦτοι. ἐπειδὰν δὲ ἀνδρωθῶσι,\
παιδεραστοῦσι καὶ πρὸς γάμους καὶ παιδοποιίας οὐ προσ- **b**\
έχουσι τὸν νοῦν φύσει, ἀλλ’ ὑπὸ τοῦ νόμου ἀναγκάζονται·\
ἀλλ’ ἐξαρκεῖ αὐτοῖς μετ’ ἀλλήλων καταζῆν ἀγάμοις. πάντως\
μὲν οὖν ὁ τοιοῦτος παιδεραστής τε καὶ φιλεραστὴς γίγνεται,\
ἀεὶ τὸ συγγενὲς ἀσπαζόμενος. ὅταν μὲν οὖν καὶ αὐτῷ **5**\
ἐκείνῳ ἐντύχῃ τῷ αὑτοῦ ἡμίσει καὶ ὁ παιδεραστὴς καὶ\
ἄλλος πᾶς, τότε καὶ θαυμαστὰ ἐκπλήττονται φιλίᾳ τε καὶ\
οἰκειότητι καὶ ἔρωτι, οὐκ ἐθέλοντες ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν χωρί- **c**\
ζεσθαι ἀλλήλων οὐδὲ σμικρὸν χρόνον. καὶ οἱ διατελοῦντες\
μετ’ ἀλλήλων διὰ βίου οὗτοί εἰσιν, οἳ οὐδ’ ἂν ἔχοιεν εἰπεῖν\
ὅτι βούλονται σφίσι παρ’ ἀλλήλων γίγνεσθαι. οὐδενὶ\
γὰρ ἂν δόξειεν τοῦτ’ εἶναι ἡ τῶν ἀφροδισίων συνουσία, ὡς **5**\
ἄρα τούτου ἕνεκα ἕτερος ἑτέρῳ χαίρει συνὼν οὕτως ἐπὶ\
μεγάλης σπουδῆς· ἀλλ’ ἄλλο τι βουλομένη ἑκατέρου ἡ ψυχὴ\
δήλη ἐστίν, ὃ οὐ δύναται εἰπεῖν, ἀλλὰ μαντεύεται ὃ βού- **d**\
λεται, καὶ αἰνίττεται. καὶ εἰ αὐτοῖς ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ κατακει-\
μένοις ἐπιστὰς ὁ Ἥφαιστος, ἔχων τὰ ὄργανα, ἔροιτο· “Τί\
ἔσθ’ ὃ βούλεσθε, ὦ ἄνθρωποι, ὑμῖν παρ’ ἀλλήλων γενέ-\
σθαι;” καὶ εἰ ἀποροῦντας αὐτοὺς πάλιν ἔροιτο· “Ἆρά γε **5**\
τοῦδε ἐπιθυμεῖτε, ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ γενέσθαι ὅτι μάλιστα ἀλλή-\
λοις, ὥστε καὶ νύκτα καὶ ἡμέραν μὴ ἀπολείπεσθαι ἀλλή-\
λων; εἰ γὰρ τούτου ἐπιθυμεῖτε, θέλω ὑμᾶς συντῆξαι καὶ\
συμφυσῆσαι εἰς τὸ αὐτό, ὥστε δύ’ ὄντας ἕνα γεγονέναι **e**\
καὶ ἕως τ’ ἂν ζῆτε, ὡς ἕνα ὄντα, κοινῇ ἀμφοτέρους ζῆν,\
καὶ ἐπειδὰν ἀποθάνητε, ἐκεῖ αὖ ἐν Ἅιδου ἀντὶ δυοῖν ἕνα\
εἶναι κοινῇ τεθνεῶτε· ἀλλ’ ὁρᾶτε εἰ τούτου ἐρᾶτε καὶ

> *Apparatus:* **b** 7 ἐκπλήττονται T W: ἐκπλήττοντα B   **c** 4 οὐδενὶ Stobaeus: οὐδὲν B T W: οὐδὲ scr. recc.   **c** 6 χαίρει T W: χαίρειν B   **d** 6 ὅτι . . . d7 ἀπολείπεσθαι om. W   **d** 8 θέλω B: ἐθέλω T W   συντῆξαι B T: ἐντῆξαι W   **e** 1 συμφυσῆσαι B T W: συμφῦσαι b t   **e** 2 ζῆτε ὡς T W: ζητήσεως B

### English

shamelessness that they do this, but from boldness and courage and manliness, welcoming what is like themselves. And here is a great piece of evidence: when they are grown, such men alone turn out to be men in public affairs.[^77] And when they become men, **[b]** they are pederasts, and by nature they pay no attention to marriage and the begetting of children, but are compelled to it by the law; but it is enough for them to live out their lives with one another unmarried. In any case, then, such a one becomes a pederast and a lover of lovers, always welcoming what is kindred. Now whenever the pederast, or anyone else, meets that very half of his own, then they are marvellously struck with friendship and **[c]** affinity and love, not willing, so to speak, to be separated from one another even for a short time. And these are the ones who continue with one another through life, who could not even say what they want to come to them from one another. For it would seem to no one that this is sexual intercourse, as if it were for the sake of this that the one so delights to be with the other, with such great earnestness; but the soul of each **[d]** plainly wants something else, which it cannot say, but it divines what it wants, and speaks of it in riddles. And if, as they lay in the same place, Hephaestus stood over them with his tools and asked, ‘What is it, human beings, that you want to come to you from one another?’ and, when they were at a loss, asked again, ‘Is it this you desire, to be in the same place as much as possible with one another, so that you are not parted from one another night or day? For if you desire this, I am willing to fuse you together and **[e]** forge you together[^78] into the same, so that being two you become one, and as long as you live, both live in common, as being one, and when you die, there in Hades in turn you are one instead of two, dead in common. But see whether it is this you are in love with, and

[^77]: A comic poet’s jibe: in the *Clouds* advocates, tragic poets and public speakers are all *euryprōktoi*, “wide-arsed” (1089–1094) (interpretation).

[^78]: *Forge … together*: *symphysēsai*, “blow together”, as a smith welds metal at the bellows; later hands in B and T have *symphysai*, “make grow together” (apparatus, e1).

---

## 192e–193c

### Greek (Burnet, page 29)

ἐξαρκεῖ ὑμῖν ἂν τούτου τύχητε·” ταῦτ’ ἀκούσας ἴσμεν ὅτι **5**\
οὐδ’ ἂν εἷς ἐξαρνηθείη οὐδ’ ἄλλο τι ἂν φανείη βουλόμενος,\
ἀλλ’ ἀτεχνῶς οἴοιτ’ ἂν ἀκηκοέναι τοῦτο ὃ πάλαι ἄρα ἐπε-\
θύμει, συνελθὼν καὶ συντακεὶς τῷ ἐρωμένῳ ἐκ δυοῖν εἷς\
γενέσθαι. τοῦτο γάρ ἐστι τὸ αἴτιον, ὅτι ἡ ἀρχαία φύσις\
ἡμῶν ἦν αὕτη καὶ ἦμεν ὅλοι· τοῦ ὅλου οὖν τῇ ἐπιθυμίᾳ **10**\
καὶ διώξει ἔρως ὄνομα. καὶ πρὸ τοῦ, ὥσπερ λέγω, ἓν **193**\
ἦμεν, νυνὶ δὲ διὰ τὴν ἀδικίαν διῳκίσθημεν ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ,\
καθάπερ Ἀρκάδες ὑπὸ Λακεδαιμονίων· φόβος οὖν ἔστιν,\
ἐὰν μὴ κόσμιοι ὦμεν πρὸς τοὺς θεούς, ὅπως μὴ καὶ αὖθις\
διασχισθησόμεθα, καὶ περίιμεν ἔχοντες ὥσπερ οἱ ἐν ταῖς **5**\
στήλαις καταγραφὴν ἐκτετυπωμένοι, διαπεπρισμένοι κατὰ\
τὰς ῥῖνας, γεγονότες ὥσπερ λίσπαι. ἀλλὰ τούτων ἕνεκα\
πάντ’ ἄνδρα χρὴ ἅπαντα παρακελεύεσθαι εὐσεβεῖν περὶ\
θεούς, ἵνα τὰ μὲν ἐκφύγωμεν, τῶν δὲ τύχωμεν, ὡς ὁ Ἔρως **b**\
ἡμῖν ἡγεμὼν καὶ στρατηγός. ᾧ μηδεὶς ἐναντία πραττέτω—\
πράττει δ’ ἐναντία ὅστις θεοῖς ἀπεχθάνεται—φίλοι γὰρ\
γενόμενοι καὶ διαλλαγέντες τῷ θεῷ ἐξευρήσομέν τε καὶ\
ἐντευξόμεθα τοῖς παιδικοῖς τοῖς ἡμετέροις αὐτῶν, ὃ τῶν νῦν **5**\
ὀλίγοι ποιοῦσι. καὶ μή μοι ὑπολάβῃ Ἐρυξίμαχος, κωμῳδῶν\
τὸν λόγον, ὡς Παυσανίαν καὶ Ἀγάθωνα λέγω—ἴσως μὲν\
γὰρ καὶ οὗτοι τούτων τυγχάνουσιν ὄντες καί εἰσιν ἀμφότεροι **c**\
τὴν φύσιν ἄρρενες—λέγω δὲ οὖν ἔγωγε καθ’ ἁπάντων καὶ\
ἀνδρῶν καὶ γυναικῶν, ὅτι οὕτως ἂν ἡμῶν τὸ γένος εὔδαιμον\
γένοιτο, εἰ ἐκτελέσαιμεν τὸν ἔρωτα καὶ τῶν παιδικῶν τῶν\
αὑτοῦ ἕκαστος τύχοι εἰς τὴν ἀρχαίαν ἀπελθὼν φύσιν. εἰ **5**\
δὲ τοῦτο ἄριστον, ἀναγκαῖον καὶ τῶν νῦν παρόντων τὸ\
τούτου ἐγγυτάτω ἄριστον εἶναι· τοῦτο δ’ ἐστὶ παιδικῶν τυχεῖν

> *Apparatus:* **e** 6 ἄλλο τι B: ἄλλο ὅτι T W   **e** 7 τοῦτο ὃ] τοῦ οὗ Badham   **e** 9 τοῦτο] τούτου Bast   **a** 5 διασχισθησόμεθα T W: διασχησθησώμεθα B   **a** 6 καταγραφὴν B T W: καταγραφῇ Schneider: κατὰ γραφὴν Ruhnken   διαπεπρισμένοι T W: διαπεπρησμένοι B   **b** 1 ὡς B T W: ὧν recc.   **b** 6 μοι B: μου T W   **c** 5 τύχοι B T: τύχῃ W   **c** 6, 7 τὸ . . . ἐγγυτάτω B T: τῷ . . . ἐγγυτάτῳ W   **c** 7 τοῦτο T W: τοῦτον B

### English

whether it is enough for you if you obtain this.’ We know that, hearing this, not even one would deny it or show that he wants anything else, but he would simply think he had heard what he had after all long desired: to come together and be fused with the beloved, and from two to become one. For this is the cause: that this was our ancient nature, and we were whole. So to the desire **[193]** and pursuit of the whole, love is the name. And before, as I say, we were one; but now, because of our injustice, we have been broken up by the god, as the Arcadians were by the Lacedaemonians.[^79] So there is fear that, if we are not orderly toward the gods, we may be split apart once more, and go about like those carved in relief in profile on the steles, sawn through along the nose, become like halved dice.[^80] But for these reasons every man must urge every man to be pious toward the **[b]** gods, so that we may escape the one and obtain the other, with Love as our leader and general. Let no one act against him — and whoever is hateful to the gods acts against him — for by becoming friends and being reconciled with the god we shall discover and meet with our own darlings, which few of those now living do. And let Eryximachus not suppose, please, making comedy of the speech, that it is Pausanias and Agathon I mean[^81] — **[c]** for perhaps they too are in fact of that number, and both are male by nature — but in any case I for my part speak of all, both men and women: that our race would become happy in this way, if we brought love to completion and each obtained his own darling, going back to his ancient nature. And if this is best, then of things as they now stand, what comes nearest to it must also be best; and this is to obtain a darling

[^79]: *As the Arcadians*: the Spartans broke up Mantinea, a city of Arcadia, into its villages in 385 BC (Xenophon, *Hellenica* 5.2.1–7). The dinner is set in 416, so the reference is out of its time; it is usually taken as a sign that the dialogue was written after 385 (interpretation).

[^80]: *Halved dice*: *lispai*, dice cut in two by friends, each of whom kept one half as a tally (LSJ s.v. *lispos*, citing this place); compare the tally of 191d.

[^81]: In the *Protagoras* (315d–e) the young Agathon sits with Pausanias beside Prodicus, and Socrates would not be surprised if he were Pausanias’ darling.

---

## 193c–194b

### Greek (Burnet, page 30)

κατὰ νοῦν αὐτῷ πεφυκότων· οὗ δὴ τὸν αἴτιον θεὸν ὑμνοῦντες\
δικαίως ἂν ὑμνοῖμεν Ἔρωτα, ὃς ἔν τε τῷ παρόντι ἡμᾶς **d**\
πλεῖστα ὀνίνησιν εἰς τὸ οἰκεῖον ἄγων, καὶ εἰς τὸ ἔπειτα\
ἐλπίδας μεγίστας παρέχεται, ἡμῶν παρεχομένων πρὸς θεοὺς\
εὐσέβειαν, καταστήσας ἡμᾶς εἰς τὴν ἀρχαίαν φύσιν καὶ\
ἰασάμενος μακαρίους καὶ εὐδαίμονας ποιῆσαι. **5**\
 \
 Οὗτος, ἔφη, ὦ Ἐρυξίμαχε, ὁ ἐμὸς λόγος ἐστὶ περὶ\
Ἔρωτος, ἀλλοῖος ἢ ὁ σός. ὥσπερ οὖν ἐδεήθην σου, μὴ\
κωμῳδήσῃς αὐτόν, ἵνα καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν ἀκούσωμεν τί ἕκαστος\
ἐρεῖ, μᾶλλον δὲ τί ἑκάτερος· Ἀγάθων γὰρ καὶ Σωκράτης **e**\
λοιποί.\
 Ἀλλὰ πείσομαί σοι, ἔφη φάναι τὸν Ἐρυξίμαχον· καὶ\
γάρ μοι ὁ λόγος ἡδέως ἐρρήθη. καὶ εἰ μὴ συνῄδη Σω-\
κράτει τε καὶ Ἀγάθωνι δεινοῖς οὖσι περὶ τὰ ἐρωτικά, πάνυ **5**\
ἂν ἐφοβούμην μὴ ἀπορήσωσι λόγων διὰ τὸ πολλὰ καὶ\
παντοδαπὰ εἰρῆσθαι· νῦν δὲ ὅμως θαρρῶ.\
 Τὸν οὖν Σωκράτη εἰπεῖν Καλῶς γὰρ αὐτὸς ἠγώνισαι, **194**\
ὦ Ἐρυξίμαχε· εἰ δὲ γένοιο οὗ νῦν ἐγώ εἰμι, μᾶλλον δὲ\
ἴσως οὗ ἔσομαι ἐπειδὰν καὶ Ἀγάθων εἴπῃ εὖ, καὶ μάλ’ ἂν\
φοβοῖο καὶ ἐν παντὶ εἴης ὥσπερ ἐγὼ νῦν.\
 Φαρμάττειν βούλει με, ὦ Σώκρατες, εἰπεῖν τὸν Ἀγάθωνα, **5**\
ἵνα θορυβηθῶ διὰ τὸ οἴεσθαι τὸ θέατρον προσδοκίαν μεγάλην\
ἔχειν ὡς εὖ ἐροῦντος ἐμοῦ.\
 Ἐπιλήσμων μεντἂν εἴην, ὦ Ἀγάθων, εἰπεῖν τὸν Σω-\
κράτη, εἰ ἰδὼν τὴν σὴν ἀνδρείαν καὶ μεγαλοφροσύνην **b**\
ἀναβαίνοντος ἐπὶ τὸν ὀκρίβαντα μετὰ τῶν ὑποκριτῶν, καὶ\
βλέψαντος ἐναντία τοσούτῳ θεάτρῳ, μέλλοντος ἐπιδείξεσθαι\
σαυτοῦ λόγους, καὶ οὐδ’ ὁπωστιοῦν ἐκπλαγέντος, νῦν\
οἰηθείην σε θορυβήσεσθαι ἕνεκα ἡμῶν ὀλίγων ἀνθρώπων. **5**

> *Apparatus:* **d** 1 τε T W: om. B   **d** 7 ἀλλοῖος T W: ἀλλ’ οῖος B   **e** 6 ἀπορήσωσι T W: ἀπορήσω B   **a** 2 οὗ νῦν T W: ου νῦν B   **a** 3 ἴσως οὗ T W: ἴσως ου B: οὗ ἴσως Schanz   post εὖ dist. Vahlen   **b** 2 ὀκρίβαντα T W: ἀκριβαντα B   **b** 3 ἐπιδείξεσθαι B: ἐπιδείξασθαι T W   **b** 5 θορυβήσεσθαι T W: θορυβηθήσεσθαι B

### English

who is by nature to one’s mind. And in hymning the god who is the cause of this, **[d]** we should justly hymn Love, who in the present benefits us most by leading us to what is akin, and for the future offers the greatest hopes: that if we offer the gods piety, he will establish us in our ancient nature and, by healing us, make us blessed and happy.”

“This, Eryximachus,” he said, “is my speech about Love, of another kind than yours. As I begged you, then, do not make comedy of it, so that we may hear the rest as well, what each **[e]** will say, or rather what each of the two; for Agathon and Socrates are left.”

“Well, I shall obey you,” Eryximachus said, he said; “for indeed the speech was spoken to my pleasure. And if I did not know Socrates and Agathon to be formidable in matters of love,[^82] I should be very much afraid that they would be at a loss for speeches,[^83] because so much of every kind has been said; but as it is I am confident all the same.”

**[194]** Then Socrates said, “That is because you yourself competed well, Eryximachus; but if you were where I now am, or rather perhaps where I shall be when Agathon too has spoken well,[^84] you would be very much afraid indeed, and at your wits’ end, as I am now.”

“You want to bewitch me, Socrates,” said Agathon, “so that I may be thrown into confusion by thinking that the theatre has great expectations that I shall speak well.”

“I should indeed be forgetful, Agathon,” said Socrates, “ **[b]** if, after seeing your courage and pride as you mounted the platform[^85] with the actors and looked out at so great a theatre, about to display your own speeches, and were not in the least panic-stricken, I should now think you would be thrown into confusion on account of us few human beings.”

[^82]: *Formidable in matters of love*: Socrates has said that he knows “nothing other than matters of love” (177d).

[^83]: *They would be at a loss*: so T and W; B has *aporēsō*, “I should be at a loss” (apparatus, e6).

[^84]: *Has spoken well*: Burnet punctuates after *eu*, “well”, with Vahlen, so that Socrates foretells a good speech, as Eryximachus later grants (198a); punctuated before it, *eu kai mal’* would go together, “you would be thoroughly afraid” (apparatus, a3).

[^85]: *Platform*: the *okribas*, the platform in the Odeum at Athens on which the actors appeared at the Proagon, the presentation before the festival (LSJ s.v., citing this place).

---

## 194b–195a

### Greek (Burnet, page 31)

 Τί δέ, ὦ Σώκρατες; τὸν Ἀγάθωνα φάναι, οὐ δήπου με\
οὕτω θεάτρου μεστὸν ἡγῇ ὥστε καὶ ἀγνοεῖν ὅτι νοῦν ἔχοντι\
ὀλίγοι ἔμφρονες πολλῶν ἀφρόνων φοβερώτεροι;\
 Οὐ μεντἂν καλῶς ποιοίην, φάναι, ὦ Ἀγάθων, περὶ σοῦ **c**\
τι ἐγὼ ἄγροικον δοξάζων· ἀλλ’ εὖ οἶδα ὅτι εἴ τισιν ἐντύχοις\
οὓς ἡγοῖο σοφούς, μᾶλλον ἂν αὐτῶν φροντίζοις ἢ τῶν\
πολλῶν. ἀλλὰ μὴ οὐχ οὗτοι ἡμεῖς ὦμεν—ἡμεῖς μὲν γὰρ\
καὶ ἐκεῖ παρῆμεν καὶ ἦμεν τῶν πολλῶν—εἰ δὲ ἄλλοις **5**\
ἐντύχοις σοφοῖς, τάχ’ ἂν αἰσχύνοιο αὐτούς, εἴ τι ἴσως\
οἴοιο αἰσχρὸν ὂν ποιεῖν· ἢ πῶς λέγεις;\
 Ἀληθῆ λέγεις, φάναι.\
 Τοὺς δὲ πολλοὺς οὐκ ἂν αἰσχύνοιο εἴ τι οἴοιο αἰσχρὸν\
ποιεῖν; **10**\
 Καὶ τὸν Φαῖδρον ἔφη ὑπολαβόντα εἰπεῖν Ὦ φίλε **d**\
Ἀγάθων, ἐὰν ἀποκρίνῃ Σωκράτει, οὐδὲν ἔτι διοίσει αὐτῷ\
ὁπῃοῦν τῶν ἐνθάδε ὁτιοῦν γίγνεσθαι, ἐὰν μόνον ἔχῃ ὅτῳ\
διαλέγηται, ἄλλως τε καὶ καλῷ. ἐγὼ δὲ ἡδέως μὲν ἀκούω\
Σωκράτους διαλεγομένου, ἀναγκαῖον δέ μοι ἐπιμεληθῆναι **5**\
τοῦ ἐγκωμίου τῷ Ἔρωτι καὶ ἀποδέξασθαι παρ’ ἑνὸς ἑκάστου\
ὑμῶν τὸν λόγον· ἀποδοὺς οὖν ἑκάτερος τῷ θεῷ οὕτως ἤδη\
διαλεγέσθω.\
 Ἀλλὰ καλῶς λέγεις, ὦ Φαῖδρε, φάναι τὸν Ἀγάθωνα, **e**\
καὶ οὐδέν με κωλύει λέγειν· Σωκράτει γὰρ καὶ αὖθις ἔσται\
πολλάκις διαλέγεσθαι.\
 \
 Ἐγὼ δὲ δὴ βούλομαι πρῶτον μὲν εἰπεῖν ὡς χρή με εἰπεῖν,\
ἔπειτα εἰπεῖν. δοκοῦσι γάρ μοι πάντες οἱ πρόσθεν εἰρηκότες **5**\
οὐ τὸν θεὸν ἐγκωμιάζειν ἀλλὰ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους εὐδαιμονίζειν\
τῶν ἀγαθῶν ὧν ὁ θεὸς αὐτοῖς αἴτιος· ὁποῖος δέ τις αὐτὸς ὢν\
ταῦτα ἐδωρήσατο, οὐδεὶς εἴρηκεν. εἷς δὲ τρόπος ὀρθὸς παντὸς **195**\
ἐπαίνου περὶ παντός, λόγῳ διελθεῖν οἷος οἵων αἴτιος ὢν

> *Apparatus:* **c** 6 ἴσως secl. Schanz: πως Usener   **c** 7 ὂν secl. F. A. Wolf   **c** 9 οἴοιο T W: οἴοιτο B   **e** 4 ὡς B T W: ᾗ vulg.   **a** 1 ὀρθὸς B: om. T W   **a** 2 οἷς οἵων ex emend. T: οἷος ὢν B T W

### English

“What then, Socrates?” said Agathon. “Surely you do not believe me so full of the theatre as not to know that to one who has sense a few who have their wits about them are more fearsome than many who are foolish?”

**[c]** “I should indeed not do well, Agathon,” he said, “if I held some boorish opinion of you; but I know well that if you met with any whom you believed wise, you would care more about them than about the many. But it may be that we are not these — for we too were there, and were part of the many — but if you met with others who were wise, you would probably be ashamed before them, if you thought, perhaps, that you were doing something that was shameful. Or how do you put it?”

“What you say is true,” he said.

“But before the many you would not be ashamed, if you thought you were doing something shameful?”

**[d]** And Phaedrus, he said, took him up and said, “My friend Agathon, if you answer Socrates, it will no longer make any difference to him how anything whatever here turns out, if only he has someone to converse with, above all someone beautiful. I for my part am glad to hear Socrates converse; but I must take care of the encomium to Love and receive his speech from each one of you. So when each of you two has paid the god his speech, then let him converse.”

**[e]** “Why, you speak well, Phaedrus,” said Agathon, “and nothing prevents me from speaking; for it will be possible to converse with Socrates often, later on as well.

“I for my part want first to speak of how I must speak, and then to speak. For all who have spoken before seem to me not to be making an encomium of the god but to be calling human beings happy for the good things of which the god is the cause for them; but of what kind he himself is who **[195]** gave these gifts, no one has said. And there is one right[^86] way of all praise about anything: to go through in speech of what kind, the cause of what kinds of things,[^87]

[^86]: *Right*: so B, which Burnet prints; T and W omit the word (apparatus, a1).

[^87]: *Of what kinds of things*: *hoiōn*, from a correction in T, which Burnet prints; B, T and W have *ōn*, “being” (apparatus, a2).

---

## 195a–195d

### Greek (Burnet, page 32)

τυγχάνει περὶ οὗ ἂν ὁ λόγος ᾖ. οὕτω δὴ τὸν Ἔρωτα καὶ\
ἡμᾶς δίκαιον ἐπαινέσαι πρῶτον αὐτὸν οἷός ἐστιν, ἔπειτα\
τὰς δόσεις. φημὶ οὖν ἐγὼ πάντων θεῶν εὐδαιμόνων ὄντων **5**\
Ἔρωτα, εἰ θέμις καὶ ἀνεμέσητον εἰπεῖν, εὐδαιμονέστατον\
εἶναι αὐτῶν, κάλλιστον ὄντα καὶ ἄριστον. ἔστι δὲ κάλλιστος\
ὢν τοιόσδε. πρῶτον μὲν νεώτατος θεῶν, ὦ Φαῖδρε. μέγα\
δὲ τεκμήριον τῷ λόγῳ αὐτὸς παρέχεται, φεύγων φυγῇ τὸ **b**\
γῆρας, ταχὺ ὂν δῆλον ὅτι· θᾶττον γοῦν τοῦ δέοντος ἡμῖν\
προσέρχεται. ὃ δὴ πέφυκεν Ἔρως μισεῖν καὶ οὐδ’ ἐντὸς\
πολλοῦ πλησιάζειν. μετὰ δὲ νέων ἀεὶ σύνεστί τε καὶ ἔστιν·\
ὁ γὰρ παλαιὸς λόγος εὖ ἔχει, ὡς ὅμοιον ὁμοίῳ ἀεὶ πελάζει. **5**\
ἐγὼ δὲ Φαίδρῳ πολλὰ ἄλλα ὁμολογῶν τοῦτο οὐχ ὁμολογῶ,\
ὡς Ἔρως Κρόνου καὶ Ἰαπετοῦ ἀρχαιότερός ἐστιν, ἀλλά\
φημι νεώτατον αὐτὸν εἶναι θεῶν καὶ ἀεὶ νέον, τὰ δὲ παλαιὰ **c**\
πράγματα περὶ θεούς, ἃ Ἡσίοδος καὶ Παρμενίδης λέγουσιν,\
Ἀνάγκῃ καὶ οὐκ Ἔρωτι γεγονέναι, εἰ ἐκεῖνοι ἀληθῆ ἔλεγον·\
οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἐκτομαὶ οὐδὲ δεσμοὶ ἀλλήλων ἐγίγνοντο καὶ ἄλλα\
πολλὰ καὶ βίαια, εἰ Ἔρως ἐν αὐτοῖς ἦν, ἀλλὰ φιλία καὶ **5**\
εἰρήνη, ὥσπερ νῦν, ἐξ οὗ Ἔρως τῶν θεῶν βασιλεύει. νέος\
μὲν οὖν ἐστι, πρὸς δὲ τῷ νέῳ ἁπαλός· ποιητοῦ δ’ ἔστιν\
ἐνδεὴς οἷος ἦν Ὅμηρος πρὸς τὸ ἐπιδεῖξαι θεοῦ ἁπαλότητα. **d**\
Ὅμηρος γὰρ Ἄτην θεόν τέ φησιν εἶναι καὶ ἁπαλήν—τοὺς\
γοῦν πόδας αὐτῆς ἁπαλοὺς εἶναι—λέγων\
   τῆς μένθ’ ἁπαλοὶ πόδες· οὐ γὰρ ἐπ’ οὔδεος\
  πίλναται, ἀλλ’ ἄρα ἥ γε κατ’ ἀνδρῶν κράατα βαίνει. **5**\
καλῷ οὖν δοκεῖ μοι τεκμηρίῳ τὴν ἁπαλότητα ἀποφαίνειν,\
ὅτι οὐκ ἐπὶ σκληροῦ βαίνει, ἀλλ’ ἐπὶ μαλθακοῦ. τῷ αὐτῷ

> *Apparatus:* **b** 2 ὂν B W: οὖν T   **b** 3 ἔρως T W: ἔρωτος B   οὐδ’ ἐντὸς Stobaeus: οὐ δόντος B: οὐδ’ ὄντος T W   **b** 4 πλησιάζειν T W Stobaeus: πλησιάζει B   ἔστιν] ἔστι νέος Sauppe: ἔσται Diels   **c** 2 πράγματα T W Stobaeus: γράμματα B   παρμενίδης T W: παρμενείδης B   **d** 3 εἶναι B T W: φησιν εἶναι Stobaeus   **d** 4 τῆς B T W Stobaeus: τῇ Aristarchus Homeri codices (T 92)   οὔδεος B T: οὔδει W Homeri codices   **d** 5 πίλναται W et ex πίδναται T: πήδναται B   **d** 7 τῷ αὐτῷ T W Stobaeus: τὸ αὐτὸ B

### English

whoever the speech may be about in fact is. So it is just that we too should praise Love in this way, first himself, of what kind he is, and then his gifts. I say, then, that though all the gods are happy, Love, if it is right and gives no offence to say so, is the happiest of them, being most beautiful and best. And he is most beautiful by being of this kind. First, he is the youngest of the gods, Phaedrus. **[b]** And he himself provides a great piece of evidence for this account, fleeing old age in flight, which is swift, plainly; at any rate it comes upon us faster than it should. This Love by nature hates, and does not come even within a long way of it. He is always with the young, and is one of them; for the old saying holds good, that like always draws near to like.[^88] And I, who agree with Phaedrus in many other things, do not agree with this, that Love is older than Cronus and Iapetus;[^89] but **[c]** I say that he is the youngest of the gods and always young, and that the old affairs[^90] concerning the gods of which Hesiod and Parmenides tell came about through Necessity and not through Love, if what they said was true. For there would not have been castrations and bindings of one another,[^91] and many other violent things, if Love had been among them, but friendship and peace, as now, since Love has been king of the gods. Young, then, he is, and besides being young, tender; but he **[d]** lacks a poet such as Homer was to display a god’s tenderness. For Homer says that Ate is a goddess, and tender — at least that her feet are tender — saying:

> *Her feet are tender; for not upon the ground*\
> *does she tread, but she walks upon the heads of men.[^92]*

So he seems to me to show her tenderness by a beautiful piece of evidence: that she does not walk on what is hard, but on what is soft. This same

[^88]: An old saying; compare *Odyssey* 17.218, quoted in the *Lysis* (214a).

[^89]: *Cronus and Iapetus*: Titans, children of Heaven and Earth (Hesiod, *Theogony* 133–138); in Aristophanes’ *Clouds* (998) to call one’s father “Iapetus” is to call him an old fogey. Phaedrus had made Love “among the very oldest” (178a–c).

[^90]: *Affairs*: so T, W and Stobaeus; B has *grammata*, “writings” (apparatus, c2).

[^91]: Cronus castrated his father Heaven (Hesiod, *Theogony* 178–181); Heaven bound his sons, and Zeus bound Prometheus (*Theogony* 501–502, 521–522). Phaedrus had quoted Hesiod and Parmenides on Love’s birth (178b).

[^92]: Agamemnon, speaking of Ate, “Delusion”, the eldest daughter of Zeus (Homer, *Iliad* 19.91–93).

---

## 195e–196c

### Greek (Burnet, page 33)

δὴ καὶ ἡμεῖς χρησόμεθα τεκμηρίῳ περὶ Ἔρωτα ὅτι ἁπαλός. **e**\
οὐ γὰρ ἐπὶ γῆς βαίνει οὐδ’ ἐπὶ κρανίων, ἅ ἐστιν οὐ πάνυ\
μαλακά, ἀλλ’ ἐν τοῖς μαλακωτάτοις τῶν ὄντων καὶ βαίνει\
καὶ οἰκεῖ. ἐν γὰρ ἤθεσι καὶ ψυχαῖς θεῶν καὶ ἀνθρώπων τὴν\
οἴκησιν ἵδρυται, καὶ οὐκ αὖ ἑξῆς ἐν πάσαις ταῖς ψυχαῖς, ἀλλ’ **5**\
ᾗτινι ἂν σκληρὸν ἦθος ἐχούσῃ ἐντύχῃ, ἀπέρχεται, ᾗ δ’ ἂν\
μαλακόν, οἰκίζεται. ἁπτόμενον οὖν ἀεὶ καὶ ποσὶν καὶ πάντῃ\
ἐν μαλακωτάτοις τῶν μαλακωτάτων, ἁπαλώτατον ἀνάγκη\
εἶναι. νεώτατος μὲν δή ἐστι καὶ ἁπαλώτατος, πρὸς δὲ **196**\
τούτοις ὑγρὸς τὸ εἶδος. οὐ γὰρ ἂν οἷός τ’ ἦν πάντῃ περι-\
πτύσσεσθαι οὐδὲ διὰ πάσης ψυχῆς καὶ εἰσιὼν τὸ πρῶτον\
λανθάνειν καὶ ἐξιών, εἰ σκληρὸς ἦν. συμμέτρου δὲ καὶ\
ὑγρᾶς ἰδέας μέγα τεκμήριον ἡ εὐσχημοσύνη, ὃ δὴ δια- **5**\
φερόντως ἐκ πάντων ὁμολογουμένως Ἔρως ἔχει· ἀσχημοσύνῃ\
γὰρ καὶ Ἔρωτι πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἀεὶ πόλεμος. χρόας δὲ\
κάλλος ἡ κατ’ ἄνθη δίαιτα τοῦ θεοῦ σημαίνει· ἀνανθεῖ γὰρ\
καὶ ἀπηνθηκότι καὶ σώματι καὶ ψυχῇ καὶ ἄλλῳ ὁτῳοῦν οὐκ **b**\
ἐνίζει Ἔρως, οὗ δ’ ἂν εὐανθής τε καὶ εὐώδης τόπος ᾖ,\
ἐνταῦθα δὲ καὶ ἵζει καὶ μένει.\
 Περὶ μὲν οὖν κάλλους τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ταῦτα ἱκανὰ καὶ ἔτι\
πολλὰ λείπεται, περὶ δὲ ἀρετῆς Ἔρωτος μετὰ ταῦτα λεκτέον, **5**\
τὸ μὲν μέγιστον ὅτι Ἔρως οὔτ’ ἀδικεῖ οὔτ’ ἀδικεῖται οὔτε\
ὑπὸ θεοῦ οὔτε θεόν, οὔτε ὑπ’ ἀνθρώπου οὔτε ἄνθρωπον. οὔτε\
γὰρ αὐτὸς βίᾳ πάσχει, εἴ τι πάσχει—βία γὰρ Ἔρωτος οὐχ\
ἅπτεται· οὔτε ποιῶν ποιεῖ—πᾶς γὰρ ἑκὼν Ἔρωτι πᾶν **c**\
ὑπηρετεῖ, ἃ δ’ ἂν ἑκὼν ἑκόντι ὁμολογήσῃ, φασὶν “οἱ πόλεως\
βασιλῆς νόμοι” δίκαια εἶναι. πρὸς δὲ τῇ δικαιοσύνῃ σωφρο-\
σύνης πλείστης μετέχει. εἶναι γὰρ ὁμολογεῖται σωφροσύνη\
τὸ κρατεῖν ἡδονῶν καὶ ἐπιθυμιῶν, Ἔρωτος δὲ μηδεμίαν **5**

> *Apparatus:* **e** 1 χρησόμεθα W Stobaeus: χρησώμεθα B T   **e** 5 ἑξῆς T W: ἐξ ἧς B   **a** 3 καὶ (ante εἰσιὼν) B T: om. W   **a** 8 τοῦ B T: om. W   **b** 3 δὲ Stobaeus: om. B T W   **c** 2 ἂν B T W Stobaeus: ἄν τις vulg.   πόλεως B T W: τῶν πόλεων Stobaeus   **c** 4 πλείστης] πλεῖστον Cobet   εἶναι B T: om. W

### English

**[e]** piece of evidence, then, we too shall use about Love, that he is tender. For he does not walk on the earth, nor on skulls, which are none too soft, but among the softest of the things that are he both walks and dwells. For in the characters and souls of gods and human beings he has set up his dwelling — and not, again, in all souls one after another; but whatever soul he meets that has a hard character, from that he goes away, and in one that has a soft character he makes his home. Touching, then, always with his feet and in every way, among the softest of the softest, he must **[196]** be most tender. Youngest, then, he is, and most tender, and besides these supple in form. For he would not be able to wrap himself round in every way, nor to escape notice as he first enters and leaves through every soul, if he were hard. Of his well-proportioned and supple figure a great piece of evidence is his gracefulness, which Love, as is agreed, has beyond all others; for between gracelessness and Love there is always war. The beauty of his complexion is shown by the god’s living among flowers; for on what is flowerless **[b]** and past its flower, whether body or soul or anything else whatever, Love does not alight, but where there is a place in flower and fragrant, there he both alights and stays.

“Of the god’s beauty, then, this is sufficient, and much is still left; but of Love’s virtue we must speak next. The greatest point is that Love neither does wrong nor suffers wrong, neither from a god nor to a god, neither from a human being nor to a human being. For neither does he himself suffer by force, if he suffers anything — for force does not **[c]** touch Love — nor does he act by force when he acts; for everyone serves Love willingly in everything, and what one willingly agrees with one who is willing, ‘the laws, kings of the city,’ say is just.[^93] And besides justice he has the greatest share of temperance. For it is agreed that temperance is the mastering of pleasures and desires, and that, compared with Love, no

[^93]: *The laws, kings of the city*: Aristotle quotes from the orator Alcidamas, as a sample of frigid style, “the laws, kings of the cities” (*Rhetoric* 3.3, 1406a22–23).

---

## 196c–197b

### Greek (Burnet, page 34)

ἡδονὴν κρείττω εἶναι· εἰ δὲ ἥττους, κρατοῖντ’ ἂν ὑπὸ Ἔρωτος,\
ὁ δὲ κρατοῖ, κρατῶν δὲ ἡδονῶν καὶ ἐπιθυμιῶν ὁ Ἔρως δια-\
φερόντως ἂν σωφρονοῖ. καὶ μὴν εἴς γε ἀνδρείαν Ἔρωτι\
*“οὐδ’ Ἄρης ἀνθίσταται.”* οὐ γὰρ ἔχει Ἔρωτα Ἄρης, **d**\
ἀλλ’ Ἔρως Ἄρη—Ἀφροδίτης, ὡς λόγος—κρείττων δὲ ὁ ἔχων\
τοῦ ἐχομένου· τοῦ δ’ ἀνδρειοτάτου τῶν ἄλλων κρατῶν πάντων\
ἂν ἀνδρειότατος εἴη. περὶ μὲν οὖν δικαιοσύνης καὶ σωφρο-\
σύνης καὶ ἀνδρείας τοῦ θεοῦ εἴρηται, περὶ δὲ σοφίας λείπεται· **5**\
ὅσον οὖν δυνατόν, πειρατέον μὴ ἐλλείπειν. καὶ πρῶτον μέν,\
ἵν’ αὖ καὶ ἐγὼ τὴν ἡμετέραν τέχνην τιμήσω ὥσπερ Ἐρυξί-\
μαχος τὴν αὑτοῦ, ποιητὴς ὁ θεὸς σοφὸς οὕτως ὥστε καὶ **e**\
ἄλλον ποιῆσαι· πᾶς γοῦν ποιητὴς γίγνεται, *“κἂν ἄμουσος*\
*ᾖ τὸ πρίν,”* οὗ ἂν Ἔρως ἅψηται. ᾧ δὴ πρέπει ἡμᾶς\
μαρτυρίῳ χρῆσθαι, ὅτι ποιητὴς ὁ Ἔρως ἀγαθὸς ἐν κεφαλαίῳ\
πᾶσαν ποίησιν τὴν κατὰ μουσικήν· ἃ γάρ τις ἢ μὴ ἔχει ἢ **5**\
μὴ οἶδεν, οὔτ’ ἂν ἑτέρῳ δοίη οὔτ’ ἂν ἄλλον διδάξειεν. καὶ\
μὲν δὴ τήν γε τῶν ζῴων ποίησιν πάντων τίς ἐναντιώσεται **197**\
μὴ οὐχὶ Ἔρωτος εἶναι σοφίαν, ᾗ γίγνεταί τε καὶ φύεται\
πάντα τὰ ζῷα; ἀλλὰ τὴν τῶν τεχνῶν δημιουργίαν οὐκ\
ἴσμεν, ὅτι οὗ μὲν ἂν ὁ θεὸς οὗτος διδάσκαλος γένηται,\
ἐλλόγιμος καὶ φανὸς ἀπέβη, οὗ δ’ ἂν Ἔρως μὴ ἐφά- **5**\
ψηται, σκοτεινός; τοξικήν γε μὴν καὶ ἰατρικὴν καὶ μαντικὴν\
Ἀπόλλων ἀνηῦρεν ἐπιθυμίας καὶ ἔρωτος ἡγεμονεύσαντος,\
ὥστε καὶ οὗτος Ἔρωτος ἂν εἴη μαθητής, καὶ Μοῦσαι **b**\
μουσικῆς καὶ Ἥφαιστος χαλκείας καὶ Ἀθηνᾶ ἱστουργίας\
καὶ *Ζεὺς κυβερνᾶν θεῶν τε καὶ ἀνθρώπων.* ὅθεν δὴ\
καὶ κατεσκευάσθη τῶν θεῶν τὰ πράγματα Ἔρωτος ἐγγε-\
νομένου, δῆλον ὅτι κάλλους—αἴσχει γὰρ οὐκ ἔπι ἔρως—πρὸ **5**\
τοῦ δέ, ὥσπερ ἐν ἀρχῇ εἶπον, πολλὰ καὶ δεινὰ θεοῖς ἐγίγνετο,

> *Apparatus:* **d** 4 ἂν T W: om. B   **d** 7 ἵν’ αὖ T W: αὖ B: ἵν’ οὖν Stobaeus   **e** 2 κἂν T W: καὶ B   **e** 4 χρῆσθαι B T W . χρήσασθαι Stobaeus   **e** 5 ἔχει B w: ἔχῃ T W   **a** 1 μὲν B T: μὴν W   **b** 5 ἔπι scripsi et sic fort. pr. B (fort. ἔτι Schanz: ἔστιν apogr. D): ἔπεστιν T W Stobaeus: ἔνι corr. b: οὐκ ἔνεστιν in marg. rec. b

### English

pleasure is stronger; and if they are weaker, they would be mastered by Love, and he would be master; and mastering pleasures and desires, Love would be exceptionally temperate. And indeed in courage **[d]** ‘not even Ares withstands’ Love.[^94] For it is not Ares who holds Love, but Love who holds Ares — of Aphrodite, as the story goes[^95] — and the holder is stronger than the held; and mastering the most courageous of the others, he would be the most courageous of all. Of the god’s justice and temperance and courage, then, it has been said, but wisdom is left; so far as is possible, then, one must try to leave nothing out. And first, so that I in my turn may honour our craft as Eryximachus honoured **[e]** his own, the god is a poet so wise as to make another one too; at any rate everyone becomes a poet, ‘even if he was without the Muses before,’[^96] whom Love touches. This it befits us to use as testimony that Love is a good poet, in sum, in all making that belongs to music;[^97] for what one either does not have or does not know, one could neither give to another nor teach anyone else. And **[197]** indeed, as for the making of all animals, who will dispute that it is Love’s wisdom, by which all animals are born and grow? And in the craftsmanship of the crafts, do we not know that the one whose teacher this god becomes turns out of note and illustrious, while the one whom Love does not touch, obscure? Archery, moreover, and medicine and divination Apollo discovered with desire and love leading him, **[b]** so that he too would be Love’s pupil, and the Muses in music, and Hephaestus in bronze-working, and Athena in weaving, and ‘Zeus in steering gods and human beings’.[^98] That is why the affairs of the gods too were set in order when Love came to be among them — of beauty, plainly; for on ugliness there is no love[^99] — but before that, as I said at the beginning, many dreadful things befell the gods,

[^94]: Adapted from a line of Sophocles’ *Thyestes*, in which it is Necessity that “not even Ares withstands” (fragment 256 Radt).

[^95]: *Of Aphrodite*: Ares’ love of Aphrodite, sung by Demodocus in the *Odyssey* (8.266–366). The Greek has one word, *erōs*, for the god and for the passion.

[^96]: From Euripides’ *Stheneboea* (fragment 663 Nauck): “Love teaches a poet, even if he was without the Muses before.” Plutarch devotes a question of his *Table Talk* to the line (1.5, 622c).

[^97]: *Poet … making*: *poiētēs* is literally “maker”, and *poiēsis* “making”; Agathon passes from the making of poems to every making, the making of animals included. Diotima returns to the word at 205b–c.

[^98]: Burnet spaces these words, Zeus with them, as a quotation; their source is not known.

[^99]: *On ugliness there is no love*: *epi*, Burnet’s own reading, which B’s first hand may have had; T, W and Stobaeus have *epestin*, in the same sense (apparatus, b5).

---

## 197b–197e

### Greek (Burnet, page 35)

ὡς λέγεται, διὰ τὴν τῆς Ἀνάγκης βασιλείαν· ἐπειδὴ δ’ ὁ\
θεὸς οὗτος ἔφυ, ἐκ τοῦ ἐρᾶν τῶν καλῶν πάντ’ ἀγαθὰ γέγονεν\
καὶ θεοῖς καὶ ἀνθρώποις.\
 Οὕτως ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ, ὦ Φαῖδρε, Ἔρως πρῶτος αὐτὸς ὢν **c**\
κάλλιστος καὶ ἄριστος μετὰ τοῦτο τοῖς ἄλλοις ἄλλων τοιούτων\
αἴτιος εἶναι. ἐπέρχεται δέ μοί τι καὶ ἔμμετρον εἰπεῖν, ὅτι\
οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ποιῶν\
  εἰρήνην μὲν ἐν ἀνθρώποις, πελάγει δὲ γαλήνην **5**\
  νηνεμίαν, ἀνέμων κοίτην ὕπνον τ’ ἐνὶ κήδει.\
οὗτος δὲ ἡμᾶς ἀλλοτριότητος μὲν κενοῖ, οἰκειότητος δὲ πληροῖ, **d**\
τὰς τοιάσδε συνόδους μετ’ ἀλλήλων πάσας τιθεὶς συνιέναι,\
ἐν ἑορταῖς, ἐν χοροῖς, ἐν θυσίαισι γιγνόμενος ἡγεμών·\
πρᾳότητα μὲν πορίζων, ἀγριότητα δ’ ἐξορίζων· φιλόδωρος\
εὐμενείας, ἄδωρος δυσμενείας· ἵλεως ἀγαθός· θεατὸς σοφοῖς, **5**\
ἀγαστὸς θεοῖς· ζηλωτὸς ἀμοίροις, κτητὸς εὐμοίροις· τρυφῆς,\
ἁβρότητος, χλιδῆς, χαρίτων, ἱμέρου, πόθου πατήρ· ἐπιμελὴς\
ἀγαθῶν, ἀμελὴς κακῶν· ἐν πόνῳ, ἐν φόβῳ, ἐν πόθῳ, ἐν\
λόγῳ κυβερνήτης, ἐπιβάτης, παραστάτης τε καὶ σωτὴρ **e**\
ἄριστος, συμπάντων τε θεῶν καὶ ἀνθρώπων κόσμος, ἡγεμὼν\
κάλλιστος καὶ ἄριστος, ᾧ χρὴ ἕπεσθαι πάντα ἄνδρα ἐφυμ-\
νοῦντα καλῶς, ᾠδῆς μετέχοντα ἣν ᾄδει θέλγων πάντων θεῶν\
τε καὶ ἀνθρώπων νόημα. **5**\
 Οὗτος, ἔφη, ὁ παρ’ ἐμοῦ λόγος, ὦ Φαῖδρε, τῷ θεῷ\
ἀνακείσθω, τὰ μὲν παιδιᾶς, τὰ δὲ σπουδῆς μετρίας, καθ’\
ὅσον ἐγὼ δύναμαι, μετέχων.

> *Apparatus:* **c** 3 ἔμμετρον B T W Stobaeus: ἐμμέτρως Hermogenes   **c** 6 ἀνέμων B T W: τ’ ἀνέμων Stobaeus: δ’ ἀνέμοις Hermogenes   κοίτην B T W: κοίτην τ’ Stobaeus: κοίτῃ θ’ G. Dindorf   τ’ ἐνὶ κήδει Stobaeus Hermogenes: τε νικηδει B: τε νηκηδῆ T: τε νικήδει W (in marg. γρ. καὶ νηκηδεῖ)   **d** 3 θυσίαισι W: θυσίαις B T: εὐθυμίαις Stobaeus   **d** 5 ἵλεως ἀγαθός B T W: ἵλεως ἀγαθοῖς Stobaeus: ἵλεως ἀγανός Usener   **d** 7 χλίδῆς (sic) T (sed ί ex ή): χληδης B: χληδῆς W   ἱμέρου T W: ἡμέρου B   πόθου om. Stobaeus   **d** 8 ἀμελὴς T W: ἀνελὴς B   ἐν φόβῳ ἐν πόθῳ ἐν πόνῳ ἐν μόγῳ Schütz: ἐν πόνῳ ἐν φόβῳ ἐν μόθῳ ἐν μόγῳ Jahn: ἐν πόνῳ ἐν φόβῳ ἐν μόθῳ ἐν λόχῳ Rettig: alii alia   **e** 2 καὶ B T: om. W   **e** 4 καλῶς B T W: καλῆς Stobaeus: καλῶς καλῆς vulg.

### English

as is told, through the kingship of Necessity; but since this god was born, from being in love with beautiful things every good thing has come to be for gods and human beings alike.

**[c]** “Thus it seems to me, Phaedrus, that Love, being first himself most beautiful and best, is after this the cause of other such things for others. And it comes to me to say something in metre too, that it is he who makes

> *peace among human beings, and on the sea a calm,*\
> *windlessness, a bed for the winds, and sleep in sorrow.[^100]*

**[d]** It is he who empties us of alienness and fills us with affinity, appointing all such meetings as this for us to come together with one another, becoming leader in feasts, in choruses, in sacrifices; bringing in mildness, banishing wildness; generous with goodwill, ungenerous with ill will; gracious, good; beheld by the wise, admired by the gods; emulated by the portionless, possessed by the well-portioned; of luxury, delicacy, finery, graces, longing, yearning the father; heedful of the good, heedless of the bad; in toil, in fear, in yearning, in **[e]** speech, pilot, marine, comrade and saviour, the best; the adornment of all gods and human beings together; the most beautiful and best leader, whom every man must follow, hymning him well, sharing in the song he sings as he charms the mind of all gods and human beings.”[^101]

“Let this speech of mine, Phaedrus,” he said, “be dedicated to the god, sharing partly in play and partly in measured earnestness, as far as I am able.”

[^100]: *And sleep in sorrow*: so Stobaeus and Hermogenes, which Burnet prints; T has *nēkēdē*, “sleep free from care”, and B and W forms of the same word (apparatus, c6).

[^101]: Agathon closes in short clauses matched in length, sound and rhyme, the manner of the rhetorician Gorgias, whom Socrates will name (198c) (interpretation). The English keeps the rhymes only where they come of themselves.

---

## 198a–198d

### Greek (Burnet, page 36)

 Εἰπόντος δὲ τοῦ Ἀγάθωνος πάντας ἔφη ὁ Ἀριστόδημος **198**\
ἀναθορυβῆσαι τοὺς παρόντας, ὡς πρεπόντως τοῦ νεανίσκου\
εἰρηκότος καὶ αὑτῷ καὶ τῷ θεῷ. τὸν οὖν Σωκράτη εἰπεῖν\
βλέψαντα εἰς τὸν Ἐρυξίμαχον, Ἆρά σοι δοκῶ, φάναι, ὦ\
παῖ Ἀκουμενοῦ, ἀδεὲς πάλαι δέος δεδιέναι, ἀλλ’ οὐ μαντικῶς **5**\
ἃ νυνδὴ ἔλεγον εἰπεῖν, ὅτι Ἀγάθων θαυμαστῶς ἐροῖ, ἐγὼ δ’\
ἀπορήσοιμι;\
 Τὸ μὲν ἕτερον, φάναι τὸν Ἐρυξίμαχον, μαντικῶς μοι\
δοκεῖς εἰρηκέναι, ὅτι Ἀγάθων εὖ ἐρεῖ· τὸ δὲ σὲ ἀπορήσειν,\
οὐκ οἶμαι. **10**\
 Καὶ πῶς, ὦ μακάριε, εἰπεῖν τὸν Σωκράτη, οὐ μέλλω **b**\
ἀπορεῖν καὶ ἐγὼ καὶ ἄλλος ὁστισοῦν, μέλλων λέξειν μετὰ\
καλὸν οὕτω καὶ παντοδαπὸν λόγον ῥηθέντα; καὶ τὰ μὲν ἄλλα\
οὐχ ὁμοίως μὲν θαυμαστά· τὸ δὲ ἐπὶ τελευτῆς τοῦ κάλλους\
τῶν ὀνομάτων καὶ ῥημάτων τίς οὐκ ἂν ἐξεπλάγη ἀκούων; **5**\
ἐπεὶ ἔγωγε ἐνθυμούμενος ὅτι αὐτὸς οὐχ οἷός τ’ ἔσομαι οὐδ’\
ἐγγὺς τούτων οὐδὲν καλὸν εἰπεῖν, ὑπ’ αἰσχύνης ὀλίγου\
ἀποδρὰς ᾠχόμην, εἴ πῃ εἶχον. καὶ γάρ με Γοργίου ὁ λόγος **c**\
ἀνεμίμνῃσκεν, ὥστε ἀτεχνῶς τὸ τοῦ Ὁμήρου ἐπεπόνθη·\
ἐφοβούμην μή μοι τελευτῶν ὁ Ἀγάθων Γοργίου κεφαλὴν\
δεινοῦ λέγειν ἐν τῷ λόγῳ ἐπὶ τὸν ἐμὸν λόγον πέμψας αὐτόν\
με λίθον τῇ ἀφωνίᾳ ποιήσειεν. καὶ ἐνενόησα τότε ἄρα **5**\
καταγέλαστος ὤν, ἡνίκα ὑμῖν ὡμολόγουν ἐν τῷ μέρει μεθ’\
ὑμῶν ἐγκωμιάσεσθαι τὸν Ἔρωτα καὶ ἔφην εἶναι δεινὸς τὰ **d**\
ἐρωτικά, οὐδὲν εἰδὼς ἄρα τοῦ πράγματος, ὡς ἔδει ἐγκωμιάζειν\
ὁτιοῦν. ἐγὼ μὲν γὰρ ὑπ’ ἀβελτερίας ᾤμην δεῖν τἀληθῆ\
λέγειν περὶ ἑκάστου τοῦ ἐγκωμιαζομένου, καὶ τοῦτο μὲν\
ὑπάρχειν, ἐξ αὐτῶν δὲ τούτων τὰ κάλλιστα ἐκλεγομένους **5**\
ὡς εὐπρεπέστατα τιθέναι· καὶ πάνυ δὴ μέγα ἐφρόνουν ὡς εὖ\
ἐρῶν, ὡς εἰδὼς τὴν ἀλήθειαν τοῦ ἐπαινεῖν ὁτιοῦν. τὸ δὲ ἄρα,

> *Apparatus:* **a** 2 πρεπόντως b t: πρέποντος B T W   **a** 8 μοι δοκεῖς B: δοκεῖς μοι T W   **b** 3 οὕτω καὶ παντοδαπὸν B: καὶ παντοδαπὸν οὕτω T W   **b** 4 μὲν B T W: om. Vind. 21   **b** 5 ἀκούων B T: om. W   **b** 6 οἷός τ’ B T: οἷος W   **c** 4 ἐν τῷ λόγῳ secl. Usener   **d** 3 ἀβελτερίας B: ἀβελτηρίας T W

### English

**[198]** When Agathon had spoken, Aristodemus said, all those present applauded loudly, on the ground that the young man had spoken in a way befitting both himself and the god. So Socrates, looking at Eryximachus, said, “Do I seem to you,” he said, “son of Acumenus, to have been fearing all along a fearless fear, and not rather to have said like a prophet what I was saying just now, that Agathon would speak marvellously and I should be at a loss?”

“The one thing,” Eryximachus said, “you seem to me to have said like a prophet, that Agathon would speak well; but that you will be at a loss, I do not think so.”

**[b]** “And how, you blessed man,” said Socrates, “am I not bound to be at a loss, I and anyone else whatever, when I am to speak after so beautiful and so varied a speech has been given? The rest, to be sure, was not equally marvellous; but at the end, the beauty of the words and expressions — who would not have been struck, hearing it? For I for my part, reflecting that I myself would not be able to say anything beautiful even close to these, for shame almost **[c]** ran away and was gone, if I had had anywhere to go. For the speech reminded me of Gorgias, so that I had simply had the experience Homer tells of: I was afraid that Agathon at the end might send the head of Gorgias, formidable at speaking, in his speech against my speech, and make me myself a stone with speechlessness.[^102] And I realized that I had been ridiculous after all, back when I agreed with you that in my turn, along with **[d]** you, I would make an encomium of Love, and said I was formidable in matters of love, when after all I knew nothing of the thing, how one ought to make an encomium of anything whatever. For I in my silliness thought that one must tell the truth about each thing made the subject of an encomium, and that this should be the foundation, and that from these truths themselves one should pick out the most beautiful and set them out as becomingly as possible; and I was very proud indeed, thinking I would speak well, as one who knew the truth about praising anything whatever. But in fact, after all,

[^102]: *The head of Gorgias*: at the end of his meeting with the dead, Odysseus fears that Persephone may send against him out of Hades “the Gorgon head of the dread monster” (*Odyssey* 11.633–635), the head that in the story turned to stone those who saw it. Socrates puns on the Gorgon and Gorgias, the rhetorician of Leontini, and on *deinos*, “dread” in Homer and “formidable” here.

---

## 198d–199c

### Greek (Burnet, page 37)

ὡς ἔοικεν, οὐ τοῦτο ἦν τὸ καλῶς ἐπαινεῖν ὁτιοῦν, ἀλλὰ τὸ ὡς\
μέγιστα ἀνατιθέναι τῷ πράγματι καὶ ὡς κάλλιστα, ἐάν τε ᾖ **e**\
οὕτως ἔχοντα ἐάν τε μή· εἰ δὲ ψευδῆ, οὐδὲν ἄρ’ ἦν πρᾶγμα.\
προυρρήθη γάρ, ὡς ἔοικεν, ὅπως ἕκαστος ἡμῶν τὸν Ἔρωτα\
ἐγκωμιάζειν δόξει, οὐχ ὅπως ἐγκωμιάσεται. διὰ ταῦτα δὴ\
οἶμαι πάντα λόγον κινοῦντες ἀνατίθετε τῷ Ἔρωτι, καί **5**\
φατε αὐτὸν τοιοῦτόν τε εἶναι καὶ τοσούτων αἴτιον, ὅπως ἂν\
φαίνηται ὡς κάλλιστος καὶ ἄριστος, δῆλον ὅτι τοῖς μὴ γιγνώ- **199**\
σκουσιν—οὐ γὰρ δήπου τοῖς γε εἰδόσιν—καὶ καλῶς γ’ ἔχει\
καὶ σεμνῶς ὁ ἔπαινος. ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἐγὼ οὐκ ᾔδη ἄρα τὸν\
τρόπον τοῦ ἐπαίνου, οὐ δ’ εἰδὼς ὑμῖν ὡμολόγησα καὶ αὐτὸς\
ἐν τῷ μέρει ἐπαινέσεσθαι. *ἡ γλῶσσα* οὖν ὑπέσχετο, ἡ *δὲ* **5**\
*φρὴν* οὔ· χαιρέτω δή. οὐ γὰρ ἔτι ἐγκωμιάζω τοῦτον τὸν\
τρόπον—οὐ γὰρ ἂν δυναίμην—οὐ μέντοι ἀλλὰ τά γε ἀληθῆ,\
εἰ βούλεσθε, ἐθέλω εἰπεῖν κατ’ ἐμαυτόν, οὐ πρὸς τοὺς **b**\
ὑμετέρους λόγους, ἵνα μὴ γέλωτα ὄφλω. ὅρα οὖν, ὦ Φαῖδρε,\
εἴ τι καὶ τοιούτου λόγου δέῃ, περὶ Ἔρωτος τἀληθῆ λεγόμενα\
ἀκούειν, ὀνομάσει δὲ καὶ θέσει ῥημάτων τοιαύτῃ ὁποία δἄν\
τις τύχῃ ἐπελθοῦσα. **5**\
 Τὸν οὖν Φαῖδρον ἔφη καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους κελεύειν λέγειν,\
ὅπῃ αὐτὸς οἴοιτο δεῖν εἰπεῖν, ταύτῃ.\
 Ἔτι τοίνυν, φάναι, ὦ Φαῖδρε, πάρες μοι Ἀγάθωνα σμίκρ’\
ἄττα ἐρέσθαι, ἵνα ἀνομολογησάμενος παρ’ αὐτοῦ οὕτως ἤδη\
λέγω. **10**\
 Ἀλλὰ παρίημι, φάναι τὸν Φαῖδρον, ἀλλ’ ἐρώτα. μετὰ **c**\
ταῦτα δὴ τὸν Σωκράτη ἔφη ἐνθένδε ποθὲν ἄρξασθαι.\
 \
 Καὶ μήν, ὦ φίλε Ἀγάθων, καλῶς μοι ἔδοξας καθηγή-\
σασθαι τοῦ λόγου, λέγων ὅτι πρῶτον μὲν δέοι αὐτὸν ἐπιδεῖξαι\
ὁποῖός τίς ἐστιν ὁ Ἔρως, ὕστερον δὲ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ. ταύτην **5**

> *Apparatus:* **e** 4 δόξει Stephanus: δόξῃ B T W   **a** 2 γὰρ δήπου Cobet: γὰρ ἄν που T W: γάρ που B   **a** 3 ἤδη ἄρα T: ᾔδη B W   **a** 5 γλῶσσα W: γλῶττα B T   **b** 4 ὀνομάσει W: ὀνόμασι B T   δἄν Usener (δὴ ἄν Stallbaum): δ’ άν B: δ’ ἄν T W

### English

it seems, this was not what it is to praise anything well, but rather **[e]** to attribute to the thing the greatest and most beautiful things possible, whether they are so or not; and if they were false, that was after all no matter. For what was proposed beforehand, it seems, was that each of us should seem to make an encomium of Love, not that he should make an encomium of him. It is for this reason, I think, that you set every account in motion and attribute it to Love, and say that he is of such a kind and the cause of so many things, so that he may **[199]** appear most beautiful and best — plainly to those who do not know, for surely not to those who know — and the praise does stand well, and solemnly. But in fact I did not, after all, know the way of the praise, and not knowing it I agreed with you that I too would praise in my turn. So ‘the tongue promised, but the mind did not’; farewell to it, then.[^103] For I no longer make an encomium in this way — for I would not be able to — but all the same, the truth at any rate, **[b]** if you want, I am willing to tell in my own way, not in competition with your speeches, so that I may not incur laughter. See, then, Phaedrus, whether you are in any need of such a speech as well, to hear the truth spoken about Love, but in such wording and placing of expressions as may chance to come along.”

So Phaedrus and the others, he said, told him to speak in whatever way he himself thought he must speak.

“Then further, Phaedrus,” he said, “allow me to ask Agathon a few small things, so that, having come to agreement with him, I may then speak on that footing.”

**[c]** “Well, I allow it,” Phaedrus said; “go on, ask.” After this, then, he said, Socrates began from about this point.

“Indeed, my friend Agathon, you seemed to me to lead off your speech well, saying that one must first display him, of what kind Love is, and afterwards his works. This

[^103]: *The tongue promised*: adapted from Euripides’ *Hippolytus* (612), where Hippolytus says, “My tongue has sworn, but my mind is unsworn”; Aristophanes parodies the line (*Frogs* 101–102) and has Dionysus turn it against Euripides (*Frogs* 1471). Burnet spaces only the words that come from Euripides.

---

## 199c–200b

### Greek (Burnet, page 38)

τὴν ἀρχὴν πάνυ ἄγαμαι. ἴθι οὖν μοι περὶ Ἔρωτος, ἐπειδὴ\
καὶ τἆλλα καλῶς καὶ μεγαλοπρεπῶς διῆλθες οἷός ἐστι, καὶ\
τόδε εἰπέ· πότερόν ἐστι τοιοῦτος οἷος εἶναί τινος ὁ Ἔρως **d**\
ἔρως, ἢ οὐδενός; ἐρωτῶ δ’ οὐκ εἰ μητρός τινος ἢ πατρός\
ἐστιν—γελοῖον γὰρ ἂν εἴη τὸ ἐρώτημα εἰ Ἔρως ἐστὶν ἔρως\
μητρὸς ἢ πατρός—ἀλλ’ ὥσπερ ἂν εἰ αὐτὸ τοῦτο πατέρα\
ἠρώτων, ἆρα ὁ πατήρ ἐστι πατήρ τινος ἢ οὔ; εἶπες ἂν **5**\
δήπου μοι, εἰ ἐβούλου καλῶς ἀποκρίνασθαι, ὅτι ἔστιν ὑέος\
γε ἢ θυγατρὸς ὁ πατὴρ πατήρ· ἢ οὔ;\
 Πάνυ γε, φάναι τὸν Ἀγάθωνα.\
 Οὐκοῦν καὶ ἡ μήτηρ ὡσαύτως; Ὁμολογεῖσθαι καὶ τοῦτο.\
 Ἔτι τοίνυν, εἰπεῖν τὸν Σωκράτη, ἀπόκριναι ὀλίγῳ πλείω, **e**\
ἵνα μᾶλλον καταμάθῃς ὃ βούλομαι. εἰ γὰρ ἐροίμην, “Τί\
δέ; ἀδελφός, αὐτὸ τοῦθ’ ὅπερ ἔστιν, ἔστι τινὸς ἀδελφὸς ἢ\
οὔ;” Φάναι εἶναι.\
 Οὐκοῦν ἀδελφοῦ ἢ ἀδελφῆς; Ὁμολογεῖν. **5**\
 Πειρῶ δή, φάναι, καὶ τὸν ἔρωτα εἰπεῖν. ὁ Ἔρως ἔρως\
ἐστὶν οὐδενὸς ἢ τινός;\
 Πάνυ μὲν οὖν ἔστιν.\
 Τοῦτο μὲν τοίνυν, εἰπεῖν τὸν Σωκράτη, φύλαξον παρὰ **200**\
σαυτῷ μεμνημένος ὅτου· τοσόνδε δὲ εἰπέ, πότερον ὁ Ἔρως\
ἐκείνου οὗ ἔστιν ἔρως, ἐπιθυμεῖ αὐτοῦ ἢ οὔ;\
 Πάνυ γε, φάναι.\
 Πότερον ἔχων αὐτὸ οὗ ἐπιθυμεῖ τε καὶ ἐρᾷ, εἶτα ἐπιθυμεῖ **5**\
τε καὶ ἐρᾷ, ἢ οὐκ ἔχων;\
 Οὐκ ἔχων, ὡς τὸ εἰκός γε, φάναι.\
 Σκόπει δή, εἰπεῖν τὸν Σωκράτη, ἀντὶ τοῦ εἰκότος εἰ\
ἀνάγκη οὕτως, τὸ ἐπιθυμοῦν ἐπιθυμεῖν οὗ ἐνδεές ἐστιν, ἢ μὴ\
ἐπιθυμεῖν, ἐὰν μὴ ἐνδεὲς ᾖ; ἐμοὶ μὲν γὰρ θαυμαστῶς δοκεῖ, **b**\
ὦ Ἀγάθων, ὡς ἀνάγκη εἶναι· σοὶ δὲ πῶς;\
 Κἀμοί, φάναι, δοκεῖ.

> *Apparatus:* **c** 7 οἷός B: οἷος τ’ T W   **d** 1 ἔρως ἔρως B W: ἔρως T   **d** 9 ὁμολογεῖσθαι B T W: ὁμολογῆσαι vulg.: ὁμολογεῖν Stallbaum   **a** 8 σκόπει B T: σκοπεῖν W   εἰκότος B T: εἰκότως W

### English

beginning I greatly admire. Come, then, since about Love you went through the rest well and magnificently, of what kind he is, **[d]** tell me this too: is Love such as to be love of something, or of nothing? I am not asking whether he is of some mother or father — for the question would be laughable, whether Love is love of mother or father[^104] — but as if I were asking about this very thing, a father: is the father father of someone, or not? You would surely tell me, if you wanted to answer well, that the father is father of a son, of course, or of a daughter. Or not?”

“Certainly,” Agathon said.

“And the mother likewise?” This too was agreed.

**[e]** “Further, then,” said Socrates, “answer a little more, so that you may better grasp what I want. For if I were to ask, ‘What then? A brother, just this very thing that he is, is he brother of someone or not?’” He said he was.

“Of a brother, then, or of a sister?” He agreed.

“Try, then,” he said, “to speak about love too. Is Love love of nothing, or of something?”

“He most certainly is of something.”

**[200]** “This, now,” said Socrates, “keep under guard at your side, remembering what it is of; but tell me this much: does Love desire that of which he is love, or not?”

“Certainly,” he said.

“Is it when he has that which he desires and is in love with that he desires it and is in love with it, or when he does not have it?”

“When he does not have it, as is likely, at least,” he said.

“Look into it, then,” said Socrates, “instead of what is likely, whether it is necessarily so: that what desires desires what it lacks, or does not **[b]** desire if it does not lack it?[^105] For to me, Agathon, it seems, marvellously, to be necessary; and how does it seem to you?”

“To me too,” he said, “it seems so.”

[^104]: *Of some mother or father*: the genitive, like “of”, can name a parent as well as an object, so that “Love of a mother” could be Love the son of a mother; that is the laughable question, and Socrates means the other sense (interpretation). Diotima will tell of Love’s parents (203b–c).

[^105]: *What it lacks*: so in the *Lysis*, “what desires desires what it lacks” (221d–e).

---

## 200b–200e

### Greek (Burnet, page 39)

 Καλῶς λέγεις. ἆρ’ οὖν βούλοιτ’ ἄν τις μέγας ὢν μέγας\
εἶναι, ἢ ἰσχυρὸς ὢν ἰσχυρός; **5**\
 Ἀδύνατον ἐκ τῶν ὡμολογημένων.\
 Οὐ γάρ που ἐνδεὴς ἂν εἴη τούτων ὅ γε ὤν.\
 Ἀληθῆ λέγεις.\
 Εἰ γὰρ καὶ ἰσχυρὸς ὢν βούλοιτο ἰσχυρὸς εἶναι, φάναι τὸν\
Σωκράτη, καὶ ταχὺς ὢν ταχύς, καὶ ὑγιὴς ὢν ὑγιής—ἴσως **10**\
γὰρ ἄν τις ταῦτα οἰηθείη καὶ πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα τοὺς ὄντας\
τε τοιούτους καὶ ἔχοντας ταῦτα τούτων ἅπερ ἔχουσι καὶ **c**\
ἐπιθυμεῖν, ἵν’ οὖν μὴ ἐξαπατηθῶμεν, τούτου ἕνεκα λέγω—\
τούτοις γάρ, ὦ Ἀγάθων, εἰ ἐννοεῖς, ἔχειν μὲν ἕκαστα\
τούτων ἐν τῷ παρόντι ἀνάγκη ἃ ἔχουσιν, ἐάντε βούλωνται\
ἐάντε μή, καὶ τούτου γε δήπου τίς ἂν ἐπιθυμήσειεν; ἀλλ’ **5**\
ὅταν τις λέγῃ ὅτι ἐγὼ ὑγιαίνων βούλομαι καὶ ὑγιαίνειν,\
καὶ πλουτῶν βούλομαι καὶ πλουτεῖν, καὶ ἐπιθυμῶ αὐτῶν\
τούτων ἃ ἔχω, εἴποιμεν ἂν αὐτῷ ὅτι σύ, ὦ ἄνθρωπε,\
πλοῦτον κεκτημένος καὶ ὑγίειαν καὶ ἰσχὺν βούλει καὶ εἰς **d**\
τὸν ἔπειτα χρόνον ταῦτα κεκτῆσθαι, ἐπεὶ ἐν τῷ γε νῦν\
παρόντι, εἴτε βούλει εἴτε μή, ἔχεις· σκόπει οὖν, ὅταν\
τοῦτο λέγῃς, ὅτι ἐπιθυμῶ τῶν παρόντων, εἰ ἄλλο τι λέγεις\
ἢ τόδε, ὅτι βούλομαι τὰ νῦν παρόντα καὶ εἰς τὸν ἔπειτα **5**\
χρόνον παρεῖναι. ἄλλο τι ὁμολογοῖ ἄν; Συμφάναι ἔφη τὸν\
Ἀγάθωνα.\
 Εἰπεῖν δὴ τὸν Σωκράτη, Οὐκοῦν τοῦτό γ’ ἐστὶν ἐκείνου\
ἐρᾶν, ὃ οὔπω ἕτοιμον αὐτῷ ἐστιν οὐδὲ ἔχει, τὸ εἰς τὸν\
ἔπειτα χρόνον ταῦτα εἶναι αὐτῷ σῳζόμενα καὶ παρόντα; **10**\
 Πάνυ γε, φάναι. **e**\
 Καὶ οὗτος ἄρα καὶ ἄλλος πᾶς ὁ ἐπιθυμῶν τοῦ μὴ ἑτοίμου\
ἐπιθυμεῖ καὶ τοῦ μὴ παρόντος, καὶ ὃ μὴ ἔχει καὶ ὃ μὴ ἔστιν

> *Apparatus:* **b** 6 ὡμολογημένων B T W: ὁμολογουμένων vulg.   **b** 9 καὶ B T: om. W   **b** 11 ταῦτα B: ταυτὶ T W   **c** 3 ἕκαστα B T W: ἕκαστον vulg.   **c** 7 καὶ πλουτεῖν B: πλουτεῖν T W   **d** 3 ἔχεις T W: ἔχῃς B   **d** 8 οὐκοῦν B W: οὐκοῦν δὴ pr. T   **d** 9 τὸ . . . d10 παρόντα secl. Badham   **d** 9 τὸ T W: τὰ B   **d** 10 καὶ T W: μοι B: τὰ νῦν al. vulg.   **e** 2 ἄλλος B W: ὁ ἄλλος T

### English

“You speak well. Would anyone, then, being great, want to be great, or being strong, strong?”

“Impossible, from what has been agreed.”

“For the one who is these, at least, would not, I take it, lack them.”

“What you say is true.”

“For if, being strong, one should want to be strong as well,” Socrates said, “and being swift, swift, and being healthy, healthy — for perhaps someone might think, about these and all such things, that those who are **[c]** such and have these things also desire these very things which they have; so it is in order that we may not be deceived that I say this — for these people, Agathon, if you consider it, must have at the present time each of the things they have, whether they want to or not; and who, surely, would desire this? But when someone says, ‘I, being healthy, want to be healthy too, and being rich, want to be rich too, and I desire these very things that I have,’ we should say to him, ‘You, my man, **[d]** who possess wealth and health and strength, want to possess these in the time to come as well, since at the present moment, at least, whether you want or not, you have them. Look into it, then: when you say this, “I desire what is present,” whether you are saying anything other than this, “I want what is present now to be present in the time to come as well.”’ Would he not agree?” Agathon concurred, he said.

Then Socrates said, “Is this, then, not to be in love with that which is not yet at hand for him and which he does not have: that in the time to come these things be kept safe for him and present?”

**[e]** “Certainly,” he said.

“So this man, and everyone else who desires, desires what is not at hand and what is not present; and what he does not have, and what he is not

---

## 200e–201c

### Greek (Burnet, page 40)

αὐτὸς καὶ οὗ ἐνδεής ἐστι, τοιαῦτ’ ἄττα ἐστὶν ὧν ἡ ἐπιθυμία\
τε καὶ ὁ ἔρως ἐστίν; **5**\
 Πάνυ γ’, εἰπεῖν.\
 Ἴθι δή, φάναι τὸν Σωκράτη, ἀνομολογησώμεθα τὰ εἰρη-\
μένα. ἄλλο τι ἔστιν ὁ Ἔρως πρῶτον μὲν τινῶν, ἔπειτα\
τούτων ὧν ἂν ἔνδεια παρῇ αὐτῷ;\
 Ναί, φάναι. **201**\
 Ἐπὶ δὴ τούτοις ἀναμνήσθητι τίνων ἔφησθα ἐν τῷ λόγῳ\
εἶναι τὸν Ἔρωτα· εἰ δὲ βούλει, ἐγώ σε ἀναμνήσω. οἶμαι\
γάρ σε οὑτωσί πως εἰπεῖν, ὅτι τοῖς θεοῖς κατεσκευάσθη τὰ\
πράγματα δι’ ἔρωτα καλῶν· αἰσχρῶν γὰρ οὐκ εἴη ἔρως. οὐχ **5**\
οὑτωσί πως ἔλεγες;\
 Εἶπον γάρ, φάναι τὸν Ἀγάθωνα.\
 Καὶ ἐπιεικῶς γε λέγεις, ὦ ἑταῖρε, φάναι τὸν Σωκράτη·\
καὶ εἰ τοῦτο οὕτως ἔχει, ἄλλο τι ὁ Ἔρως κάλλους ἂν εἴη\
ἔρως, αἴσχους δὲ οὔ; Ὡμολόγει. **10**\
 Οὐκοῦν ὡμολόγηται, οὗ ἐνδεής ἐστι καὶ μὴ ἔχει, τούτου **b**\
ἐρᾶν;\
 Ναί, εἰπεῖν.\
 Ἐνδεὴς ἄρ’ ἐστὶ καὶ οὐκ ἔχει ὁ Ἔρως κάλλος.\
 Ἀνάγκη, φάναι. **5**\
 Τί δέ; τὸ ἐνδεὲς κάλλους καὶ μηδαμῇ κεκτημένον κάλλος\
ἆρα λέγεις σὺ καλὸν εἶναι;\
 Οὐ δῆτα.\
 Ἔτι οὖν ὁμολογεῖς Ἔρωτα καλὸν εἶναι, εἰ ταῦτα οὕτως\
ἔχει; **10**\
 Καὶ τὸν Ἀγάθωνα εἰπεῖν Κινδυνεύω, ὦ Σώκρατες, οὐδὲν\
εἰδέναι ὧν τότε εἶπον.\
 Καὶ μὴν καλῶς γε εἶπες, φάναι, ὦ Ἀγάθων. ἀλλὰ **c**\
σμικρὸν ἔτι εἰπέ· τἀγαθὰ οὐ καὶ καλὰ δοκεῖ σοι εἶναι;\
 Ἔμοιγε.

> *Apparatus:* **e** 5 τε om. W   **e** 7 ἀνομολογησόμεθα W   **a** 5 ἔρως B T Oxy.: ὁ ἔρως W   **a** 9 τι ὁ] η s. v. Oxy.   **b** 1 ἔχῃ B T W   **b** 2 ἐρᾶι W   **c** 1 ειπας Oxy.

### English

himself, and what he lacks — such are the things that desire and love are of?”

“Certainly,” he said.

“Come then,” Socrates said, “let us come to agreement on what has been said. Is not Love, first, of certain things, and next, of those things a lack of which is present to him?”

**[201]** “Yes,” he said.

“On top of this, then, recall of what things you said in your speech Love was. Or, if you want, I will remind you. For I think you said something like this: that the affairs were set in order for the gods through love of beautiful things; for of ugly things there was no love. Was it not something like this you said?”[^106]

“Yes, I said it,” said Agathon.

“And you say it reasonably, too, my companion,” Socrates said; “and if this is so, would not Love be love of beauty, and not of ugliness?” He agreed.

**[b]** “Has it not been agreed that what one lacks and does not have, that one is in love with?”

“Yes,” he said.

“Then Love lacks beauty and does not have it.”

“Necessarily,” he said.

“What then? What lacks beauty and in no way possesses beauty — do you say that that is beautiful?”

“Surely not.”

“Do you still agree, then, that Love is beautiful, if this is so?”

And Agathon said, “It looks like, Socrates, I knew nothing of what I said then.”

**[c]** “And you did indeed speak well, Agathon,” he said.[^107] “But tell me one small thing more: do not good things seem to you to be beautiful as well?”

“To me they do.”

[^106]: Agathon had said that the affairs of the gods were set in order when Love came to be among them, “of beauty, plainly; for on ugliness there is no love” (197b).

[^107]: *Well*: *kalōs*, the adverb of *kalos*, “beautiful”: the speech was beautiful, though its subject, it now appears, is not (interpretation).

---

## 201c–202a

### Greek (Burnet, page 41)

 Εἰ ἄρα ὁ Ἔρως τῶν καλῶν ἐνδεής ἐστι, τὰ δὲ ἀγαθὰ\
καλά, κἂν τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἐνδεὴς εἴη. **5**\
 Ἐγώ, φάναι, ὦ Σώκρατες, σοὶ οὐκ ἂν δυναίμην ἀντι-\
λέγειν, ἀλλ’ οὕτως ἐχέτω ὡς σὺ λέγεις.\
 Οὐ μὲν οὖν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ, φάναι, ὦ φιλούμενε Ἀγάθων,\
δύνασαι ἀντιλέγειν, ἐπεὶ Σωκράτει γε οὐδὲν χαλεπόν.\
 \
 Καὶ σὲ μέν γε ἤδη ἐάσω· τὸν δὲ λόγον τὸν περὶ τοῦ **d**\
Ἔρωτος, ὅν ποτ’ ἤκουσα γυναικὸς Μαντινικῆς Διοτίμας, ἣ\
ταῦτά τε σοφὴ ἦν καὶ ἄλλα πολλά—καὶ Ἀθηναίοις ποτὲ\
θυσαμένοις πρὸ τοῦ λοιμοῦ δέκα ἔτη ἀναβολὴν ἐποίησε τῆς\
νόσου, ἣ δὴ καὶ ἐμὲ τὰ ἐρωτικὰ ἐδίδαξεν—ὃν οὖν ἐκείνη **5**\
ἔλεγε λόγον, πειράσομαι ὑμῖν διελθεῖν ἐκ τῶν ὡμολογη-\
μένων ἐμοὶ καὶ Ἀγάθωνι, αὐτὸς ἐπ’ ἐμαυτοῦ, ὅπως ἂν\
δύνωμαι. δεῖ δή, ὦ Ἀγάθων, ὥσπερ σὺ διηγήσω, διελθεῖν\
αὐτὸν πρῶτον, τίς ἐστιν ὁ Ἔρως καὶ ποῖός τις, ἔπειτα τὰ **e**\
ἔργα αὐτοῦ. δοκεῖ οὖν μοι ῥᾷστον εἶναι οὕτω διελθεῖν, ὥς\
ποτέ με ἡ ξένη ἀνακρίνουσα διῄει. σχεδὸν γάρ τι καὶ ἐγὼ\
πρὸς αὐτὴν ἕτερα τοιαῦτα ἔλεγον οἷάπερ νῦν πρὸς ἐμὲ\
Ἀγάθων, ὡς εἴη ὁ Ἔρως μέγας θεός, εἴη δὲ τῶν καλῶν· **5**\
ἤλεγχε δή με τούτοις τοῖς λόγοις οἷσπερ ἐγὼ τοῦτον, ὡς\
οὔτε καλὸς εἴη κατὰ τὸν ἐμὸν λόγον οὔτε ἀγαθός.\
 Καὶ ἐγώ, Πῶς λέγεις, ἔφην, ὦ Διοτίμα; αἰσχρὸς ἄρα ὁ\
Ἔρως ἐστὶ καὶ κακός;\
 Καὶ ἥ, Οὐκ εὐφημήσεις; ἔφη· ἢ οἴει, ὅτι ἂν μὴ καλὸν **10**\
ᾖ, ἀναγκαῖον αὐτὸ εἶναι αἰσχρόν;\
 Μάλιστά γε. **202**\
 Ἦ καὶ ἂν μὴ σοφόν, ἀμαθές; ἢ οὐκ ᾔσθησαι ὅτι ἔστιν\
τι μεταξὺ σοφίας καὶ ἀμαθίας;\
 Τί τοῦτο;

> *Apparatus:* **c** 8 φιλε Oxy.   **d** 2 μαντινικῆς B T Oxy.: μαντικῆς W   **d** 4 [ε]ποιησατο (της s. v.) Oxy.   **d** 5 λογον εκεινη ελεγεν Oxy.   **d** 7 ἐπ’ Oxy.: ἀπ’ B T W   **d** 8 δεῖ δὴ T W Oxy.: δείλη B   διηγήσω B T W Oxy.: δὴ ἡγήσω Schanz   **e** 1 οποιος Oxy.   **e** 3 γὰρ] δε Oxy.   **e** 8 πωσ εφη̄ λεγεις Oxy.

### English

“If, then, Love lacks beautiful things, and good things are beautiful, he would lack good things too.”

“I, Socrates,” he said, “would not be able to contradict you, but let it be as you say.”

“No, it is the truth, my loved Agathon,” he said, “that you cannot contradict, since Socrates, at least, is not at all hard to contradict.[^108]

**[d]** “And you I shall now let be. But the speech about Love which I once heard from a woman of Mantinea, Diotima,[^109] who was wise in these things and in many others — and once, when the Athenians had sacrificed before the plague, she brought about a ten years’ postponement of the sickness; she it was who taught me too the matters of love — the speech, then, that she used to give I shall try to go through for you, starting from what Agathon and I have agreed, by myself, as best I can. One must, then, Agathon, as you told us, go through **[e]** him first, who Love is and of what kind, and then his works. It seems to me easiest, then, to go through it the way the stranger once went through it, questioning me. For I too said to her other things much like those Agathon was saying to me just now: that Love was a great god, and that he was of beautiful things; and she refuted me, then, with these same arguments with which I refuted him, that by my own account he was neither beautiful nor good.

“And I said, ‘How do you mean, Diotima? Is Love, then, ugly and bad?’

“And she said, ‘Hush![^110] Or do you think that whatever is not beautiful must necessarily be ugly?’

**[202]** “‘Very much so.’

“‘And whatever is not wise, ignorant? Or have you not perceived that there is something between wisdom and ignorance?’

“‘What is this?’

[^108]: *My loved Agathon*: *philoumene*, “being loved”, from *philein*, the friend’s verb (see 173e), not *eran*; the papyrus has *phile*, “friend” (apparatus, c8).

[^109]: *A woman of Mantinea, Diotima*: no source independent of this dialogue mentions her. Her name means “honoured by Zeus”, and Mantinea, the Arcadian city of the note at 193a, sounds like *mantis*, “seer” (interpretation); W has *mantikēs*, “prophetic” (apparatus, d2). The plague struck Athens in 430 BC (Thucydides 2.47–54).

[^110]: *Hush!*: literally “Will you not speak words of good omen?”, the call for silence at sacred rites (LSJ s.v. *euphēmeō*); Diotima treats the remark as if it were a blasphemy (interpretation).

---

## 202a–202d

### Greek (Burnet, page 42)

 Τὸ ὀρθὰ δοξάζειν καὶ ἄνευ τοῦ ἔχειν λόγον δοῦναι οὐκ **5**\
οἶσθ’, ἔφη, ὅτι οὔτε ἐπίστασθαί ἐστιν—ἄλογον γὰρ πρᾶγμα\
πῶς ἂν εἴη ἐπιστήμη;—οὔτε ἀμαθία—τὸ γὰρ τοῦ ὄντος\
τυγχάνον πῶς ἂν εἴη ἀμαθία;—ἔστι δὲ δήπου τοιοῦτον ἡ\
ὀρθὴ δόξα, μεταξὺ φρονήσεως καὶ ἀμαθίας.\
 Ἀληθῆ, ἦν δ’ ἐγώ, λέγεις. **10**\
 Μὴ τοίνυν ἀνάγκαζε ὃ μὴ καλόν ἐστιν αἰσχρὸν εἶναι, **b**\
μηδὲ ὃ μὴ ἀγαθόν, κακόν. οὕτω δὲ καὶ τὸν Ἔρωτα ἐπειδὴ\
αὐτὸς ὁμολογεῖς μὴ εἶναι ἀγαθὸν μηδὲ καλόν, μηδέν τι\
μᾶλλον οἴου δεῖν αὐτὸν αἰσχρὸν καὶ κακὸν εἶναι, ἀλλά τι\
μεταξύ, ἔφη, τούτοιν. **5**\
 Καὶ μήν, ἦν δ’ ἐγώ, ὁμολογεῖταί γε παρὰ πάντων μέγας\
θεὸς εἶναι.\
 Τῶν μὴ εἰδότων, ἔφη, πάντων λέγεις, ἢ καὶ τῶν εἰδότων;\
 Συμπάντων μὲν οὖν.\
 Καὶ ἣ γελάσασα Καὶ πῶς ἄν, ἔφη, ὦ Σώκρατες, **10**\
ὁμολογοῖτο μέγας θεὸς εἶναι παρὰ τούτων, οἵ φασιν αὐτὸν **c**\
οὐδὲ θεὸν εἶναι;\
 Τίνες οὗτοι; ἦν δ’ ἐγώ.\
 Εἷς μέν, ἔφη, σύ, μία δ’ ἐγώ.\
 Κἀγὼ εἶπον, Πῶς τοῦτο, ἔφην, λέγεις; **5**\
 Καὶ ἥ, Ῥᾳδίως, ἔφη. λέγε γάρ μοι, οὐ πάντας θεοὺς\
φῂς εὐδαίμονας εἶναι καὶ καλούς; ἢ τολμήσαις ἄν τινα μὴ\
φάναι καλόν τε καὶ εὐδαίμονα θεῶν εἶναι;\
 Μὰ Δί’ οὐκ ἔγωγ’, ἔφην.\
 Εὐδαίμονας δὲ δὴ λέγεις οὐ τοὺς τἀγαθὰ καὶ τὰ καλὰ **10**\
κεκτημένους;\
 Πάνυ γε.\
 Ἀλλὰ μὴν Ἔρωτά γε ὡμολόγηκας δι’ ἔνδειαν τῶν **d**

> *Apparatus:* **a** 5 τὸ B T Oxy.: τὰ W   ὀρθὰ δοξάζειν T W Oxy.: ὀρθοδοξάζειν B   καὶ om. Oxy.   **b** 5 τουτοιν εφη Oxy.   **b** 6 γε B T Oxy.: μοι W   **c** 8 θεῶν B T W Oxy.: θεὸν W² (ο s. v.)   **c** 10 τἀγαθὰ B T Oxy. Stobaeus: ἀγαθοὺς καὶ τἀγαθὰ W   τὰ B Oxy.: om. T W Stobaeus   **d** 1, 2 τῶν καλῶν καὶ τῶν ἀγαθῶν Stobaeus

### English

“‘Holding right opinions even without being able to give an account — do you not know,’ she said, ‘that it is neither knowing — for how could a thing without an account be knowledge? — nor ignorance — for how could what hits upon what is be ignorance? — but right opinion is, surely, something of this kind, between intelligence and ignorance.’[^111]

“‘What you say is true,’ I said.

**[b]** “‘Then do not compel what is not beautiful to be ugly, nor what is not good to be bad. So too with Love: since you yourself agree that he is neither good nor beautiful, do not think any the more that he must be ugly and bad, but something,’ she said, ‘between these two.’

“‘And yet,’ I said, ‘it is agreed by everyone that he is a great god.’

“‘By all who do not know, do you mean,’ she said, ‘or by those who know as well?’

“‘By all together, of course.’

“And she laughed and said, ‘And how, Socrates, could he **[c]** be agreed to be a great god by those who say he is not even a god?’

“‘Who are these?’ I said.

“‘One is you,’ she said, ‘and one is I.’

“And I said, ‘How do you mean this?’ I said.

“And she said, ‘Easily. For tell me, do you not say that all gods are happy and beautiful? Or would you dare to say that any one of the gods is not beautiful and happy?’

“‘By Zeus, not I,’ I said.

“‘And do you not call happy those who possess good things and beautiful things?’

“‘Certainly.’

**[d]** “‘But you have agreed that Love, through lack of the

[^111]: *Right opinion*: in the *Meno* right opinion is as good a guide as knowledge (97b–c), but it runs away unless tied down “by reasoning out the cause” (98a).

---

## 202d–203a

### Greek (Burnet, page 43)

ἀγαθῶν καὶ καλῶν ἐπιθυμεῖν αὐτῶν τούτων ὧν ἐνδεής\
ἐστιν.\
 Ὡμολόγηκα γάρ.\
 Πῶς ἂν οὖν θεὸς εἴη ὅ γε τῶν καλῶν καὶ ἀγαθῶν ἄμοιρος; **5**\
 Οὐδαμῶς, ὥς γ’ ἔοικεν.\
 Ὁρᾷς οὖν, ἔφη, ὅτι καὶ σὺ Ἔρωτα οὐ θεὸν νομίζεις;\
 Τί οὖν ἄν, ἔφην, εἴη ὁ Ἔρως; θνητός;\
 Ἥκιστά γε.\
 Ἀλλὰ τί μήν; **10**\
 Ὥσπερ τὰ πρότερα, ἔφη, μεταξὺ θνητοῦ καὶ ἀθανάτου.\
 Τί οὖν, ὦ Διοτίμα;\
 Δαίμων μέγας, ὦ Σώκρατες· καὶ γὰρ πᾶν τὸ δαιμόνιον\
μεταξύ ἐστι θεοῦ τε καὶ θνητοῦ. **e**\
 Τίνα, ἦν δ’ ἐγώ, δύναμιν ἔχον;\
 Ἑρμηνεῦον καὶ διαπορθμεῦον θεοῖς τὰ παρ’ ἀνθρώπων\
καὶ ἀνθρώποις τὰ παρὰ θεῶν, τῶν μὲν τὰς δεήσεις καὶ\
θυσίας, τῶν δὲ τὰς ἐπιτάξεις τε καὶ ἀμοιβὰς τῶν θυσιῶν, **5**\
ἐν μέσῳ δὲ ὂν ἀμφοτέρων συμπληροῖ, ὥστε τὸ πᾶν αὐτὸ\
αὑτῷ συνδεδέσθαι. διὰ τούτου καὶ ἡ μαντικὴ πᾶσα χωρεῖ\
καὶ ἡ τῶν ἱερέων τέχνη τῶν τε περὶ τὰς θυσίας καὶ τελετὰς\
καὶ τὰς ἐπῳδὰς καὶ τὴν μαντείαν πᾶσαν καὶ γοητείαν. θεὸς **203**\
δὲ ἀνθρώπῳ οὐ μείγνυται, ἀλλὰ διὰ τούτου πᾶσά ἐστιν ἡ\
ὁμιλία καὶ ἡ διάλεκτος θεοῖς πρὸς ἀνθρώπους, καὶ ἐγρη-\
γορόσι καὶ καθεύδουσι· καὶ ὁ μὲν περὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα σοφὸς\
δαιμόνιος ἀνήρ, ὁ δὲ ἄλλο τι σοφὸς ὢν ἢ περὶ τέχνας **5**\
ἢ χειρουργίας τινὰς βάναυσος. οὗτοι δὴ οἱ δαίμονες

> *Apparatus:* **d** 5 ἂν B Oxy. Stobaeus: δ’ ἂν T W   τῶν T W Oxy. Stobaeus: γ’ ὢν B   **d** 6 ὥς γ’ B T: ωσ γε Oxy.: γ’ ὡς W: ὥστ’ Stobaeus   **d** 11 ἔφη T W Oxy.: ἔφην B Stobaeus   **e** 1 τε B T Oxy.: om. W Stobaeus   **e** 8 τελετὰς T W: τὰς τελετὰς B Oxy. Stobaeus   **a** 1 μαντείαν B T W Oxy. Stobaeus: μαγγανείαν Geel: μαγείαν Badham   **a** 4 σοφὸς B T W Oxy.: σφοδρὸς Stobaeus   **a** 5 ὢν B T W Oxy.: om. Stobaeus   **a** 6 ἢ B T W: ἢ περὶ Oxy. Stobaeus   βαναυσους Oxy.

### English

good and beautiful things, desires these very things he lacks.’

“‘I have agreed it, yes.’

“‘How, then, could one be a god who is portionless in beautiful and good things?’

“‘In no way, it seems.’

“‘You see, then,’ she said, ‘that you too do not hold Love to be a god?’

“‘What, then,’ I said, ‘would Love be? Mortal?’

“‘Least of all.’

“‘But what, then?’

“‘As before,’ she said,[^112] ‘between mortal and immortal.’

“‘What, then, Diotima?’

“‘A great daimon, Socrates; for everything daimonic **[e]** is between god and mortal.’[^113]

“‘Having what power?’ I said.

“‘Interpreting and ferrying across to gods the things from human beings, and to human beings the things from gods: the petitions and sacrifices of the one, and the orders and the returns for the sacrifices of the other; and being in the middle of both, it fills in between, so that the all is bound together with itself. Through this goes all divination,[^114] and the craft of the priests concerned with sacrifices and rites **[203]** and charms and all prophecy and sorcery. A god does not mingle with a human being; but through this is all the company and conversation of gods with human beings, whether they are awake or asleep; and the man wise about such things is a daimonic man, while he who is wise in anything else, about crafts or some handiworks, is menial.[^115] These daimons, then,

[^112]: *She said*: so T, W and the papyrus; B and Stobaeus have *ephēn*, “I said”, which gives the answer to Socrates (apparatus, d11).

[^113]: *Daimon*: in common speech a god or any divine power; Diotima makes the daimonic a rank between gods and mortals. The English keeps the Greek word, and “daimonic” for *daimonios*. Socrates’ sign is “something divine and daimonic” (*Apology* 31c–d).

[^114]: Eryximachus had made divination “the craftsman of friendship between gods and human beings” (188d).

[^115]: *Menial*: *banausos*, the word for craftsmen who work with their hands, whose work Greek gentlemen held to unfit a man for a citizen’s life (Xenophon, *Oeconomicus* 4.2–3); compare *Alcibiades I* 131b.

---

## 203a–203e

### Greek (Burnet, page 44)

πολλοὶ καὶ παντοδαποί εἰσιν, εἷς δὲ τούτων ἐστὶ καὶ ὁ\
Ἔρως.\
 Πατρὸς δέ, ἦν δ’ ἐγώ, τίνος ἐστὶ καὶ μητρός;\
 Μακρότερον μέν, ἔφη, διηγήσασθαι· ὅμως δέ σοι ἐρῶ. **b**\
ὅτε γὰρ ἐγένετο ἡ Ἀφροδίτη, ἡστιῶντο οἱ θεοὶ οἵ τε ἄλλοι\
καὶ ὁ τῆς Μήτιδος ὑὸς Πόρος. ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἐδείπνησαν,\
προσαιτήσουσα οἷον δὴ εὐωχίας οὔσης ἀφίκετο ἡ Πενία, καὶ\
ἦν περὶ τὰς θύρας. ὁ οὖν Πόρος μεθυσθεὶς τοῦ νέκταρος— **5**\
οἶνος γὰρ οὔπω ἦν—εἰς τὸν τοῦ Διὸς κῆπον εἰσελθὼν\
βεβαρημένος ηὗδεν. ἡ οὖν Πενία ἐπιβουλεύουσα διὰ τὴν\
αὑτῆς ἀπορίαν παιδίον ποιήσασθαι ἐκ τοῦ Πόρου, κατα-\
κλίνεταί τε παρ’ αὐτῷ καὶ ἐκύησε τὸν Ἔρωτα. διὸ δὴ καὶ **c**\
τῆς Ἀφροδίτης ἀκόλουθος καὶ θεράπων γέγονεν ὁ Ἔρως,\
γεννηθεὶς ἐν τοῖς ἐκείνης γενεθλίοις, καὶ ἅμα φύσει ἐρα-\
στὴς ὢν περὶ τὸ καλὸν καὶ τῆς Ἀφροδίτης καλῆς οὔσης.\
ἅτε οὖν Πόρου καὶ Πενίας ὑὸς ὢν ὁ Ἔρως ἐν τοιαύτῃ τύχῃ **5**\
καθέστηκεν. πρῶτον μὲν πένης ἀεί ἐστι, καὶ πολλοῦ δεῖ\
ἁπαλός τε καὶ καλός, οἷον οἱ πολλοὶ οἴονται, ἀλλὰ σκληρὸς\
καὶ αὐχμηρὸς καὶ ἀνυπόδητος καὶ ἄοικος, χαμαιπετὴς ἀεὶ **d**\
ὢν καὶ ἄστρωτος, ἐπὶ θύραις καὶ ἐν ὁδοῖς ὑπαίθριος κοιμώ-\
μενος, τὴν τῆς μητρὸς φύσιν ἔχων, ἀεὶ ἐνδείᾳ σύνοικος.\
κατὰ δὲ αὖ τὸν πατέρα ἐπίβουλός ἐστι τοῖς καλοῖς καὶ τοῖς\
ἀγαθοῖς, ἀνδρεῖος ὢν καὶ ἴτης καὶ σύντονος, θηρευτὴς **5**\
δεινός, ἀεί τινας πλέκων μηχανάς, καὶ φρονήσεως ἐπι-\
θυμητὴς καὶ πόριμος, φιλοσοφῶν διὰ παντὸς τοῦ βίου,\
δεινὸς γόης καὶ φαρμακεὺς καὶ σοφιστής· καὶ οὔτε ὡς\
ἀθάνατος πέφυκεν οὔτε ὡς θνητός, ἀλλὰ τοτὲ μὲν τῆς αὐτῆς **e**\
ἡμέρας θάλλει τε καὶ ζῇ, ὅταν εὐπορήσῃ, τοτὲ δὲ ἀποθνῄ-

> *Apparatus:* **a** 7 καὶ prius B T W: τε καὶ Oxy. Stobaeus   **a** 9 τίνος ἐστὶ καὶ μητρὸς B W et corr. T: καὶ μητρὸς τίνος ἐστι(ν) T Oxy.   **b** 2 ἡστιῶντο B T: εἱστιῶντο B² W t: ϊστιωντο Oxy.   **b** 4 προσαιτὴς οὖσα B Origenes   **b** 6 εξελθων Oxy.   **c** 1 δὴ καὶ B T Oxy.: δὴ W   **c** 6 πενίης B   δεῖ B T Oxy.: δὴ W   **d** 2 ὑπαίθριος B W Oxy.: ὑπαιθρίοις T   **d** 4 τοῖς alterum om. Oxy.   **d** 7 πόριμος φιλοσοφῶν T W Oxy.: πορισμος φιλοσόφων B   **d** 8 καὶ prius om. Oxy.   **e** 1 αὐτῆς om. Oxy.   **e** 2 τε T W: om. B Oxy.

### English

are many and of all kinds, and Love too is one of them.’

“‘And who,’ I said, ‘is his father, and who his mother?’

**[b]** “‘It is rather long to tell,’ she said; ‘but all the same I shall tell you. When Aphrodite was born, the gods were feasting, Resource the son of Metis among the rest.[^116] And when they had dined, Poverty came to beg, as one would when there is good cheer, and she was at the doors. Now Resource, drunk with nectar — for there was no wine yet — went into the garden of Zeus and, weighed down, slept. So Poverty, plotting, because of her own want of resource, to get a child from Resource, lies down **[c]** beside him and conceived Love. That is why Love has become Aphrodite’s follower and attendant, since he was begotten at her birthday feast, and is at the same time by nature a lover concerned with the beautiful, and Aphrodite being beautiful. Since, then, he is the son of Resource and Poverty, Love is set in a fortune like this. First, he is always poor, and far from being tender and beautiful, as the many think, but is hard **[d]** and squalid and barefoot and homeless, always lying on the ground and without bedding, sleeping in doorways and on the roads under the open sky,[^117] having his mother’s nature, always a housemate of lack. But after his father, again, he lays plots for the beautiful and the good, being courageous and bold and intense, a formidable hunter, always weaving some devices, a desirer of intelligence and resourceful, loving wisdom through all his life, a formidable sorcerer and poisoner and sophist; and he **[e]** is by nature neither immortal nor mortal, but on the same day now he flourishes and lives, when he has resource, and now dies,

[^116]: *Resource … Poverty*: *Poros* and *Penia*. Metis, “Cunning Intelligence”, is the first wife of Zeus (Hesiod, *Theogony* 886–890). From *poros* come the words for being at a loss (*aporein*, *aporia*), for being well provided (*euporein*) and for resourceful (*porimos*); the English keeps “resource” where it can, and “at a loss” for *aporein*, as at 198a–b. *Penia* and *penēs*, “poor” (203c6), are of one family.

[^117]: *Barefoot*: as Socrates usually is (174a; Aristophanes, *Clouds* 103, 362–363); much of this portrait of Love fits Socrates (interpretation).

---

## 203e–204d

### Greek (Burnet, page 45)

σκει, πάλιν δὲ ἀναβιώσκεται διὰ τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς φύσιν, τὸ\
δὲ ποριζόμενον ἀεὶ ὑπεκρεῖ, ὥστε οὔτε ἀπορεῖ Ἔρως ποτὲ\
οὔτε πλουτεῖ, σοφίας τε αὖ καὶ ἀμαθίας ἐν μέσῳ ἐστίν. **5**\
ἔχει γὰρ ὧδε. θεῶν οὐδεὶς φιλοσοφεῖ οὐδ’ ἐπιθυμεῖ σοφὸς **204**\
γενέσθαι—ἔστι γάρ—οὐδ’ εἴ τις ἄλλος σοφός, οὐ φιλοσοφεῖ.\
οὐδ’ αὖ οἱ ἀμαθεῖς φιλοσοφοῦσιν οὐδ’ ἐπιθυμοῦσι σοφοὶ\
γενέσθαι· αὐτὸ γὰρ τοῦτό ἐστι χαλεπὸν ἀμαθία, τὸ μὴ\
ὄντα καλὸν κἀγαθὸν μηδὲ φρόνιμον δοκεῖν αὑτῷ εἶναι **5**\
ἱκανόν. οὔκουν ἐπιθυμεῖ ὁ μὴ οἰόμενος ἐνδεὴς εἶναι οὗ ἂν\
μὴ οἴηται ἐπιδεῖσθαι.\
 Τίνες οὖν, ἔφην ἐγώ, ὦ Διοτίμα, οἱ φιλοσοφοῦντες, εἰ\
μήτε οἱ σοφοὶ μήτε οἱ ἀμαθεῖς;\
 Δῆλον δή, ἔφη, τοῦτό γε ἤδη καὶ παιδί, ὅτι οἱ μεταξὺ **b**\
τούτων ἀμφοτέρων, ὧν ἂν εἴη καὶ ὁ Ἔρως. ἔστιν γὰρ δὴ τῶν\
καλλίστων ἡ σοφία, Ἔρως δ’ ἐστὶν ἔρως περὶ τὸ καλόν,\
ὥστε ἀναγκαῖον Ἔρωτα φιλόσοφον εἶναι, φιλόσοφον δὲ\
ὄντα μεταξὺ εἶναι σοφοῦ καὶ ἀμαθοῦς. αἰτία δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ **5**\
τούτων ἡ γένεσις· πατρὸς μὲν γὰρ σοφοῦ ἐστι καὶ εὐπόρου,\
μητρὸς δὲ οὐ σοφῆς καὶ ἀπόρου. ἡ μὲν οὖν φύσις τοῦ\
δαίμονος, ὦ φίλε Σώκρατες, αὕτη· ὃν δὲ σὺ ᾠήθης Ἔρωτα\
εἶναι, θαυμαστὸν οὐδὲν ἔπαθες. ᾠήθης δέ, ὡς ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ **c**\
τεκμαιρομένῃ ἐξ ὧν σὺ λέγεις, τὸ ἐρώμενον Ἔρωτα εἶναι,\
οὐ τὸ ἐρῶν· διὰ ταῦτά σοι οἶμαι πάγκαλος ἐφαίνετο ὁ\
Ἔρως. καὶ γὰρ ἔστι τὸ ἐραστὸν τὸ τῷ ὄντι καλὸν καὶ\
ἁβρὸν καὶ τέλεον καὶ μακαριστόν· τὸ δέ γε ἐρῶν ἄλλην **5**\
ἰδέαν τοιαύτην ἔχον, οἵαν ἐγὼ διῆλθον.\
 Καὶ ἐγὼ εἶπον, Εἶεν δή, ὦ ξένη, καλῶς γὰρ λέγεις·\
τοιοῦτος ὢν ὁ Ἔρως τίνα χρείαν ἔχει τοῖς ἀνθρώποις;\
 Τοῦτο δὴ μετὰ ταῦτ’, ἔφη, ὦ Σώκρατες, πειράσομαί σε **d**\
διδάξαι. ἔστι μὲν γὰρ δὴ τοιοῦτος καὶ οὕτω γεγονὼς ὁ

> *Apparatus:* **e** 3 πάλιν s. v. iterat corr. Oxy.   **e** 5 τε αὖ και T W: τε καὶ B: και (αυ s. v.) Oxy.   **a** 5 αὑτῷ (αὐτῷ) B² T W Oxy.: αὐτὸ B   **b** 1 δὴ T W Oxy.: ὅτι B   **b** 2 ἂν εἴη Oxy.: ἂν B T W   **c** 2 ελεγεσ Oxy.   ειναι ερωτα Oxy.

### English

and comes back to life again through his father’s nature; but what he procures always slips away, so that Love is never at a loss nor rich, and again he is in the middle between wisdom and ignorance. **[204]** For it is like this. No god loves wisdom or desires to become wise — for he is — nor does anyone else who is wise love wisdom. Nor again do the ignorant love wisdom or desire to become wise; for this is just what is hard about ignorance, that one who is not beautiful and good, nor intelligent, seems to himself sufficient. So the one who does not think he is lacking does not desire what he does not think he is in need of.’[^118]

“‘Who, then,’ I said, ‘Diotima, are those who love wisdom, if they are neither the wise nor the ignorant?’

**[b]** “‘That is plain by now even to a child,’ she said: ‘those between both of these, of whom Love too would be one. For wisdom is among the most beautiful things, and Love is love concerned with the beautiful, so that Love must be a lover of wisdom,[^119] and, being a lover of wisdom, be between wise and ignorant. And the cause of this too is his birth; for he is of a wise and resourceful father, and of a mother who is not wise and is without resource. This, then, my friend Socrates, is the nature of the daimon; but as for what you thought Love **[c]** was, nothing marvellous happened to you. You thought, as it seems to me, taking as evidence what you say, that Love was the beloved, not what is in love; that is why, I think, Love seemed all-beautiful to you. For what is lovable is what is really beautiful and delicate and perfect and to be counted blessed; but what is in love has another figure, such as I described.’

“And I said, ‘Very well, then, stranger, for you speak well; Love being such, what use is he to human beings?’

**[d]** “‘This,’ she said, ‘Socrates, is what I shall try to teach you next. For such indeed, and so born, is

[^118]: Socrates makes the same division in the *Lysis* (218a–b): neither the wise nor the ignorant love wisdom, but those between.

[^119]: *A lover of wisdom*: *philosophos*, “philosopher”, the one who “loves wisdom” (*philosophein*); the English keeps the parts of the word, since Diotima’s argument rests on them.

---

## 204d–205b

### Greek (Burnet, page 46)

Ἔρως, ἔστι δὲ τῶν καλῶν, ὡς σὺ φῄς. εἰ δέ τις ἡμᾶς\
ἔροιτο· Τί τῶν καλῶν ἐστιν ὁ Ἔρως, ὦ Σώκρατές τε\
καὶ Διοτίμα; ὧδε δὲ σαφέστερον· ἐρᾷ ὁ ἐρῶν τῶν καλῶν· **5**\
τί ἐρᾷ;\
 Καὶ ἐγὼ εἶπον ὅτι Γενέσθαι αὑτῷ.\
 Ἀλλ’ ἔτι ποθεῖ, ἔφη, ἡ ἀπόκρισις ἐρώτησιν τοιάνδε· Τί\
ἔσται ἐκείνῳ ᾧ ἂν γένηται τὰ καλά;\
 Οὐ πάνυ ἔφην ἔτι ἔχειν ἐγὼ πρὸς ταύτην τὴν ἐρώτησιν **10**\
προχείρως ἀποκρίνασθαι.\
 Ἀλλ’, ἔφη, ὥσπερ ἂν εἴ τις μεταβαλὼν ἀντὶ τοῦ καλοῦ **e**\
τῷ ἀγαθῷ χρώμενος πυνθάνοιτο· Φέρε, ὦ Σώκρατες, ἐρᾷ ὁ\
ἐρῶν τῶν ἀγαθῶν· τί ἐρᾷ;\
 Γενέσθαι, ἦν δ’ ἐγώ, αὑτῷ.\
 Καὶ τί ἔσται ἐκείνῳ ᾧ ἂν γένηται τἀγαθά; **5**\
 Τοῦτ’ εὐπορώτερον, ἦν δ’ ἐγώ, ἔχω ἀποκρίνασθαι, ὅτι\
εὐδαίμων ἔσται.\
 Κτήσει γάρ, ἔφη, ἀγαθῶν οἱ εὐδαίμονες εὐδαίμονες, καὶ **205**\
οὐκέτι προσδεῖ ἐρέσθαι Ἵνα τί δὲ βούλεται εὐδαίμων εἶναι\
ὁ βουλόμενος; ἀλλὰ τέλος δοκεῖ ἔχειν ἡ ἀπόκρισις.\
 Ἀληθῆ λέγεις, εἶπον ἐγώ.\
 Ταύτην δὴ τὴν βούλησιν καὶ τὸν ἔρωτα τοῦτον πότερα **5**\
κοινὸν οἴει εἶναι πάντων ἀνθρώπων, καὶ πάντας τἀγαθὰ\
βούλεσθαι αὑτοῖς εἶναι ἀεί, ἢ πῶς λέγεις;\
 Οὕτως, ἦν δ’ ἐγώ· κοινὸν εἶναι πάντων.\
 Τί δὴ οὖν, ἔφη, ὦ Σώκρατες, οὐ πάντας ἐρᾶν φαμεν,\
εἴπερ γε πάντες τῶν αὐτῶν ἐρῶσι καὶ ἀεί, ἀλλά τινάς φαμεν **b**\
ἐρᾶν, τοὺς δ’ οὔ;\
 Θαυμάζω, ἦν δ’ ἐγώ, καὶ αὐτός.\
 Ἀλλὰ μὴ θαύμαζ’, ἔφη· ἀφελόντες γὰρ ἄρα τοῦ ἔρωτός

> *Apparatus:* **d** 4 τε B Oxy.: om. T W   **d** 5 ἐρᾷ B T W Oxy.: ἐρῶ b vulg.   **d** 8 ἔτι ποθεῖ T W Oxy.: ἐπιποθεῖ B   **e** 2 ἐρᾷ B T W Oxy.: ἐρῶ vulg.   **a** 1 ἀγάθων B   **a** 5 δὴ T W: δὲ B Oxy.   **a** 6 οἴει εἶναι B T: εἶναι οἴει W   **b** 4 ἄρα T Oxy.: om. B W   ἔρωτος B W: ἐρῶντος T

### English

Love; and he is of beautiful things, as you say. But if someone were to ask us, “In what way is Love of beautiful things, Socrates and Diotima?” — or, more clearly, like this: “The one in love is in love with beautiful things: what is it he is in love with?”’

“And I said, ‘That they become his.’

“‘But the answer still yearns,’ she said, ‘for a question of this kind: what will he have whose they become, the beautiful things?’

“I said I was no longer quite able to answer this question readily.

**[e]** “‘Well,’ she said, ‘it is as if someone changed and, using the good in place of the beautiful, inquired: “Come, Socrates, the one in love is in love with good things: what is it he is in love with?”’

“‘That they become his,’ I said.

“‘And what will he have whose they become, the good things?’

“‘This I can answer with more resource,’ I said: ‘that he will be happy.’

**[205]** “‘For it is by the possession of good things,’ she said, ‘that the happy are happy, and there is no further need to ask, “And to what end does the one who wants to be happy want it?” The answer seems to have reached its end.’

“‘What you say is true,’ I said.

“‘This wish, then, and this love — do you think it common to all human beings, and that all want good things to be theirs always, or how do you put it?’

“‘So,’ I said: ‘that it is common to all.’

“‘Why then, Socrates,’ she said, ‘do we not say that all are in love, **[b]** if indeed all are in love with the same things and always, but say that some are in love and some not?’

“‘I marvel at it myself,’ I said.

“‘No, do not marvel,’ she said; ‘for, after all, we take from love

---

## 205b–205e

### Greek (Burnet, page 47)

τι εἶδος ὀνομάζομεν, τὸ τοῦ ὅλου ἐπιτιθέντες ὄνομα, ἔρωτα, **5**\
τὰ δὲ ἄλλα ἄλλοις καταχρώμεθα ὀνόμασιν.\
 Ὥσπερ τί; ἦν δ’ ἐγώ.\
 Ὥσπερ τόδε. οἶσθ’ ὅτι ποίησίς ἐστί τι πολύ· ἡ γάρ\
τοι ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος εἰς τὸ ὂν ἰόντι ὁτῳοῦν αἰτία πᾶσά ἐστι\
ποίησις, ὥστε καὶ αἱ ὑπὸ πάσαις ταῖς τέχναις ἐργασίαι **c**\
ποιήσεις εἰσὶ καὶ οἱ τούτων δημιουργοὶ πάντες ποιηταί.\
 Ἀληθῆ λέγεις.\
 Ἀλλ’ ὅμως, ἦ δ’ ἥ, οἶσθ’ ὅτι οὐ καλοῦνται ποιηταὶ ἀλλὰ\
ἄλλα ἔχουσιν ὀνόματα, ἀπὸ δὲ πάσης τῆς ποιήσεως ἓν **5**\
μόριον ἀφορισθὲν τὸ περὶ τὴν μουσικὴν καὶ τὰ μέτρα τῷ\
τοῦ ὅλου ὀνόματι προσαγορεύεται. ποίησις γὰρ τοῦτο\
μόνον καλεῖται, καὶ οἱ ἔχοντες τοῦτο τὸ μόριον τῆς ποιήσεως\
ποιηταί.\
 Ἀληθῆ λέγεις, ἔφην. **10**\
 Οὕτω τοίνυν καὶ περὶ τὸν ἔρωτα. τὸ μὲν κεφάλαιόν ἐστι **d**\
πᾶσα ἡ τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἐπιθυμία καὶ τοῦ εὐδαιμονεῖν *ὁ μέ-*\
*γιστός τε καὶ δολερὸς ἔρως* παντί· ἀλλ’ οἱ μὲν ἄλλῃ\
τρεπόμενοι πολλαχῇ ἐπ’ αὐτόν, ἢ κατὰ χρηματισμὸν ἢ κατὰ\
φιλογυμναστίαν ἢ κατὰ φιλοσοφίαν, οὔτε ἐρᾶν καλοῦνται **5**\
οὔτε ἐρασταί, οἱ δὲ κατὰ ἕν τι εἶδος ἰόντες τε καὶ ἐσπου-\
δακότες τὸ τοῦ ὅλου ὄνομα ἴσχουσιν, ἔρωτά τε καὶ ἐρᾶν καὶ\
ἐρασταί.\
 Κινδυνεύεις ἀληθῆ, ἔφην ἐγώ, λέγειν.\
 Καὶ λέγεται μέν γέ τις, ἔφη, λόγος, ὡς οἳ ἂν τὸ ἥμισυ **10**\
ἑαυτῶν ζητῶσιν, οὗτοι ἐρῶσιν· ὁ δ’ ἐμὸς λόγος οὔτε ἡμίσεός **e**\
φησιν εἶναι τὸν ἔρωτα οὔτε ὅλου, ἐὰν μὴ τυγχάνῃ γέ που,\
ὦ ἑταῖρε, ἀγαθὸν ὄν, ἐπεὶ αὑτῶν γε καὶ πόδας καὶ χεῖρας\
ἐθέλουσιν ἀποτέμνεσθαι οἱ ἄνθρωποι, ἐὰν αὐτοῖς δοκῇ τὰ

> *Apparatus:* **b** 9 τοι Vind. 21: τι B T W: τω Oxy. (in marg. ὧ)   **c** 4 η δ η Oxy.: ἤδη B T W   οὐ B T Oxy.: om. W   **c** 5 ἔχουσιν T W Oxy.: ἕξουσιν B   **c** 6 μόριον B T Oxy. et γρ. W: μόνον W   **d** 3 δολερὸς B T W Oxy.: πρῶτος ci. Schanz   **d** 7 ἴσχουσιν B T W: εσχον Oxy.   **d** 10 ἑαυτῶν B T Oxy.: αὐτῶν W   **e** 3 ἐπεὶ T W Oxy.: ἐπὶ B

### English

a certain form and name it, putting on it the name of the whole, love, and for the others we use other names.’

“‘Like what?’ I said.

“‘Like this. You know that making is something manifold; for surely every cause for anything whatever to pass from what is not into what is, is **[c]** making, so that the works done under all the crafts are makings, and their craftsmen are all poets.’

“‘What you say is true.’

“‘But all the same,’ she said,[^120] ‘you know that they are not called poets but have other names, and that from all making one part has been marked off, the part concerned with music and metres, and is addressed by the name of the whole. For this alone is called making, and those who have this part of making, poets.’[^121]

“‘What you say is true,’ I said.

**[d]** “‘So too, then, with love. In sum, every desire of good things and of being happy is “the greatest and treacherous love” for everyone;[^122] but those who turn to it otherwise, in many ways, in money-making or in love of athletics or in philosophy, are neither said to be in love nor called lovers, while those who go after one form and are in earnest about it keep the name of the whole: love, and being in love, and lovers.’

“‘It looks like what you say is true,’ I said.

“‘And an account is told,’ she said, ‘that those who **[e]** seek the half of themselves, these are in love;[^123] but my account says that love is neither of a half nor of a whole, unless, I take it, my companion, it is in fact good; since human beings are willing to have even their own feet and hands cut off, if it seems to them that the

[^120]: *She said*: *ē d’ hē*, which the papyrus has here and at 206b1, and Bekker restored at 206a3 and 206c1; the manuscripts have *ēdē*, “already”, in all four places.

[^121]: *Poets*: *poiētai*, literally “makers”, from *poiein*, “make”; *poiēsis*, “making”, was also the word for poetry. Diotima’s point is that the name of the whole has been given to one part. Agathon had used *poiēsis* of music and then of the making of all animals (196e–197a).

[^122]: *”The greatest and treacherous love”*: Burnet spaces these words as a quotation, without naming a source; Schanz conjectured *prōtos*, “first”, for *doleros*, “treacherous” (apparatus, d3).

[^123]: *An account is told*: Aristophanes’ story of the halves (191a–193a). When Socrates finishes, Aristophanes tries to answer, because Socrates had referred to his speech (212c).

---

## 205e–206c

### Greek (Burnet, page 48)

ἑαυτῶν πονηρὰ εἶναι. οὐ γὰρ τὸ ἑαυτῶν οἶμαι ἕκαστοι **5**\
ἀσπάζονται, εἰ μὴ εἴ τις τὸ μὲν ἀγαθὸν οἰκεῖον καλεῖ καὶ\
ἑαυτοῦ, τὸ δὲ κακὸν ἀλλότριον· ὡς οὐδέν γε ἄλλο ἐστὶν οὗ\
ἐρῶσιν ἅνθρωποι ἢ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ. ἢ σοὶ δοκοῦσιν; **206**\
 Μὰ Δί’ οὐκ ἔμοιγε, ἦν δ’ ἐγώ.\
 Ἆρ’ οὖν, ἦ δ’ ἥ, οὕτως ἁπλοῦν ἐστι λέγειν ὅτι οἱ\
ἄνθρωποι τἀγαθοῦ ἐρῶσιν;\
 Ναί, ἔφην. **5**\
 Τί δέ; οὐ προσθετέον, ἔφη, ὅτι καὶ εἶναι τὸ ἀγαθὸν\
αὑτοῖς ἐρῶσιν;\
 Προσθετέον.\
 Ἆρ’ οὖν, ἔφη, καὶ οὐ μόνον εἶναι, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀεὶ εἶναι;\
 Καὶ τοῦτο προσθετέον. **10**\
 Ἔστιν ἄρα συλλήβδην, ἔφη, ὁ ἔρως τοῦ τὸ ἀγαθὸν αὑτῷ\
εἶναι ἀεί.\
 Ἀληθέστατα, ἔφην ἐγώ, λέγεις.\
 Ὅτε δὴ τοῦτο ὁ ἔρως ἐστὶν ἀεί, ἦ δ’ ἥ, τῶν τίνα τρόπον **b**\
διωκόντων αὐτὸ καὶ ἐν τίνι πράξει ἡ σπουδὴ καὶ ἡ σύντασις\
ἔρως ἂν καλοῖτο; τί τοῦτο τυγχάνει ὂν τὸ ἔργον; ἔχεις\
εἰπεῖν;\
 Οὐ μεντἂν σέ, ἔφην ἐγώ, ὦ Διοτίμα, ἐθαύμαζον ἐπὶ **5**\
σοφίᾳ καὶ ἐφοίτων παρὰ σὲ αὐτὰ ταῦτα μαθησόμενος.\
 Ἀλλὰ ἐγώ σοι, ἔφη, ἐρῶ. ἔστι γὰρ τοῦτο τόκος ἐν\
καλῷ καὶ κατὰ τὸ σῶμα καὶ κατὰ τὴν ψυχήν.\
 Μαντείας, ἦν δ’ ἐγώ, δεῖται ὅτι ποτε λέγεις, καὶ οὐ\
μανθάνω. **10**\
 Ἀλλ’ ἐγώ, ἦ δ’ ἥ, σαφέστερον ἐρῶ. κυοῦσιν γάρ, ἔφη, **c**\
ὦ Σώκρατες, πάντες ἄνθρωποι καὶ κατὰ τὸ σῶμα καὶ κατὰ

> *Apparatus:* **e** 6 καλεῖ W: καλῇ B T   **a** 1 ἅνθρωποι Bekker: ἄνθρωποι B T: οἱ ἄνθρωποι W   **a** 3 ἦ δ’ ἥ Bekker: ἤδη B T W   **a** 4 τἀγαθοῦ T W: τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ B   **a** 9 οὖν B T Oxy.: om. W   **a** 11 τοῦ τὸ W: τοῦ τὸ\* T: τοῦτο B   αὑτῷ T W Oxy.: αὐτὸ B   **b** 1 δὴ] δε Oxy.   η δ η Oxy.: ἤδη B T W   τῶν T W² Oxy.: τὸν B W   **b** 2 αὐτὸ B W Oxy.: αὐτὸν T   ἢ σπουδῇ B T W   σύντασις B Oxy.: σύστασις T W   **c** 1 ἦ δ’ ἥ Bekker: ἤδη B T W: δη Oxy.   **c** 2 καὶ prius T W Oxy.. om. B

### English

ones that are their own are base. For it is not their own, I think, that each welcomes, unless one calls the good akin and his own, and the bad alien; since there is nothing else that **[206]** human beings are in love with than the good. Or do they seem so to you?’

“‘By Zeus, not to me,’ I said.

“‘Then is it so simple,’ she said, ‘to say that human beings are in love with the good?’

“‘Yes,’ I said.

“‘What then? Must it not be added,’ she said, ‘that they are in love with the good’s being theirs?’

“‘It must be added.’

“‘Then,’ she said, ‘not only its being theirs, but its being theirs always?’

“‘This too must be added.’

“‘So, taken all together,’ she said, ‘love is of the good’s being one’s own always.’

“‘Most true,’ I said, ‘is what you say.’

**[b]** “‘Since love is always this,’ she said, ‘in those who pursue it in what way, and in what action, would their earnestness and exertion be called love? What is this work, in fact? Can you tell?’

“‘Then I would not be marvelling at you for your wisdom, Diotima,’ I said, ‘and coming to you to learn these very things.’

“‘Well, I shall tell you,’ she said. ‘It is giving birth in what is beautiful, both in body and in soul.’

“‘It needs prophecy,’ I said, ‘whatever you mean, and I do not understand.’

**[c]** “‘Well, I shall speak more clearly,’ she said. ‘For all human beings, Socrates,’ she said, ‘are pregnant both in body and in

---

## 206c–207a

### Greek (Burnet, page 49)

τὴν ψυχήν, καὶ ἐπειδὰν ἔν τινι ἡλικίᾳ γένωνται, τίκτειν\
ἐπιθυμεῖ ἡμῶν ἡ φύσις. τίκτειν δὲ ἐν μὲν αἰσχρῷ οὐ\
δύναται, ἐν δὲ τῷ καλῷ. ἡ γὰρ ἀνδρὸς καὶ γυναικὸς **5**\
συνουσία τόκος ἐστίν. ἔστι δὲ τοῦτο θεῖον τὸ πρᾶγμα,\
καὶ τοῦτο ἐν θνητῷ ὄντι τῷ ζῴῳ ἀθάνατον ἔνεστιν, ἡ κύησις\
καὶ ἡ γέννησις. τὰ δὲ ἐν τῷ ἀναρμόστῳ ἀδύνατον γενέ-\
σθαι. ἀνάρμοστον δ’ ἐστὶ τὸ αἰσχρὸν παντὶ τῷ θείῳ, τὸ **d**\
δὲ καλὸν ἁρμόττον. Μοῖρα οὖν καὶ Εἰλείθυια ἡ Καλλονή\
ἐστι τῇ γενέσει. διὰ ταῦτα ὅταν μὲν καλῷ προσπελάζῃ\
τὸ κυοῦν, ἵλεών τε γίγνεται καὶ εὐφραινόμενον διαχεῖται\
καὶ τίκτει τε καὶ γεννᾷ· ὅταν δὲ αἰσχρῷ, σκυθρωπόν τε **5**\
καὶ λυπούμενον συσπειρᾶται καὶ ἀποτρέπεται καὶ ἀνείλλεται\
καὶ οὐ γεννᾷ, ἀλλὰ ἴσχον τὸ κύημα χαλεπῶς φέρει. ὅθεν δὴ\
τῷ κυοῦντί τε καὶ ἤδη σπαργῶντι πολλὴ ἡ πτοίησις γέγονε\
περὶ τὸ καλὸν διὰ τὸ μεγάλης ὠδῖνος ἀπολύειν τὸν ἔχοντα. **e**\
ἔστιν γάρ, ὦ Σώκρατες, ἔφη, οὐ τοῦ καλοῦ ὁ ἔρως, ὡς\
σὺ οἴει.\
 Ἀλλὰ τί μήν;\
 Τῆς γεννήσεως καὶ τοῦ τόκου ἐν τῷ καλῷ. **5**\
 Εἶεν, ἦν δ’ ἐγώ.\
 Πάνυ μὲν οὖν, ἔφη. τί δὴ οὖν τῆς γεννήσεως; ὅτι\
ἀειγενές ἐστι καὶ ἀθάνατον ὡς θνητῷ ἡ γέννησις. ἀθα-\
νασίας δὲ ἀναγκαῖον ἐπιθυμεῖν μετὰ ἀγαθοῦ ἐκ τῶν ὡμο- **207**\
λογημένων, εἴπερ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἑαυτῷ εἶναι ἀεὶ ἔρως ἐστίν.\
ἀναγκαῖον δὴ ἐκ τούτου τοῦ λόγου καὶ τῆς ἀθανασίας τὸν\
ἔρωτα εἶναι.\
 Ταῦτά τε οὖν πάντα ἐδίδασκέ με, ὁπότε περὶ τῶν ἐρω- **5**

> *Apparatus:* **c** 3 τὴν B W Oxy.: om. T   **c** 5 τῷ om. Oxy.   **c** 7 ἔνεστιν B Oxy.: ἔστιν T W   **c** 8 τὰ B Oxy.: ταῦτα T W   **d** 1 απαντι Oxy.   θείῳ T W: θεῷ B t Oxy.   **d** 6 συσπειρᾶται T W: ξυ[ν]σπειραται Oxy.: συνσπείρεται B W² (ε s. v.)   ἀνείλλεται B W: ἀνειλλεῖται T: ἀνειλεῖται t: ανιλλεται Oxy.   **d** 8 πτοίησις T W Oxy.: ποίησις B   **e** 1 ἀπολύειν T W Oxy.: ἀπολαύειν B   **e** 7 γενεσεως Oxy.   **e** 8 ἀειγενές] αει γενεσις Oxy.

### English

soul, and when they come to a certain age, our nature desires to give birth. But it cannot give birth in what is ugly, but in the beautiful. For the intercourse of man and woman is a giving birth. And this is a divine thing, and this is something immortal in the animal, mortal as it is: pregnancy and begetting. And these cannot come to be in what is out of harmony; **[d]** and the ugly is out of harmony with everything divine,[^124] while the beautiful is in harmony. Beauty, then, is Moira and Eileithyia at the birth.[^125] For this reason, whenever what is pregnant draws near to something beautiful, it becomes gracious, and melts with gladness, and gives birth and begets; but whenever to something ugly, it coils up, sullen and pained, and turns away and shrinks back and does not beget, but, holding in what it has conceived, bears it with difficulty. Hence for one who is pregnant and already swelling there comes great excitement **[e]** about the beautiful, because it releases the one who has it from great birth-pains. For love, Socrates,’ she said, ‘is not of the beautiful, as you think.’

“‘But of what, then?’

“‘Of begetting and giving birth in the beautiful.’

“‘Very well,’ I said.

“‘Most certainly,’ she said. ‘And why of begetting? Because, for a mortal, begetting is everlasting and immortal. **[207]** And it is necessary to desire immortality along with the good, from what has been agreed, if love is of the good’s being one’s own always. It is necessary, then, from this account, that love be of immortality too.’

“All these things, then, she taught me, whenever on matters of love

[^124]: *Everything divine*: *theiōi*, the reading of T and W; B and the papyrus have *theōi*, “every god”.

[^125]: *Moira and Eileithyia*: Moira, “Fate” or “Portion”, and Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth; at the birth of Iamus Apollo sets Eileithyia and the Moirai beside his mother (Pindar, *Olympian* 6.41–42; some editions read Eleutho, a short form of her name). Diotima gives *Kallonē*, “Beauty”, the office of both.

---

## 207a–207e

### Greek (Burnet, page 50)

τικῶν λόγους ποιοῖτο, καί ποτε ἤρετο Τί οἴει, ὦ Σώκρατες,\
αἴτιον εἶναι τούτου τοῦ ἔρωτος καὶ τῆς ἐπιθυμίας; ἢ οὐκ\
αἰσθάνῃ ὡς δεινῶς διατίθεται πάντα τὰ θηρία ἐπειδὰν γεν-\
νᾶν ἐπιθυμήσῃ, καὶ τὰ πεζὰ καὶ τὰ πτηνά, νοσοῦντά τε\
πάντα καὶ ἐρωτικῶς διατιθέμενα, πρῶτον μὲν περὶ τὸ συμ- **b**\
μιγῆναι ἀλλήλοις, ἔπειτα περὶ τὴν τροφὴν τοῦ γενομένου,\
καὶ ἕτοιμά ἐστιν ὑπὲρ τούτων καὶ διαμάχεσθαι τὰ ἀσθενέ-\
στατα τοῖς ἰσχυροτάτοις καὶ ὑπεραποθνῄσκειν, καὶ αὐτὰ τῷ\
λιμῷ παρατεινόμενα ὥστ’ ἐκεῖνα ἐκτρέφειν, καὶ ἄλλο πᾶν **5**\
ποιοῦντα. τοὺς μὲν γὰρ ἀνθρώπους, ἔφη, οἴοιτ’ ἄν τις ἐκ\
λογισμοῦ ταῦτα ποιεῖν· τὰ δὲ θηρία τίς αἰτία οὕτως ἐρω-\
τικῶς διατίθεσθαι; ἔχεις λέγειν; **c**\
 Καὶ ἐγὼ αὖ ἔλεγον ὅτι οὐκ εἰδείην· ἣ δ’ εἶπεν, Διανοῇ\
οὖν δεινός ποτε γενήσεσθαι τὰ ἐρωτικά, ἐὰν ταῦτα μὴ\
ἐννοῇς;\
 Ἀλλὰ διὰ ταῦτά τοι, ὦ Διοτίμα, ὅπερ νυνδὴ εἶπον, παρὰ **5**\
σὲ ἥκω, γνοὺς ὅτι διδασκάλων δέομαι. ἀλλά μοι λέγε\
καὶ τούτων τὴν αἰτίαν καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν περὶ τὰ ἐρωτικά.\
 Εἰ τοίνυν, ἔφη, πιστεύεις ἐκείνου εἶναι φύσει τὸν ἔρωτα,\
οὗ πολλάκις ὡμολογήκαμεν, μὴ θαύμαζε. ἐνταῦθα γὰρ\
τὸν αὐτὸν ἐκείνῳ λόγον ἡ θνητὴ φύσις ζητεῖ κατὰ τὸ δυνατὸν **d**\
ἀεί τε εἶναι καὶ ἀθάνατος. δύναται δὲ ταύτῃ μόνον, τῇ\
γενέσει, ὅτι ἀεὶ καταλείπει ἕτερον νέον ἀντὶ τοῦ παλαιοῦ,\
ἐπεὶ καὶ ἐν ᾧ ἓν ἕκαστον τῶν ζῴων ζῆν καλεῖται καὶ εἶναι\
τὸ αὐτό—οἷον ἐκ παιδαρίου ὁ αὐτὸς λέγεται ἕως ἂν πρε- **5**\
σβύτης γένηται· οὗτος μέντοι οὐδέποτε τὰ αὐτὰ ἔχων ἐν\
αὑτῷ ὅμως ὁ αὐτὸς καλεῖται, ἀλλὰ νέος ἀεὶ γιγνόμενος, τὰ\
δὲ ἀπολλύς, καὶ κατὰ τὰς τρίχας καὶ σάρκα καὶ ὀστᾶ καὶ\
αἷμα καὶ σύμπαν τὸ σῶμα. καὶ μὴ ὅτι κατὰ τὸ σῶμα, **e**\
ἀλλὰ καὶ κατὰ τὴν ψυχὴν οἱ τρόποι, τὰ ἤθη, δόξαι, ἐπιθυ-

> *Apparatus:* **b** 3 καὶ alterum B T Oxy.: om. W   αὐτὰ] αυτω Oxy.   **c** 2 αὖ ἔλεγον b: ἀνέλεγον B: ἂν ἔλεγον T W: ελεγον Oxy.   **c** 9 ὡμολογησαμεν Oxy.   **d** 2 τε T Oxy.: τὸ B W   καὶ T W Oxy.: om. B   **d** 3 τῇ γενέσει B T W Oxy.: secl. Vermehren   **e** 2 τρόποι T W Oxy.: τόποι B

### English

she made talk; and once she asked, ‘What do you think, Socrates, is the cause of this love and this desire? Or do you not perceive how dreadfully all the beasts are disposed whenever they desire to beget, both those that walk and those that fly, sick **[b]** all of them and disposed by love, first about mingling with one another, then about the rearing of what is born; and how for these the weakest are ready both to fight it out with the strongest and to die for them, being themselves racked with hunger so as to rear them, and doing everything else? For human beings,’ she said, ‘one might think do this from reasoning; but the beasts — what is the cause of their being so **[c]** disposed by love? Can you tell?’

“And I said again[^126] that I did not know; and she said, ‘Do you then intend ever to become formidable in matters of love, if you do not consider these things?’

“‘Why, it is for this very reason, Diotima, as I said just now, that I have come to you, knowing that I am in need of teachers. But tell me the cause of these things too, and of the others concerned with matters of love.’

“‘If, then,’ she said, ‘you trust that love is by nature of what we have often agreed, do not marvel. For here, **[d]** by the same account as there, mortal nature seeks, so far as it can, to be always and immortal. And it can do so only in this way, by birth: that it always leaves behind another, new, in place of the old; since even during the time in which each single animal is called living and the same — as a man is said to be the same from a little boy until he becomes an old man: this man, however, though he never has the same things in himself, is nonetheless called the same, but he is always becoming new and losing other things, in hair and flesh and bones and **[e]** blood and the whole body. And not only in the body, but in the soul too: ways, characters, opinions, desires,

[^126]: *Again*: *au*, from a later hand in B; T and W have *an elegon*, “I would say”, and the papyrus *elegon*, “I said” (apparatus, c2).

---

## 207e–208d

### Greek (Burnet, page 51)

μίαι, ἡδοναί, λῦπαι, φόβοι, τούτων ἕκαστα οὐδέποτε τὰ\
αὐτὰ πάρεστιν ἑκάστῳ, ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν γίγνεται, τὰ δὲ ἀπόλ-\
λυται. πολὺ δὲ τούτων ἀτοπώτερον ἔτι, ὅτι καὶ αἱ ἐπιστῆμαι **5**\
μὴ ὅτι αἱ μὲν γίγνονται, αἱ δὲ ἀπόλλυνται ἡμῖν, καὶ οὐδέ- **208**\
ποτε οἱ αὐτοί ἐσμεν οὐδὲ κατὰ τὰς ἐπιστήμας, ἀλλὰ καὶ\
μία ἑκάστη τῶν ἐπιστημῶν ταὐτὸν πάσχει. ὃ γὰρ καλεῖται\
μελετᾶν, ὡς ἐξιούσης ἐστὶ τῆς ἐπιστήμης· λήθη γὰρ\
ἐπιστήμης ἔξοδος, μελέτη δὲ πάλιν καινὴν ἐμποιοῦσα ἀντὶ **5**\
τῆς ἀπιούσης μνήμην σῴζει τὴν ἐπιστήμην, ὥστε τὴν\
αὐτὴν δοκεῖν εἶναι. τούτῳ γὰρ τῷ τρόπῳ πᾶν τὸ θνητὸν\
σῴζεται, οὐ τῷ παντάπασιν τὸ αὐτὸ ἀεὶ εἶναι ὥσπερ τὸ\
θεῖον, ἀλλὰ τῷ τὸ ἀπιὸν καὶ παλαιούμενον ἕτερον νέον **b**\
ἐγκαταλείπειν οἷον αὐτὸ ἦν. ταύτῃ τῇ μηχανῇ, ὦ Σώ-\
κρατες, ἔφη, θνητὸν ἀθανασίας μετέχει, καὶ σῶμα καὶ τἆλλα\
πάντα· ἀθάνατον δὲ ἄλλῃ. μὴ οὖν θαύμαζε εἰ τὸ αὑτοῦ\
ἀποβλάστημα φύσει πᾶν τιμᾷ· ἀθανασίας γὰρ χάριν παντὶ **5**\
αὕτη ἡ σπουδὴ καὶ ὁ ἔρως ἕπεται.\
 Καὶ ἐγὼ ἀκούσας τὸν λόγον ἐθαύμασά τε καὶ εἶπον\
Εἶεν, ἦν δ’ ἐγώ, ὦ σοφωτάτη Διοτίμα, ταῦτα ὡς ἀληθῶς\
οὕτως ἔχει;\
 Καὶ ἥ, ὥσπερ οἱ τέλεοι σοφισταί, Εὖ ἴσθι, ἔφη, ὦ **c**\
Σώκρατες· ἐπεί γε καὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων εἰ ἐθέλεις εἰς τὴν\
φιλοτιμίαν βλέψαι, θαυμάζοις ἂν τῆς ἀλογίας περὶ ἃ ἐγὼ\
εἴρηκα εἰ μὴ ἐννοεῖς, ἐνθυμηθεὶς ὡς δεινῶς διάκεινται ἔρωτι\
τοῦ ὀνομαστοὶ γενέσθαι *καὶ κλέος ἐς τὸν ἀεὶ χρόνον* **5**\
*ἀθάνατον καταθέσθαι,* καὶ ὑπὲρ τούτου κινδύνους τε\
κινδυνεύειν ἕτοιμοί εἰσι πάντας ἔτι μᾶλλον ἢ ὑπὲρ τῶν\
παίδων, καὶ χρήματα ἀναλίσκειν καὶ πόνους πονεῖν οὑσ- **d**\
τινασοῦν καὶ ὑπεραποθνῄσκειν. ἐπεὶ οἴει σύ, ἔφη, Ἄλκηστιν

> *Apparatus:* **e** 5 ἔτι B Oxy.: ἐστιν T W   **a** 6 μνήμην] μνημη Oxy.   **a** 7 θνητὸν] ὀνητὸν B   **a** 8 οὐ τῷ] οὕτω B   **b** 3 μετέχει Oxy.: μετέχειν B T W   **b** 4 ἀθάνατον B T W Oxy.: ἀδύνατον Creuzer   **c** 1 ἔφη om. W   **c** 2 γε T W: om. B Oxy.   **c** 5 ἐς B: εἰς T W Oxy.   **c** 7 πάντες W   μᾶλλον B W Oxy.: om. T

### English

pleasures, pains, fears: none of these is ever present the same in each, but some come to be and others perish. And far more outlandish still than these is this, that our pieces of knowledge too, **[208]** not only do some come to be and others perish for us, and we are never the same even in our pieces of knowledge, but each single piece of knowledge also suffers the same thing. For what is called practising exists because knowledge departs; for forgetting is the departure of knowledge, and practice, putting in a fresh memory again in place of the one going away, keeps the knowledge safe, so that it seems to be the same. For in this way everything mortal is kept safe: not by being in every way always the same, like the **[b]** divine, but by what goes away and grows old leaving behind another new thing such as it was itself. By this device, Socrates,’ she said, ‘the mortal shares in immortality, both body and everything else; but the immortal in another way.[^127] So do not marvel if everything by nature honours its own offshoot; for it is for the sake of immortality that this earnestness and love follow everything.’

“And when I heard the account I marvelled, and said, ‘Very well,’ I said, ‘most wise Diotima; is this in truth how these things are?’

**[c]** “And she, like the perfect sophists, said, ‘Know it well, Socrates;[^128] since if you are willing to look at the love of honour of human beings too, you would marvel at their want of sense concerning what I have said, unless you consider it, reflecting how dreadfully they are disposed by love of becoming renowned “and laying up immortal fame for all time,”[^129] and for this they are ready to run all risks, even more than for their **[d]** children, and to spend money, and to toil any toils whatever, and to die for it. For do you think,’ she said, ‘that Alcestis

[^127]: *But the immortal in another way*: so the manuscripts and the papyrus; Creuzer’s *adynaton*, “impossible”, would make it “in any other way it is impossible” (apparatus, b4).

[^128]: *Like the perfect sophists*: *teleos*, “perfect”, “finished”; Diotima answers with the assurance of a professional teacher (interpretation).

[^129]: Burnet spaces these words as a quotation, without naming a source.

---

## 208d–209c

### Greek (Burnet, page 52)

ὑπὲρ Ἀδμήτου ἀποθανεῖν ἄν, ἢ Ἀχιλλέα Πατρόκλῳ ἐπ-\
αποθανεῖν, ἢ προαποθανεῖν τὸν ὑμέτερον Κόδρον ὑπὲρ τῆς\
βασιλείας τῶν παίδων, μὴ οἰομένους ἀθάνατον μνήμην **5**\
ἀρετῆς πέρι ἑαυτῶν ἔσεσθαι, ἣν νῦν ἡμεῖς ἔχομεν; πολλοῦ\
γε δεῖ, ἔφη, ἀλλ’ οἶμαι ὑπὲρ ἀρετῆς ἀθανάτου καὶ τοιαύτης\
δόξης εὐκλεοῦς πάντες πάντα ποιοῦσιν, ὅσῳ ἂν ἀμείνους\
ὦσι, τοσούτῳ μᾶλλον· τοῦ γὰρ ἀθανάτου ἐρῶσιν. οἱ μὲν **e**\
οὖν ἐγκύμονες, ἔφη, κατὰ τὰ σώματα ὄντες πρὸς τὰς γυναῖκας\
μᾶλλον τρέπονται καὶ ταύτῃ ἐρωτικοί εἰσιν, διὰ παιδογονίας\
ἀθανασίαν καὶ μνήμην καὶ εὐδαιμονίαν, ὡς οἴονται, αὑτοῖς\
εἰς τὸν ἔπειτα χρόνον πάντα ποριζόμενοι· οἱ δὲ κατὰ τὴν **5**\
ψυχήν—εἰσὶ γὰρ οὖν, ἔφη, οἳ ἐν ταῖς ψυχαῖς κυοῦσιν ἔτι **209**\
μᾶλλον ἢ ἐν τοῖς σώμασιν, ἃ ψυχῇ προσήκει καὶ κυῆσαι\
καὶ τεκεῖν· τί οὖν προσήκει; φρόνησίν τε καὶ τὴν ἄλλην\
ἀρετήν—ὧν δή εἰσι καὶ οἱ ποιηταὶ πάντες γεννήτορες καὶ\
τῶν δημιουργῶν ὅσοι λέγονται εὑρετικοὶ εἶναι· πολὺ δὲ **5**\
μεγίστη, ἔφη, καὶ καλλίστη τῆς φρονήσεως ἡ περὶ τὰ τῶν\
πόλεών τε καὶ οἰκήσεων διακόσμησις, ᾗ δὴ ὄνομά ἐστι\
σωφροσύνη τε καὶ δικαιοσύνη—τούτων δ’ αὖ ὅταν τις ἐκ\
νέου ἐγκύμων ᾖ τὴν ψυχήν, ᾔθεος ὢν καὶ ἡκούσης τῆς **b**\
ἡλικίας, τίκτειν τε καὶ γεννᾶν ἤδη ἐπιθυμῇ, ζητεῖ δὴ\
οἶμαι καὶ οὗτος περιιὼν τὸ καλὸν ἐν ᾧ ἂν γεννήσειεν· ἐν\
τῷ γὰρ αἰσχρῷ οὐδέποτε γεννήσει. τά τε οὖν σώματα τὰ\
καλὰ μᾶλλον ἢ τὰ αἰσχρὰ ἀσπάζεται ἅτε κυῶν, καὶ ἂν **5**\
ἐντύχῃ ψυχῇ καλῇ καὶ γενναίᾳ καὶ εὐφυεῖ, πάνυ δὴ ἀσπά-\
ζεται τὸ συναμφότερον, καὶ πρὸς τοῦτον τὸν ἄνθρωπον\
εὐθὺς εὐπορεῖ λόγων περὶ ἀρετῆς καὶ περὶ οἷον χρὴ εἶναι\
τὸν ἄνδρα τὸν ἀγαθὸν καὶ ἃ ἐπιτηδεύειν, καὶ ἐπιχειρεῖ **c**

> *Apparatus:* **c** 3 ἂν . . . c4 προαποθανεῖν om. W   **d** 6 περὶ B T W   **e** 2 τὰ Oxy.: om. B T W   **a** 2 καὶ] τ[α]ε και Oxy.   **a** 3 τεκεῖν Oxy.: κυεῖν B T W   **a** 6 τὰ Sommer: τὰς B T W Oxy.   **a** 7 διακόσμησις B T W Oxy.: διακοσμήσεις al.   **a** 8 δ’ αὖ T W: αὖ B Oxy.   **b** 1 ᾔθεος Parmentier: θεῖος B T W Oxy.   **b** 2 ἐπιθυμη Oxy.: ἐπιθυμεῖ B T W   δὴ] δὲ W   **b** 3 περὶ ὧν (i. e. περιὼν) B   **b** 5 ἅτε . . . b6 ἀσπάζεται om. W   **b** 8 περὶ alterum secl. Stephanus

### English

would have died for Admetus, or Achilles have died after Patroclus, or your Codrus have died first for the kingship of his children,[^130] if they did not think that there would be an immortal memory of themselves for their virtue, the memory we now have? Far from it,’ she said; ‘but I think it is for immortal virtue and for glorious repute of this kind that all do everything, and the better **[e]** they are, the more so; for it is the immortal that they are in love with. Now those who are pregnant in their bodies,’ she said, ‘turn rather to women, and are given to love in this way, procuring for themselves through the begetting of children immortality and memory and happiness, as they think, for all time to come; but those in respect of the **[209]** soul — for there are in fact,’ she said, ‘those who are pregnant in their souls still more than in their bodies, with what it befits a soul both to conceive and to give birth to;[^131] and what, then, befits it? Intelligence and the rest of virtue; of these all the poets too are begetters, and those of the craftsmen who are said to be inventive; but by far the greatest,’ she said, ‘and most beautiful kind of intelligence is the ordering of the affairs of cities and households,[^132] whose name is temperance and justice — of these, again, when someone **[b]** is pregnant in his soul from youth, being unwed,[^133] and when the age has come desires at last to give birth and to beget, then he too, I think, goes about seeking the beautiful in which he may beget; for in the ugly he will never beget. So he welcomes beautiful bodies rather than ugly ones, since he is pregnant; and if he meets with a soul that is beautiful and noble and of good nature, then he welcomes the two together very much indeed, and in this person’s company he at once has resource in speeches about virtue, and about what kind **[c]** the good man must be and what his ways of life must be; and he undertakes

[^130]: *Admetus … Achilles … Codrus*: Alcestis and Achilles are Phaedrus’ examples (179b–180b). Codrus, in legend a king of Athens, went out in disguise to be killed when an oracle promised the invading Peloponnesians victory if they spared the Athenian king (Lycurgus, *Against Leocrates* 84–87). Diotima, of Mantinea, calls him “your” Codrus to an Athenian.

[^131]: *To give birth to*: *tekein*, the papyrus’ reading, which Burnet prints; B, T and W have *kyein*, “to be pregnant with” (apparatus, a3).

[^132]: *The affairs of*: Sommer’s *ta*, which Burnet prints; B, T, W and the papyrus have *tas*, which cannot go with the singular “ordering” and would need the plural *diakosmēseis* of other manuscripts (apparatus, a6–7).

[^133]: *Being unwed*: *ēitheos*, Parmentier’s conjecture, which Burnet prints; the manuscripts and the papyrus have *theios*, “divine” (apparatus, b1).

---

## 209c–210b

### Greek (Burnet, page 53)

παιδεύειν. ἁπτόμενος γὰρ οἶμαι τοῦ καλοῦ καὶ ὁμιλῶν\
αὐτῷ, ἃ πάλαι ἐκύει τίκτει καὶ γεννᾷ, καὶ παρὼν καὶ ἀπὼν\
μεμνημένος, καὶ τὸ γεννηθὲν συνεκτρέφει κοινῇ μετ’ ἐκείνου,\
ὥστε πολὺ μείζω κοινωνίαν τῆς τῶν παίδων πρὸς ἀλλήλους **5**\
οἱ τοιοῦτοι ἴσχουσι καὶ φιλίαν βεβαιοτέραν, ἅτε καλλιόνων\
καὶ ἀθανατωτέρων παίδων κεκοινωνηκότες. καὶ πᾶς ἂν\
δέξαιτο ἑαυτῷ τοιούτους παῖδας μᾶλλον γεγονέναι ἢ τοὺς\
ἀνθρωπίνους, καὶ εἰς Ὅμηρον ἀποβλέψας καὶ Ἡσίοδον καὶ **d**\
τοὺς ἄλλους ποιητὰς τοὺς ἀγαθοὺς ζηλῶν, οἷα ἔκγονα ἑαυτῶν\
καταλείπουσιν, ἃ ἐκείνοις ἀθάνατον κλέος καὶ μνήμην παρ-\
έχεται αὐτὰ τοιαῦτα ὄντα· εἰ δὲ βούλει, ἔφη, οἵους Λυκοῦργος\
παῖδας κατελίπετο ἐν Λακεδαίμονι σωτῆρας τῆς Λακεδαί- **5**\
μονος καὶ ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν τῆς Ἑλλάδος. τίμιος δὲ παρ’\
ὑμῖν καὶ Σόλων διὰ τὴν τῶν νόμων γέννησιν, καὶ ἄλλοι\
ἄλλοθι πολλαχοῦ ἄνδρες, καὶ ἐν Ἕλλησι καὶ ἐν βαρβάροις, **e**\
πολλὰ καὶ καλὰ ἀποφηνάμενοι ἔργα, γεννήσαντες παντοίαν\
ἀρετήν· ὧν καὶ ἱερὰ πολλὰ ἤδη γέγονε διὰ τοὺς τοιούτους\
παῖδας, διὰ δὲ τοὺς ἀνθρωπίνους οὐδενός πω.\
 Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν τὰ ἐρωτικὰ ἴσως, ὦ Σώκρατες, κἂν σὺ **5**\
μυηθείης· τὰ δὲ τέλεα καὶ ἐποπτικά, ὧν ἕνεκα καὶ ταῦτα **210**\
ἔστιν, ἐάν τις ὀρθῶς μετίῃ, οὐκ οἶδ’ εἰ οἷός τ’ ἂν εἴης.\
ἐρῶ μὲν οὖν, ἔφη, ἐγὼ καὶ προθυμίας οὐδὲν ἀπολείψω·\
πειρῶ δὲ ἕπεσθαι, ἂν οἷός τε ᾖς. δεῖ γάρ, ἔφη, τὸν ὀρθῶς\
ἰόντα ἐπὶ τοῦτο τὸ πρᾶγμα ἄρχεσθαι μὲν νέον ὄντα ἰέναι **5**\
ἐπὶ τὰ καλὰ σώματα, καὶ πρῶτον μέν, ἐὰν ὀρθῶς ἡγῆται\
ὁ ἡγούμενος, ἑνὸς αὐτὸν σώματος ἐρᾶν καὶ ἐνταῦθα γεννᾶν\
λόγους καλούς, ἔπειτα δὲ αὐτὸν κατανοῆσαι ὅτι τὸ κάλλος\
τὸ ἐπὶ ὁτῳοῦν σώματι τῷ ἐπὶ ἑτέρῳ σώματι ἀδελφόν ἐστι, **b**\
καὶ εἰ δεῖ διώκειν τὸ ἐπ’ εἴδει καλόν, πολλὴ ἄνοια μὴ οὐχ

> *Apparatus:* **c** 3 παρὼν καὶ ἀπὼν B W Oxy.: ἀπὼν καὶ παρὼν T   **c** 6 καλλιόνων T W Oxy.: καλλίων ὢν B   **d** 5 κατελίπετο b Oxy.: κατέλιπεν . . . τὸ B: κατελείπετο T W   **d** 7 ὑμῖν T W: ἡμῖν B Oxy.   ο σολων Oxy.   **e** 1 ἐν prius om. Oxy.   **e** 2 καλὰ] αλλα Oxy.   εργα και Oxy.   **a** 4 δὲ] δε και συ Oxy.   **a** 7 αὐτὸν T W Oxy.: αὐτῶν B   **b** 1 τὸ B Oxy.: τῷ T W   ἐπὶ ἑτέρῳ B W Oxy.: ἑτέρῳ T

### English

to educate him. For by touching the beautiful one, I think, and keeping company with him, he gives birth to and begets what he had long been pregnant with, remembering him both present and absent, and what has been begotten he rears in common together with him; so that such people have a far greater partnership with one another than that of children, and a firmer friendship, since they have been partners in more beautiful and more immortal children. And everyone would accept that such children had been born to him rather than the **[d]** human ones, looking to Homer and Hesiod and the other good poets, and emulating them for the offspring of themselves they leave behind, offspring that provide them with immortal fame and memory, being themselves of that kind; or, if you want,’ she said, ‘such children as Lycurgus left behind in Lacedaemon, the saviours of Lacedaemon and, so to speak, of Greece. And honoured among you[^134] is Solon too, for his begetting of the laws, and other **[e]** men elsewhere in many places, both among Greeks and among barbarians, who have brought to light many beautiful works and begotten virtue of every kind; to whom many shrines have already been raised because of such children,[^135] but because of human ones, to no one yet.

“‘These matters of love, then, Socrates, perhaps even you might **[210]** be initiated into; but the perfect rites and those of the beholding, for the sake of which these too exist, if one goes about them rightly, I do not know whether you would be able.[^136] I shall tell you, then,’ she said, ‘and shall leave out nothing of eagerness; try to follow, if you are able. For he who goes rightly to this matter,’ she said, ‘must begin, while young, by going to beautiful bodies; and first, if his guide guides him rightly, he must be in love with one body and there beget beautiful speeches; then he himself must understand that the beauty **[b]** on any body whatever is brother to the beauty on another body, and that, if one must pursue the beautiful in form, it is great senselessness not to

[^134]: *Among you*: so T and W; B and the papyrus have “among us” (apparatus, d7). Burnet’s reading keeps Diotima a stranger speaking to an Athenian.

[^135]: *Shrines*: Herodotus tells that the Spartans built a shrine to Lycurgus after his death and revere him greatly (1.66).

[^136]: *Initiated … perfect rites … the beholding*: the language of the mysteries of Eleusis, where initiation was followed by a higher grade, the *epopteia*, “beholding” (Plutarch, *Demetrius* 26 names the two). *Telea*, “perfect”, is from *telos*, the “end” of 210e4 and 211b7. Diotima’s guide (210a6–7) may recall the one who led an initiate (interpretation).

---

## 210b–211a

### Greek (Burnet, page 54)

ἕν τε καὶ ταὐτὸν ἡγεῖσθαι τὸ ἐπὶ πᾶσιν τοῖς σώμασι κάλλος·\
τοῦτο δ’ ἐννοήσαντα καταστῆναι πάντων τῶν καλῶν σωμάτων\
ἐραστήν, ἑνὸς δὲ τὸ σφόδρα τοῦτο χαλάσαι καταφρονή- **5**\
σαντα καὶ σμικρὸν ἡγησάμενον· μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα τὸ ἐν ταῖς\
ψυχαῖς κάλλος τιμιώτερον ἡγήσασθαι τοῦ ἐν τῷ σώματι,\
ὥστε καὶ ἐὰν ἐπιεικὴς ὢν τὴν ψυχήν τις κἂν σμικρὸν ἄνθος\
ἔχῃ, ἐξαρκεῖν αὐτῷ καὶ ἐρᾶν καὶ κήδεσθαι καὶ τίκτειν λόγους **c**\
τοιούτους καὶ ζητεῖν, οἵτινες ποιήσουσι βελτίους τοὺς\
νέους, ἵνα ἀναγκασθῇ αὖ θεάσασθαι τὸ ἐν τοῖς ἐπιτηδεύμασι\
καὶ τοῖς νόμοις καλὸν καὶ τοῦτ’ ἰδεῖν ὅτι πᾶν αὐτὸ αὑτῷ\
συγγενές ἐστιν, ἵνα τὸ περὶ τὸ σῶμα καλὸν σμικρόν τι **5**\
ἡγήσηται εἶναι· μετὰ δὲ τὰ ἐπιτηδεύματα ἐπὶ τὰς ἐπιστήμας\
ἀγαγεῖν, ἵνα ἴδῃ αὖ ἐπιστημῶν κάλλος, καὶ βλέπων πρὸς\
πολὺ ἤδη τὸ καλὸν μηκέτι τὸ παρ’ ἑνί, ὥσπερ οἰκέτης, **d**\
ἀγαπῶν παιδαρίου κάλλος ἢ ἀνθρώπου τινὸς ἢ ἐπιτηδεύ-\
ματος ἑνός, δουλεύων φαῦλος ᾖ καὶ σμικρολόγος, ἀλλ’ ἐπὶ\
τὸ πολὺ πέλαγος τετραμμένος τοῦ καλοῦ καὶ θεωρῶν πολ-\
λοὺς καὶ καλοὺς λόγους καὶ μεγαλοπρεπεῖς τίκτῃ καὶ διανοή- **5**\
ματα ἐν φιλοσοφίᾳ ἀφθόνῳ, ἕως ἂν ἐνταῦθα ῥωσθεὶς καὶ\
αὐξηθεὶς κατίδῃ τινὰ ἐπιστήμην μίαν τοιαύτην, ἥ ἐστι καλοῦ\
τοιοῦδε. πειρῶ δέ μοι, ἔφη, τὸν νοῦν προσέχειν ὡς οἷόν **e**\
τε μάλιστα. ὃς γὰρ ἂν μέχρι ἐνταῦθα πρὸς τὰ ἐρωτικὰ\
παιδαγωγηθῇ, θεώμενος ἐφεξῆς τε καὶ ὀρθῶς τὰ καλά, πρὸς\
τέλος ἤδη ἰὼν τῶν ἐρωτικῶν ἐξαίφνης κατόψεταί τι θαυ-\
μαστὸν τὴν φύσιν καλόν, τοῦτο ἐκεῖνο, ὦ Σώκρατες, οὗ δὴ **5**\
ἕνεκεν καὶ οἱ ἔμπροσθεν πάντες πόνοι ἦσαν, πρῶτον μὲν\
ἀεὶ ὂν καὶ οὔτε γιγνόμενον οὔτε ἀπολλύμενον, οὔτε αὐξανό- **211**\
μενον οὔτε φθίνον, ἔπειτα οὐ τῇ μὲν καλόν, τῇ δ’ αἰσχρόν,\
οὐδὲ τοτὲ μέν, τοτὲ δὲ οὔ, οὐδὲ πρὸς μὲν τὸ καλόν, πρὸς

> *Apparatus:* **b** 4 τοῦτο B W Oxy.: τούτῳ T   **b** 8 κἂν Hermann: καὶ ἐὰν B T Oxy.: καὶ ἂν W   **c** 2 καὶ secl. Badham   οἵτινες B T Oxy.: εἴ τινες W   **c** 7 ἵνα ἴδῃ T W: ἵν’ ἀιδηι B: ινα ειδη Oxy.   **d** 1 τὸ] τῷ Schleiermacher   **d** 5 τίκτῃ corr. Coisl.: τίκτει B T W   **d** 6 ῥωθεὶς W   **a** 3 τοτὲ δὲ] τόδε δὲ Oxy.

### English

believe the beauty on all bodies one and the same; and having considered this, he must become a lover of all beautiful bodies, and relax this vehemence for one, despising it and believing it small; and after this he must believe the beauty in souls more to be honoured than that in the body, so that, if someone is fine in soul even though he **[c]** has but a slight bloom, it is enough for him, and he is in love with him and cares for him, and gives birth to such speeches, and seeks them, as will make the young better; so that he may be compelled in turn to behold the beautiful in ways of life and in laws, and to see this, that it is all kindred with itself, so that he may believe the beautiful concerning the body to be something small; and after the ways of life the guide must lead him to the kinds of knowledge,[^137] so that he may see in turn the beauty of kinds of knowledge, and, looking towards **[d]** the beautiful now in its multitude, may no longer, like a household slave, cherishing the beauty that is with one — of a little boy, or of some person, or of one way of life — being a slave, be paltry and petty; but, turned towards the great sea of the beautiful and contemplating, may give birth to many beautiful and magnificent speeches and thoughts in ungrudging philosophy, until, strengthened and increased there, he catches sight of a certain single knowledge of such a kind, which is knowledge of something beautiful **[e]** of the following sort. Try,’ she said, ‘to pay attention to me as closely as you can. For whoever has been tutored thus far towards matters of love, beholding beautiful things in order and rightly, coming now to the end of matters of love will suddenly catch sight of something beautiful, marvellous in its nature, the very thing, Socrates, for the sake of which in fact all the earlier toils were: first, **[211]** always being, and neither coming to be nor perishing, neither increasing nor wasting away; then, not beautiful in one respect and ugly in another, nor at one time beautiful and at another not, nor beautiful in relation to this and in relation

[^137]: *Kinds of knowledge*: *epistēmai*, the plural rendered “pieces of knowledge” at 207e–208a.

---

## 211a–211e

### Greek (Burnet, page 55)

δὲ τὸ αἰσχρόν, οὐδ’ ἔνθα μὲν καλόν, ἔνθα δὲ αἰσχρόν, ὡς\
τισὶ μὲν ὂν καλόν, τισὶ δὲ αἰσχρόν· οὐδ’ αὖ φαντασθήσεται **5**\
αὐτῷ τὸ καλὸν οἷον πρόσωπόν τι οὐδὲ χεῖρες οὐδὲ ἄλλο\
οὐδὲν ὧν σῶμα μετέχει, οὐδέ τις λόγος οὐδέ τις ἐπιστήμη,\
οὐδέ που ὂν ἐν ἑτέρῳ τινι, οἷον ἐν ζώῳ ἢ ἐν γῇ ἢ ἐν οὐρανῷ\
ἢ ἔν τῳ ἄλλῳ, ἀλλ’ αὐτὸ καθ’ αὑτὸ μεθ’ αὑτοῦ μονοειδὲς ἀεὶ **b**\
ὄν, τὰ δὲ ἄλλα πάντα καλὰ ἐκείνου μετέχοντα τρόπον τινὰ\
τοιοῦτον, οἷον γιγνομένων τε τῶν ἄλλων καὶ ἀπολλυμένων\
μηδὲν ἐκεῖνο μήτε τι πλέον μήτε ἔλαττον γίγνεσθαι μηδὲ\
πάσχειν μηδέν. ὅταν δή τις ἀπὸ τῶνδε διὰ τὸ ὀρθῶς παι- **5**\
δεραστεῖν ἐπανιὼν ἐκεῖνο τὸ καλὸν ἄρχηται καθορᾶν, σχεδὸν\
ἄν τι ἅπτοιτο τοῦ τέλους. τοῦτο γὰρ δή ἐστι τὸ ὀρθῶς ἐπὶ\
τὰ ἐρωτικὰ ἰέναι ἢ ὑπ’ ἄλλου ἄγεσθαι, ἀρχόμενον ἀπὸ **c**\
τῶνδε τῶν καλῶν ἐκείνου ἕνεκα τοῦ καλοῦ ἀεὶ ἐπανιέναι,\
ὥσπερ ἐπαναβασμοῖς χρώμενον, ἀπὸ ἑνὸς ἐπὶ δύο καὶ ἀπὸ\
δυοῖν ἐπὶ πάντα τὰ καλὰ σώματα, καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν καλῶν\
σωμάτων ἐπὶ τὰ καλὰ ἐπιτηδεύματα, καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ἐπιτηδευ- **5**\
μάτων ἐπὶ τὰ καλὰ μαθήματα, καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν μαθημάτων ἐπ’\
ἐκεῖνο τὸ μάθημα τελευτῆσαι, ὅ ἐστιν οὐκ ἄλλου ἢ αὐτοῦ\
ἐκείνου τοῦ καλοῦ μάθημα, καὶ γνῷ αὐτὸ τελευτῶν ὃ ἔστι\
καλόν. ἐνταῦθα τοῦ βίου, ὦ φίλε Σώκρατες, ἔφη ἡ Μαν- **d**\
τινικὴ ξένη, εἴπερ που ἄλλοθι, βιωτὸν ἀνθρώπῳ, θεωμένῳ\
αὐτὸ τὸ καλόν. ὃ ἐάν ποτε ἴδῃς, οὐ κατὰ χρυσίον τε καὶ\
ἐσθῆτα καὶ τοὺς καλοὺς παῖδάς τε καὶ νεανίσκους δόξει σοι\
εἶναι, οὓς νῦν ὁρῶν ἐκπέπληξαι καὶ ἕτοιμος εἶ καὶ σὺ καὶ **5**\
ἄλλοι πολλοί, ὁρῶντες τὰ παιδικὰ καὶ συνόντες ἀεὶ αὐτοῖς,\
εἴ πως οἷόν τ’ ἦν, μήτ’ ἐσθίειν μήτε πίνειν, ἀλλὰ θεᾶσθαι\
μόνον καὶ συνεῖναι. τί δῆτα, ἔφη, οἰόμεθα, εἴ τῳ γένοιτο\
αὐτὸ τὸ καλὸν ἰδεῖν εἰλικρινές, καθαρόν, ἄμεικτον, ἀλλὰ **e**

> *Apparatus:* **a** 4 ενθαδε δε Oxy.   ὡς . . . a5 αἰσχρὸν secl. Voegelin   **a** 6 αὐτῷ] αὐτὸ W   **a** 8 που] πω W   **b** 2 τρόπον τινὰ B Oxy.: τινὰ τρόπον T W   **b** 4 ἐκεῖνο B Oxy.: ἐκείνῳ T W   **b** 5 δὴ B: δὲ δη T W   **c** 3 ἐπαναβασμοῖς T Oxy.: ἐπαναβαθμοῖς B W   **c** 7 τελευτῆσαι Usener: τελευτήσῃ B T W (ῃ in ras. W)   **d** 1 μαντικὴ W (κὴ in ras.)   **d** 3 ποτε ἴδῃς W Oxy.: ποτ(ε) εἰδῇς B T   χρυσον Oxy.   **d** 7 θεᾶσθαι T W: θεάσασθαι B Oxy.

### English

to that ugly, nor beautiful here and ugly there, as being beautiful to some and ugly to others; nor again will the beautiful appear to him like some face, or hands, or anything else in which body shares, nor like any account or any knowledge, nor as being anywhere in something else, as in an animal, or in earth, or in heaven, **[b]** or in anything else; but itself by itself, with itself, single in form, always being, and all the other beautiful things sharing in it in some such way that, while the others come to be and perish, it becomes neither anything more nor less, nor suffers anything at all. So whenever someone, going up from these things here through being a pederast rightly, begins to catch sight of that beautiful, he would almost touch the end. For this is what it is **[c]** to go rightly to matters of love, or to be led by another: beginning from these beautiful things here, for the sake of that beautiful, always to go up, as if using steps, from one to two and from two to all beautiful bodies, and from beautiful bodies to beautiful ways of life, and from ways of life to beautiful studies, and from the studies to end at that study which is the study of nothing other than that beautiful itself, and that at the end he may know that very thing, what **[d]** beautiful is.[^138] At that point of life, my friend Socrates,’ said the stranger from Mantinea, ‘if anywhere, life is worth living for a human being, as he beholds the beautiful itself. If you ever see it, it will not seem to you to be on a level with gold and clothing and the beautiful boys and young men at the sight of whom you are now struck, and are ready, you and many others, seeing your darlings and being always with them, if it were somehow possible, neither to eat nor to drink, but only to behold them and be with them. What then,’ she said, ‘do we think, if it should befall someone **[e]** to see the beautiful itself, pure, clean, unmixed, but

[^138]: *What beautiful is*: *ho esti kalon*; Burnet accents the verb, so that the words name what the beautiful is, not “what is beautiful” (interpretation).

---

## 211e–212d

### Greek (Burnet, page 56)

μὴ ἀνάπλεων σαρκῶν τε ἀνθρωπίνων καὶ χρωμάτων καὶ\
ἄλλης πολλῆς φλυαρίας θνητῆς, ἀλλ’ αὐτὸ τὸ θεῖον καλὸν\
δύναιτο μονοειδὲς κατιδεῖν; ἆρ’ οἴει, ἔφη, φαῦλον βίον\
γίγνεσθαι ἐκεῖσε βλέποντος ἀνθρώπου καὶ ἐκεῖνο ᾧ δεῖ **212**\
θεωμένου καὶ συνόντος αὐτῷ; ἢ οὐκ ἐνθυμῇ, ἔφη, ὅτι ἐνταῦθα\
αὐτῷ μοναχοῦ γενήσεται, ὁρῶντι ᾧ ὁρατὸν τὸ καλόν, τίκτειν\
οὐκ εἴδωλα ἀρετῆς, ἅτε οὐκ εἰδώλου ἐφαπτομένῳ, ἀλλὰ\
ἀληθῆ, ἅτε τοῦ ἀληθοῦς ἐφαπτομένῳ· τεκόντι δὲ ἀρετὴν **5**\
ἀληθῆ καὶ θρεψαμένῳ ὑπάρχει θεοφιλεῖ γενέσθαι, καὶ εἴπέρ\
τῳ ἄλλῳ ἀνθρώπων ἀθανάτῳ καὶ ἐκείνῳ;\
 Ταῦτα δή, ὦ Φαῖδρέ τε καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι, ἔφη μὲν Διοτίμα, **b**\
πέπεισμαι δ’ ἐγώ· πεπεισμένος δὲ πειρῶμαι καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους\
πείθειν ὅτι τούτου τοῦ κτήματος τῇ ἀνθρωπείᾳ φύσει συν-\
εργὸν ἀμείνω Ἔρωτος οὐκ ἄν τις ῥᾳδίως λάβοι. διὸ δὴ\
ἔγωγέ φημι χρῆναι πάντα ἄνδρα τὸν Ἔρωτα τιμᾶν, καὶ **5**\
αὐτὸς τιμῶ τὰ ἐρωτικὰ καὶ διαφερόντως ἀσκῶ, καὶ τοῖς\
ἄλλοις παρακελεύομαι, καὶ νῦν τε καὶ ἀεὶ ἐγκωμιάζω τὴν\
δύναμιν καὶ ἀνδρείαν τοῦ Ἔρωτος καθ’ ὅσον οἷός τ’ εἰμί. τοῦ-\
τον οὖν τὸν λόγον, ὦ Φαῖδρε, εἰ μὲν βούλει, ὡς ἐγκώμιον εἰς **c**\
Ἔρωτα νόμισον εἰρῆσθαι, εἰ δέ, ὅτι καὶ ὅπῃ χαίρεις ὀνομάζων,\
τοῦτο ὀνόμαζε.\
 \
 Εἰπόντος δὲ ταῦτα τοῦ Σωκράτους τοὺς μὲν ἐπαινεῖν, τὸν\
δὲ Ἀριστοφάνη λέγειν τι ἐπιχειρεῖν, ὅτι ἐμνήσθη αὐτοῦ **5**\
λέγων ὁ Σωκράτης περὶ τοῦ λόγου· καὶ ἐξαίφνης τὴν αὔλειον\
θύραν κρουομένην πολὺν ψόφον παρασχεῖν ὡς κωμαστῶν, καὶ\
αὐλητρίδος φωνὴν ἀκούειν. τὸν οὖν Ἀγάθωνα, Παῖδες, φάναι,\
οὐ σκέψεσθε; καὶ ἐὰν μέν τις τῶν ἐπιτηδείων ᾖ, καλεῖτε· **d**\
εἰ δὲ μή, λέγετε ὅτι οὐ πίνομεν ἀλλ’ ἀναπαυόμεθα ἤδη.

> *Apparatus:* **e** 4 ἔφη B W Oxy.: om. T   **a** 1 ᾧ δεῖ] ὦ δεῖ B: ὡδὶ B: ὃ δεῖ T W   **a** 6 θεοφιλεῖ rec. t Oxy.: θεοφιλῆ B T W   **b** 1 ὦ om. Oxy.   **c** 5 επιχειρειν λεγειν τι Oxy.   **c** 6 αὔλειον rec. t Oxy.: αὔλιον B T W   **c** 7 κρουομένην B W Oxy.: κροτουμένην T   **d** 2 αλλα παυο[μεθα] Oxy.

### English

not infected with human flesh and colours and much other mortal nonsense, but if he could catch sight of the divine beautiful itself, single in form? Do you think,’ she said, ‘that it is a paltry life **[212]** that a human being comes to have who looks there and beholds that with what he must,[^139] and is with it? Or do you not reflect,’ she said, ‘that there alone it will befall him, seeing with that by which the beautiful is visible, to give birth not to images of virtue, since it is not an image he is touching, but to true virtue, since he is touching the true; and that to him who has given birth to true virtue and nurtured it, it belongs to become loved by the gods, and, if to any other human being, to him too to become immortal?’

**[b]** “These things, then, Phaedrus and you others, Diotima said, and I am persuaded; and being persuaded I try to persuade the others too that for this possession one would not easily get a better fellow-worker for human nature than Love. That is why I for my part say that every man must honour Love, and I myself honour matters of love and exercise myself in them exceptionally, and I urge the others to do so; and now and always I make an encomium of the power and courage of Love as far as I am able. This **[c]** speech, then, Phaedrus, if you want, hold it spoken as an encomium of Love; if not, whatever you delight in naming it, and however, name it that.”

When Socrates had said this, the others praised him, but Aristophanes tried to say something, because Socrates in speaking had mentioned him about his speech;[^140] and suddenly[^141] the courtyard door, being knocked on, made a great noise, as of revellers, and they heard the voice of a pipe-girl. So Agathon said, “Boys, **[d]** won’t you look? And if it is one of our intimates, call him in; if not, say that we are not drinking but are already going to rest.”

[^139]: *With what he must*: *hōi dei*; B is reported with *ō dei* and with *hōdi*, “in this way”, T and W with *ho dei*, “beholds that which he must” (apparatus, a1). The next sentence names it: “that by which it is visible” (interpretation).

[^140]: *Had mentioned him*: Diotima’s words on the account “that those who seek the half of themselves, these are in love” (205d–e), which answer Aristophanes’ speech.

[^141]: *Suddenly*: the word used of the sudden sight of the beautiful (210e4); it returns at 213c1 (interpretation).

---

## 212d–213b

### Greek (Burnet, page 57)

 Καὶ οὐ πολὺ ὕστερον Ἀλκιβιάδου τὴν φωνὴν ἀκούειν ἐν\
τῇ αὐλῇ σφόδρα μεθύοντος καὶ μέγα βοῶντος, ἐρωτῶντος\
ὅπου Ἀγάθων καὶ κελεύοντος ἄγειν παρ’ Ἀγάθωνα. ἄγειν **5**\
οὖν αὐτὸν παρὰ σφᾶς τήν τε αὐλητρίδα ὑπολαβοῦσαν καὶ\
ἄλλους τινὰς τῶν ἀκολούθων, καὶ ἐπιστῆναι ἐπὶ τὰς θύρας\
ἐστεφανωμένον αὐτὸν κιττοῦ τέ τινι στεφάνῳ δασεῖ καὶ **e**\
ἴων, καὶ ταινίας ἔχοντα ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς πάνυ πολλάς, καὶ\
εἰπεῖν· Ἄνδρες, χαίρετε· μεθύοντα ἄνδρα πάνυ σφόδρα\
δέξεσθε συμπότην, ἢ ἀπίωμεν ἀναδήσαντες μόνον Ἀγάθωνα,\
ἐφ’ ᾧπερ ἤλθομεν; ἐγὼ γάρ τοι, φάναι, χθὲς μὲν οὐχ **5**\
οἷός τ’ ἐγενόμην ἀφικέσθαι, νῦν δὲ ἥκω ἐπὶ τῇ κεφαλῇ\
ἔχων τὰς ταινίας, ἵνα ἀπὸ τῆς ἐμῆς κεφαλῆς τὴν τοῦ σοφω-\
τάτου καὶ καλλίστου κεφαλὴν ἐὰν εἴπω οὑτωσὶ ἀναδήσω.\
ἆρα καταγελάσεσθέ μου ὡς μεθύοντος; ἐγὼ δέ, κἂν ὑμεῖς\
γελᾶτε, ὅμως εὖ οἶδ’ ὅτι ἀληθῆ λέγω. ἀλλά μοι λέγετε **213**\
αὐτόθεν, ἐπὶ ῥητοῖς εἰσίω ἢ μή; συμπίεσθε ἢ οὔ;\
 Πάντας οὖν ἀναθορυβῆσαι καὶ κελεύειν εἰσιέναι καὶ\
κατακλίνεσθαι, καὶ τὸν Ἀγάθωνα καλεῖν αὐτόν. καὶ τὸν\
ἰέναι ἀγόμενον ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, καὶ περιαιρούμενον ἅμα **5**\
τὰς ταινίας ὡς ἀναδήσοντα, ἐπίπροσθε τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ἔχοντα\
οὐ κατιδεῖν τὸν Σωκράτη, ἀλλὰ καθίζεσθαι παρὰ τὸν Ἀγά-\
θωνα ἐν μέσῳ Σωκράτους τε καὶ ἐκείνου· παραχωρῆσαι **b**\
γὰρ τὸν Σωκράτη ὡς ἐκεῖνον κατιδεῖν. παρακαθεζόμενον\
δὲ αὐτὸν ἀσπάζεσθαί τε τὸν Ἀγάθωνα καὶ ἀναδεῖν.\
 Εἰπεῖν οὖν τὸν Ἀγάθωνα Ὑπολύετε, παῖδες, Ἀλκιβιάδην,\
ἵνα ἐκ τρίτων κατακέηται. **5**\
 Πάνυ γε, εἰπεῖν τὸν Ἀλκιβιάδην· ἀλλὰ τίς ἡμῖν ὅδε\
τρίτος συμπότης; καὶ ἅμα μεταστρεφόμενον αὐτὸν ὁρᾶν

> *Apparatus:* **e** 2 ταινίας T W Oxy.: τενίας B (et mox)   **e** 4 δέξεσθε B Oxy.: δέξασθε T W   ᾧπερ B Oxy.: ὅπερ T W   ἤλθομεν T W Oxy.: ἤχθομεν B   εχθες Oxy.   **e** 6 οἷός τ’ T W Oxy.: οἷς τ’ B   **e** 8 ἐαν εἴπω οὑτωσὶ B T Oxy.: ἐὰν εἴπω οὑτωσὶ κεφαλὴν W: ἀνειπὼν οὑτωσὶ Winckelmann   **a** 3 κελεύειν T W Oxy.: κελεύει B   **b** 2 κατιδε[ῖν] Oxy.: καθίζειν B T W   **b** 6 ὅδε τρίτος W Oxy.: ᾧδε τρίτος B: τρίτος ὅδε T   **b** 7 ὁρᾶν T W Oxy.: ὁρᾷ B

### English

And not much later they heard the voice of Alcibiades in the courtyard, very drunk and shouting loudly, asking where Agathon was and telling them to lead him to Agathon. So the pipe-girl, taking him under the arm, and some others of his followers led him to them; and he stood at the doors, **[e]** wreathed with a kind of thick wreath of ivy and violets, and with very many ribbons on his head,[^142] and said, “Gentlemen, greetings! Will you receive[^143] a man very drunk indeed as a fellow-drinker, or shall we go away when we have only wreathed Agathon, the very thing we came for? For I, you know,” he said, “yesterday was not able to come, but now I have come with the ribbons on my head, so that from my own head I may wreathe the head of the wisest and most beautiful, if I may put it like this.[^144] Will you laugh at me for being drunk? But I, even if you **[213]** laugh, all the same know well that I am telling the truth. But tell me straight away: on stated terms, do I come in or not? Will you drink with me or not?”

So they all applauded loudly and told him to come in and lie down, and Agathon called him. And he came, led by the people, and taking off the ribbons as he went, to wreathe him, holding them before his eyes, he did not catch sight of Socrates, but sat down beside Agathon, **[b]** between Socrates and him; for Socrates made room when he caught sight of him.[^145] And sitting down beside him he greeted Agathon and wreathed him.

So Agathon said, “Untie Alcibiades’ shoes, boys, so that he may recline as a third.”[^146]

“Certainly,” said Alcibiades; “but who is this third fellow-drinker of ours?” And at the same time, turning round, he saw

[^142]: *Ribbons*: *tainiai*, the fillets tied round a victor’s head; Alcibiades has come to crown Agathon for his victory (173a, 174a), won at the Lenaea, a festival of Dionysus (Athenaeus 5.217a–b). His ivy, Dionysus’ plant, may answer to it (interpretation).

[^143]: *Will you receive*: *dexesthe*, the future, as B and the papyrus have it; T and W have the command *dexasthe*, “receive” (apparatus, e4).

[^144]: *If I may put it like this*: so B, T and the papyrus; W adds “head”, and Winckelmann proposed *aneipōn*, “proclaiming him so” (apparatus, e8).

[^145]: *When he caught sight of him*: the papyrus’ *katidein*, which Burnet prints; the manuscripts have *kathizein*, “made room for him to sit” (apparatus, b2).

[^146]: *As a third*: on Agathon’s couch, where Socrates already lay (175c–d).

---

## 213b–213e

### Greek (Burnet, page 58)

τὸν Σωκράτη, ἰδόντα δὲ ἀναπηδῆσαι καὶ εἰπεῖν Ὦ Ἡράκλεις,\
τουτὶ τί ἦν; Σωκράτης οὗτος; ἐλλοχῶν αὖ με ἐνταῦθα κατέ-\
κεισο, ὥσπερ εἰώθεις ἐξαίφνης ἀναφαίνεσθαι ὅπου ἐγὼ ᾤμην **c**\
ἥκιστά σε ἔσεσθαι. καὶ νῦν τί ἥκεις; καὶ τί αὖ ἐνταῦθα\
κατεκλίνης; ὡς οὐ παρὰ Ἀριστοφάνει οὐδὲ εἴ τις ἄλλος\
γελοῖος ἔστι τε καὶ βούλεται, ἀλλὰ διεμηχανήσω ὅπως παρὰ\
τῷ καλλίστῳ τῶν ἔνδον κατακείσῃ. **5**\
 Καὶ τὸν Σωκράτη, Ἀγάθων, φάναι, ὅρα εἴ μοι ἐπαμύνεις·\
ὡς ἐμοὶ ὁ τούτου ἔρως τοῦ ἀνθρώπου οὐ φαῦλον πρᾶγμα\
γέγονεν. ἀπ’ ἐκείνου γὰρ τοῦ χρόνου, ἀφ’ οὗ τούτου\
ἠράσθην, οὐκέτι ἔξεστίν μοι οὔτε προσβλέψαι οὔτε δια- **d**\
λεχθῆναι καλῷ οὐδ’ ἑνί, ἢ οὑτοσὶ ζηλοτυπῶν με καὶ φθονῶν\
θαυμαστὰ ἐργάζεται καὶ λοιδορεῖταί τε καὶ τὼ χεῖρε μόγις\
ἀπέχεται. ὅρα οὖν μή τι καὶ νῦν ἐργάσηται, ἀλλὰ διάλ-\
λαξον ἡμᾶς, ἢ ἐὰν ἐπιχειρῇ βιάζεσθαι, ἐπάμυνε, ὡς ἐγὼ **5**\
τὴν τούτου μανίαν τε καὶ φιλεραστίαν πάνυ ὀρρωδῶ.\
 Ἀλλ’ οὐκ ἔστι, φάναι τὸν Ἀλκιβιάδην, ἐμοὶ καὶ σοὶ διαλ-\
λαγή. ἀλλὰ τούτων μὲν εἰς αὖθίς σε τιμωρήσομαι· νῦν\
δέ μοι, Ἀγάθων, φάναι, μετάδος τῶν ταινιῶν, ἵνα ἀναδήσω **e**\
καὶ τὴν τούτου ταυτηνὶ τὴν θαυμαστὴν κεφαλήν, καὶ μή μοι\
μέμφηται ὅτι σὲ μὲν ἀνέδησα, αὐτὸν δὲ νικῶντα ἐν λόγοις\
πάντας ἀνθρώπους, οὐ μόνον πρῴην ὥσπερ σύ, ἀλλ’ ἀεί,\
ἔπειτα οὐκ ἀνέδησα. καὶ ἅμ’ αὐτὸν λαβόντα τῶν ταινιῶν **5**\
ἀναδεῖν τὸν Σωκράτη καὶ κατακλίνεσθαι.\
 Ἐπειδὴ δὲ κατεκλίνη, εἰπεῖν· Εἶεν δή, ἄνδρες· δοκεῖτε\
γάρ μοι νήφειν. οὐκ ἐπιτρεπτέον οὖν ὑμῖν, ἀλλὰ ποτέον·\
ὡμολόγηται γὰρ ταῦθ’ ἡμῖν. ἄρχοντα οὖν αἱροῦμαι τῆς\
πόσεως, ἕως ἂν ὑμεῖς ἱκανῶς πίητε, ἐμαυτόν. ἀλλὰ φερέτω, **10**

> *Apparatus:* **b** 9 τουτὶ τί ἦν T W Oxy.: τοῦτ’ εἰπεῖν B et γρ. W   ἐλλοχῶν T W Oxy.: ἐνλοχῶν B   **c** 3 ὡς B T W (deest Oxy.): καὶ Hermann   οὐδὲ B Oxy.: οὔτε T W   **c** 4 τ[ι]εμηχανησω Oxy.   **c** 7 ὁ B: οὐ T W   **d** 2 οὑτοσὶ B W (sed ω supra ο) Oxy.: οὑτοσὶ \*\*\* T (οὑτοσί πως Coisl.)   **d** 3 θαυμαστὰ B Oxy.: θαυμάσια T W   **d** 5 ἐπάμυναι B   **e** 1 ἀναδήσω καὶ T W Oxy.: ἀναδησώμεθα B   **e** 8 οὖν T W Oxy.: om. B   **e** 10 post φερέτω distinxi

### English

Socrates, and on seeing him leapt up and said, “Heracles! What’s this here? Is this Socrates? Lying in ambush for me here again you were reclining, **[c]** just as you were accustomed to appear suddenly where I thought you least likely to be. And now why have you come? And why, again, have you lain down here? For not beside Aristophanes, nor beside anyone else who is laughable and wants to be, but you contrived to recline beside the most beautiful of those inside.”

And Socrates said, “Agathon, see whether you will defend me; for the love of this person has become no paltry matter for me. For since that time when I **[d]** fell in love with him, I am no longer allowed either to look at or to converse with a single beautiful person, or this man here, jealous and envious of me, does marvellous things, and reviles me, and barely keeps his two hands off me. So see that he does not do something now too; but reconcile us, or, if he tries to use force, defend me, since I am quite terrified of his madness and his love of lovers.”

“But there is no reconciliation,” said Alcibiades, “for me and you. But for this I shall take vengeance on you another time; **[e]** but now, Agathon,” he said, “give me some of the ribbons, so that I may wreathe this marvellous head of his here too, and he may not blame me that I wreathed you, but him, who defeats all human beings in speeches, not just the day before yesterday, as you did, but always, I then did not wreathe.” And at the same time, taking some of the ribbons, he wreathed Socrates and lay down.

When he had lain down, he said, “Very well, then, gentlemen; for you seem to me to be sober. This, then, must not be permitted you; you must drink; for that has been agreed between us.[^147] So I choose as ruler of the drinking,[^148] until you have drunk sufficiently, myself. But let him bring,[^149]

[^147]: *That has been agreed*: on Alcibiades’ terms at the door (213a); the company had agreed the opposite, that “each should drink as much as he wants, and that nothing be compulsory” (176e) (interpretation).

[^148]: *Ruler of the drinking*: the symposiarch, who governed the drinking and set each guest’s measure (Plutarch, *Table Talk* 1.4).

[^149]: *Let him bring*: someone, presumably a slave, as the next words suggest, *phere, pai*, “bring, boy” (213e) (interpretation); Burnet’s own comma after *pheretō* (apparatus, e10) makes “Agathon” an address, not the subject.

---

## 213e–214d

### Greek (Burnet, page 59)

Ἀγάθων, εἴ τι ἔστιν ἔκπωμα μέγα. μᾶλλον δὲ οὐδὲν δεῖ,\
ἀλλὰ φέρε, παῖ, φάναι, τὸν ψυκτῆρα ἐκεῖνον, ἰδόντα αὐτὸν\
πλέον ἢ ὀκτὼ κοτύλας χωροῦντα. τοῦτον ἐμπλησάμενον **214**\
πρῶτον μὲν αὐτὸν ἐκπιεῖν, ἔπειτα τῷ Σωκράτει κελεύειν\
ἐγχεῖν καὶ ἅμα εἰπεῖν· Πρὸς μὲν Σωκράτη, ὦ ἄνδρες, τὸ\
σόφισμά μοι οὐδέν· ὁπόσον γὰρ ἂν κελεύῃ τις, τοσοῦτον\
ἐκπιὼν οὐδὲν μᾶλλον μή ποτε μεθυσθῇ. **5**\
 Τὸν μὲν οὖν Σωκράτη ἐγχέαντος τοῦ παιδὸς πίνειν· τὸν\
δ’ Ἐρυξίμαχον Πῶς οὖν, φάναι, ὦ Ἀλκιβιάδη, ποιοῦμεν;\
οὕτως οὔτε τι λέγομεν ἐπὶ τῇ κύλικι οὔτε τι ᾄδομεν, ἀλλ’ **b**\
ἀτεχνῶς ὥσπερ οἱ διψῶντες πιόμεθα;\
 Τὸν οὖν Ἀλκιβιάδην εἰπεῖν Ὦ Ἐρυξίμαχε, βέλτιστε\
βελτίστου πατρὸς καὶ σωφρονεστάτου, χαῖρε.\
 Καὶ γὰρ σύ, φάναι τὸν Ἐρυξίμαχον· ἀλλὰ τί ποιῶμεν; **5**\
 Ὅτι ἂν σὺ κελεύῃς. δεῖ γάρ σοι πείθεσθαι·\
    ἰητρὸς γὰρ ἀνὴρ πολλῶν ἀντάξιος ἄλλων·\
ἐπίταττε οὖν ὅτι βούλει.\
 Ἄκουσον δή, εἰπεῖν τὸν Ἐρυξίμαχον. ἡμῖν πρὶν σὲ\
εἰσελθεῖν ἔδοξε χρῆναι ἐπὶ δεξιὰ ἕκαστον ἐν μέρει λόγον **10**\
περὶ Ἔρωτος εἰπεῖν ὡς δύναιτο κάλλιστον, καὶ ἐγκωμιάσαι. **c**\
οἱ μὲν οὖν ἄλλοι πάντες ἡμεῖς εἰρήκαμεν· σὺ δ’ ἐπειδὴ οὐκ\
εἴρηκας καὶ ἐκπέπωκας, δίκαιος εἶ εἰπεῖν, εἰπὼν δὲ ἐπιτάξαι\
Σωκράτει ὅτι ἂν βούλῃ, καὶ τοῦτον τῷ ἐπὶ δεξιὰ καὶ οὕτω\
τοὺς ἄλλους. **5**\
 Ἀλλά, φάναι, ὦ Ἐρυξίμαχε, τὸν Ἀλκιβιάδην, καλῶς μὲν\
λέγεις, μεθύοντα δὲ ἄνδρα παρὰ νηφόντων λόγους παρα-\
βάλλειν μὴ οὐκ ἐξ ἴσου ᾖ. καὶ ἅμα, ὦ μακάριε, πείθει τί\
σε Σωκράτης ὧν ἄρτι εἶπεν; ἢ οἶσθα ὅτι τοὐναντίον ἐστὶ **d**\
πᾶν ἢ ὃ ἔλεγεν; οὗτος γάρ, ἐάν τινα ἐγὼ ἐπαινέσω τούτου

> *Apparatus:* **e** 11 ἔκπωμα T W Oxy.: ἔκπομα B   **a** 4 ὁπόσον B T Oxy.: πόσον W   κελεύῃ B Oxy.: κελεύσῃ T W   **b** 1 οὔτε τι ᾄδομεν T W: οὔτ’ ἐπᾴδομεν B   **b** 6 ἂν T W: δ’ ἂν T   **b** 7 ἰητρὸς T: ἰατρὸς B W   **c** 8 τί B T: τε W

### English

Agathon, if there is any large cup. Or rather, there is no need; but bring, boy,” he said, “that wine-cooler,” having seen that it **[214]** held more than eight *kotylai*.[^150] Having filled this, he first drank it off himself, then told the slave to pour for Socrates, and at the same time said, “Against Socrates, gentlemen, my trick is nothing; for however much anyone tells him to drink, drinking off just so much he will never be any the more drunk.”

So when the slave had poured, Socrates drank; and Eryximachus said, “How then, Alcibiades, are we behaving? **[b]** Are we thus neither to say anything over the cup nor to sing anything, but simply drink like the thirsty?”

So Alcibiades said, “Eryximachus, most excellent son of a most excellent and most temperate father, greetings!”

“And to you,” said Eryximachus; “but what are we to do?”

“Whatever you tell us. For you must be obeyed:

> *for a doctor is a man worth many others;[^151]*

so order whatever you want.”

“Listen, then,” said Eryximachus. “Before you came in, we resolved that each of us, going to the right, must **[c]** make a speech about Love in turn, the most beautiful he could, and make an encomium of him. Now all the rest of us have spoken; but since you have not spoken and have drunk off your cup, it is just that you should speak, and when you have spoken, give Socrates whatever order you want, and he the man on his right, and so on with the others.”

“Well, Eryximachus,” said Alcibiades, “you speak well; but for a drunk man to set his speeches beside those of the sober may not be on equal terms. And at the same time, you blessed man, does **[d]** Socrates persuade you of anything he said just now? Or do you know that it is all the opposite of what he was saying? For this man, if I praise anyone while he is

[^150]: *Eight kotylai*: about two litres; the *kotylē* was a measure of a little over a quarter of a litre. A wine-cooler was a large vessel set in cold water to chill the wine.

[^151]: Homer, *Iliad* 11.514, where Idomeneus urges Nestor to carry the wounded doctor Machaon back to the ships. Eryximachus is a doctor (185d1; compare 176d).

---

## 214d–215b

### Greek (Burnet, page 60)

παρόντος ἢ θεὸν ἢ ἄνθρωπον ἄλλον ἢ τοῦτον, οὐκ ἀφέξεταί\
μου τὼ χεῖρε.\
 Οὐκ εὐφημήσεις; φάναι τὸν Σωκράτη. **5**\
 Μὰ τὸν Ποσειδῶ, εἰπεῖν τὸν Ἀλκιβιάδην, μηδὲν λέγε\
πρὸς ταῦτα, ὡς ἐγὼ οὐδ’ ἂν ἕνα ἄλλον ἐπαινέσαιμι σοῦ\
παρόντος.\
 Ἀλλ’ οὕτω ποίει, φάναι τὸν Ἐρυξίμαχον, εἰ βούλει·\
Σωκράτη ἐπαίνεσον. **10**\
 Πῶς λέγεις; εἰπεῖν τὸν Ἀλκιβιάδην· δοκεῖ χρῆναι, ὦ **e**\
Ἐρυξίμαχε; ἐπιθῶμαι τῷ ἀνδρὶ καὶ τιμωρήσωμαι ὑμῶν\
ἐναντίον;\
 Οὗτος, φάναι τὸν Σωκράτη, τί ἐν νῷ ἔχεις; ἐπὶ τὰ\
γελοιότερά με ἐπαινέσαι; ἢ τί ποιήσεις; **5**\
 Τἀληθῆ ἐρῶ. ἀλλ’ ὅρα εἰ παρίης.\
 Ἀλλὰ μέντοι, φάναι, τά γε ἀληθῆ παρίημι καὶ κελεύω\
λέγειν.\
 Οὐκ ἂν φθάνοιμι, εἰπεῖν τὸν Ἀλκιβιάδην. καὶ μέντοι\
οὑτωσὶ ποίησον. ἐάν τι μὴ ἀληθὲς λέγω, μεταξὺ ἐπιλαβοῦ, **10**\
ἂν βούλῃ, καὶ εἰπὲ ὅτι τοῦτο ψεύδομαι· ἑκὼν γὰρ εἶναι οὐδὲν\
ψεύσομαι. ἐὰν μέντοι ἀναμιμνῃσκόμενος ἄλλο ἄλλοθεν **215**\
λέγω, μηδὲν θαυμάσῃς· οὐ γάρ τι ῥᾴδιον τὴν σὴν ἀτοπίαν\
ὧδ’ ἔχοντι εὐπόρως καὶ ἐφεξῆς καταριθμῆσαι.\
 \
 Σωκράτη δ’ ἐγὼ ἐπαινεῖν, ὦ ἄνδρες, οὕτως ἐπιχειρήσω,\
δι’ εἰκόνων. οὗτος μὲν οὖν ἴσως οἰήσεται ἐπὶ τὰ γελοιότερα, **5**\
ἔσται δ’ ἡ εἰκὼν τοῦ ἀληθοῦς ἕνεκα, οὐ τοῦ γελοίου. φημὶ\
γὰρ δὴ ὁμοιότατον αὐτὸν εἶναι τοῖς σιληνοῖς τούτοις τοῖς\
ἐν τοῖς ἑρμογλυφείοις καθημένοις, οὕστινας ἐργάζονται οἱ **b**\
δημιουργοὶ σύριγγας ἢ αὐλοὺς ἔχοντας, οἳ διχάδε διοιχθέντες\
φαίνονται ἔνδοθεν ἀγάλματα ἔχοντες θεῶν. καὶ φημὶ αὖ\
ἐοικέναι αὐτὸν τῷ σατύρῳ τῷ Μαρσύᾳ. ὅτι μὲν οὖν τό γε

> *Apparatus:* **e** 2 τιμωρήσομαι W   **e** 5 ἐπαινέσαι scripsi: ἐπαινέσεις B T W: ἐπαινέσει Bekker   **a** 7 σιληνοῖς B T W (ει supra ι W)

### English

present, either god or human being other than him, will not keep his two hands off me.”

“Hush!”[^152] said Socrates.

“By Poseidon,” said Alcibiades, “say nothing against this, since I would not praise a single other person in your presence.”

“Well, do so, then,” said Eryximachus, “if you want: praise Socrates.”

**[e]** “What do you mean?” said Alcibiades. “Do you think I should, Eryximachus? Am I to attack the man and take vengeance on him in front of you?”

“You there,” said Socrates, “what do you have in mind? To praise me[^153] so as to make me more laughable? Or what will you do?”

“I shall tell the truth. But see whether you allow it.”

“Well, the truth at any rate,” he said, “I allow, and I tell you to tell it.”

“I’ll lose no time,” said Alcibiades. “And you, do this: if I say anything that is not true, interrupt me in the middle, if you want, and say that I am lying in this; for so far as it rests with me I **[215]** shall tell no lie. But if, as I recall things, I speak of one thing from here and another from there, do not marvel; for it is not at all easy for one in this state to count up your outlandishness with resource and in order.

“Socrates, gentlemen, I shall undertake to praise in this way: through likenesses. Now he will perhaps think it is to make him more laughable; but the likeness will be for the sake of the truth, not of the laughable. For I say that he is most like those sileni[^154] that **[b]** sit in the shops of the carvers of herms, which the craftsmen make holding panpipes or pipes, and which, when they are opened in two, are seen to have statues of gods inside. And I say, in turn, that he resembles the satyr Marsyas.[^155] Now that, at least in

[^152]: *Hush!*: the words Diotima used to Socrates (201e10); see the note there.

[^153]: *To praise me*: Burnet’s own *epainesai*; the manuscripts have *epaineseis*, “will you praise me”, as Bekker’s *epainesei* means too (apparatus, e5).

[^154]: *Sileni*: the snub-nosed, horse-eared companions of Dionysus; in Xenophon’s *Symposium*, in a mock contest of beauty, Socrates claims that the Naiads bear sileni more like him than like the handsome Critobulus (5.7; compare 4.19).

[^155]: Marsyas, the satyr who contended with Apollo in music and was flayed (Apollodorus, *Library* 1.4.2); Herodotus, who calls him “the silenus Marsyas”, says that his skin hung at Celaenae in Phrygia (7.26.3). In the *Minos* Socrates calls the pipe-tunes of Marsyas and of his darling Olympus “most divine”, the only ones that stir and reveal those in need of the gods (318b).

---

## 215b–216a

### Greek (Burnet, page 61)

εἶδος ὅμοιος εἶ τούτοις, ὦ Σώκρατες, οὐδ’ αὐτὸς ἄν που **5**\
ἀμφισβητήσαις· ὡς δὲ καὶ τἆλλα ἔοικας, μετὰ τοῦτο ἄκουε.\
ὑβριστὴς εἶ· ἢ οὔ; ἐὰν γὰρ μὴ ὁμολογῇς, μάρτυρας παρ-\
έξομαι. ἀλλ’ οὐκ αὐλητής; πολύ γε θαυμασιώτερος ἐκείνου.\
ὁ μέν γε δι’ ὀργάνων ἐκήλει τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τῇ ἀπὸ τοῦ **c**\
στόματος δυνάμει, καὶ ἔτι νυνὶ ὃς ἂν τὰ ἐκείνου αὐλῇ—ἃ γὰρ\
Ὄλυμπος ηὔλει, Μαρσύου λέγω, τούτου διδάξαντος—τὰ οὖν\
ἐκείνου ἐάντε ἀγαθὸς αὐλητὴς αὐλῇ ἐάντε φαύλη αὐλητρίς,\
μόνα κατέχεσθαι ποιεῖ καὶ δηλοῖ τοὺς τῶν θεῶν τε καὶ **5**\
τελετῶν δεομένους διὰ τὸ θεῖα εἶναι. σὺ δ’ ἐκείνου τοσοῦτον\
μόνον διαφέρεις, ὅτι ἄνευ ὀργάνων ψιλοῖς λόγοις ταὐτὸν\
τοῦτο ποιεῖς. ἡμεῖς γοῦν ὅταν μέν του ἄλλου ἀκούωμεν **d**\
λέγοντος καὶ πάνυ ἀγαθοῦ ῥήτορος ἄλλους λόγους, οὐδὲν\
μέλει ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν οὐδενί· ἐπειδὰν δὲ σοῦ τις ἀκούῃ ἢ τῶν\
σῶν λόγων ἄλλου λέγοντος, κἂν πάνυ φαῦλος ᾖ ὁ λέγων,\
ἐάντε γυνὴ ἀκούῃ ἐάντε ἀνὴρ ἐάντε μειράκιον, ἐκπεπλη- **5**\
γμένοι ἐσμὲν καὶ κατεχόμεθα. ἐγὼ γοῦν, ὦ ἄνδρες, εἰ μὴ\
ἔμελλον κομιδῇ δόξειν μεθύειν, εἶπον ὀμόσας ἂν ὑμῖν οἷα δὴ\
πέπονθα αὐτὸς ὑπὸ τῶν τούτου λόγων καὶ πάσχω ἔτι καὶ\
νυνί. ὅταν γὰρ ἀκούω, πολύ μοι μᾶλλον ἢ τῶν κορυβαν- **e**\
τιώντων ἥ τε καρδία πηδᾷ καὶ δάκρυα ἐκχεῖται ὑπὸ τῶν\
λόγων τῶν τούτου, ὁρῶ δὲ καὶ ἄλλους παμπόλλους τὰ\
αὐτὰ πάσχοντας· Περικλέους δὲ ἀκούων καὶ ἄλλων ἀγαθῶν\
ῥητόρων εὖ μὲν ἡγούμην λέγειν, τοιοῦτον δ’ οὐδὲν ἔπασχον, **5**\
οὐδ’ ἐτεθορύβητό μου ἡ ψυχὴ οὐδ’ ἠγανάκτει ὡς ἀνδραποδω-\
δῶς διακειμένου, ἀλλ’ ὑπὸ τουτουῒ τοῦ Μαρσύου πολλάκις δὴ\
οὕτω διετέθην ὥστε μοι δόξαι μὴ βιωτὸν εἶναι ἔχοντι ὡς **216**\
ἔχω. καὶ ταῦτα, ὦ Σώκρατες, οὐκ ἐρεῖς ὡς οὐκ ἀληθῆ. καὶ\
ἔτι γε νῦν σύνοιδ’ ἐμαυτῷ ὅτι εἰ ἐθέλοιμι παρέχειν τὰ ὦτα,\
οὐκ ἂν καρτερήσαιμι ἀλλὰ ταὐτὰ ἂν πάσχοιμι. ἀναγκάζει

> *Apparatus:* **b** 5 ἄν που Baiter: δή που B T W   **c** 3 οὖν B T: γ’ οὖν W   **e** 1 νυνί B: νῦν T W   **e** 3 τῶν τούτου T W: τούτου B   **a** 2 ὦ T W: om. B   **a** 3 ἐμαυτῷ B T: ἐμαυτὸν W (ο in ras.)

### English

form, you are like these, Socrates, not even you yourself, I take it, would dispute; but that you resemble them in the rest as well, hear next. You are insolent; or not? For if you do not agree, I shall bring witnesses. But are you not a piper? Indeed, far more marvellous than he. **[c]** He, you see, enchanted human beings through instruments, by the power from his mouth, and still now, whoever pipes his tunes — for what Olympus piped I say are Marsyas’, since he taught him — his tunes, then, whether a good piper pipes them or a paltry pipe-girl, alone make people possessed, and make plain those who are in need of the gods and of rites, because they are divine. You differ from him only in this much, that without instruments, with bare words, you **[d]** do this same thing. We at any rate, whenever we hear someone else speaking other speeches, even a very good orator, it matters nothing to anyone, so to speak; but whenever anyone hears you, or your speeches spoken by another, even if the speaker is quite paltry, whether a woman hears or a man or a lad, we are struck and possessed. I at any rate, gentlemen, if I were not going to seem entirely drunk, would have told you on oath what I myself have experienced from this man’s speeches, and experience still even **[e]** now. For whenever I hear him, my heart leaps far more than the Corybants’,[^156] and tears pour out under his speeches; and I see very many others experiencing the same things. When I heard Pericles[^157] and other good orators, I believed they spoke well, but I experienced nothing of the kind, nor was my soul thrown into confusion, nor was it vexed that I was disposed like a slave; but by this Marsyas here I have often been **[216]** so disposed that it seemed to me life was not worth living in the condition I am in. And this, Socrates, you will not say is not true. And even now I am conscious in myself that if I were willing to offer him my ears, I would not hold out, but would experience the same things. He compels

[^156]: *The Corybants*: those possessed in the Corybantic rites, who danced in a frenzy to the pipe and were healed by it (*Laws* 790d–791a); Socrates in the *Crito* says that he hears the laws “as the Corybants seem to hear the pipes” (54d); compare *Ion* 533e–534a.

[^157]: Pericles, the Athenian statesman (died 429 BC), was, with his brother Ariphron, Alcibiades’ guardian (Plutarch, *Alcibiades* 1.1).

---

## 216a–216e

### Greek (Burnet, page 62)

γάρ με ὁμολογεῖν ὅτι πολλοῦ ἐνδεὴς ὢν αὐτὸς ἔτι ἐμαυτοῦ **5**\
μὲν ἀμελῶ, τὰ δ’ Ἀθηναίων πράττω. βίᾳ οὖν ὥσπερ ἀπὸ\
τῶν Σειρήνων ἐπισχόμενος τὰ ὦτα οἴχομαι φεύγων, ἵνα μὴ\
αὐτοῦ καθήμενος παρὰ τούτῳ καταγηράσω. πέπονθα δὲ\
πρὸς τοῦτον μόνον ἀνθρώπων, ὃ οὐκ ἄν τις οἴοιτο ἐν ἐμοὶ **b**\
ἐνεῖναι, τὸ αἰσχύνεσθαι ὁντινοῦν· ἐγὼ δὲ τοῦτον μόνον\
αἰσχύνομαι. σύνοιδα γὰρ ἐμαυτῷ ἀντιλέγειν μὲν οὐ δυνα-\
μένῳ ὡς οὐ δεῖ ποιεῖν ἃ οὗτος κελεύει, ἐπειδὰν δὲ ἀπέλθω,\
ἡττημένῳ τῆς τιμῆς τῆς ὑπὸ τῶν πολλῶν. δραπετεύω οὖν **5**\
αὐτὸν καὶ φεύγω, καὶ ὅταν ἴδω, αἰσχύνομαι τὰ ὡμολογημένα.\
καὶ πολλάκις μὲν ἡδέως ἂν ἴδοιμι αὐτὸν μὴ ὄντα ἐν ἀνθρώποις· **c**\
εἰ δ’ αὖ τοῦτο γένοιτο, εὖ οἶδα ὅτι πολὺ μεῖζον ἂν ἀχθοίμην,\
ὥστε οὐκ ἔχω ὅτι χρήσωμαι τούτῳ τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ.\
 Καὶ ὑπὸ μὲν δὴ τῶν αὐλημάτων καὶ ἐγὼ καὶ ἄλλοι πολλοὶ\
τοιαῦτα πεπόνθασιν ὑπὸ τοῦδε τοῦ σατύρου· ἄλλα δὲ ἐμοῦ **5**\
ἀκούσατε ὡς ὅμοιός τ’ ἐστὶν οἷς ἐγὼ ᾔκασα αὐτὸν καὶ τὴν\
δύναμιν ὡς θαυμασίαν ἔχει. εὖ γὰρ ἴστε ὅτι οὐδεὶς ὑμῶν\
τοῦτον γιγνώσκει· ἀλλὰ ἐγὼ δηλώσω, ἐπείπερ ἠρξάμην. **d**\
ὁρᾶτε γὰρ ὅτι Σωκράτης ἐρωτικῶς διάκειται τῶν καλῶν καὶ\
ἀεὶ περὶ τούτους ἐστὶ καὶ ἐκπέπληκται, καὶ αὖ ἀγνοεῖ πάντα\
καὶ οὐδὲν οἶδεν. ὡς τὸ σχῆμα αὐτοῦ τοῦτο οὐ σιληνῶδες;\
σφόδρα γε. τοῦτο γὰρ οὗτος ἔξωθεν περιβέβληται, ὥσπερ **5**\
ὁ γεγλυμμένος σιληνός· ἔνδοθεν δὲ ἀνοιχθεὶς πόσης οἴεσθε\
γέμει, ὦ ἄνδρες συμπόται, σωφροσύνης; ἴστε ὅτι οὔτε εἴ τις\
καλός ἐστι μέλει αὐτῷ οὐδέν, ἀλλὰ καταφρονεῖ τοσοῦτον\
ὅσον οὐδ’ ἂν εἷς οἰηθείη, οὔτ’ εἴ τις πλούσιος, οὔτ’ εἰ ἄλλην **e**\
τινὰ τιμὴν ἔχων τῶν ὑπὸ πλήθους μακαριζομένων· ἡγεῖται\
δὲ πάντα ταῦτα τὰ κτήματα οὐδενὸς ἄξια καὶ ἡμᾶς οὐδὲν\
εἶναι—λέγω ὑμῖν—εἰρωνευόμενος δὲ καὶ παίζων πάντα τὸν\
βίον πρὸς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους διατελεῖ. σπουδάσαντος δὲ αὐτοῦ **5**

> *Apparatus:* **a** 5 ἔτι T W: τι B   **b** 4 οὗτος B T: αὐτὸς W   **c** 3 χρήσωμαι corr. Ven. 185: χρήσομαι B T W   **d** 3 αὖ B: om. T W   **d** 6 γεγλυμμένος B T: ἐγγεγλυμμένος W

### English

me, you see, to agree that, though I myself am still in lack of much, I neglect myself and manage the affairs of the Athenians. So by force, stopping my ears as if from the Sirens,[^158] I go off in flight, so that I may not grow old sitting here beside him. And I have experienced **[b]** towards this man alone of human beings what no one would think was in me: being ashamed before anyone at all. But before this man alone I am ashamed. For I am conscious in myself that I am not able to argue against him that one must not do what he tells me, yet whenever I go away, I am overcome by the honour that comes from the many. So I play the runaway slave from him and flee, and whenever I see him, I am ashamed of what has been agreed. **[c]** And often I would gladly see him no longer among human beings; but if, again, this were to happen, I know well that I would be far more grieved, so that I do not know what to do with this person.

“And from the pipe-tunes of this satyr, then, both I and many others have had such experiences; but hear from me other things: how like he is to those I likened him to, and how marvellous a power he has. For know well that none of you **[d]** knows him; but I will make him plain, since I have begun. For you see that Socrates is disposed by love towards the beautiful ones, and is always about them and is struck, and again that he is ignorant of everything and knows nothing. Is not this guise of his like a silenus? Very much indeed. For this he has thrown around himself on the outside, like the carved silenus; but inside, when he is opened, how full do you think he is, gentlemen, fellow-drinkers, of temperance? Know that if anyone is beautiful it matters nothing to him, but he despises it as much **[e]** as no one would even think, nor if anyone is rich, nor if he has any other honour of those that the multitude count blessed; he believes all these possessions worth nothing, and us nothing — I tell you — and he goes on all his life being ironic[^159] and playing with human beings. But when he is in earnest

[^158]: *The Sirens*: in the *Odyssey* Odysseus stops his companions’ ears with wax and has himself bound to the mast to hear the Sirens’ song (Circe’s instructions, 12.39–54; the deed, 12.173–200).

[^159]: *Being ironic*: *eirōneuomenos*, saying less than one means or knows; Aristotle names Socrates as the example of this self-depreciation (*Nicomachean Ethics* 4.7, 1127b22–26).

---

## 216e–217d

### Greek (Burnet, page 63)

καὶ ἀνοιχθέντος οὐκ οἶδα εἴ τις ἑώρακεν τὰ ἐντὸς ἀγάλματα·\
ἀλλ’ ἐγὼ ἤδη ποτ’ εἶδον, καί μοι ἔδοξεν οὕτω θεῖα καὶ\
χρυσᾶ εἶναι καὶ πάγκαλα καὶ θαυμαστά, ὥστε ποιητέον εἶναι **217**\
ἔμβραχυ ὅτι κελεύοι Σωκράτης. ἡγούμενος δὲ αὐτὸν ἐσπου-\
δακέναι ἐπὶ τῇ ἐμῇ ὥρᾳ ἕρμαιον ἡγησάμην εἶναι καὶ εὐτύχημα\
ἐμὸν θαυμαστόν, ὡς ὑπάρχον μοι χαρισαμένῳ Σωκράτει πάντ’\
ἀκοῦσαι ὅσαπερ οὗτος ᾔδει· ἐφρόνουν γὰρ δὴ ἐπὶ τῇ ὥρᾳ **5**\
θαυμάσιον ὅσον. ταῦτα οὖν διανοηθείς, πρὸ τοῦ οὐκ εἰωθὼς\
ἄνευ ἀκολούθου μόνος μετ’ αὐτοῦ γίγνεσθαι, τότε ἀποπέμπων\
τὸν ἀκόλουθον μόνος συνεγιγνόμην—δεῖ γὰρ πρὸς ὑμᾶς πάντα **b**\
τἀληθῆ εἰπεῖν· ἀλλὰ προσέχετε τὸν νοῦν, καὶ εἰ ψεύδομαι,\
Σώκρατες, ἐξέλεγχε—συνεγιγνόμην γάρ, ὦ ἄνδρες, μόνος\
μόνῳ, καὶ ᾤμην αὐτίκα διαλέξεσθαι αὐτόν μοι ἅπερ ἂν\
ἐραστὴς παιδικοῖς ἐν ἐρημίᾳ διαλεχθείη, καὶ ἔχαιρον. τούτων **5**\
δ’ οὐ μάλα ἐγίγνετο οὐδέν, ἀλλ’ ὥσπερ εἰώθει διαλεχθεὶς ἄν\
μοι καὶ συνημερεύσας ᾤχετο ἀπιών. μετὰ ταῦτα συγγυμνά-\
ζεσθαι προυκαλούμην αὐτὸν καὶ συνεγυμναζόμην, ὥς τι **c**\
ἐνταῦθα περανῶν. συνεγυμνάζετο οὖν μοι καὶ προσεπάλαιεν\
πολλάκις οὐδενὸς παρόντος· καὶ τί δεῖ λέγειν; οὐδὲν γάρ\
μοι πλέον ἦν. ἐπειδὴ δὲ οὐδαμῇ ταύτῃ ἥνυτον, ἔδοξέ μοι\
ἐπιθετέον εἶναι τῷ ἀνδρὶ κατὰ τὸ καρτερὸν καὶ οὐκ ἀνετέον, **5**\
ἐπειδήπερ ἐνεκεχειρήκη, ἀλλὰ ἰστέον ἤδη τί ἐστι τὸ πρᾶγμα.\
προκαλοῦμαι δὴ αὐτὸν πρὸς τὸ συνδειπνεῖν, ἀτεχνῶς ὥσπερ\
ἐραστὴς παιδικοῖς ἐπιβουλεύων. καί μοι οὐδὲ τοῦτο ταχὺ\
ὑπήκουσεν, ὅμως δ’ οὖν χρόνῳ ἐπείσθη. ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἀφίκετο **d**\
τὸ πρῶτον, δειπνήσας ἀπιέναι ἐβούλετο. καὶ τότε μὲν\
αἰσχυνόμενος ἀφῆκα αὐτόν· αὖθις δ’ ἐπιβουλεύσας, ἐπειδὴ\
ἐδεδειπνήκεμεν διελεγόμην ἀεὶ πόρρω τῶν νυκτῶν, καὶ ἐπειδὴ

> *Apparatus:* **e** 7 καί μοι T W: καὶ ἐμοὶ B: κἀμοὶ Hirschig   **a** 2 ἔμβραχυ Cobet: ἐν βραχεῖ B T W   **a** 5 δὴ B: ἤδη T W   **b** 2 τἀληθῆ B T: ἀληθῆ W   **b** 6 δ’ οὐ] δη Oxy.   ἄν B T W: αὖ F. A. Wolf: δή Sauppe   **c** 1 καὶ συνεγυμναζόμην secl. Sauppe   **d** 4 ἐδεδειπνήκεμεν scripsi: ’δεδειπνήκειμεν Usener: δεδειπνήκαμεν Photius: ἐδεδειπνήκει B T W   ἀεὶ add. Photius: om. B T W Oxy.   ἐπειδὴ] επειδη γε Oxy.

### English

and is opened, I do not know whether anyone has seen the statues inside; but I once saw them, and they seemed to me so divine and **[217]** golden and all-beautiful and marvellous that I must do whatever at all Socrates told me. Believing that he was in earnest about my youth,[^160] I believed it a godsend[^161] and a marvellous piece of luck of mine, since it was open to me, by gratifying Socrates, to hear everything that he knew; for I thought marvellously much of my youth. So, with this in mind, though before I was not used to being alone with him without a follower, I then sent **[b]** the follower away and was alone with him — for I must tell you the whole truth; but pay attention, and if I lie, Socrates, refute me — for I was with him, gentlemen, alone with him alone, and I thought he would at once converse with me as a lover would converse with his darling in solitude, and I was glad. But nothing of this at all happened; rather, as he used to, he would converse with me and, having spent the day with me, go off and away. After this **[c]** I invited him to exercise with me, and I exercised with him, thinking to accomplish something there. So he exercised with me and wrestled with me, often with nobody present; and what need is there to say it? For I got nothing more out of it. Since I was achieving nothing this way, it seemed to me I must attack the man by main force and not let go, since I had once set my hand to it, but must know now what the matter was. So I invite him to dine with me, exactly like a lover laying plots for his darling. And he did not even **[d]** comply with me in this quickly, but all the same in time he was persuaded. When he came the first time, after dining he wanted to leave. And that time, being ashamed, I let him go; but plotting again, when we had dined I kept conversing with him far into the night,[^162] and when

[^160]: *My youth*: *hōra*, the season of a boy’s beauty.

[^161]: *Godsend*: *hermaion*, as at 176c.

[^162]: *When we had dined … kept*: “we had dined” is Burnet’s own form, *ededeipnēkemen*, of the first person that Photius’ lexicon quotes (*dedeipnēkamen*); the manuscripts have *ededeipnēkei*, “he had dined”. “Kept” renders *aei*, which Photius has and the manuscripts and the papyrus lack (apparatus, d4).

---

## 217d–218c

### Greek (Burnet, page 64)

ἐβούλετο ἀπιέναι, σκηπτόμενος ὅτι ὀψὲ εἴη, προσηνάγκασα **5**\
αὐτὸν μένειν. ἀνεπαύετο οὖν ἐν τῇ ἐχομένῃ ἐμοῦ κλίνῃ, ἐν\
ᾗπερ ἐδείπνει, καὶ οὐδεὶς ἐν τῷ οἰκήματι ἄλλος καθηῦδεν ἢ\
ἡμεῖς. μέχρι μὲν οὖν δὴ δεῦρο τοῦ λόγου καλῶς ἂν ἔχοι **e**\
καὶ πρὸς ὁντινοῦν λέγειν· τὸ δ’ ἐντεῦθεν οὐκ ἄν μου ἠκούσατε\
λέγοντος, εἰ μὴ πρῶτον μέν, τὸ λεγόμενον, οἶνος ἄνευ τε\
παίδων καὶ μετὰ παίδων ἦν ἀληθής, ἔπειτα ἀφανίσαι Σω-\
κράτους ἔργον ὑπερήφανον εἰς ἔπαινον ἐλθόντα ἄδικόν μοι **5**\
φαίνεται. ἔτι δὲ τὸ τοῦ δηχθέντος ὑπὸ τοῦ ἔχεως πάθος\
κἄμ’ ἔχει. φασὶ γάρ πού τινα τοῦτο παθόντα οὐκ ἐθέλειν\
λέγειν οἷον ἦν πλὴν τοῖς δεδηγμένοις, ὡς μόνοις γνωσομένοις\
τε καὶ συγγνωσομένοις εἰ πᾶν ἐτόλμα δρᾶν τε καὶ λέγειν **218**\
ὑπὸ τῆς ὀδύνης. ἐγὼ οὖν δεδηγμένος τε ὑπὸ ἀλγεινοτέρου\
καὶ τὸ ἀλγεινότατον ὧν ἄν τις δηχθείη—τὴν καρδίαν γὰρ\
ἢ ψυχὴν ἢ ὅτι δεῖ αὐτὸ ὀνομάσαι πληγείς τε καὶ δηχθεὶς\
ὑπὸ τῶν ἐν φιλοσοφίᾳ λόγων, οἳ ἔχονται ἐχίδνης ἀγριώτερον, **5**\
νέου ψυχῆς μὴ ἀφυοῦς ὅταν λάβωνται, καὶ ποιοῦσι δρᾶν\
τε καὶ λέγειν ὁτιοῦν—καὶ ὁρῶν αὖ Φαίδρους, Ἀγάθωνας,\
Ἐρυξιμάχους, Παυσανίας, Ἀριστοδήμους τε καὶ Ἀριστο- **b**\
φάνας· Σωκράτη δὲ αὐτὸν τί δεῖ λέγειν, καὶ ὅσοι ἄλλοι;\
πάντες γὰρ κεκοινωνήκατε τῆς φιλοσόφου μανίας τε καὶ\
βακχείας—διὸ πάντες ἀκούσεσθε· συγγνώσεσθε γὰρ τοῖς τε\
τότε πραχθεῖσι καὶ τοῖς νῦν λεγομένοις. οἱ δὲ οἰκέται, καὶ **5**\
εἴ τις ἄλλος ἐστὶν βέβηλός τε καὶ ἄγροικος, πύλας πάνυ\
μεγάλας τοῖς ὠσὶν ἐπίθεσθε.\
 Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ οὖν, ὦ ἄνδρες, ὅ τε λύχνος ἀπεσβήκει καὶ\
οἱ παῖδες ἔξω ἦσαν, ἔδοξέ μοι χρῆναι μηδὲν ποικίλλειν πρὸς **c**\
αὐτόν, ἀλλ’ ἐλευθέρως εἰπεῖν ἅ μοι ἐδόκει· καὶ εἶπον κινήσας\
αὐτόν, Σώκρατες, καθεύδεις;\
 Οὐ δῆτα, ἦ δ’ ὅς.

> *Apparatus:* **e** 1 δὴ B et in marg. T: om. T W   **a** 2 τε B T Oxy.: τε καὶ W   **a** 3 δηχθείη T W Oxy.: δειχθῇ B   γὰρ ἢ ψυχὴν T W Oxy.: ἢ ψυχὴν γὰρ B (ἢ ψυχὴν secl. Usener)   **a** 6 ψυχῆς B T: ψυχὴν W   μὴ B W Oxy.: καὶ μὴ T   **a** 7 καὶ ante Ἀγάθωνας add. W   **b** 4 τε T W: om. B   **b** 6 τις T W Oxy.: τι B   **c** 2 κινήσας] και κεινησας Oxy

### English

he wanted to leave, pleading that it was late, I compelled him to stay. So he rested on the couch next to mine, the one he had dined on, and no one else was sleeping in the room but **[e]** us. Now up to this point of my speech it would be well to tell it even to anyone; but what follows you would not have heard me tell, if, first, as the saying goes, wine, both without children and with children, were not truthful,[^163] and next, to blot out a haughty deed of Socrates when I have come to praise him seems to me unjust. Further, the experience of the man bitten by the viper has hold of me too. For they say, I take it, that one to whom this has happened is not willing to say what it was like except to those who have been bitten, since they alone will understand **[218]** and pardon him if he dared to do and say anything under the pain. So I, bitten by something more painful, and in the most painful place one could be bitten — for in the heart, or soul, or whatever one must name it, I have been struck and bitten by the speeches of philosophy, which hold on more savagely than a viper when they take hold of the soul of a young man not without gifts, and make it do and say anything whatever — and seeing in turn Phaedruses, Agathons, **[b]** Eryximachuses, Pausaniases, Aristodemuses and Aristophaneses; and Socrates himself, what need is there to speak of him, and all the others? For you have all been partners in the wisdom-loving madness and Bacchic frenzy — therefore you shall all hear; for you will pardon both what was done then and what is said now. But you household slaves, and anyone else who is profane and boorish, put very great gates upon your ears.[^164]

“Well then, gentlemen, when the lamp had gone out and **[c]** the slaves were outside, it seemed to me I must use no subtlety with him, but say freely what I thought; and I said, stirring him, ‘Socrates, are you asleep?’

“‘Not at all,’ he said.

[^163]: *Wine, both without children and with children*: there were two proverbs, “wine and truth” and “wine and children are truthful”, and the phrase joins them, as the *Suda* explains it (ο 134); the first opens a song of Alcaeus, “wine, dear boy, and truth” (fr. 366 Voigt).

[^164]: *Profane … gates upon your ears*: Orphic poems opened with the words “shut the doors, you profane (*bebēloi*)” (Orphic fragments 1a–b Bernabé), which the Derveni papyrus already explains as an order to put doors on the ears (col. VII 9–10); Alcibiades makes them “very great gates” (interpretation).

---

## 218c–219b

### Greek (Burnet, page 65)

 Οἶσθα οὖν ἅ μοι δέδοκται; **5**\
 Τί μάλιστα, ἔφη.\
 Σὺ ἐμοὶ δοκεῖς, ἦν δ’ ἐγώ, ἐμοῦ ἐραστὴς ἄξιος γεγονέναι\
μόνος, καί μοι φαίνῃ ὀκνεῖν μνησθῆναι πρός με. ἐγὼ δὲ\
οὑτωσὶ ἔχω· πάνυ ἀνόητον ἡγοῦμαι εἶναι σοὶ μὴ οὐ καὶ\
τοῦτο χαρίζεσθαι καὶ εἴ τι ἄλλο ἢ τῆς οὐσίας τῆς ἐμῆς **10**\
δέοιο ἢ τῶν φίλων τῶν ἐμῶν. ἐμοὶ μὲν γὰρ οὐδέν ἐστι **d**\
πρεσβύτερον τοῦ ὡς ὅτι βέλτιστον ἐμὲ γενέσθαι, τούτου δὲ\
οἶμαί μοι συλλήπτορα οὐδένα κυριώτερον εἶναι σοῦ. ἐγὼ δὴ\
τοιούτῳ ἀνδρὶ πολὺ μᾶλλον ἂν μὴ χαριζόμενος αἰσχυνοίμην\
τοὺς φρονίμους, ἢ χαριζόμενος τούς τε πολλοὺς καὶ ἄφρονας. **5**\
 Καὶ οὗτος ἀκούσας μάλα εἰρωνικῶς καὶ σφόδρα ἑαυτοῦ τε\
καὶ εἰωθότως ἔλεξεν Ὦ φίλε Ἀλκιβιάδη, κινδυνεύεις τῷ\
ὄντι οὐ φαῦλος εἶναι, εἴπερ ἀληθῆ τυγχάνει ὄντα ἃ λέγεις\
περὶ ἐμοῦ, καί τις ἔστ’ ἐν ἐμοὶ δύναμις δι’ ἧς ἂν σὺ γένοιο **e**\
ἀμείνων· ἀμήχανόν τοι κάλλος ὁρῴης ἂν ἐν ἐμοὶ καὶ τῆς\
παρὰ σοὶ εὐμορφίας πάμπολυ διαφέρον. εἰ δὴ καθορῶν\
αὐτὸ κοινώσασθαί τέ μοι ἐπιχειρεῖς καὶ ἀλλάξασθαι κάλλος\
ἀντὶ κάλλους, οὐκ ὀλίγῳ μου πλεονεκτεῖν διανοῇ, ἀλλ’ **5**\
ἀντὶ δόξης ἀλήθειαν καλῶν κτᾶσθαι ἐπιχειρεῖς καὶ τῷ\
ὄντι *“χρύσεα χαλκείων”* διαμείβεσθαι νοεῖς. ἀλλ’, ὦ **219**\
μακάριε, ἄμεινον σκόπει, μή σε λανθάνω οὐδὲν ὤν. ἥ τοι\
τῆς διανοίας ὄψις ἄρχεται ὀξὺ βλέπειν ὅταν ἡ τῶν ὀμμάτων\
τῆς ἀκμῆς λήγειν ἐπιχειρῇ· σὺ δὲ τούτων ἔτι πόρρω.\
 Κἀγὼ ἀκούσας, Τὰ μὲν παρ’ ἐμοῦ, ἔφην, ταῦτά ἐστιν, ὧν **5**\
οὐδὲν ἄλλως εἴρηται ἢ ὡς διανοοῦμαι· σὺ δὲ αὐτὸς οὕτω\
βουλεύου ὅτι σοί τε ἄριστον καὶ ἐμοὶ ἡγῇ.\
 Ἀλλ’, ἔφη, τοῦτό γ’ εὖ λέγεις· ἐν γὰρ τῷ ἐπιόντι χρόνῳ\
βουλευόμενοι πράξομεν ὃ ἂν φαίνηται νῷν περί τε τούτων **b**\
καὶ περὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἄριστον.

> *Apparatus:* **c** 9 ἔχω B Oxy.: ἔχων T W   **c** 10 χαρισασθαι Oxy.   εἴ τι B Oxy.: ἔτι T W   **d** 1 δέοιο] δέηι W (οιο s. v. W)   **d** 2 ὡς ὅτι T W Oxy.: ὅσῳ τι B   **d** 3 μοι Oxy. (ut vid.) al.: μου B T W   **e** 2 τοι B T W Oxy.: τι al. Bekker   **e** 4 τε B T Oxy.: om. W   **a** 2 ἥ τοι W: ἤτοι B T   **a** 5 ἐμοῦ T W Oxy.: ἐμοί B   **a** 7 ὅτι ante ἄριστον add. Oxy.

### English

“‘Do you know, then, what I have resolved?’

“‘What, exactly?’ he said.

“‘You seem to me,’ I said, ‘to have become the only lover worthy of me, and you seem to me to hesitate to mention it to me. As for me, this is how I stand: I believe it very senseless not to gratify you in this too, and in anything else you **[d]** might need either of my property or of my friends. For to me nothing ranks before my becoming as good as possible, and for this I think I have no helper more competent than you. So I would be far more ashamed before the intelligent at not gratifying such a man than I would be before the many and foolish at gratifying him.’

“And he, having heard this, said very ironically, and very much like himself and as he used to, ‘My friend Alcibiades, it looks like you are really no paltry fellow, if what you say **[e]** about me is in fact true, and there is in me some power through which you might become better; you would see in me, you know, an extraordinary beauty, far different from the fine form that is in you. If, then, catching sight of it, you are undertaking to share it with me and exchange beauty for beauty, you mean to get the better of me by no small amount; rather, you are undertaking to acquire the truth of beautiful things in place of the opinion of them, and you **[219]** really intend to exchange “gold for bronze”.[^165] But, you blessed man, look into it better, lest you fail to notice that I am nothing. The sight of the mind, you know, begins to look keenly when that of the eyes undertakes to leave off its prime; and you are still far from these.’

“And I, having heard this: ‘What comes from me,’ I said, ‘is this, and none of it has been said otherwise than as I mean it; you yourself deliberate, then, on what you believe best for you and for me.’

“‘Well,’ he said, ‘this at least you say well; for in time to come we **[b]** shall deliberate and do whatever appears best to the two of us, both about these things and about the rest.’

[^165]: Homer, *Iliad* 6.234–236: Zeus takes away Glaucus’ wits, and he gives Diomedes his golden armour, worth a hundred oxen, for bronze armour worth nine. Burnet letterspaces the words as a quotation.

---

## 219b–219e

### Greek (Burnet, page 66)

 Ἐγὼ μὲν δὴ ταῦτα ἀκούσας τε καὶ εἰπών, καὶ ἀφεὶς\
ὥσπερ βέλη, τετρῶσθαι αὐτὸν ᾤμην· καὶ ἀναστάς γε, οὐδ’\
ἐπιτρέψας τούτῳ εἰπεῖν οὐδὲν ἔτι, ἀμφιέσας τὸ ἱμάτιον **5**\
τὸ ἐμαυτοῦ τοῦτον—καὶ γὰρ ἦν χειμών—ὑπὸ τὸν τρίβωνα\
κατακλινεὶς τὸν τουτουί, περιβαλὼν τὼ χεῖρε τούτῳ τῷ\
δαιμονίῳ ὡς ἀληθῶς καὶ θαυμαστῷ, κατεκείμην τὴν νύκτα **c**\
ὅλην. καὶ οὐδὲ ταῦτα αὖ, ὦ Σώκρατες, ἐρεῖς ὅτι ψεύδομαι.\
ποιήσαντος δὲ δὴ ταῦτα ἐμοῦ οὗτος τοσοῦτον περιεγένετό\
τε καὶ κατεφρόνησεν καὶ κατεγέλασεν τῆς ἐμῆς ὥρας καὶ\
ὕβρισεν—καὶ περὶ ἐκεῖνό γε ᾤμην τὶ εἶναι, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί· **5**\
δικασταὶ γάρ ἐστε τῆς Σωκράτους ὑπερηφανίας—εὖ γὰρ\
ἴστε μὰ θεούς, μὰ θεάς, οὐδὲν περιττότερον καταδεδαρθηκὼς\
ἀνέστην μετὰ Σωκράτους, ἢ εἰ μετὰ πατρὸς καθηῦδον ἢ **d**\
ἀδελφοῦ πρεσβυτέρου.\
 Τὸ δὴ μετὰ τοῦτο τίνα οἴεσθέ με διάνοιαν ἔχειν, ἡγού-\
μενον μὲν ἠτιμάσθαι, ἀγάμενον δὲ τὴν τούτου φύσιν τε καὶ\
σωφροσύνην καὶ ἀνδρείαν, ἐντετυχηκότα ἀνθρώπῳ τοιούτῳ **5**\
οἵῳ ἐγὼ οὐκ ἂν ᾤμην ποτ’ ἐντυχεῖν εἰς φρόνησιν καὶ εἰς\
καρτερίαν; ὥστε οὔθ’ ὅπως οὖν ὀργιζοίμην εἶχον καὶ ἀπο-\
στερηθείην τῆς τούτου συνουσίας, οὔτε ὅπῃ προσαγαγοίμην\
αὐτὸν ηὐπόρουν. εὖ γὰρ ᾔδη ὅτι χρήμασί γε πολὺ μᾶλλον **e**\
ἄτρωτος ἦν πανταχῇ ἢ σιδήρῳ ὁ Αἴας, ᾧ τε ᾤμην αὐτὸν\
μόνῳ ἁλώσεσθαι, διεπεφεύγει με. ἠπόρουν δή, καταδε-\
δουλωμένος τε ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ὡς οὐδεὶς ὑπ’ οὐδενὸς\
ἄλλου περιῇα. ταῦτά τε γάρ μοι ἅπαντα προυγεγόνει, καὶ **5**\
μετὰ ταῦτα στρατεία ἡμῖν εἰς Ποτείδαιαν ἐγένετο κοινὴ\
καὶ συνεσιτοῦμεν ἐκεῖ. πρῶτον μὲν οὖν τοῖς πόνοις οὐ\
μόνον ἐμοῦ περιῆν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἁπάντων—ὁπότ’\
ἀναγκασθεῖμεν ἀποληφθέντες που, οἷα δὴ ἐπὶ στρατείας,

> *Apparatus:* **b** 4 βέλη B: βέλει T W Oxy.   **b** 5 τούτῳ T W: τοῦτο B   **b** 7 τουτουί T W: τούτου B   **c** 2 αὖ B: om. T W   **c** 5 [καὶ] περι εκεινο Oxy.: καίπερ ἐκεῖνό T W: καίπερ κεῖνο B   **d** 1 ἢ εἰ B Oxy.: ἢ T W   **d** 7 καρτερίαν B T W: [ἐγ]κρατειαν Oxy.   **e** 1 γε T W Oxy.: τε B   **e** 3 δή B T Oxy.: τε W   **e** 6 κοινὴ B T W Oxy.: κοινῇ vulg.   **e** 8 ὁπότ’ W: ὁπόταν B T Oxy.   **e** 9 ἀποληφθέντες Cornarius: ἀπολειφθέντες B T W (deest Oxy.)

### English

“So I, having heard this and said it, and having loosed, as it were, arrows, thought he was wounded; and indeed I got up, and without even letting him say anything more, I put my own cloak round him — for it was winter — and lying down under this man’s worn cloak here, with my arms thrown round this man, **[c]** daimonic in truth and marvellous, I lay there the whole night. And about this too, again, Socrates, you will not say that I lie. But when I had done this, he so far prevailed over my youth, and despised it and laughed at it and treated it with insolence — and in that, at least, I thought I was something,[^166] gentlemen of the jury; for you are the jury on Socrates’ haughtiness — for know well, by the gods, by the goddesses, that when I **[d]** got up I had slept with Socrates nothing more out of the ordinary than if I had been sleeping with my father or an elder brother.

“After this, then, what mind do you think I had, believing that I had been dishonoured, but admiring this man’s nature and temperance and courage, having met with a person such as I would never have thought I should meet for intelligence and for endurance? So I neither had any way at all to be angry and be deprived of being with him, nor **[e]** had I resource for how I might win him over. For I knew well that by money, at any rate, he was proof against wounds at every point, far more than Ajax was by iron,[^167] and in that by which alone I thought he would be caught, he had got clean away from me. So I was at a loss, and, enslaved by this person as no one was by anyone else, I went about. For all this had already happened to me; and after it came the campaign to Potidaea, which we shared, and we messed together there.[^168] First, then, in toils he surpassed not only me but all the others as well — whenever, cut off somewhere, as happens on campaign, we were compelled

[^166]: *And in that, at least*: “in that” is the papyrus’ *peri ekeino*, which Burnet prints; T and W have *kaiper ekeino* (B *kaiper keino*), “though I thought that was something”, of his youth (apparatus, c5).

[^167]: *Ajax*: the great Ajax, son of Telamon. Aeschylus told, in his lost *Thracian Women*, that his body could not be wounded except in one place, so that his sword bent when he tried to kill himself (fr. 83 Radt, from the scholia on Sophocles, *Ajax* 815 and 833).

[^168]: *Potidaea*: a Corinthian colony on the Chalcidice that revolted from Athens; the Athenians besieged it from 432 BC to the winter of 430/29 (Thucydides 1.56–65, 2.70). The *Charmides* opens with Socrates just back from the camp there (153a–c).

---

## 220a–220d

### Greek (Burnet, page 67)

ἀσιτεῖν, οὐδὲν ἦσαν οἱ ἄλλοι πρὸς τὸ καρτερεῖν—ἔν τ’ αὖ **220**\
ταῖς εὐωχίαις μόνος ἀπολαύειν οἷός τ’ ἦν τά τ’ ἄλλα καὶ\
πίνειν οὐκ ἐθέλων, ὁπότε ἀναγκασθείη, πάντας ἐκράτει, καὶ\
ὃ πάντων θαυμαστότατον, Σωκράτη μεθύοντα οὐδεὶς πώποτε\
ἑώρακεν ἀνθρώπων. τούτου μὲν οὖν μοι δοκεῖ καὶ αὐτίκα ὁ **5**\
ἔλεγχος ἔσεσθαι. πρὸς δὲ αὖ τὰς τοῦ χειμῶνος καρτερήσεις\
—δεινοὶ γὰρ αὐτόθι χειμῶνες—θαυμάσια ἠργάζετο τά τε\
ἄλλα, καί ποτε ὄντος πάγου οἵου δεινοτάτου, καὶ πάντων ἢ **b**\
οὐκ ἐξιόντων ἔνδοθεν, ἢ εἴ τις ἐξίοι, ἠμφιεσμένων τε\
θαυμαστὰ δὴ ὅσα καὶ ὑποδεδεμένων καὶ ἐνειλιγμένων τοὺς\
πόδας εἰς πίλους καὶ ἀρνακίδας, οὗτος δ’ ἐν τούτοις ἐξῄει\
ἔχων ἱμάτιον μὲν τοιοῦτον οἷόνπερ καὶ πρότερον εἰώθει **5**\
φορεῖν, ἀνυπόδητος δὲ διὰ τοῦ κρυστάλλου ῥᾷον ἐπορεύετο\
ἢ οἱ ἄλλοι ὑποδεδεμένοι, οἱ δὲ στρατιῶται ὑπέβλεπον\
αὐτὸν ὡς καταφρονοῦντα σφῶν. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν δὴ ταῦτα· **c**\
   οἷον δ’ αὖ τόδ’ ἔρεξε καὶ ἔτλη καρτερὸς ἀνὴρ\
ἐκεῖ ποτε ἐπὶ στρατιᾶς, ἄξιον ἀκοῦσαι. συννοήσας γὰρ\
αὐτόθι ἕωθέν τι εἱστήκει σκοπῶν, καὶ ἐπειδὴ οὐ προυχώρει\
αὐτῷ, οὐκ ἀνίει ἀλλὰ εἱστήκει ζητῶν. καὶ ἤδη ἦν μεσημ- **5**\
βρία, καὶ ἅνθρωποι ᾐσθάνοντο, καὶ θαυμάζοντες ἄλλος ἄλλῳ\
ἔλεγεν ὅτι Σωκράτης ἐξ ἑωθινοῦ φροντίζων τι ἕστηκε.\
τελευτῶντες δέ τινες τῶν Ἰώνων, ἐπειδὴ ἑσπέρα ἦν, δειπνή-\
σαντες—καὶ γὰρ θέρος τότε γ’ ἦν—χαμεύνια ἐξενεγκάμενοι **d**\
ἅμα μὲν ἐν τῷ ψύχει καθηῦδον, ἅμα δ’ ἐφύλαττον αὐτὸν εἰ\
καὶ τὴν νύκτα ἑστήξοι. ὁ δὲ εἱστήκει μέχρι ἕως ἐγένετο\
καὶ ἥλιος ἀνέσχεν· ἔπειτα ᾤχετ’ ἀπιὼν προσευξάμενος τῷ\
ἡλίῳ. εἰ δὲ βούλεσθε ἐν ταῖς μάχαις—τοῦτο γὰρ δὴ **5**\
δίκαιόν γε αὐτῷ ἀποδοῦναι—ὅτε γὰρ ἡ μάχη ἦν ἐξ ἧς ἐμοὶ

> *Apparatus:* **a** 4 ὃ πάντων T W Oxy.: ὁπόταν B   θαυμασιώτατον Oxy.   **a** 5 ἑώρακεν T W Oxy.: ἑωράκει B   **b** 1 πάγου B Oxy.: τοῦ πάγου T W   ἢ B Oxy.: om. T W   **b** 3 δὴ T W Oxy.: ἢ B   **b** 4 δ’ om. Oxy.   **b** 5 οἷόνπερ B Oxy.: οἷον T W   **c** 2 αὖ τοδ’ W Oxy.: αὐτὸ B T   ἔρρεξε B   **c** 3 στρατιας Oxy.: στρατείας B T W   **c** 4 προχώρει B   **c** 6 ἅνθρωποι Mehler: ἄνθρωποι B T W   **c** 7 ἔλεγεν B T W Oxy.: ἔλεγον Mehler   ἐξ] ὡς ἐξ Oxy.   **c** 8 τελευτῶντες] καὶ τελευτῶντες W   **d** 3 μέχρις W   **d** 5 ἐν] και εν Oxy.

### English

**[220]** to go without food, the others were nothing at holding out[^169] — and again at feasts he alone was able to enjoy them, both in other ways and at drinking: though he was not willing, whenever he was compelled he beat everyone; and, what is most marvellous of all, no one among human beings has ever seen Socrates drunk. Of that, then, I think, the proof will come very soon too.[^170] And again, as for his feats of endurance against the winter — for the winters there are dreadful — he did marvels, both in **[b]** other ways and once, when there was a frost of the most dreadful kind, and everyone either did not go out of doors, or, if anyone went out, was wrapped up in marvellous quantities, with shoes on and feet wound in felt and sheepskins, this man went out amid all this wearing just such a cloak as he was used to wear before, and barefoot he walked across the ice more easily than the others in their shoes;[^171] and the soldiers eyed **[c]** him askance, as though he were despising them. So much for that.

> *And what a thing this was, again, the strong man did and bore,[^172]*

there once with the army, is worth hearing. For, having fallen to thinking about something there at dawn, he stood looking into it, and when it did not go forward for him, he did not let go but stood seeking.[^173] And by now it was midday, and the people noticed, and, marvelling, one said to another that Socrates had been standing since dawn pondering something. Finally some of the Ionians, when it was evening, after dining — **[d]** for then, at least, it was summer — brought out their pallets and at the same time slept in the cool and watched him, to see whether he would stand through the night too. And he stood until it was dawn and the sun rose; then he went off and away, having said a prayer to the sun.[^174] And if you want, in the battles — for this, at least, it is just to render him — for when there was the battle after which

[^169]: *Holding out*: *karterein*, as at 184b and 216a; *karteria*, “endurance” (219d7), *karterēsis*, “feat of endurance” (220a6), and *karteros*, “strong” (217c5, “by main force”; 220c2), are of the same family.

[^170]: *The proof*: it comes at the end of the night (223c–d).

[^171]: In Xenophon the sophist Antiphon taunts Socrates with wearing a poor cloak, the same summer and winter, and going barefoot and without a tunic (*Memorabilia* 1.6.2); compare 173b, 174a and 203d.

[^172]: Homer, *Odyssey* 4.242 (Helen) and 4.271 (Menelaus), opening stories of Odysseus at Troy; Alcibiades draws Homer’s *karteros*, “strong”, towards *karteria* (interpretation).

[^173]: As in the neighbours’ porch on the way to this dinner (174d–175b).

[^174]: *Laws* 887e: all Greeks and barbarians prostrate themselves at the rising and setting of sun and moon.

---

## 220d–221c

### Greek (Burnet, page 68)

καὶ τἀριστεῖα ἔδοσαν οἱ στρατηγοί, οὐδεὶς ἄλλος ἐμὲ ἔσωσεν\
ἀνθρώπων ἢ οὗτος, τετρωμένον οὐκ ἐθέλων ἀπολιπεῖν, ἀλλὰ **e**\
συνδιέσωσε καὶ τὰ ὅπλα καὶ αὐτὸν ἐμέ. καὶ ἐγὼ μέν, ὦ Σώ-\
κρατες, καὶ τότε ἐκέλευον σοὶ διδόναι τἀριστεῖα τοὺς στρατη-\
γούς, καὶ τοῦτό γέ μοι οὔτε μέμψῃ οὔτε ἐρεῖς ὅτι ψεύδομαι·\
ἀλλὰ γὰρ τῶν στρατηγῶν πρὸς τὸ ἐμὸν ἀξίωμα ἀποβλεπόντων **5**\
καὶ βουλομένων ἐμοὶ διδόναι τἀριστεῖα, αὐτὸς προθυμότερος\
ἐγένου τῶν στρατηγῶν ἐμὲ λαβεῖν ἢ σαυτόν. ἔτι τοίνυν,\
ὦ ἄνδρες, ἄξιον ἦν θεάσασθαι Σωκράτη, ὅτε ἀπὸ Δηλίου\
φυγῇ ἀνεχώρει τὸ στρατόπεδον· ἔτυχον γὰρ παραγενόμενος **221**\
ἵππον ἔχων, οὗτος δὲ ὅπλα. ἀνεχώρει οὖν ἐσκεδασμένων\
ἤδη τῶν ἀνθρώπων οὗτός τε ἅμα καὶ Λάχης· καὶ ἐγὼ περι-\
τυγχάνω, καὶ ἰδὼν εὐθὺς παρακελεύομαί τε αὐτοῖν θαρρεῖν,\
καὶ ἔλεγον ὅτι οὐκ ἀπολείψω αὐτώ. ἐνταῦθα δὴ καὶ κάλ- **5**\
λιον ἐθεασάμην Σωκράτη ἢ ἐν Ποτειδαίᾳ—αὐτὸς γὰρ ἧττον\
ἐν φόβῳ ἦ διὰ τὸ ἐφ’ ἵππου εἶναι—πρῶτον μὲν ὅσον περιῆν\
Λάχητος τῷ ἔμφρων εἶναι· ἔπειτα ἔμοιγ’ ἐδόκει, ὦ Ἀρι- **b**\
στόφανες, τὸ σὸν δὴ τοῦτο, καὶ ἐκεῖ διαπορεύεσθαι ὥσπερ\
καὶ ἐνθάδε, *βρενθυόμενος καὶ τὠφθαλμὼ παραβάλ-*\
*λων,* ἠρέμα παρασκοπῶν καὶ τοὺς φιλίους καὶ τοὺς πολεμίους,\
δῆλος ὢν παντὶ καὶ πάνυ πόρρωθεν ὅτι εἴ τις ἅψεται τούτου **5**\
τοῦ ἀνδρός, μάλα ἐρρωμένως ἀμυνεῖται. διὸ καὶ ἀσφαλῶς\
ἀπῄει καὶ οὗτος καὶ ὁ ἑταῖρος· σχεδὸν γάρ τι τῶν οὕτω\
διακειμένων ἐν τῷ πολέμῳ οὐδὲ ἅπτονται, ἀλλὰ τοὺς προ-\
τροπάδην φεύγοντας διώκουσιν. **c**\
 Πολλὰ μὲν οὖν ἄν τις καὶ ἄλλα ἔχοι Σωκράτη ἐπαινέσαι\
καὶ θαυμάσια· ἀλλὰ τῶν μὲν ἄλλων ἐπιτηδευμάτων τάχ’ ἄν\
τις καὶ περὶ ἄλλου τοιαῦτα εἴποι, τὸ δὲ μηδενὶ ἀνθρώπων\
ὅμοιον εἶναι, μήτε τῶν παλαιῶν μήτε τῶν νῦν ὄντων, τοῦτο **5**

> *Apparatus:* **e** 1 τετρωμένον οὐκ ἐθέλων B W Oxy.: οὐκ ἐθέλων τετρωμένον T   **a** 7 ἦ B: ἢ T W: η Oxy.   **b** 3 τὼ ὀφθαλμὼ T Oxy.: τῶ φθαλμῷ B: τ’ ὀφθαλμὼ W   **b** 4 περισκοπῶν Ast   φιλίους B T W: φιλους Oxy.   **b** 5 αψαιτο Oxy.   **b** 6 ἀμυνεῖται T W Oxy.: ἀμύνηται B   **b** 7 οὗτος B T W: αυτος Oxy.   ἑταῖρος Aristides: ἕτερος B T W Oxy.   **c** 4 δὲ B T W: δε δη Oxy.   **c** 5 εἶναι μήτε T W Oxy.: εἶναί με B

### English

the generals even gave me the prize for valour,[^175] no one else kept me safe **[e]** among human beings but this man: he was not willing to leave me behind wounded, but brought both my arms and me myself safely through. And I, Socrates, even then told the generals to give the prize to you; and for this, at least, you will neither blame me nor say that I lie. But when the generals looked to my rank and wanted to give the prize to me, you yourself were more eager than the generals that I should take it rather than you. Further, gentlemen, it was worth beholding Socrates when **[221]** the army was retreating in flight from Delium; for I was in fact there, with a horse, and this man with arms.[^176] So, the people being already scattered, he was retreating together with Laches; and I come upon them, and on seeing them I at once urge the two of them to take heart, and I told them that I would not leave them behind. There I beheld Socrates even better than at Potidaea — for I myself was less in fear, because I was on horseback — first, how far he surpassed **[b]** Laches in having his wits about him;[^177] and then, it seemed to me, Aristophanes — in those very words of yours — he made his way there just as he does here, ‘swaggering and casting his eyes sideways’, calmly glancing sideways at friends and enemies,[^178] making it plain to everyone, even from very far off, that if anyone lays a hand on this man, he will defend himself very stoutly. That is why both he and his companion got away safely;[^179] for, more or less, those who are so disposed in war they do not even lay a hand on, but those in headlong **[c]** flight they pursue.

“Now there are many other things for which one could praise Socrates, and marvellous ones; but of his other ways of life one might perhaps say such things about someone else too, whereas his being like no one among human beings, either of the ancients or of those living now, this

[^175]: *The battle*: probably the one before Potidaea in 432 BC (Thucydides 1.62–63), though Isocrates puts Alcibiades’ prize in Phormio’s later campaign (16.29). Plutarch retells the prize and Delium after this speech (*Alcibiades* 7.3–4).

[^176]: *Delium*: the Athenians were routed by the Boeotians at Delium in 424 BC (Thucydides 4.89–101). Alcibiades served in the cavalry, Socrates as a hoplite, a heavy-armed foot soldier.

[^177]: *Laches*: the general, killed at Mantinea in 418 BC (Thucydides 5.61.1, 5.74.3); in Plato’s *Laches* he praises Socrates’ conduct in the retreat from Delium (181a–b).

[^178]: Aristophanes, *Clouds* 362–363: the Clouds favour Socrates “because you swagger in the streets and cast your eyes sideways, and barefoot you endure many hardships, and put on a solemn face for us”. Burnet letterspaces the words as a quotation.

[^179]: *His companion*: *hetairos*, which Burnet prints from Aelius Aristides’ quotation of the passage (Or. 45 Dindorf); B, T, W and the papyrus have *heteros*, “the other”.

---

## 221c–222b

### Greek (Burnet, page 69)

ἄξιον παντὸς θαύματος. οἷος γὰρ Ἀχιλλεὺς ἐγένετο, ἀπει-\
κάσειεν ἄν τις καὶ Βρασίδαν καὶ ἄλλους, καὶ οἷος αὖ\
Περικλῆς, καὶ Νέστορα καὶ Ἀντήνορα—εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ ἕτεροι—\
καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους κατὰ ταὔτ’ ἄν τις ἀπεικάζοι· οἷος δὲ οὑτοσὶ **d**\
γέγονε τὴν ἀτοπίαν ἅνθρωπος, καὶ αὐτὸς καὶ οἱ λόγοι αὐτοῦ,\
οὐδ’ ἐγγὺς ἂν εὕροι τις ζητῶν, οὔτε τῶν νῦν οὔτε τῶν\
παλαιῶν, εἰ μὴ ἄρα εἰ οἷς ἐγὼ λέγω ἀπεικάζοι τις αὐτόν,\
ἀνθρώπων μὲν μηδενί, τοῖς δὲ σιληνοῖς καὶ σατύροις, αὐτὸν **5**\
καὶ τοὺς λόγους.\
 Καὶ γὰρ οὖν καὶ τοῦτο ἐν τοῖς πρώτοις παρέλιπον, ὅτι\
καὶ οἱ λόγοι αὐτοῦ ὁμοιότατοί εἰσι τοῖς σιληνοῖς τοῖς διοιγο-\
μένοις. εἰ γὰρ ἐθέλοι τις τῶν Σωκράτους ἀκούειν λόγων, **e**\
φανεῖεν ἂν πάνυ γελοῖοι τὸ πρῶτον· τοιαῦτα καὶ ὀνόματα\
καὶ ῥήματα ἔξωθεν περιαμπέχονται, σατύρου δή τινα ὑβρι-\
στοῦ δοράν. ὄνους γὰρ κανθηλίους λέγει καὶ χαλκέας τινὰς\
καὶ σκυτοτόμους καὶ βυρσοδέψας, καὶ ἀεὶ διὰ τῶν αὐτῶν τὰ **5**\
αὐτὰ φαίνεται λέγειν, ὥστε ἄπειρος καὶ ἀνόητος ἄνθρωπος\
πᾶς ἂν τῶν λόγων καταγελάσειεν. διοιγομένους δὲ ἰδὼν ἄν **222**\
τις καὶ ἐντὸς αὐτῶν γιγνόμενος πρῶτον μὲν νοῦν ἔχοντας\
ἔνδον μόνους εὑρήσει τῶν λόγων, ἔπειτα θειοτάτους καὶ\
πλεῖστα ἀγάλματ’ ἀρετῆς ἐν αὑτοῖς ἔχοντας καὶ ἐπὶ πλεῖ-\
στον τείνοντας, μᾶλλον δὲ ἐπὶ πᾶν ὅσον προσήκει σκοπεῖν **5**\
τῷ μέλλοντι καλῷ κἀγαθῷ ἔσεσθαι.\
 Ταῦτ’ ἐστίν, ὦ ἄνδρες, ἃ ἐγὼ Σωκράτη ἐπαινῶ· καὶ αὖ\
ἃ μέμφομαι συμμείξας ὑμῖν εἶπον ἅ με ὕβρισεν. καὶ μέν-\
τοι οὐκ ἐμὲ μόνον ταῦτα πεποίηκεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ Χαρμίδην **b**\
τὸν Γλαύκωνος καὶ Εὐθύδημον τὸν Διοκλέους καὶ ἄλλους\
πάνυ πολλούς, οὓς οὗτος ἐξαπατῶν ὡς ἐραστὴς παιδικὰ\
μᾶλλον αὐτὸς καθίσταται ἀντ’ ἐραστοῦ. ἃ δὴ καὶ σοὶ

> *Apparatus:* **d** 1 ταὔτ’] ταῦτ’ B: τοῦτ’ W   **d** 2 ἄνθρωπος B T W   **d** 4 ἄρα εἰ B: ἄρα T W Oxy.   λέγω T W Oxy.: λέγων B   **e** 1 ἐθέλοι B: ἐθέλει T W   τῶν . . . λόγων T W Oxy.: τὸν . . . λόγον B   **e** 2 πάνυ T W Oxy.: om. B   **e** 3 δή Baiter: ἄν T W: om. B Oxy.   **a** 1 διοιγουμένους B   ἄν B T W Oxy.: αὖ Bekker   **a** 3 τῶν λόγων T W Oxy.: τὸν λόγον B   **a** 5 τείνοντας T W: τινοντας Oxy.: τείναντας B   ἐπὶ T W Oxy.: ἔτι B   **b** 3 πάνυ om. Oxy.

### English

is worthy of all marvel. For the kind of man Achilles was, one might liken Brasidas and others to him;[^180] and the kind Pericles was, in turn, one might liken both Nestor and Antenor to him — and there are others too — **[d]** and the rest one might liken in the same way.[^181] But the kind of man this person here has turned out to be in his outlandishness, both himself and his speeches, if one sought, one would not find anyone even near, either among those now or among the ancients, unless perhaps one were to liken him to those I speak of, to no one among human beings, but to the sileni and satyrs, himself and his speeches.

“And indeed I left this out at the start too: that his speeches as well are most like the sileni that are opened. **[e]** For if anyone were willing to listen to Socrates’ speeches, they would appear quite laughable at first: such are the words and expressions they wrap round themselves on the outside, a hide, as it were, of an insolent satyr. For he talks of pack-asses and smiths of some sort and shoemakers and tanners, and always appears to say the same things by means of the same things,[^182] so that **[222]** every inexperienced and senseless person would laugh at the speeches. But if one sees them opened and gets inside them, he will find, first, that they alone of speeches have sense inside, and then that they are most divine and have in themselves the most statues of virtue, and reach furthest — or rather to all that it befits one to look into who is going to be beautiful and good.

“These, gentlemen, are the things for which I praise Socrates; and in turn, mixing in what I blame him for, I have told you how he treated me with insolence. And what is more, **[b]** it is not only me he has done this to, but also Charmides son of Glaucon, and Euthydemus son of Diocles, and very many others, whom this man deceives as though he were a lover, and himself becomes, rather, darling instead of lover.[^183] This, then, to you too

[^180]: *Brasidas*: the Spartan commander who took Amphipolis from Athens and died there in victory in 422 BC (Thucydides 4.102–106, 5.6–11).

[^181]: Nestor, the old king of Pylos, whose speech flowed sweeter than honey (*Iliad* 1.247–249), and Antenor the Trojan elder who advised giving Helen back (*Iliad* 7.347–353); Pericles is the orator (215e).

[^182]: Callicles complains of the same in the *Gorgias*: Socrates is always saying the same things, and never stops talking of shoemakers and fullers, cooks and doctors (490e–491a).

[^183]: *Charmides*: Plato’s uncle, the beautiful youth of the *Charmides*, later one of the Ten who governed the Piraeus under the Thirty, killed at Munychia in 403 BC (Xenophon, *Hellenica* 2.4.19). *Euthydemus*: probably the young Euthydemus of Xenophon’s *Memorabilia* (1.2.29, 4.2), not the sophist of Plato’s *Euthydemus*.

---

## 222b–222e

### Greek (Burnet, page 70)

λέγω, ὦ Ἀγάθων, μὴ ἐξαπατᾶσθαι ὑπὸ τούτου, ἀλλ’ ἀπὸ **5**\
τῶν ἡμετέρων παθημάτων γνόντα εὐλαβηθῆναι, καὶ μὴ κατὰ\
τὴν παροιμίαν ὥσπερ νήπιον παθόντα γνῶναι.\
 \
 Εἰπόντος δὴ ταῦτα τοῦ Ἀλκιβιάδου γέλωτα γενέσθαι **c**\
ἐπὶ τῇ παρρησίᾳ αὐτοῦ, ὅτι ἐδόκει ἔτι ἐρωτικῶς ἔχειν τοῦ\
Σωκράτους. τὸν οὖν Σωκράτη, Νήφειν μοι δοκεῖς, φάναι,\
ὦ Ἀλκιβιάδη. οὐ γὰρ ἄν ποτε οὕτω κομψῶς κύκλῳ περι-\
βαλλόμενος ἀφανίσαι ἐνεχείρεις οὗ ἕνεκα ταῦτα πάντα **5**\
εἴρηκας, καὶ ὡς ἐν παρέργῳ δὴ λέγων ἐπὶ τελευτῆς αὐτὸ\
ἔθηκας, ὡς οὐ πάντα τούτου ἕνεκα εἰρηκώς, τοῦ ἐμὲ καὶ\
Ἀγάθωνα διαβάλλειν, οἰόμενος δεῖν ἐμὲ μὲν σοῦ ἐρᾶν καὶ **d**\
μηδενὸς ἄλλου, Ἀγάθωνα δὲ ὑπὸ σοῦ ἐρᾶσθαι καὶ μηδ’ ὑφ’\
ἑνὸς ἄλλου. ἀλλ’ οὐκ ἔλαθες, ἀλλὰ τὸ σατυρικόν σου\
δρᾶμα τοῦτο καὶ σιληνικὸν κατάδηλον ἐγένετο. ἀλλ’, ὦ\
φίλε Ἀγάθων, μηδὲν πλέον αὐτῷ γένηται, ἀλλὰ παρα- **5**\
σκευάζου ὅπως ἐμὲ καὶ σὲ μηδεὶς διαβαλεῖ.\
 Τὸν οὖν Ἀγάθωνα εἰπεῖν, Καὶ μήν, ὦ Σώκρατες, κινδυ-\
νεύεις ἀληθῆ λέγειν. τεκμαίρομαι δὲ καὶ ὡς κατεκλίνη ἐν **e**\
μέσῳ ἐμοῦ τε καὶ σοῦ, ἵνα χωρὶς ἡμᾶς διαλάβῃ. οὐδὲν οὖν\
πλέον αὐτῷ ἔσται, ἀλλ’ ἐγὼ παρὰ σὲ ἐλθὼν κατακλινήσομαι.\
 Πάνυ γε, φάναι τὸν Σωκράτη, δεῦρο ὑποκάτω ἐμοῦ\
κατακλίνου. **5**\
 Ὦ Ζεῦ, εἰπεῖν τὸν Ἀλκιβιάδην, οἷα αὖ πάσχω ὑπὸ τοῦ\
ἀνθρώπου. οἴεταί μου δεῖν πανταχῇ περιεῖναι. ἀλλ’ εἰ\
μή τι ἄλλο, ὦ θαυμάσιε, ἐν μέσῳ ἡμῶν ἔα Ἀγάθωνα\
κατακεῖσθαι.\
 Ἀλλ’ ἀδύνατον, φάναι τὸν Σωκράτη. σὺ μὲν γὰρ ἐμὲ **10**\
ἐπῄνεσας, δεῖ δὲ ἐμὲ αὖ τὸν ἐπὶ δεξί’ ἐπαινεῖν. ἐὰν οὖν\
ὑπὸ σοὶ κατακλινῇ Ἀγάθων, οὐ δήπου ἐμὲ πάλιν ἐπαι-

> *Apparatus:* **b** 5 ἐξαπατᾶσθε B   **b** 6 γνῶντα B   **c** 4 ομψῶς pr. B   **c** 5 οὗ ἕνεκα T W: ουνεκα corr. Oxy.: οὐδ’ ἕνεκα B pr. Oxy.   **d** 6 διαβαλει Oxy.: διαβάλῃ B T W   **e** 7 περιϊεναι Oxy.   **e** 10 γὰρ ἐμὲ B Oxy.: γάρ με T W   **e** 11 αὖ τὸν Bekker: αυ τον B Oxy.: αὐτὸν T W   **e** 12 κατακλιθη Oxy.

### English

I say, Agathon: do not be deceived by this man, but learn from our sufferings and be on your guard, and do not, as the proverb has it, learn by suffering, like a fool.”[^184]

**[c]** Now when Alcibiades had said this, laughter arose at his frankness, because he seemed still to be disposed by love towards Socrates. So Socrates said, “You seem to me to be sober, Alcibiades.[^185] For you would never so cleverly, throwing a circle round yourself, have undertaken to hide what you have said all this for, and put it at the end, as though, of course, you were saying it by the way, as if you had not said everything for the sake of this: **[d]** to set me and Agathon at odds, thinking that I must be in love with you and with no one else, and that Agathon must be loved by you and not by a single other. But you have not escaped notice: this satyr and silenus play of yours has become quite plain.[^186] But, my friend Agathon, let him get nothing more by it, but make ready, so that no one sets me and you at odds.”

So Agathon said, “Indeed, Socrates, it looks like **[e]** you are telling the truth. I take it as evidence, too, that he lay down between me and you, so as to keep us apart.[^187] So he will get nothing more by it, but I will come and lie down beside you.”

“Certainly,” said Socrates; “lie down here, below me.”

“O Zeus,” said Alcibiades, “what I suffer again at this person’s hands! He thinks he must surpass me at every point. But if nothing else, you marvellous man, let Agathon recline between us.”

“But it is impossible,” said Socrates. “For you have praised me, and I in turn must praise the man on my right.[^188] So if Agathon lies down below you, he will not, surely, praise me over again

[^184]: Homer has “a fool knows a thing once it is done” (*Iliad* 17.32, 20.198), and Hesiod “a fool learns by suffering” (*Works and Days* 218).

[^185]: *Sober*: Alcibiades came in very drunk (212d) and pleaded that a drunk man’s speech could not fairly be set beside those of the sober (214c).

[^186]: At the City Dionysia each tragic poet followed his three tragedies with a satyr play, with a chorus of satyrs; Socrates names Alcibiades’ speech of sileni and satyrs after it (interpretation).

[^187]: Alcibiades sat down between them without having seen Socrates (213a–b).

[^188]: The speeches go round to the right (177d, 214b–c): lying below Socrates, Agathon would be the next he praised; lying below Alcibiades, he would praise Socrates again.

---

## 222e–223d

### Greek (Burnet, page 71)

νέσεται, πρὶν ὑπ’ ἐμοῦ μᾶλλον ἐπαινεθῆναι; ἀλλ’ ἔασον,\
ὦ δαιμόνιε, καὶ μὴ φθονήσῃς τῷ μειρακίῳ ὑπ’ ἐμοῦ **223**\
ἐπαινεθῆναι· καὶ γὰρ πάνυ ἐπιθυμῶ αὐτὸν ἐγκωμιάσαι.\
 Ἰοῦ ἰοῦ, φάναι τὸν Ἀγάθωνα, Ἀλκιβιάδη, οὐκ ἔσθ’ ὅπως\
ἂν ἐνθάδε μείναιμι, ἀλλὰ παντὸς μᾶλλον μεταναστήσομαι,\
ἵνα ὑπὸ Σωκράτους ἐπαινεθῶ. **5**\
 Ταῦτα ἐκεῖνα, φάναι τὸν Ἀλκιβιάδην, τὰ εἰωθότα·\
Σωκράτους παρόντος τῶν καλῶν μεταλαβεῖν ἀδύνατον ἄλλῳ.\
καὶ νῦν ὡς εὐπόρως καὶ πιθανὸν λόγον ηὗρεν, ὥστε παρ’\
ἑαυτῷ τουτονὶ κατακεῖσθαι.\
 Τὸν μὲν οὖν Ἀγάθωνα ὡς κατακεισόμενον παρὰ τῷ **b**\
Σωκράτει ἀνίστασθαι· ἐξαίφνης δὲ κωμαστὰς ἥκειν παμ-\
πόλλους ἐπὶ τὰς θύρας, καὶ ἐπιτυχόντας ἀνεῳγμέναις ἐξιόντος\
τινὸς εἰς τὸ ἄντικρυς πορεύεσθαι παρὰ σφᾶς καὶ κατακλί-\
νεσθαι, καὶ θορύβου μεστὰ πάντα εἶναι, καὶ οὐκέτι ἐν **5**\
κόσμῳ οὐδενὶ ἀναγκάζεσθαι πίνειν πάμπολυν οἶνον. τὸν\
μὲν οὖν Ἐρυξίμαχον καὶ τὸν Φαῖδρον καὶ ἄλλους τινὰς ἔφη\
ὁ Ἀριστόδημος οἴχεσθαι ἀπιόντας, ἓ δὲ ὕπνον λαβεῖν,\
καὶ καταδαρθεῖν πάνυ πολύ, ἅτε μακρῶν τῶν νυκτῶν οὐσῶν, **c**\
ἐξεγρέσθαι δὲ πρὸς ἡμέραν ἤδη ἀλεκτρυόνων ᾀδόντων, ἐξε-\
γρόμενος δὲ ἰδεῖν τοὺς μὲν ἄλλους καθεύδοντας καὶ οἰχο-\
μένους, Ἀγάθωνα δὲ καὶ Ἀριστοφάνη καὶ Σωκράτη ἔτι\
μόνους ἐγρηγορέναι καὶ πίνειν ἐκ φιάλης μεγάλης ἐπὶ δεξιά. **5**\
τὸν οὖν Σωκράτη αὐτοῖς διαλέγεσθαι· καὶ τὰ μὲν ἄλλα ὁ\
Ἀριστόδημος οὐκ ἔφη μεμνῆσθαι τῶν λόγων—οὔτε γὰρ ἐξ **d**\
ἀρχῆς παραγενέσθαι ὑπονυστάζειν τε—τὸ μέντοι κεφάλαιον,\
ἔφη, προσαναγκάζειν τὸν Σωκράτη ὁμολογεῖν αὐτοὺς τοῦ\
αὐτοῦ ἀνδρὸς εἶναι κωμῳδίαν καὶ τραγῳδίαν ἐπίστασθαι\
ποιεῖν, καὶ τὸν τέχνῃ τραγῳδοποιὸν ὄντα ⟨καὶ⟩ κωμῳδοποιὸν **5**\
εἶναι. ταῦτα δὴ ἀναγκαζομένους αὐτοὺς καὶ οὐ σφόδρα\
ἑπομένους νυστάζειν, καὶ πρότερον μὲν καταδαρθεῖν τὸν

> *Apparatus:* **b** 7 ἄλλους] τους αλλους Oxy.   **b** 8 ἓ δε B W (ἑ W): εαυτον δε Oxy.: ἕαδε T   **c** 4 σωκρατη και αριστοφανη Oxy.   **c** 5 εγ μεγαλης φι[λ]αλης Oxy.   **d** 5 καὶ Vind. 21: om. B T W Oxy.   **d** 7 πρότερον T W Oxy.: πρῶτον B

### English

before being praised by me instead? But let it be, **[223]** you daimonic man, and do not be envious of the lad’s being praised by me; for indeed I very much desire to make an encomium of him.”

“Hurrah, hurrah!” said Agathon.[^189] “Alcibiades, there is no way I could stay here, but I shall most certainly move, so as to be praised by Socrates.”

“There it is,” said Alcibiades, “the usual thing: when Socrates is present, it is impossible for anyone else to get a share of the beautiful ones. And now, how resourcefully he has found even a persuasive argument, so that this one here should recline beside him!”

**[b]** So Agathon was getting up to recline beside Socrates; but suddenly very many revellers came to the doors, and finding them open, as someone was going out, they came straight in to them and lay down, and everything was full of uproar, and, in no order any longer, they were compelled to drink a very great deal of wine.[^190] Now Eryximachus and Phaedrus and some others, Aristodemus said, went off and away, and sleep took him, **[c]** and he slept a very long time, since the nights were long,[^191] and woke towards day, with the cocks already crowing; and on waking he saw that the others were asleep or gone, and that Agathon and Aristophanes and Socrates alone were still awake and drinking from a large bowl, going to the right. So Socrates was conversing with them; and the rest **[d]** of the talk Aristodemus said he did not remember — for he had not been there from the beginning, and he was nodding off — the sum of it, however, he said, was that Socrates was compelling them to agree that it belongs to the same man to know how to make comedy and tragedy, and that he who is by craft a maker of tragedy is a maker of comedy too.[^192] They, being compelled to this and not following very closely, were nodding, and the first to fall asleep was

[^189]: *Hurrah*: *iou iou*, elsewhere often a cry of pain (as Cassandra’s in Aeschylus, *Agamemnon* 1214), here of delight.

[^190]: *Compelled*: at the start of the evening the company had agreed that each should drink as much as he wanted, and that nothing be compulsory (176e).

[^191]: *Long*: it is winter (219b); Agathon’s victory (173a) was won at the Lenaea (Athenaeus 5.217a–b), held in the month Gamelion, in late January and early February.

[^192]: *Too*: *kai*, which Burnet supplies from Vind. 21; B, T, W and the papyrus lack it. Compare *Republic* 395a, where Socrates says that the same men cannot at once do well even two imitations that seem close to each other, comedy and tragedy.

---

## 223d

### Greek (Burnet, page 72)

Ἀριστοφάνη, ἤδη δὲ ἡμέρας γιγνομένης τὸν Ἀγάθωνα. τὸν\
οὖν Σωκράτη, κατακοιμίσαντ’ ἐκείνους, ἀναστάντα ἀπιέναι,\
καὶ ⟨ἓ⟩ ὥσπερ εἰώθει ἕπεσθαι, καὶ ἐλθόντα εἰς Λύκειον, **10**\
ἀπονιψάμενον, ὥσπερ ἄλλοτε τὴν ἄλλην ἡμέραν διατρίβειν,\
καὶ οὕτω διατρίψαντα εἰς ἑσπέραν οἴκοι ἀναπαύεσθαι.

> *Apparatus:* **b** 9 κατακοιμίσαντ’ B W Oxy.: κατακοιμήσαντ’ T   **b** 10 ἓ add. Hermann: om. B T W Oxy.

### English

Aristophanes, and then, when it was already becoming day, Agathon. Then Socrates, having put them to sleep, got up and went away, and he himself followed, as he used to;[^193] and Socrates went to the Lyceum, washed, and passed the rest of the day as at any other time, and having passed it so, towards evening he rested at home.[^194]

[^193]: *He himself*: Aristodemus, the “him” of 223b8; the word is Hermann’s addition.

[^194]: *The Lyceum*: a gymnasium outside the walls of Athens, sacred to Apollo Lyceius. In the *Euthyphro* Socrates has left his haunts there (2a), the *Euthydemus* is told of a conversation there (271a), and in the *Lysis* he is on his way to it from the Academy (203a).

---

## Outline

The divisions follow the dialogue’s own joints, the speeches and the scenes between them. References are to Stephanus pages and sections, which stand in the margins of both pages of the text.

### I. The frame (172a–174a)

**172a–173b** Apollodorus, “not unrehearsed”, tells how Glaucon hailed him on the road from Phaleron, “O man of Phaleron”, to hear about “the gathering of Agathon and Socrates and Alcibiades”; it took place “when we were still boys, when Agathon won with his first tragedy”, and Apollodorus has it from Aristodemus, “a small man, always barefoot”.

**173c–174a** Apollodorus is “glad beyond measure” at talk of philosophy and pities his companions for “the talk of rich men and money-makers”; the companion: “You are always the same, Apollodorus”. He will tell it “from the beginning, just as he told it”.

### II. On the way, and the arrival (174a–176a)

**174a–b** Socrates, “bathed and with his slippers on”, is going “beautiful to a beautiful man”, and takes Aristodemus uninvited, to “ruin the proverb”: “to Agathon’s feasts, too, there go of their own accord the good”; Homer “even treated it with insolence”.

**174c–d** Aristodemus will go “as Homer says, a paltry man, uninvited”; “‘Two going together … on the way ahead’ we shall deliberate what we are to say.”

**174d–175b** Socrates falls behind, “paying attention somehow to himself”; Aristodemus arrives alone, “something laughable happened to him”; Socrates “has withdrawn into the neighbours’ porch”. “He has this habit, you see: sometimes he goes off wherever it may be and stands there.”

**175c–e** Socrates comes “about midway through their dinner”; Agathon would touch him to catch “the wise thing that came to you in the porch”; wisdom does not flow “from the fuller of us into the emptier”. “You are insolent, Socrates,” says Agathon; “with Dionysus as our judge”.

### III. The proposal (176a–178a)

**176a–e** Pausanias and Aristophanes are the worse for “yesterday’s drinking”; Eryximachus, a doctor, finds that “drunkenness is a harsh thing for human beings”; they agree that “each should drink as much as he wants, and that nothing be compulsory”, and send the pipe-girl away.

**177a–c** Eryximachus’ proposal is Phaedrus’ complaint: “hymns and paeans have been made by the poets to some other gods”, but none to Love, while a wise man’s book praised salt.

**177d–178a** Each, “going to the right”, is to “speak a speech in praise of Love”, Phaedrus first, “the father of the speech”; Socrates says he knows “nothing other than matters of love”; Aristodemus did not remember all, and Apollodorus tells what seemed “most worth remembering”.

### IV. Phaedrus (178a–180b)

**178a–c** Love is “a great god, and marvellous”, “among the very oldest”, with Hesiod, Acusilaus and Parmenides as witnesses, and “the cause of the greatest goods for us”.

**178c–179b** Love implants “shame at shameful things, and love of honour in beautiful ones”; an army “made of lovers and darlings” would defeat “all human beings”; Love makes a man “god-filled for virtue”.

**179b–d** “To die for another only those who are in love are willing”: Alcestis; the gods sent her soul up from Hades, and sent Orpheus away with “a phantom of the wife he had come for”.

**179e–180b** Achilles, sent “to the Isles of the Blessed” for dying after Patroclus, who was the lover, against Aeschylus; Love is “of the gods both the oldest and the most honoured and the most competent for the getting of virtue and happiness”.

### V. Pausanias (180c–185c)

**180c–181a** There are two Aphrodites, Heavenly and Common, and so two Loves; “every action is like this: done of itself, on its own, it is neither beautiful nor shameful”.

**181a–182a** Those moved by the Common Love are in love with women no less than boys, with bodies rather than souls; those moved by the Heavenly, with boys “when they are already beginning to have sense”; “There ought to have been a law, too, against being in love with boys”.

**182a–d** The law about love: simple in Elis and Boeotia, shameful under barbarians “because of their tyrannies”, “intricate” at Athens and Lacedaemon; Harmodius and Aristogiton.

**182d–183d** At Athens the lover is encouraged and allowed what would be shameful in any other pursuit, “an oath of Aphrodite, they say, is no oath”; yet fathers set tutors over the beloved.

**183d–184c** “Done well it is beautiful, and done shamefully, shameful”; the common lover is “in love with the body rather than the soul”; the law wants “to test soundly and well”, and is left with “one road”: the “voluntary slavery” that “concerns virtue”.

**184c–185c** The two laws “brought together into one”; even to be deceived for virtue’s sake is beautiful; “it is wholly and in every way beautiful to gratify for the sake of virtue at least”.

### VI. The hiccup, and Eryximachus (185c–188e)

**185c–e** “When Pausanias had paused” Aristophanes has the hiccup; Eryximachus prescribes holding the breath, gargling, and a sneeze, and will “speak in your turn”.

**185e–186e** Love is double in all things, as medicine knows; medicine is “knowledge of the body’s matters of love with regard to surfeit and emptying”, and the doctor must “make the things in the body that are most hostile friends”.

**186e–187e** Music too: Heraclitus’ harmony “of a bow and a lyre” is better said as agreement of what “differed before and afterwards agreed”; “the Love of the Heavenly Muse” and Polyhymnia’s.

**188a–e** The seasons, plagues and astronomy; divination, “the craftsman of friendship between gods and human beings”; “it is your work, Aristophanes, to fill it in”.

### VII. Aristophanes (189a–193e)

**189a–c** The hiccup “stopped at once when I applied the sneeze”; Eryximachus will be “a guard over your own speech”; Aristophanes fears saying things not “laughable” but “ridiculous”.

**189c–190b** Human beings have not perceived “the power of love”; our nature was once different: three kinds, male, female and androgyne, round, “two faces on a rounded neck”, rolling “swiftly round in a circle”.

**190b–191b** They “made an attempt on the gods”; Zeus cuts them in two “as people cut sorb-apples”, and Apollo turns their faces to “the cut”; the halves die “of hunger” in each other’s arms.

**191b–d** Zeus moves their genitals “round to the front” so that they beget in one another; “love of one another is inborn in human beings”; “each of us, then, is a tally of a human being”.

**191d–192c** The three kinds of lovers from the three kinds; the halves of males “are the most courageous by nature”; when they meet their halves “they are marvellously struck with friendship and affinity and love”.

**192c–193a** Hephaestus’ offer, “to fuse you together and forge you together”; “So to the desire and pursuit of the whole, love is the name”; we have been “broken up by the god, as the Arcadians were by the Lacedaemonians”.

**193a–e** Piety, “with Love as our leader and general”, may restore “our ancient nature”; Eryximachus is not to make comedy of the speech; “Agathon and Socrates are left”.

### VIII. Before Agathon, and Agathon (193e–198a)

**193e–194e** Socrates is “very much afraid indeed”; Agathon’s “courage and pride” on the platform; the few who “have their wits about them” and the many; Phaedrus stops Socrates conversing.

**194e–195a** The others have praised the god’s gifts; “there is one right way of all praise about anything”: first Love himself, “of what kind he is, and then his gifts”.

**195a–196b** Love is “the happiest” of the gods, “most beautiful and best”: “the youngest of the gods”, “tender”, walking “among the softest of the things that are”, “supple in form”, living “among flowers”.

**196b–197b** His virtue: he “neither does wrong nor suffers wrong”; he is temperate, since he masters pleasures; courageous, since “Love … holds Ares”; and wise, “a poet so wise as to make another one too”, and the teacher of the gods’ crafts.

**197b–e** Since Love’s birth “every good thing has come to be for gods and human beings alike”; Love makes “peace among human beings, and on the sea a calm”; the speech ends in short clauses: “pilot, marine, comrade and saviour, the best”.

### IX. Socrates and Agathon (198a–201c)

**198a–199b** Applause; Socrates fears “the head of Gorgias”; he thought “one must tell the truth about each thing made the subject of an encomium”; “the tongue promised, but the mind did not”; he will tell “the truth” “in my own way”.

**199b–200a** Is Love “love of something, or of nothing?” As a father is “father of a son”, “of something”; and does Love desire that of which it is love?

**200a–e** “What desires desires what it lacks”; one who has health and wishes to be healthy wants it “in the time to come as well”.

**200e–201c** Love, then, is of what he lacks; Agathon said Love was of beautiful things; “then Love lacks beauty and does not have it”, and lacks good things too. “It looks like, Socrates, I knew nothing of what I said then.”

### X. Diotima: Love between (201d–204c)

**201d–e** “A woman of Mantinea, Diotima”, “who was wise in these things and in many others”, taught Socrates “the matters of love”; she “refuted me” with the same arguments.

**201e–202b** “Hush!”: what is not beautiful is not therefore ugly; right opinion is “between intelligence and ignorance”; so Love is “between these two”.

**202b–203a** Love is not a god, since he lacks beautiful and good things; “a great daimon”, “interpreting and ferrying across” between gods and human beings.

**203b–e** His birth from Resource and Poverty at the feast for Aphrodite’s birth; “always poor”, “hard and squalid and barefoot and homeless”, yet “a formidable hunter”, “loving wisdom through all his life”.

**204a–c** “No god loves wisdom”, nor the ignorant; Love is “a lover of wisdom”, between; Socrates had thought Love “the beloved, not what is in love”.

### XI. Diotima: love’s work (204c–207a)

**204c–205a** What does the one in love with beautiful things want? “That they become his”; with good things, “that he will be happy”, and there the answer “seems to have reached its end”.

**205a–d** All want good things to be theirs always; as “making” is the name of one part of making, so “love” is given to one form of love.

**205d–206a** Not the half nor the whole, “unless … it is in fact good”; “love is of the good’s being one’s own always”.

**206b–e** Its work is “giving birth in what is beautiful, both in body and in soul”; all are “pregnant”; Beauty is “Moira and Eileithyia at the birth”; “For love, Socrates,” she said, “is not of the beautiful, as you think”, but “of begetting and giving birth in the beautiful”.

**206e–207a** Begetting is “everlasting and immortal” for a mortal; love must be “of immortality too”.

### XII. Diotima: immortality (207a–209e)

**207a–c** The beasts “disposed by love” fight and die for their young; “Can you tell?”

**207c–208b** Mortal nature “seeks, so far as it can, to be always and immortal”, leaving behind “another, new, in place of the old”, in body, soul and “pieces of knowledge”; “By this device … the mortal shares in immortality”.

**208b–e** “Like the perfect sophists”: the love of honour, “laying up immortal fame for all time”; Alcestis, Achilles and Codrus.

**208e–209e** Those “pregnant in their souls” beget “intelligence and the rest of virtue”; the lover educates the beloved, and they rear their children together; the children of Homer, Hesiod, Lycurgus and Solon.

### XIII. The ascent (209e–212c)

**209e–210c** “The perfect rites and those of the beholding”: from one beautiful body to all, then to the beauty in souls, then “the beautiful in ways of life and in laws”.

**210c–e** “The kinds of knowledge”, “the great sea of the beautiful”, “a certain single knowledge”; at the end he “will suddenly catch sight of something beautiful, marvellous in its nature”.

**210e–211b** Always being, “not beautiful in one respect and ugly in another”, not in anything else, “but itself by itself, with itself, single in form”.

**211b–d** The steps summed up, “as if using steps”, from bodies to ways of life to studies, “and that at the end he may know that very thing, what beautiful is”; “if anywhere, life is worth living for a human being, as he beholds the beautiful itself”.

**211d–212a** “Pure, clean, unmixed”; seeing it he will give birth “not to images of virtue”, “but to true virtue”, and become “loved by the gods”.

**212b–c** “These things, then, Phaedrus and you others, Diotima said, and I am persuaded”; Socrates honours matters of love and urges others to.

### XIV. Alcibiades arrives (212c–215a)

**212c–213a** Aristophanes tries to speak; a knocking; Alcibiades, “very drunk”, “wreathed with a kind of thick wreath of ivy and violets”, comes to wreathe “the wisest and most beautiful”.

**213a–e** He sits down between Agathon and Socrates without seeing him; “Heracles! What’s this here?”; Socrates asks Agathon to defend him from “his madness and his love of lovers”; Alcibiades wreathes Socrates too, and makes himself “ruler of the drinking”.

**213e–214e** The wine-cooler; “Against Socrates, gentlemen, my trick is nothing”; Eryximachus explains the speeches; Alcibiades will praise only Socrates, and only “the truth”.

### XV. Alcibiades: the likenesses (215a–216e)

**215a–c** Socrates is like the sileni “that sit in the shops of the carvers of herms”, which open to show “statues of gods inside”, and like “the satyr Marsyas”; “You are insolent; or not?”

**215c–216a** Marsyas’ tunes “alone make people possessed”; Socrates does “this same thing” “with bare words”; Alcibiades’ “heart leaps far more than the Corybants’”.

**216a–c** He stops his ears “as if from the Sirens”; before Socrates alone he is “ashamed”; “So I play the runaway slave from him and flee”.

**216c–e** Socrates “is disposed by love towards the beautiful ones” and “knows nothing”; inside, he is full “of temperance”, despising beauty and wealth, “being ironic and playing with human beings”.

### XVI. Alcibiades’ attempt (216e–219e)

**216e–217c** The statues inside were “so divine and golden and all-beautiful and marvellous”; Alcibiades thought Socrates was “in earnest about my youth”, and sent away his follower; “But nothing of this at all happened”; they exercised and wrestled.

**217c–218b** The dinner, “exactly like a lover laying plots for his darling”; “wine, both without children and with children”; “the speeches of philosophy”, “more painful” than a viper’s bite.

**218b–219b** The night: “Socrates, are you asleep?”; the offer; Socrates’ “very ironically”: “you mean to get the better of me by no small amount”, “to exchange ‘gold for bronze’”; Alcibiades: “you yourself deliberate”.

**219b–e** Under the cloak the whole night; “gentlemen of the jury; for you are the jury on Socrates’ haughtiness”; he rose as if from “my father or an elder brother”; “So I was at a loss”.

### XVII. Socrates at war (219e–221c)

**219e–220b** At Potidaea Socrates “surpassed not only me but all the others” in toils, drank without being drunk, and walked “barefoot … across the ice”.

**220c–d** “What a thing this was, again, the strong man did and bore”: he stood in thought from dawn to dawn, and “went off and away, having said a prayer to the sun”.

**220d–e** In battle he kept Alcibiades safe when he was wounded, and was more eager than the generals that Alcibiades should have the prize for valour.

**220e–221c** In the retreat from Delium, Socrates and Laches; “‘swaggering and casting his eyes sideways’”; those so disposed “they do not even lay a hand on”.

### XVIII. The sileni opened (221c–222b)

**221c–d** Socrates is like “no one among human beings, either of the ancients or of those living now”; Achilles has his Brasidas, Pericles his Nestor and Antenor; Socrates only “the sileni and satyrs”.

**221d–222a** “His speeches as well are most like the sileni that are opened”: “pack-asses and smiths of some sort and shoemakers and tanners” outside; inside, “most divine”, “the most statues of virtue”.

**222a–b** He has done the same to Charmides and Euthydemus, “whom this man deceives as though he were a lover”; “do not, as the proverb has it, learn by suffering, like a fool”.

### XIX. The ending (222c–223d)

**222c–d** Laughter “at his frankness”; Socrates: “You seem to me to be sober, Alcibiades”; “this satyr and silenus play of yours has become quite plain”.

**222d–223b** The places on the couch: “O Zeus … what I suffer again at this person’s hands!”; Socrates must “praise the man on my right”; “Hurrah, hurrah!”; “the usual thing”.

**223b–c** “Very many revellers” come in; Eryximachus and Phaedrus leave; Aristodemus sleeps, and wakes “with the cocks already crowing”.

**223c–d** Socrates compels Agathon and Aristophanes “to agree that it belongs to the same man to know how to make comedy and tragedy”; “having put them to sleep”, he goes to the Lyceum, and “towards evening he rested at home”.

## Editorial Note

**The Greek text.** The Greek is John Burnet’s, from the second volume of his Oxford Classical Text of Plato (1901; second edition, 1910), which holds the third and fourth of Thrasyllus’ tetralogies; the *Symposium* stands third in the third, after the *Parmenides* and the *Philebus* and before the *Phaedrus*. The copy reproduced is the one used for the *Alcibiades I*, the *Alcibiades II*, the *Hipparchus* and the *Lovers* of this series: an undated later impression of the second edition, printed at Oxford by John Johnson as Printer to the University and published by Humphrey Milford, and so printed between 1925 and 1945. The title page does not name the edition, but a list of the Oxford Classical Texts dated January 1935, bound in after the last page of the text, offers this volume as “Ed. 2”, and the copy was therefore issued no earlier than January 1935. It carries Burnet’s preface of March 1901 and the short addendum of April 1910 that marks the second edition, in which he records that in the *Symposium* and the *Phaedrus* he has added the readings of the Oxyrhynchus papyri, and that in the *Symposium* he has used Hermann Schoene’s collation of W. The text is reproduced page for page and line for line: each left-hand page of this edition is one page of Burnet, with his line-ends, his marginal section letters and line numbers, and his apparatus criticus at the foot. In the margin, “St. III p. 172” at the head of the dialogue gives the volume and page of Stephanus’ edition at which it begins; where each later page of Stephanus begins, its number stands in place of the letter a; and within each section every fifth line is numbered. Burnet sets these in the outer margin of his page, this edition in the right-hand margin; his running heads, and the printer’s signature line at the foot of every sixteenth page (the short title, PLATO, VOL. II., with the number of the gathering, on pages 11, 27, 43 and 59), are not reproduced. The words were taken from the Perseus Digital Library’s digital transcription of Burnet, and every line was then checked against the photographs of this copy; where the two differ, this edition prints what Burnet printed. Burnet’s title, ΣΥΜΠΟΣΙΟΝ, and beneath it the names of the two speakers of the opening conversation, ΑΠΟΛΛΟΔΩΡΟΣ and ΕΤΑΙΡΟΣ, are kept, with their abbreviations at the head of each speech of that conversation (ΑΠΟΛ., ΕΤΑΙ.); so are his paragraphing, his capitals at the openings of speeches, and his accents, breathings and punctuation. His quotation marks are kept: round the words of the conversation with Glaucon that Apollodorus reports (172a–173b); round three phrases of Homer (174c1, 174d2, 183e3–4) and two of Heraclitus (187a5–6); round the slave’s message (175a7–9) and the exchange over Aristophanes’ hiccup (185d2–e5); round the words of Zeus and of Hephaestus in Aristophanes’ speech (190c7–d6, 192d3–e5); in Agathon’s speech, round a phrase that Aristotle quotes from Alcidamas and words from two tragedies (196c2–3, 196d1, 196e2–3); round the question that Socrates imagines putting to Agathon (199e2–4); and round the words of Homer that Socrates quotes in Alcibiades’ account (219a1). So is his letterspacing: of the proverb Socrates adapts (174b4–5), of words of Homer (174c1, 179b1, 219a1), of the words Agathon quotes or adapts (196d1, 196e2–3, 197b3), of the words of Euripides that Socrates adapts (199a5–6), of two phrases that Diotima quotes (205d2–3, 208c5–6), and of the words of Aristophanes’ *Clouds* that Alcibiades adapts (221b3–4). His blank lines are kept: before the narration (174a3), before the speeches of Phaedrus (178a6) and Pausanias (180c1), before the interlude of the hiccup (185c4), before Eryximachus’ speech (185e6), before Aristophanes’ reply to him (189a1), before Aristophanes’ speech (189c2) and his last words to Eryximachus (193d6), before Agathon’s speech (194e4), before Socrates’ questioning of Agathon (199c3), before his account of Diotima (201d1), before the narration that follows his speech (212c4), before Alcibiades’ speech (215a4) and before the narration that follows it (222c1). So are the dagger † with which he marks a word as corrupt (183a1) and his verse, set on lines of its own (178b, 195d, 197c, 214b, 220c). Angle brackets ⟨ ⟩ enclose what the principal manuscripts lack and Burnet supplies: the ending ος of Ἀγάθωνος at 176b7, by Vahlen’s conjecture; πρᾶγμα at 182a5, from a later hand in the margin of T; ὑπουργεῖν at 184d7, by Baiter’s conjecture; καὶ at 223d5, from the fourteenth-century Vienna manuscript Vind. 21; and ἓ at 223d10, by Hermann’s addition.

**Reading the apparatus.** The notes at the foot of each Greek page are Burnet’s, unaltered. Entries are keyed by section letter and line as numbered in the margin, so that “a 4” is the fourth line of section a, and “c 7, 8” at 174c is one entry for two lines. The section letters begin again with each Stephanus page, so that “a 2” after “c 4” on page 2 belongs to the new page (172c4, 173a2). A further entry on the same line follows after a wider space without repeating the key. Usually the reading printed in the text comes first, followed by the witnesses that have it; a colon separates it from the alternatives, each followed by its witnesses. Where the text’s reading is followed by a square bracket ], the bracket closes the lemma, and what follows is set against it: a scholar’s proposal (173d8, 174d7, 175a10, 177b1, 177e7, 180d1); the reading of one witness, or the different readings of two, the others having the text’s reading (Stobaeus, 188a3; B, 208a7; W, 209b2; B and W, 221d1; and often the papyrus, as γὰρ] δε Oxy., 201e3); or, where no witness has the text’s reading exactly as printed, the witnesses’ own readings (178b8, 184c2, 212a1). An entry with no colon gives a single proposal or report without listing the witnesses for the text: a deletion (172a5, 174b1, 177a1), an omission (172c4, 173a5), a scholar’s rewording (174d6), a report of the manuscripts’ own form (173b1, 173b2, 176b5), or, with *re vera*, “really”, or a remark in round brackets, a confirmation that the manuscripts have the form printed (175d5, 180d1). Round brackets enclose a remark on the entry (174c7, 175a6, 175b6, 175c4), or a letter that may be read or left out: Athenaeus’ ἔφη(ν) at 172c2 is ἔφη or ἔφην; and once the same word with the other breathing, so that αὑτῷ (αὐτῷ) at 204a5 is αὑτῷ or αὐτῷ. Three spaced points between two words cover the whole passage from the first to the last (174c7–8, 175b6, 178a9). Asterisks stand for letters erased or lost in a manuscript (175c4, 185d6, 213d2). In the apparatus too, angle brackets enclose what a scholar supplies (178b8, 183b7, 184c2), and a line number inside an entry marks the line where the passage ends (183c6–7), or, after *post*, the place at which the manuscripts have the words (178b8). Letters printed small above a word are written above it in the manuscript (172b2, 173d8, 177a7, 179a1). *(sic)* after a manuscript’s form marks it as written there, odd as it is (179e3, 183b3, 185e4, 197d7). Forms are given as the manuscripts have them, not brought into line with the text: B’s περιμενεις (172a5) and ἀηλης (176c8) are printed without accents, B’s ηὰν (176e7) without breathing or accent on its first letter, and B’s οῖος (193d7) without a breathing. Burnet’s page is reproduced as it stands where a mark has failed or a form looks misprinted, and so are the slips of his apparatus: T W’s τ’ ῆ· with a circumflex and no breathing (174e7); the lemma αὐτὼν] with a grave accent (183b2); T’s ἐνεστον without an accent (187e8); the lemma οἷς οἵων where the text has οἷος οἵων (195a2); a point where a colon is wanted (196e4, and 206c2, “Oxy.. om. B”); the lemma τε αὖ και with no accent on its last word (203e5); an entry printed without a key of its own after the entry for b3, though its word stands in b4 (αὐτὰ] αυτω Oxy., 207b); the keys c 3 and c 4 at 208d, where the words they cite stand in lines d3 and d4 (ἂν . . . προαποθανεῖν); B reported for two readings, ὦ δεῖ and ὡδὶ, at 212a1; three entries printed under the key e 4, though their words stand in e5 (ᾧπερ, ἤλθομεν and εχθες, 212e); the lemma ἐαν without an accent (212e8); T reported for both readings at 214b6 (ἂν T W: δ’ ἂν T), where B is presumably meant for the second; “Oxy” without its point at the end of the apparatus at 218c2; τοδ’ without an accent in the reading of W and the papyrus (220c2); and the keys b 9 and b 10 at 223d, where the words they cite stand in lines d9 and d10 (κατακοιμίσαντ’, ἓ). Letters broken in this copy are printed whole: the key d 8 at 201d8, whose d has lost its stem, and the ο of δοκεῖς (198a8) and of οὐκοῦν (200d8), whose top stroke has not printed; so are the breathing and accent of Ἔρως at 204d3, which have not printed though the space for them is left, the ο of τοῦ at 211c8, which a flaw joins to the following υ, so that it looks like σ, and the opening bracket of [ἐγ]κρατειαν Oxy. at 219d7, whose upper arm has not printed. In the text, ζώῳ at 211a8 is printed as Burnet prints it, with no iota subscript under its first ω, though at 206c7 he prints ζῴῳ.

**The witnesses.** Burnet’s apparatus rests chiefly on three manuscripts: B, the Bodleian Plato (MS. E. D. Clarke 39, written in 895); T, the Venice manuscript (Marcianus, Append. Class. 4, cod. 1); and W, the Vienna manuscript (Vindobonensis 54, suppl. phil. Gr. 7). Later hands are marked by the small letter, b for B, t for T and w for W (196e5); B² is an early corrector of B (174e10), and W² a corrector of W (202c8); *pr. B* is B’s first hand, before correction (173a2). Letters written together share a reading, so that “B T W” is all three, and “T b” T together with a later hand in B. *al.* (*alii*) are other manuscripts (172a1), and *vulg.* (*vulgata*) the text of the early printed editions (173b6, 175c4). Burnet also cites a correction in the Coislinianus 155 in Paris (corr. Coisl., 175d5, 176d7, 210d5), and once its own reading (Coisl., 213d2), a later manuscript whose correctors’ readings his preface regards as the conjectures of learned readers, not tradition, and a manuscript in the Laurentian Library at Florence, which he cites here as Laur. xiv. 85 (174e6); the other Laurentian manuscripts he cites in this volume are Laur. 2643, in the *Phaedrus*, and three in plut. lxxxv (lxxxv. 9, 6 and 14, in the *Alcibiades I*, the *Alcibiades II* and the *Lovers*), and the figures here are probably those of lxxxv. 14 inverted (interpretation). A reading of *apographa* (184c7) is found in copies made from the surviving manuscripts, and *apogr. D* (197b5) is one such copy, D, a manuscript in Venice (cod. Venetus 185), whose corrector Burnet also cites (corr. Ven. 185, 216c3); *recc.* (*recentiores*) are the later manuscripts (193b1); and *Par. 1810* (183d7) is a manuscript in Paris, Parisinus graecus 1810. Ficinus is Marsilio Ficino, whose Latin translation of Plato (Florence, 1484) is cited where it implies a reading (174c7). Eleven later authors who quote or echo the dialogue are cited as witnesses: Methodius of Olympus (early fourth century), whose Christian *Symposium* is modelled on Plato’s (172a1, 172b2); Athenaeus, author of the *Learned Banqueters* (about AD 200; 172c2, 172c4, 173a5, 174b4, 185e2), who quotes 172c–173a at 5.217b–c and 174b–c at 5.178a–b, and retells Eryximachus’ cure for the hiccup at 5.187c; Photius, the ninth-century patriarch, in his *Lexicon* (174e2, 174e3, 217d4); the letter-writer Aristaenetus (about AD 500; 177e2); the anthologist Stobaeus (fifth century; 178b2, 178b8, 178c1, 180d4–181a2, 183b7, 184b7, 184c2–5, 185b4–5, 185e2, and often in the speeches of Eryximachus, Aristophanes and Agathon, 186b2–197e4, and in Diotima’s, 202c10–203a7); the Platonist philosopher Proclus (fifth century; 180e5); Cyril of Alexandria (fifth century; 183b7); and Eusebius of Caesarea (early fourth century; 189d6–e2), who quotes Aristophanes’ account of the first human beings and of their cutting in his *Preparation for the Gospel* (12.12); and the rhetorician Hermogenes of Tarsus (second century AD), who quotes Agathon’s verse, with the words that introduce it, in his *On Types of Style* (2.4; 197c3–6); the Christian writer Origen of Alexandria (third century), who quotes Diotima’s story of Love’s birth in his *Against Celsus* (4.39; 203b4); and the orator Aelius Aristides (second century AD), who quotes Alcibiades’ account of the retreat from Delium in his *To Plato: In Defence of Oratory* (Or. 45 Dindorf, vol. II p. 96; 221b7). Burnet also cites the lexicon of Plato’s words by Timaeus the Sophist (“ex Timaeo s. v.”, from Timaeus under that word, 190d7), and a fourteenth-century Vienna manuscript, Vindob. 21 (187c1), which he also cites as Vind. 21 (198b4, 205b9, 223d5). “Homerus K 224” is the line of the *Iliad* (10.224) that Socrates adapts at 174d2, the books of the *Iliad* being lettered; at the lines Agathon quotes (195d4) Burnet cites the manuscripts of Homer (*Homeri codices*) at *Iliad* 19.92 (“T 92”), and the reading of Aristarchus, the Alexandrian editor of Homer (second century BC). Stephanus is Henri Estienne, whose edition (Geneva, 1578) supplies the page numbers by which Plato is cited, and whose own readings Burnet also reports (174b1, 175a6). From 201a on Burnet also cites a papyrus roll found at Oxyrhynchus in Egypt (Oxy.), which his list of sigla gives as “Papyrus Oxyrhynchita (Grenfell et Hunt V, pp. 243 sqq.)”: the papyrus of the *Symposium* published by B. P. Grenfell and A. S. Hunt in the fifth volume of *The Oxyrhynchus Papyri* (1908), as no. 843. Where it is cited for a reading of its own, the reading is usually printed without accents or breathings (ειπας, 201c1; βαναυσους, 203a6), with σ for ς at the end of a word within a phrase in two places (πωσ εφη̄ λεγεις, 201e8; ωσ γε, 202d6), though elsewhere ς stands there (τους αλλους, 223b7; μεγαλης φι[λ]αλης, 223c5), and once at the end of a word cited alone (ελεγεσ, 204c2); with the papyrus’ diaeresis on ι (ϊστιωντο, 203b2; περιϊεναι, 222e7) and its stroke over a letter, which stands for a final ν (εφη̄ for ἔφην, 201e8); and with the letters it has lost in square brackets, unaccented ([ε]ποιησατο, 201d4; παυο[μεθα], 212d2) or, in three places, with Burnet’s accent or breathing (κατιδε[ῖν], 213b2; [καὶ] περι εκεινο, 219c5; [ἐγ]κρατειαν, 219d7). A few of its own readings are printed with an accent or a breathing, and are kept so: ὡμολογησαμεν (207c9), ἐπιθυμη (209b2, the text’s reading, which Burnet prints as ἐπιθυμῇ), τόδε δὲ (211a3), θαυμασιώτατον (220a4) and ὡς ἐξ (220c7). A word the papyrus adds or repeats is printed accented (πάλιν, 203e3; ὅτι, 219a7), as is its marginal correction ὧ (205b9); and where it shares a reading with the text, the manuscripts or Stobaeus, it is cited under their form, accented (ἔρως B T Oxy., 201a5; ἐπ’ Oxy., 201d7; ἢ περὶ Oxy. Stobaeus, 203a6), or unaccented where that is B’s own form (αυ τον B Oxy., 222e11).

**Names and abbreviations.** A scholar’s name standing alone after a reading marks that scholar’s reading or proposal; *ci.* (*coniecit*), “conjectured”, marks a scholar’s conjecture (175c4); *scripsi*, “I have written”, a reading of Burnet’s own (172c2); and *fort.* (*fortasse*), “perhaps”: a proposal offered doubtfully, Burnet’s own (175b6) or another scholar’s (197b5), or a doubtful report of a manuscript, as in *et sic fort. pr. B*, “and so perhaps B’s first hand” (197b5). The scholars named in these pages are Charles Badham, Martin Schanz, Carel Gabriel Cobet, Karl Lachmann, Erwin Rohde, Johann Georg Baiter, Richard Porson, Friedrich Bast, Henricus van Herwerden, Arnold Hug, Immanuel Bekker, Johannes Vahlen, Ludwig Heindorf, Karl Friedrich Hermann, Lodewijk Caspar Valckenaer and Daniel Wyttenbach, and one whom Burnet names by initial only, L. Schmidt; and from 178b on also Friedrich August Wolf, Leopold Immanuel Rückert, Alexander Hommel, Mortimer Lamson Earle, August Wilhelm Winckelmann, Johann Caspar von Orelli, Friedrich Osann, Otto Jahn, Hermann Usener, Rudolf Bernhard Hirschig, Friedrich Schleiermacher and Johann Friedrich Fischer, and three named here by surname only, Hertz, Schütz and Vermehren; and from 186a on also Willem Canter, David Ruhnken, Friedrich Ast and Georg Ferdinand Rettig, and Voegelin, by surname only; and from 192e on also Hermann Sauppe, Hermann Diels and Wilhelm Dindorf, whom Burnet names G. Dindorf (for Guilielmus), and Schneider, by surname only; and from 198a on also Gottfried Stallbaum and Jacob Geel; and from 203a on also Friedrich Creuzer; and from 208d on also Parmentier and Sommer, both by surname only; and from 219b on also Janus Cornarius, and Mehler, by surname only. *add.*, adds (178b8, 182b1); *alii alia*, others propose other readings (197d8); *ante*, before; *auctore*, on the suggestion of (178b8, 184b6); *bis*, twice (183c1); *corr.*, corrected, or the corrector (*corr. Oxy.*, 203e3); *deest*, is lacking, of a witness that has no text at the place (213c3); *del.*, deletes (179b7, 184e1, 184e3); *dist.* (*distinxit*), punctuates (194a3), and *distinxi*, I have punctuated (213e10); *e schol.*, from a scholion (183b7); *et*, and (195d5); *et legit*, and read so (185e2); *et mox*, and just after (212e2); *et sic*, and so (197b5); *ex*, altered from (180d1, 188d8), and, of a source, from (190d7); *ex emend.*, from a correction (195a2); *extra versum*, outside the line (189b5); *fecit*, made, of a hand that altered a reading (188d8); *fuisse videtur*, “seems to have been” (175c4); γρ. (*graphetai*, “it is written”), a variant written beside the manuscript’s own reading (176a5); *i. e.* (*id est*), that is (209b3); *in marg.*, in the margin (175a10, 176a8, 178a1); *in ras.* (*in rasura*), written over an erasure (211c7, 211d1); *iterant*, repeat (179c6), and *iterat*, repeats (203e3); *om.*, leaves out; *omisi*, I have left out (178b8); *post*, after; *pr.*, the first hand; *prius*, the first of two like words (177a1), and *alterum*, the second (203d4, 207b3); *re vera*, really; *rec.*, a later hand (175a10, 176a8; *rec. t*, a recent hand in T, 212a6, 212c6); *s. v.* (*supra versum*), above the line (175b6), but after the name of a lexicon (*sub voce*), under that word (190d7); *scr. recc.*, the later manuscripts write (192c4); *secl.*, bracketed as spurious; *sed*, but; *supra*, above (182b1); *transposuit*, moved (178b8, with *huc*, here); *ut vid.* (*ut videtur*), as it seems (218d3); *vel*, or (184b7); *vide*, see (174c7); *vulg.*, the early printed editions.

**The English.** The translation is new. It aims to be exact, with every clause answering to a clause of the Greek, and to keep the humor and the voices of the dialogue: Apollodorus’ zeal and his scorn for money-makers, Socrates’ irony, Agathon’s courtesy, Eryximachus’ doctor’s caution, and, in the speeches that follow, each speaker’s own manner, with the effects the English cannot carry explained in a note; nothing is added to make it funnier. The opening conversation is set as Burnet sets it, with the speakers’ names (Apoll., Comp.). From 174a Apollodorus reports what Aristodemus told him, much of it in reported speech (“he said that …”), and the English keeps each “he said” of the Greek, even where Plato reports a report (“Agathon said, he said”). Speech is set in double quotation marks, speech inside speech in single, and words quoted inside that again in double (200d); so Socrates’ conversation with Diotima, which he tells inside his own speech, is in single marks (from 201e), and so is the conversation Alcibiades reports between himself and Socrates (from 218c), with Homer’s “gold for bronze” in double marks again (219a1), and so are the words of the *Clouds* he adapts for Aristophanes (221b). The reading Burnet prints is translated, including the conjectures he adopts and the letters he supplies; where his choice of reading changes the sense, a note says so.

Each right-hand page translates the Greek page opposite. When a sentence runs over the turn of Burnet’s page, the English breaks at the nearest point English word order allows and leaves the sentence unfinished at the foot of the page, as the Greek does. The Stephanus section letters in the margin of the English mark where each section begins.

**Key terms.** *Erōs* is at once the god whom the speakers praise and the passion they describe. It is rendered by one English word, “Love” where the god is named or praised and “love” for the passion, so that the reader can follow the speakers from the one to the other; the verb *eran* is “be in love”, *erastēs* “lover”, and *ta erōtika* “matters of love”, as in the *Lysis* of this series. *Kalos* is “beautiful” in all its uses, of persons, things, acts and speeches, so that the one word stands at every stage of the argument; the adverb *kalōs* is “well”. *Philos* is “friend” and never “dear”, and *hetairos* “companion”. *Philosophein* is “love wisdom”, *philosophia* “philosophy”, *sophia* “wisdom” and *sophos* “wise”. *Enkōmion*, the name of the kind of speech the guests agree to make, is “encomium”, and *epainos* “praise”. *Auto kath’ hauto* is “itself by itself” (183d5). *Technē* is “craft” and *dēmiourgos* “craftsman”, *epistēmē* “knowledge”, *sōphrosynē* “temperance”, as in the series; in Eryximachus’ speech *harmonia* is “harmony”, *symphōnia* “consonance”, *homologia* “agreement” and *homonoia* “concord”, *kosmios* “orderly” and *akolastos* “licentious”; *synousia*, the “gathering” of the dinner, is “intercourse” where it means sexual union (191c, 192c, 206c), and “being with” of Socrates’ company (219d). *Aischros* is “shameful” of acts and practices and “ugly” of persons (“uglier”, 182d7), so that the two senses of its opposite, *kalos*, stay in view; *nomos* is “law”, whether written or customary; *chrēstos* is “decent” and *ponēros* “base”; *aretē* “virtue”; *paiderastia* “pederasty”; *entheos* “god-filled”; and Aphrodite’s titles *Ourania* and *Pandēmos* are “Heavenly” and “Common”. *Logos* is “speech” where it is a speech, “talk” for conversation (173b–c, 176a4, 207a), “saying” in “the old saying” (195b), “account” (179b7, 185a5, 198e5), “reckoning” in “leave out of the reckoning” (176c4), “argument” where it is an argument (201e, 223a), “story” in “as the story goes” (196d), and “words” in Alcibiades’ “bare words” (215c). *Pais* is “slave” in the narration and “boy” where a slave is addressed, and in Pausanias’ speech “boy” of the young beloved (181b–e). In Agathon’s speech *poiētēs* is “poet” and *poiēsis* “making”, so that his passage from poetry to every kind of making stays visible (196e–197a), and *hapalos* is “tender” (195c–196a); *oikeiotēs* is “affinity” and *allotriotēs* “alienness” (192c, 197d). *Deinos*, “dreadful” in its usual sense (197b6), is “formidable” of skill (193e, 198c–d). In Socrates’ questioning of Agathon *epithymein* is “desire” and *endeēs*, with “to be”, “lack”, as in the *Lysis* (221d–e); the noun *endeia* is also “lack” (200e, 202d), and *deisthai* is kept apart as “be in need” (199b); *anomologeisthai* is “come to agreement” (199b, 200e); and *aischros*, where it answers *kalos* in the argument, is “ugly” (201a–202b, and in Diotima’s teaching, 206c–211a). Diotima’s *daimōn* is kept as “daimon”, with “daimonic” for *daimonios* (202d–203a); *mantikē* is “divination” and *manteia* “prophecy” (202e–203a); *doxa* is “opinion”, *amathia* “ignorance” and *phronēsis* “intelligence” (202a), and *banausos* is “menial” (203a), as in the *Alcibiades I*. In Diotima’s story *Poros* and *Penia* are “Resource” and “Poverty”, and the words built on *poros* keep “resource” where English allows (203b–204e); *philosophos* is “lover of wisdom” (204b) and, as an adjective, “wisdom-loving” (218b); *tokos* is “giving birth” and *tiktein* “give birth”, *gennan* “beget” and *gennēsis* “begetting”, *kyein* “be pregnant”, *genesis* “birth”, and *athanasia* “immortality” (206b–208b); *Kallonē* is “Beauty” (206d); and *epistēmai*, in the plural, are “pieces of knowledge” (207e–208a) and “kinds of knowledge” where they are a rung of the ascent (210c). On the ascent *epitēdeumata* are “ways of life”, *mathēmata* “studies”, *theasthai* “behold”, *theōrein* “contemplate”, *katidein* and *kathoran* “catch sight of”, and *monoeidēs* “single in form” (210a–212a). In Alcibiades’ speech *eirōneuesthai* is “be ironic” and *eirōnikōs* “ironically” (216e, 218d), *eikōn* “likeness” and *agalma* “statue” (215a–b, 216e), *hōra* “youth”, the season of a boy’s beauty (217a), *akmē* “prime” (219a), *hyperēphanos* “haughty” (217e) and *hyperēphania* “haughtiness” (219c), *karteria* “endurance” and *karterein* “hold out” (219d–220a, as at 184b and 216a), and *atopia* “outlandishness” (215a, 221d).

**The notes.** The notes identify persons, places and quotations, explain what the English cannot carry, and mark the places where Burnet’s choice of reading makes a real difference to the sense. Interpretations are labelled as such. They are numbered afresh on each page.

## Glossary of Key Terms

The English words on which the speeches and the argument depend, in alphabetical order, with the Greek they render and the places where they occur, by Stephanus page and section. Where a word has a longer entry in the Key Words of the Dialogue, the Glossary says so.

**affinity**, οἰκειότης (*oikeiotēs*). 192c, 197d. Its opposite is **alienness**, ἀλλοτριότης (*allotriotēs*), 197d. See **akin**.

**akin**, οἰκεῖος (*oikeios*). 193d, 205e. Its opposite is **alien**, ἀλλότριος (*allotrios*), 205e; of persons the same word is “strangers” (179c). See **affinity**.

**attack**, ἐπιτίθεσθαι (*epitithesthai*). 190c, 214e, 217c.

**be in love**, ἐρᾶν (*eran*); **the one in love**, ὁ ἐρῶν (*ho erōn*). Throughout; the participle, kept apart from **lover**, 179a–b, 182d–183c, 183e–184a, 185c, 188c, 204c–e. **Matters of love**, τὰ ἐρωτικά (*ta erōtika*), 177d, 186c, 187c, 188b, 188d, 193e, 198d, 201d, 207a, 207c, 209e, 210e, 211c, 212b; **disposed by love**, ἐρωτικῶς (*erōtikōs*) with διακεῖσθαι or ἔχειν, 207b, 216d, 222c; **given to love**, ἐρωτικός (*erōtikos*), of persons, 208e. See **Love** and Key Words, *Love, be in love*.

**beautiful**, καλός (*kalos*). Throughout, of persons (174a, 212e, 213c, 216d), of acts and practices (180e–181a, 182a–185b), of speeches (177d, 198b), and of the beautiful itself (210e–212a). **Beauty**, κάλλος (*kallos*), 196a–b, 197b, 198b, 201a–b, 210a–d, 218e; **Beauty**, Καλλονή (*Kallonē*), as a goddess, 206d; **beautiful and good**, καλὸς κἀγαθός (*kalos kagathos*), 204a, 222a. The adverb καλῶς (*kalōs*) is **well** throughout, and its comparative **better** (182d, 221a). See **shameful** and Key Words, *Beautiful*.

**beget**, γεννᾶν (*gennan*); **begetting**, γέννησις (*gennēsis*). 191b–c, 203c, 206c–207a, 209a–210a. See **give birth**, **pregnant** and Key Words, *Give birth, beget, be pregnant*.

**behold**, θεᾶσθαι (*theasthai*). 190e, 210c, 210e, 211d, 212a, 220e–221a; **beheld**, θεατός (*theatos*), 197d. Kept apart from **catch sight of**, **contemplate** and “see”. See Key Words, *Behold, catch sight of*.

**believe**, ἡγεῖσθαι (*hēgeisthai*). 172c, 173d, 183d, 184c, 194b–c, 210b–c, 215e, 216e–217a, 218c, 219a, 219d. “Think” renders οἴεσθαι (*oiesthai*) and, in “I think”, δοκεῖ μοι (*dokei moi*), and “hold” νομίζειν (*nomizein*). Until the final reading of this edition the verb was “think” at 172c, 183d and 194b–c.

**beloved**, ἐρώμενος (*erōmenos*). 178e, 180b, 183c, 184a, 185c, 192e, 204c. See **darling**, **lover** and Key Words, *Lover, beloved, darling*.

**birth**, γένεσις (*genesis*). 178a–b, 181c, 191c, 204b, 206d, 207d. See **give birth**.

**catch sight of**, κατιδεῖν (*katidein*), καθορᾶν (*kathoran*), κατόψεσθαι (*katopsesthai*). 172a, 186a, 210d–e, 211b, 211e, 213a–b, 218e. See **behold** and Key Words, *Behold, catch sight of*.

**cherish**, ἀγαπᾶν (*agapan*). 180b, 181c, 210d. Never “love”.

**companion**, ἑταῖρος (*hetairos*). 172b, 173c, 178d, 183c, 201a, 205e, 221b; the unnamed speaker of the frame is “Companion” (Comp.). Never “friend”.

**consider**, ἐννοεῖν (*ennoein*). 190c, 200c, 207c, 208c, 210b; at 198c, with a participle, “realized”.

**contemplate**, θεωρεῖν (*theōrein*). 210d. See **behold** and Key Words, *Behold, catch sight of*.

**converse**, διαλέγεσθαι (*dialegesthai*). 174d, 181a, 183c, 194d–e, 213d, 217b, 217d, 223c; **conversation**, διάλεκτος (*dialektos*), 203a. Until the final reading the verb was “talk” at 174d, 181a and 183c.

**craft**, τέχνη (*technē*). 186b–e, 187b, 187e, 196d, 197a, 202e–203a, 205c, 223d; **craftsman**, δημιουργός (*dēmiourgos*), 186d, 187d, 188d, 197a, 205c, 209a, 215b.

**daimon**, δαίμων (*daimōn*); **daimonic**, δαιμόνιος (*daimonios*). 202d–203a, 204b; of Socrates, 219c, and in address, “you daimonic man”, 223a. See Key Words, *Daimon, daimonic*.

**darling**, τὰ παιδικά (*ta paidika*). 178c, 178e–179a, 180b, 183a, 184b–e, 193b–c, 211d, 217b–c, 222b. See **beloved**, **lover** and Key Words, *Lover, beloved, darling*.

**decent**, χρηστός (*chrēstos*). 177b, 178c, 183d–e; **base**, πονηρός (*ponēros*), 183d, 205e; **paltry**, φαῦλος (*phaulos*), 174c, 175e, 181b, 210d, 211e, 213c, 215c–d, 218d.

**deliberate**, βουλεύεσθαι (*bouleuesthai*). 174d, 176d, 190c, 219a–b. Until the final reading it was “consider” at 174d, “plan” at 176d and “take counsel” at 190c.

**desire**, ἐπιθυμεῖν (*epithymein*), ἐπιθυμία (*epithymia*). 177c, 186b, 187e, 189a, 191a, 192d–e, 196c, 197a, 200a–e, 202d, 203d, 204a, 205d, 206c, 207a, 207e, 209b, 223a. See **lack** and Key Words, *Desire, lack*.

**device**, μηχανή (*mēchanē*). 178e, 190c, 191b, 203d, 208b. Until the final reading it was “contrivance” at 178e, 190c and 191b.

**divination**, μαντική (*mantikē*). 188b–d, 197a, 202e; **prophecy**, μαντεία (*manteia*), 203a, 206b; **like a prophet**, μαντικῶς (*mantikōs*), 198a.

**earnestness**, σπουδή (*spoudē*). 177c, 179d, 181e, 192c, 197e, 206b, 208b; **be in earnest**, σπουδάζειν (*spoudazein*), 205d, 216e–217a. Until the final reading it was “eagerness” at 206b and 208b; “eagerness” now renders προθυμία (*prothymia*) alone (210a).

**encomium**, ἐγκώμιον (*enkōmion*); **make an encomium of**, ἐγκωμιάζειν (*enkōmiazein*). 177b–c, 177e, 180c, 181a, 188e, 194d–e, 198d–199a, 212b–c, 214c, 223a. See **praise** and Key Words, *Encomium, praise*.

**endurance**, καρτερία (*karteria*). 219d; **feat of endurance**, καρτέρησις (*karterēsis*), 220a; **hold out**, καρτερεῖν (*karterein*), 184b, 216a, 220a; **strong**, καρτερός (*karteros*), 220c, and “by main force” (217c). See **temperance** and Key Words, *Temperance, endurance*.

**evidence, piece of**, τεκμήριον (*tekmērion*). 178b, 192a, 195b, 195d–196a; **take as evidence**, τεκμαίρεσθαι (*tekmairesthai*), 204c, 222e.

**follow**, ἕπεσθαι (*hepesthai*). 174b, 174e, 197e, 208b, 210a, 223d; **follower**, ἀκόλουθος (*akolouthos*), 203c, 212d, 217a–b.

**form**, εἶδος (*eidos*). 189e, 196a, 205b, 205d, 210b, 215b; **figure**, ἰδέα (*idea*), 196a, 204c; **single in form**, μονοειδής (*monoeidēs*), 211b, 211e. See Key Words, *Itself by itself; single in form*.

**friend**, φίλος (*philos*). 173e, 183a, 183c, 186d, 188d, 193b, 194d, 199c, 204b, 211d, 218d, 222d. Never “dear”, as throughout the series. **Friendship**, φιλία (*philia*), 179c, 182c, 184b, 185a, 188d, 192b, 195c, 209c; **my loved**, φιλούμενε (*philoumene*), 201c; **loved by the gods**, θεοφιλής (*theophilēs*), 212a; **lover of lovers**, φιλεραστής (*philerastēs*), 192b, and **love of lovers**, φιλεραστία (*philerastia*), 213d.

**give birth**, τίκτειν (*tiktein*); **giving birth**, τόκος (*tokos*). 191c, 206b–e, 209a–c, 210c–d, 212a. See **beget**, **pregnant** and Key Words, *Give birth, beget, be pregnant*.

**god-filled**, ἔνθεος (*entheos*). 179a, 180b; **inspired**, ἐπίπνοος (*epipnoos*), 181c.

**gratify**, χαρίζεσθαι (*charizesthai*). 177c, 182a–b, 182d, 183d, 184a–b, 184d–185b, 186b–c, 187d, 188c, 217a, 218c–d. See Key Words, *Gratify*.

**happy**, εὐδαίμων (*eudaimōn*); **happiness**, εὐδαιμονία (*eudaimonia*). 180b, 188d, 189d, 193c–d, 194e–195a, 202c, 204e–205a, 205d, 208e; **unhappy**, κακοδαίμων (*kakodaimōn*), 173d.

**haughty**, ὑπερήφανος (*hyperēphanos*). 217e; **haughtiness**, ὑπερηφανία (*hyperēphania*), 219c. Until the final reading the adjective was “proud”, which is now kept for **pride**.

**Heavenly**, Οὐρανία, οὐράνιος (*Ourania*, *ouranios*); **Common**, Πάνδημος, πάνδημος (*Pandēmos*, *pandēmos*). Of Aphrodite and her Loves, 180d–181c, 181e, 183d, 185b–c; of the Muse and the Love of Eryximachus’ speech, 187d–e.

**honour**, τιμή (*timē*), τιμᾶν (*timan*). 178b–c, 179d–180b, 188c, 190c, 196d, 208b, 209d, 210b, 212b, 216b, 216e; **love of honour**, φιλοτιμία (*philotimia*), 178d, 208c; **vie in honour**, φιλοτιμεῖσθαι (*philotimeisthai*), 178e.

**human beings**, ἄνθρωποι (*anthrōpoi*). Throughout, never “men” or “mankind”. Of one, **person**: 209b, 210d, 213c, 214d, 216c, 219d–e, 221d–222a, 222e; of attendants and soldiers, **the people**: 213a, 220c, 221a.

**immortal**, ἀθάνατος (*athanatos*); **immortality**, ἀθανασία (*athanasia*). 202d, 203e, 206c, 206e–207a, 207d, 208b–e, 209c–d, 212a. See Key Words, *Immortal, immortality*.

**insolent**, ὑβριστής (*hybristēs*); **insolence**, ὕβρις (*hybris*); **treat with insolence**, ὑβρίζειν (*hybrizein*). 174b, 175e, 181c, 188a, 215b, 219c, 221e–222a. See Key Words, *Insolent, insolence*.

**intelligence**, φρόνησις (*phronēsis*). 184d, 202a, 203d, 209a, 219d; **intelligent**, φρόνιμος (*phronimos*), 204a, 218d; **foolish**, ἄφρων (*aphrōn*), 194b, 218d; **folly**, ἀφροσύνη (*aphrosynē*), 181d; **having one’s wits about one**, ἔμφρων (*emphrōn*), 194b, 221b. **Sense**, νοῦς (*nous*), 181c–d, 187a, 194b, 222a; **senseless**, ἀνόητος (*anoētos*), 181b, 218c, 222a; **senselessness**, ἄνοια (*anoia*), 210b.

**ironic, be**, εἰρωνεύεσθαι (*eirōneuesthai*); **ironically**, εἰρωνικῶς (*eirōnikōs*). 216e, 218d. See Key Words, *Ironic*.

**itself by itself**, αὐτὸ καθ’ αὑτό (*auto kath’ hauto*). 183d, 211b; αὐτὴ ἐφ’ ἑαυτῆς (*autē eph’ heautēs*), “of itself, on its own”, 180e. See Key Words, *Itself by itself; single in form*.

**knowledge**, ἐπιστήμη (*epistēmē*). 186c, 187c, 188b, 202a, 208a, 210d, 211a; in the plural, **pieces of knowledge**, 207e–208a, and **kinds of knowledge**, 210c. See **study** and Key Words, *Ways of life, studies, kinds of knowledge*.

**lack**, ἐνδεής (*endeēs*) with “to be”; ἔνδεια (*endeia*). 195d, 200a–b, 200e, 201b–c, 202d, 203d, 204a, 216a. Kept apart from **be in need**, δεῖσθαι (*deisthai*), 176a, 184e, 199b, 207c, 215c. Until the final reading the place at 195d had “is in need of”. See Key Words, *Desire, lack*.

**law**, νόμος (*nomos*). 181d–182a, 182e, 183b–c, 184a–e, 192b, 196c, 209d, 210c; written law and custom alike. **Lay down by law**, νομοθετεῖν (*nomothetein*), 182b, 182d. See Key Words, *Law*.

**likeness**, εἰκών (*eikōn*); **liken**, εἰκάζειν (*eikazein*), ἀπεικάζειν (*apeikazein*). 215a, 216c, 221c–d; “guess” at 190a. See **statue** and Key Words, *Likeness, statue, silenus*.

**Love**, **love**, Ἔρως, ἔρως (*Erōs*, *erōs*). Throughout; “Love” where Burnet prints the capital, “love” where he does not. See **be in love** and Key Words, *Love, be in love*.

**lover**, ἐραστής (*erastēs*). 173b, 178c–e, 179e–180b, 181e–182b, 182d–183a, 183c–e, 184b–185a, 203c, 205d, 210b, 217b–c, 218c, 222b. See **beloved**, **darling** and Key Words, *Lover, beloved, darling*.

**lover of wisdom**, φιλόσοφος (*philosophos*). 204b; as an adjective, **wisdom-loving**, 218b. **Love wisdom**, φιλοσοφεῖν (*philosophein*), 173a, 203d, 204a; **philosophy**, φιλοσοφία (*philosophia*), 173c, 182c, 183a, 184d, 205d, 210d, 218a. See Key Words, *Love wisdom, lover of wisdom*.

**make**, ποιεῖν (*poiein*); **making**, ποίησις (*poiēsis*); **poet**, ποιητής (*poiētēs*). 177a–b, 178b, 186e, 195d, 196e–197a, 205b–c, 209a, 209d; **maker of tragedy**, **maker of comedy**, τραγῳδοποιός, κωμῳδοποιός (*tragōidopoios*, *kōmōidopoios*), 223d. Agathon’s passage from poetry to every making (196e–197a) and Diotima’s (205b–c) keep the one word.

**marvel**, θαυμάζειν (*thaumazein*). 180b, 205b, 206b, 207c, 208b–c, 215a, 220c; “wonder” with an indirect question (175a, 189a). **Marvellous**, θαυμαστός, θαυμάσιος (*thaumastos*, *thaumasios*), 177b, 178a, 182d–e, 186b, 192b, 198a–b, 200b, 204c, 210e, 213d–e, 215b, 216c, 217a, 219c, 220a–b, 221c, 222e.

**menial**, βάναυσος (*banausos*). 203a.

**opinion**, δόξα (*doxa*). 194c, 202a, 207e, 218e; **right opinion**, ὀρθὴ δόξα (*orthē doxa*), and **hold right opinions**, ὀρθὰ δοξάζειν (*ortha doxazein*), 202a.

**orderly**, κόσμιος (*kosmios*). 182a, 187d, 188a, 188c, 189a, 190e, 193a; **licentious**, ἀκόλαστος (*akolastos*), 186c, 187e, 190c.

**outlandish**, ἄτοπος (*atopos*). 175a, 207e; **outlandishness**, ἀτοπία (*atopia*), 215a, 221d.

**pederasty**, παιδεραστία (*paiderastia*); **be a pederast**, παιδεραστεῖν (*paiderastein*); **pederast**, παιδεραστής (*paiderastēs*). 181c, 184c, 192b, 211b.

**perfect**, τέλεος (*teleos*). 204c, 208c; **the perfect rites**, τὰ τέλεα (*ta telea*), 210a.

**persuade**, πείθειν (*peithein*). 182b, 212b, 214d; **be persuaded**, 186e, 212b, 217d; **obey**, πείθεσθαι (*peithesthai*), 176d, 193e, 214b.

**praise**, ἔπαινος (*epainos*), ἐπαινεῖν (*epainein*). 175c, 177b, 177d, 180d–e, 182e, 188e, 195a, 198d, 199a, 212c, 214d–215a, 217e, 221c, 222a, 222e–223a; **hymn**, ὑμνεῖν (*hymnein*), 177c, 193c–d, 197e, and the noun at 177a. See **encomium** and Key Words, *Encomium, praise*.

**pregnant, be**, κυεῖν (*kyein*), ἔγκυμων (*enkymōn*). 206c–d, 208e–209c; “conceive”, 203c (of Poverty), 209a; **what it has conceived**, κύημα (*kyēma*), 206d. See **give birth**, **beget** and Key Words, *Give birth, beget, be pregnant*.

**pride**, μεγαλοφροσύνη (*megalophrosynē*). 194b; **be proud**, μέγα φρονεῖν (*mega phronein*), 198d. See **haughty**.

**resource**, πόρος (*poros*); **Resource**, Πόρος, the father of Love; **resourceful**, πόριμος (*porimos*); **have resource**, εὐπορεῖν (*euporein*). 203b–e, 204b, 204e, 209b, 215a, 219e, 223a. **Be at a loss**, ἀπορεῖν (*aporein*), 190c, 192d, 193e, 198a–b, 203e, 219e; **want of resource**, ἀπορία (*aporia*), 203b. **Poverty**, Πενία (*Penia*), the mother of Love, 203b–c; **poor**, πένης (*penēs*), 185a, 203c. See Key Words, *Resource, poverty; at a loss*.

**shameful**, **ugly**, αἰσχρός (*aischros*). “Shameful” of acts and practices, 178d–e, 180e–181a, 182a–e, 183d, 184a, 184c, 184e–185a, 186c–d, 194c; “ugly” of persons and where it answers **beautiful** in the argument, 182d (“uglier”), 197b (“ugliness”), 201a, 201e, 202b, 206c–d, 209b, 211a. See Key Words, *Shameful, ugly*.

**silenus**, σιληνός (*silēnos*). 215a, 216d, 221d, 222d; **satyr**, σάτυρος (*satyros*), 215b, 216c, 221d–e, 222d. See Key Words, *Likeness, statue, silenus*.

**speech**, λόγος (*logos*). Where it is a speech, throughout; **talk**, of conversation, 173b–d, 176a, 207a, 223d; **account**, 179b, 185a, 187d, 189b, 195b, 198e, 201e, 202a, 205d–e, 207a, 207d, 208b, 211a; **saying**, in “the old saying”, 195b; **argument**, 201e, 223a; **reckoning**, 176c; “words” in “bare words”, 215c; “story” in “as the story goes”, 196d; “speeches” of Socrates’ talk, 215d–e, 218a, 221d–222a.

**statue**, ἄγαλμα (*agalma*). 215b, 216e, 222a. See Key Words, *Likeness, statue, silenus*.

**study**, μάθημα (*mathēma*). 211c. See **knowledge** and Key Words, *Ways of life, studies, kinds of knowledge*.

**temperance**, σωφροσύνη (*sōphrosynē*); **temperate**, σώφρων (*sōphrōn*). 188a, 188d, 196c–d, 209a, 214b, 216d, 219d. See Key Words, *Temperance, endurance*.

**tender**, ἁπαλός (*hapalos*). 195c–196a, 203c.

**virtue**, ἀρετή (*aretē*). 179a, 179d, 180a–b, 181e, 184c–185b, 196b, 208d, 209a–b, 209e, 212a, 222a.

**ways of life**, ἐπιτηδεύματα (*epitēdeumata*). 209c, 210c–d, 211c, 221c. See Key Words, *Ways of life, studies, kinds of knowledge*.

**wisdom**, σοφία (*sophia*). 175d–e, 184c–e, 196d, 197a, 202a, 203e, 204b, 206b; **wise**, σοφός (*sophos*), 174c, 175d, 177b, 182b, 184d, 185c, 194c, 196e, 197d, 201d, 202a, 203a, 204a–b, 208b, 212e; **sophist**, σοφιστής (*sophistēs*), 177b, 203d, 208c. See **lover of wisdom**.

## Note on this Edition

### How the volume was made

The Greek was taken from the Perseus Digital Library’s digital transcription of Burnet and cut into Burnet’s lines by reading every line-end from the photographs of his page, in the impression described in the Editorial Note. Accents, breathings and iota subscripts were read on enlargements of the photograph of each page, and a doubtful mark was settled by setting it beside sure examples of each form on the same line or page. The digital transcription marks as quotations the words of the conversation that Apollodorus reports (172a–173b), but it does not always close and open them where Burnet does, and it sets in lower case the openings of speeches and the first word after a change of speaker, where Burnet prints capitals; Burnet’s marks and capitals are restored throughout. From Eryximachus’ proposal to the end of Socrates’ speech it sets in lower case, in twenty-nine places, the accusative Ἔρωτα where Burnet capitalizes the god’s name (177c2, 177e6, 178b9, 178b11, 180b6, 180c5, 180d2, 180e1, 186a2, 186b4, 187e8, 188e1, 193d1, 195a3, 195a6, 195e1, 196d1, 198d1, 198e3, 201a3, 201b9, 202b2, 202d7, 203c1, 204b4, 204b8, 204c2, 212b5, 212c2), and it has no mark for the word Burnet obelizes at 183a1. It also prints ᾄσαντας at 176a3 as ᾁσαντας, with a rough breathing and no accent, where Burnet prints a smooth breathing and an acute; this is corrected. The ending ος of Ἀγάθωνος at 176b7, which the transcription marks as supplied, is printed closed up with the word, as Burnet prints it. The section letters and line numbers in the margin were worked out from the Stephanus divisions rather than copied, and were then compared with Burnet’s margin, page by page.

The dialogue was made in nine blocks (Burnet pages 1–9, 10–19, 20–28, 29–35, 36–43, 44–51, 52–58, 59–65 and 66–72), 2,022 lines in all. Each block was checked by four independent reviewers: two, dividing its pages between them, compared the Greek and the apparatus with the page images letter by letter, one compared the English with the Greek clause by clause, and one checked every fact and reference in the notes and in the Editorial Note. Each finding was examined again against the evidence before it was adopted, and not all were adopted. What those checks caught is recorded at the end of this Note.

The volume was then read through again as one text, since a check made block by block cannot see some kinds of error: a word rendered one way in one block and another way in the next, a recapitulation that states a step in other words than the step itself, a rendering settled late that never reached the first pages. The translator read the whole, and four further reviewers read it independently: one for the consistency of terms across the whole book, two for sense, omissions and continuity in its two halves, and one for the Editorial Note against the scan of Burnet’s volume. The Introduction, the Key Words of the Dialogue, the Outline and the Glossary were then written from the finished English, and three more reviewers checked them, claim by claim and citation by citation, together with the corrections made in the final reading.

### What the final reading caught

It found some ninety points in the English and its notes, nearly all of them small, that the block checks had passed, and a number in the Editorial Note. They fall into a few classes.

The largest class was renderings that had drifted from the rule of one English word for one Greek word, most of them in the first four blocks, which were translated before the later rulings were made. ἡγεῖσθαι is “believe” at 172c, 183d and 194b–c, as everywhere else, where it had been “think”; βουλεύεσθαι is “deliberate” at 174d, 176d and 190c, so that Socrates’ “we shall deliberate” on the road (174d) is answered by his “we shall deliberate” to Alcibiades (219a–b); διαλέγεσθαι is “converse” at 174d, 181a and 183c, so that the word of the tutors’ ban (183c) returns when Alcibiades hopes Socrates will “converse with me as a lover would converse with his darling” (217b); μηχανή is “device” at 178e, 190c and 191b, as in Diotima’s “By this device” (208b); ἐνδεής is “lack” in Agathon’s own sentence at 195d, where Socrates’ later argument turns on it; and a number of other words now have in the first blocks the renderings settled for them later: ἐπιτίθεσθαι “attack” (190c), θεᾶσθαι “behold” (190e), κατιδεῖν and καθορᾶν “catch sight of” (172a, 186a), ποθεῖν “yearn” (191a), γένεσις “birth” (191c), ἐννοεῖν “consider” (190c), ῥῆμα “expression” (187a), κοινωνία “partnership” (188c), ἀγανακτεῖν “be vexed” (177a), λοιδορεῖσθαι “revile” (183d), θεραπεύειν “wait on” (175c), σύμφημι “concur” (177e), θαυμαστός “marvellous” (177b), σύνειμι “be with” (176e, 195b) and ἐνθυμεῖσθαι “reflect” (182d). σπουδή is “earnestness” in Diotima’s speech (206b, 208b), as in the earlier speeches, and “eagerness” is kept for προθυμία; ἕπεσθαι is “follow” at 208b; τεκμαίρεσθαι is “take as evidence” at 204c; ἔμφρων and ἄφρων are “having one’s wits about one” and “foolish” at 194b, so that Agathon’s contrast is heard again in Alcibiades’ “the intelligent … the many and foolish” (218d); and ἕρμαιον is “godsend” at 176c, with its note moved to that first place. Two English words had each served for two Greek words: “proud”, which was both ὑπερήφανος (217e) and μέγα φρονεῖν (198d), is now kept for the second, and ὑπερήφανος is “haughty”, with “haughtiness” for its noun at 219c; and “believe” no longer renders πείθεσθαι (186e, now “I am persuaded”) or πιστεύειν (207c, now “trust”).

Some renderings missed the Greek. At 211c the formula ὃ ἔστι καλόν, which Burnet prints with the verb accented, is “what beautiful is”, with a note, not “which is beautiful”; at 210e τι … καλόν is “something beautiful, marvellous in its nature”; at 174b the ἄν of Stephanus’ reading, which Burnet prints, is translated (“that you would be willing”), with a note; at 184b the dative is “left to our law”; at 192d the lovers over whom Hephaestus stands “lay in the same place”, and at 191e the halves enjoy “lying with” men, where the English had them recline as at table; and three particles were restored (203a, 203c, 207c). The quotation marks the English had put round Euripides’ words at 177a were removed, since Burnet neither quotes nor spaces them there. Phrases that followed a published translation more closely than the Greek requires were reworded (175c, 177d, 180b, 183e, 186a, 188c, 210e, 218e). In the notes, a new note explains *hermaion* at its first occurrence (176c), another the comic barb of Aristophanes at 192a, and the note on *karteria* names the whole family (220a).

In the Editorial Note, the Laurentian manuscripts Burnet cites elsewhere in the volume are given correctly (Laur. 2643 in the *Phaedrus*, and three in plut. lxxxv); ζῴῳ is placed at 206c7; the uses of the square bracket after a lemma are described as the apparatus has them, with the commonest, a single witness’s reading, added; the description of the papyrus’ readings now covers its diaeresis, the letters Burnet supplies with and without accents, and the words it adds; the places Athenaeus quotes are given precisely; the renderings of *logos* and *synousia* are completed; T and W’s τ’ ῆ· at 174e7 is added to the forms kept as printed; and the description of Burnet’s page and the list of abbreviations were rearranged, the abbreviations in alphabetical order.

### What remains undone

Several scholars in the apparatus are named as Burnet names them, by surname or initial only: L. Schmidt, Hertz, Schütz, Vermehren, Voegelin, Schneider, Parmentier, Sommer and Mehler. For some a likely name was found (Schütz is perhaps Christian Gottfried Schütz, Vermehren perhaps Moritz Vermehren, Mehler probably the E. Mehler who edited Xenophon’s *Symposium* at Leiden in 1850), but the work behind each proposal has not been seen. Where Creuzer proposed ἀδύνατον at 208b and Ast περισκοπῶν at 221b has not been found, nor whether Cornarius’ ἀποληφθέντες at 219e stands in his Latin version of Plato or in the notes printed with it (Basel, 1561). Nor has the Laurentian manuscript that Burnet cites at 174e6 as Laur. xiv. 85 been found in a catalogue, or the entry of Photius’ *Lexicon* that he cites at 174e2–3.

One reading of this copy lies at the limit of what its photographs show: the accent beside the breathing in T’s ἕαδε at 223b8, read as an acute from a worn sort; a second copy of the impression would settle it. At 214b6 the second siglum is a clear T where B is presumably meant; another edition’s apparatus would show whether Burnet erred.

The apparatus is Burnet’s alone. It has not been collated against the manuscripts or the papyrus, and readings proposed since his edition are not reported. The translation follows Burnet’s text even where later scholars would print something else.

The notes are a reader’s aid, not a commentary. They were chosen to explain what the English cannot carry, and they label the more doubtful interpretations as such. What the dialogue finally holds about love is set out in the Introduction as a question, not argued; a reader who wants the scholarly debate will need a commentary.

The checks described above were made by independent reviewers working from the same page images. The volume has not been read by a specialist outside the project, and a reader who finds an error is asked to report it.

### The record of the blocks

The notes that follow are written when each block is finished, and are kept as a record of what its check found.

### Block I: 172a–178b (Burnet pages 1–9)

**How it was made.** Burnet pages 1–9 (scan pp. 165–173), 242 lines, from Apollodorus’ account of how Glaucon hailed him on the road up from Phaleron, through Aristodemus’ account of how Socrates brought him uninvited to Agathon’s dinner and stood thinking in the neighbours’ porch, to Eryximachus’ proposal that each guest make a speech in praise of Love, and the beginning of Phaedrus’ speech. The block ends at 178b7 with the third line of the quotation from Hesiod. The Greek was set line for line from the photographs of Burnet’s page, with his apparatus, and the English written and annotated; independent reviewers then checked the Greek and the apparatus against the photographs letter by letter, the English against the Greek clause by clause, and every note and the Editorial Note against their sources.

**What the reviewers caught.** In the Greek, the letterspacing of the adapted proverb at 174b4 begins with Ἀγάθων’, the name Socrates puts into it, not with ἐπί; and three forms in the apparatus were corrected to what Burnet prints: W’s ὅπη at 174a5 and ἀφεστήκη at 175b7, both without the iota subscript, and τ’ ῆ· at 174e7, with a circumflex and no breathing, an apparent misprint, which is kept. Every doubtful mark the draft had left open was measured against sure examples on its page: the dots at 172a5, 173d3, 176b1 and 177c7 and the blot at 175b6 are specks; the breathings at 173a2, 173a6, 174d2, 175c4 and 177e2 and the small letters at 173d8 and 177a7 stand as transcribed; the breathing of ᾄσαντας at 176a3 is smooth; and the indents of the Hesiod at 178b5–7 match Burnet’s. In the English, two page joins were wrong. Page 1 now ends, as Burnet’s does, with the first words of the reply (“I did”), and page 2 continues the sentence without a new paragraph. Page 5 now ends with “not”, so that the next page reads “after spending a long time, as was his custom”, which is what the Greek says, where the draft had “no long time, as was his custom”; and μάλιστα with a measure is “about halfway”, not “at most”. Speakers were made plain where the Greek marks them: it is Aristodemus who answers Agathon (“he said that he himself said”, 175b1) and who will not let Socrates be fetched (“he himself would not let them”, 175c4). Renderings were brought into line: τυγχάνω “is in fact” (172a2), κατάκειμαι “recline” (175a6, 175c8), kept apart from κατακλίνεσθαι “lie down”, κελεύειν “tell”, βούλεσθαι “want”, κινδυνεύω “it looks like” at 174c5 as at 174b5, ἐξαρκεῖν “be enough” at 176c5 as at 177e5, διατριβή “pastime” at 177e1 as at 177d1, and ἐγκωμιάζειν “make an encomium of” (177e6). Phrases were brought closer to the Greek: “beautiful to a beautiful man” (174a9, of Agathon), “any man of that time” (173b3), “so far as it rests with me” (ἑκὼν εἶναι, 176d2), “This indeed you say well” (176b2), “the very oldest” (ἐν τοῖς πρεσβύτατον, 178a9) and the sentence at 178a3. Small words were restored (ἔγωγε three times, μέν, γάρ, καί, δ’ οὖν, and ἀλλ’ twice), and the parenthesis at 175b6 now closes with a dash, as Burnet’s does. The adapted proverb at 174b4–5, which Burnet marks by letterspacing, is now quoted. Fifteen phrases that followed Lamb’s Loeb translation were reworded, and two Stephanus markers were moved (174d1, 178b1).

In the notes, the companion of the frame is no longer taken for Glaucon, who is the acquaintance who hailed Apollodorus on the road; Burnet records four attempts to mend the sentence at 175b6, not five; the proverb at 174b4 is given in both its ancient forms, with Athenaeus as the source; and the notes on the manuscripts’ *Agathōn* at 176b7, their *boulōntai* at 176d7 and the question of T and W at 174c7–8 now report the apparatus fully. Four readings that change the sense received notes: “by touching you” (175c8), “yours that shone out” (175e4) and “by a wise man” (177b5), which B lacks or reads otherwise, and W’s “for the god” at 178a9, where B and T have “of the gods”. In the Editorial Note and the Introduction, Burnet’s quotation marks are now described by what they enclose (the conversation with Glaucon, two phrases of Homer and the slave’s message); the title page and the Editorial Note describe the copy as a later impression of the second edition, issued no earlier than January 1935; the Laurentian shelfmark at 174e6 and the round brackets of 172c2 are explained; and the block is shown to end at 178b7, not 178b6.

### Block II: 178b–186a (Burnet pages 10–19)

**How it was made.** Burnet pages 10–19 (scan pp. 174–183), 277 lines, from the end of Phaedrus’ speech, with the lines of Hesiod’s and Parmenides’ genealogies, Alcestis, Orpheus and Achilles, through Pausanias’ speech on the two Aphrodites and the two Loves, Heavenly and Common, and on the Athenian law about lovers, to Aristophanes’ hiccup and the first lines of Eryximachus’ speech, ending at 186a3. The Greek was set line for line from the photographs of Burnet’s page, with his apparatus, and the English written and annotated in the voice approved for Block I; independent reviewers then checked the Greek and the apparatus against the photographs letter by letter, the English against the Greek clause by clause, and every note, the Introduction’s account of the marks and the extended Editorial Note against their sources.

**What the reviewers caught.** The Greek text was confirmed letter by letter on all ten pages, with its capitals for the god’s name restored against the transcription, its blank lines, its dagger, its quotation marks and its two supplements; every doubtful point the draft had left open was measured and found to be a speck, among them the point after ὢν at 178c2, which has half the ink of a printed point and no place in the sentence. In the apparatus, the lemma αὐτὼν] at 183b2 is printed with Burnet’s grave accent, an apparent misprint that is kept; the small γ’ written over W’s δ’ at 179a1 now stands clear above it, with the word space after it restored; and the asterisks of 175c4 and 185d6 stand within the line, as Burnet’s do. In the English, three places had followed readings Burnet does not print: “which one we must praise” (Hermann’s ὁπότερον) is now “what kind” (ὁποῖον, 180d1); “ashamed on his behalf” (Orelli’s αὐτοῦ) is now “on their behalf” (183b2); and “all the heroes together” is now “at the same time than all the heroes too”, Burnet’s own ἀλλ’ ἅμα καί (180a5). The participle ὁ ἐρῶν is now “the one in love”, kept apart from ἐραστής “lover”, as in the *Lysis*; σύμφημι is “concur”, apart from ὁμολογεῖν “agree”; διηγεῖσθαι is “tell”, as in Block I; ἄνθρωποι are “human beings”, νενομοθέτηται is “laid down by law”, ὥρισται “defined”, δεινός “dreadful”, and αὐτὸ καθ’ αὑτό, which returns in Diotima’s speech, “itself by itself” (183d5). Small words were restored (καί six times, γε twice, the δὲ καί of 179b5), a Stephanus marker was moved (178d1), the speaker at 180c3 is named, as the Greek’s change of subject requires, and eleven phrases that followed Lamb’s Loeb translation were reworded. In the notes, the Parmenides line is said to have no subject in the Greek, with Simplicius’ reading; Thucydides is cited for what he says, that the murder of Hipparchus did not end the tyranny; Nestor, not Patroclus’ father, speaks at *Iliad* 11.786–787; and two notes were added, on the dual “these two laws”, from later copies, at 184c7, and on Baiter’s supplement at 184d7. In the Introduction and the Editorial Note, the slave’s message is placed at 175a7–9; the account of the square bracket and of the asterisks is corrected and the angle brackets of the apparatus are explained; Johann Friedrich Fischer is identified, and Hertz, Schütz and Vermehren are left by surname until they can be identified securely.

### Block III: 186a–192e (Burnet pages 20–28)

**How it was made.** Burnet pages 20–28 (scan pp. 184–192), 256 lines, from Eryximachus’ account of the double Love in medicine, music, the seasons and divination, with his two Loves set beside two Muses, through the exchange in which Aristophanes, his hiccup cured by a sneeze, fears to be ridiculous rather than laughable, to Aristophanes’ speech: the three round kinds of human being, their attempt on the gods, Zeus’ cutting and Apollo’s healing, the halves that seek each other, and Hephaestus’ question to two lovers, which is still unfinished where the block ends at 192e4. The Greek was set line for line from the photographs of Burnet’s page, with his apparatus, and the English written and annotated in the approved voice; independent reviewers then checked the Greek and the apparatus against the photographs letter by letter, the English against the Greek clause by clause, and every note and the extended Editorial Note against their sources.

**What the reviewers caught.** The Greek text was confirmed letter by letter on all nine pages, with its capitals for the god’s name, its blank lines and its quotation marks. One point was wrongly set: the mark after ἀλλήλοις at 191a7, which the draft read as a full stop, has the shape of the page’s comma heads, not of its full stops, and is a comma whose tail did not print, as the sentence requires. Three forms in the apparatus were corrected to what Burnet prints: T’s ἐνεστον at 187e8, with a breathing and no accent, an apparent misprint, which is kept; ὦγαθὲ with a circumflex for T and W at 189a7; and B’s ἓν ὂν εἴδει at 189e4, with a rough breathing. Every doubtful mark the draft had left open was measured against sure examples on its page: the marks at 186b6, 186b9, 186c5 and 191b7 are specks, those at 187a6 and 192c4 a reader’s pencil, and the comma of “c 3, 4”, Ruhnken’s ὄα, W’s ὠὰ and B and T’s ὠιὰ without the iota subscript, B’s αυτῶν, the crasis ἅνθρωποι and the breathing of αὑτὴ stand as transcribed. In the English, the words of Zeus, which the draft had set in double quotation marks inside Aristophanes’ speech, are now in single marks, as Hephaestus’ and Heraclitus’ are, and so is “the medical” at 186c3. At 187d4–6 those not yet orderly are the subject of “may become more orderly”, not a second group to be gratified. Seven Stephanus markers were moved (187a, 187e, 188c, 189b, 190b, 191b, 191e). Places where the English said more or less than the Greek were corrected: πρὸς τοὺς καλούς is “toward the beautiful ones”, persons (186a4); the sneeze is applied “to that part”, the orderly part of the body (αὐτῷ, 189a5); Apollo is named at 190e5, where the Greek changes subject; ἠφανίζετο, without Ast’s ἄν, is “were vanishing” (190c5); “made up from both” (ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων) is restored at 189e3, and “besides” (ἄλλης) at 191a8; and “Having taken your shot” (189b8) belongs to the subject, as the participle does. Renderings were brought into line: ἰατρός “doctor” at 189d1, as at 185d1; ὠγαθέ “my good friend”; βέλτιστος “most excellent”, as at 177b2; συμπλοκή “intertwining”, with συμπλέκεσθαι “twine”; κοινός “common to both”, kept apart from πάνδημος “Common” (191d6); συντήκω “fuse”, as at 183e6, and συμφυσᾶν “forge together” (192d8–e1); and love is lower case at 189c4, where Burnet prints ἔρωτος. Small words were restored (καί, δή, γε), and twelve phrases that followed Lamb’s Loeb translation were reworded, with one in Block II (185c6).

In the notes, Otus and Ephialtes in Homer only meant to pile the mountains, and Apollo killed them before they were grown; Eryximachus’ Muses are no longer called the mothers of his Loves, since the Greek says only “the Love of the Heavenly Muse”; the androgyne is shown to be a word of abuse from Aeschines, and the *hetairistriai* are glossed as LSJ glosses them; Hippolytus’ fuller quotation of Heraclitus is in other words; the Asclepiads and the tally are given their sources; and the manuscripts’ *pōs* at 187c7 is glossed by the accent Burnet prints. Three notes were added, on Stobaeus’ “still” at 190d4 and W’s “allows” at 187e8, readings that change the sense, and on the smith’s word at 192e1. In the Editorial Note, Hephaestus’ words are shown to close at 192e5, on the next page; the second senses of *ex* and *s. v.*, at 190d7, are given; Eusebius is cited from his *Preparation for the Gospel* (12.12), where he quotes the cutting as well as the first human beings; and the Vienna manuscript Vindob. 21 is dated.

### Block IV: 192e–197e (Burnet pages 29–35)

**How it was made.** Burnet pages 29–35 (scan pp. 193–199), 197 lines, from the close of Hephaestus’ question and the end of Aristophanes’ speech, with its warning that the halves may be split again, through the exchange in which Eryximachus, Socrates, Agathon and Phaedrus spar over Agathon’s “theatre”, to Agathon’s speech on the youngest, most tender, most virtuous and wisest of the gods, which ends with the last page of the block at 197e8. The Greek was set line for line from the photographs of Burnet’s page, with his apparatus, and the English written and annotated in the approved voice; independent reviewers then checked the Greek and the apparatus against the photographs letter by letter, the English against the Greek clause by clause, and every note and the extended Editorial Note against their sources.

**What the reviewers caught.** The Greek text, the margins and the apparatus were confirmed letter by letter on all seven pages, with the capitals for the god’s name and for Necessity restored against the transcription, the quotation marks and letterspacing in Agathon’s speech, and the verse of Homer and of Agathon set as Burnet sets it. The doubtful forms of the apparatus stand as printed, among them the lemma οἷς οἵων at 195a2 and a single point where a colon is wanted at 196e4; the mark after τοιόσδε. at 195a8 was shown to be a stray mark in printer’s ink, and the reader’s pencil on these pages was told apart from the print by its density. In the English, the participle “hearing this” belongs to the one who would not deny it, not to “we” (192e5); two particles were restored (194c1, 194e1); the quotation at 197b3 now takes in Zeus, whom Burnet spaces with the words that follow; θορυβεῖσθαι is “be thrown into confusion”, as in the *Lysis*; Love “does not come even within a long way” of old age (195b3); “the speech” renders τὸν λόγον, since “my” would follow the manuscripts’ μου, not the μοι Burnet prints; and Phaedrus “took him up”, as at 176d. Agathon’s paired words are now carried where English allows (“gracefulness” and “gracelessness”, “heedful” and “heedless”, “beheld” and “admired”, “generous” and “ungenerous”), and Necessity’s “kingship” answers Love’s being “king of the gods”. About twenty phrases that followed Lamb’s Loeb translation were reworded. In the notes, Agathon in the *Protagoras* sits with Pausanias beside Prodicus, and does not recline; the source of the words at 197b3 is said to be unknown, not a verse; the breaking up of Mantinea is cited from the whole of Xenophon’s account; and a new note explains Vahlen’s comma after “well” at 194a3, which makes Socrates foretell a good speech. In the Editorial Note, *fort.* is glossed in each of its uses, the phrase at 196c is given as Aristotle’s quotation of Alcidamas, the words Agathon quotes are no longer called lines of verse, Hermogenes is cited from his *On Types of Style*, *et* is glossed, and the key terms are placed by speaker.

### Block V: 198a–203a (Burnet pages 36–43)

**How it was made.** Burnet pages 36–43 (scan pp. 200–207), 234 lines, from the applause for Agathon and Socrates’ alarm at having to speak after him, through his questioning of Agathon, which ends in Agathon’s admission that he knew nothing of what he had said, to the first part of what Diotima of Mantinea taught Socrates: that Love is neither beautiful nor ugly, neither a god nor mortal, but a great daimon, between the two. The block ends inside her account of the daimonic, at 203a6. The Greek was set line for line from the photographs of Burnet’s page, with his apparatus, in which a papyrus from Oxyrhynchus is cited from 201a on, and the English written and annotated in the approved voice; independent reviewers then checked the Greek and the apparatus against the photographs letter by letter, the English against the Greek clause by clause, and every note and the extended Editorial Note against their sources.

**What the reviewers caught.** In the Greek, the form the draft printed as δυκεῖς at 198a8, and listed as a misprint, has the same broken ο, its thin top stroke not printed, as the lemma οὐκοῦν at 200d8, which the draft had read as ο without remark; both are now printed ο. The stroke over η in the papyrus’ εφη̄ at 201e8 was confirmed as a straight bar, the papyrus’ sign for a final ν, and not a circumflex; the rest of the text, the margins and the apparatus were confirmed letter by letter on all eight pages, with the capitals for the god’s name, the quotation marks at 199e2–4, the blank lines and the letterspacing of the words from Euripides. In the English, the last words of Socrates to Agathon now say that Socrates is not hard to contradict, as the dative requires, where the draft had said that Socrates finds it easy, reversing the joke (201c9); Agathon’s words recalled at 201a5 are again a statement (“there was no love”), as at 197b, not a hypothesis; the adverbial τὸ δέ at 198d7 is “But in fact”, so that page 36 no longer carries a word of page 37; “or” is restored at 200a9; “the way of the praise” (199a) now recalls Agathon’s “one right way of all praise” (195a); θεός at 203a1 is “a god”, not “God”; a marker was moved (198e1) and four small words restored (199c2, 199d6, 200b7, 201c7); and six phrases that followed Lamb’s Loeb translation were reworded. In the notes, Odysseus fears that the Gorgon head may be sent out of Hades, not that it may come upon him in Hades; Aristophanes parodies the line of Euripides at *Frogs* 101–102 and turns it against him only at 1471; the papyrus’ φίλε, “friend”, at 201c8 is now recorded in the note on “my loved Agathon”; the interpretation in the note on “Hush!” is labelled; and Eryximachus’ words on divination are placed at 188d. In the Editorial Note, the printer’s signature line is shown to recur every sixteenth page; Burnet’s second abbreviation of the Vienna manuscript, Vind. 21 (198b4), is explained; the quotation marks inside quotation marks at 200d are described; the forms of the papyrus are described more exactly; and the key terms now give “lack” for *endeēs* and *endeia*, and “divination” and “prophecy” for *mantikē* and *manteia*.

### Block VI: 203a–208d (Burnet pages 44–51)

**How it was made.** Burnet pages 44–51 (scan pp. 208–215), 230 lines, the middle of what Diotima taught Socrates: the birth of Love from Resource and Poverty at the feast for Aphrodite’s birth, and his nature as a lover of wisdom, between the wise and the ignorant; the argument that love is of the good’s being one’s own always; its work, giving birth in the beautiful, in body and in soul; a later lesson on why every creature loves its offspring, in which mortal nature shares in immortality by leaving something new in place of the old; and the love of honour. The block ends inside Diotima’s question about Alcestis, at 208d2. The Greek was set line for line from the photographs of Burnet’s page, with his apparatus, and the English written and annotated in the approved voice; independent reviewers then checked the Greek and the apparatus against the photographs letter by letter, the English against the Greek clause by clause, and every note and the extended Editorial Note against their sources.

**What the reviewers caught.** In the Greek, two breathings in the apparatus had been read the wrong way round: the manuscripts’ reading at 206b2 is ἢ σπουδῇ, “or earnestness”, with a smooth breathing, not a relative pronoun, and the papyrus’ marginal correction at 205b9 is ὧ, with a rough one; both were settled by setting them beside sure pairs from the same fount. The rest of the text, the margins and the apparatus were confirmed letter by letter on all eight pages, with the two phrases Burnet letterspaces as quotations, and Ἔρως at 204d3, whose breathing and accent did not print in this copy though their space is left. In the English, a “she said” that had fallen out was restored (204d8); Diotima’s question “do they seem so to you?” now fits Socrates’ answer “not to me” (206a1); her “welcome” answers Aristophanes in the word he used (205e, as 192a–b); “taken all together” replaces a second “in sum” and keeps Burnet’s lower-case love (206a11); “in what is beautiful” marks the bare dative at 206b7; the plural at 208a2 is “pieces of knowledge”, as elsewhere; a marker was moved (205e1), and small words restored (αὖ, τοι, γάρ, μέντοι, and a comparison’s “than these”); “account” now answers “account” at 205d–e; and three phrases that followed Lamb’s Loeb translation were reworded, with “exertion” for σύντασις. θαυμάζειν is now “marvel” throughout the volume, at 180b too. In the notes, Beauty takes the office of Moira and Eileithyia rather than standing beside them, and Pindar’s Fates are plural, with Eleutho named as a variant; *penēs* is of one family with *Penia*, not derived from it; Agathon’s use of *poiēsis* is described as it stands (196e–197a); and three new notes record readings the English depends on: “she said” (ἦ δ’ ἥ) against the manuscripts’ “already” (205c4), “everything divine” against “every god” (206d1), and “again” from a later hand in B (207c2). In the Editorial Note, Stobaeus’ citations are taken to 203a7, *corr.* is also glossed as the papyrus’ corrector, the bracket in αὑτῷ (αὐτῷ) is explained, and the papyrus’ ελεγεσ and its ὡμολογησαμεν with a breathing are described.

### Block VII: 208d–213e (Burnet pages 52–58)

**How it was made.** Burnet pages 52–58 (scan pp. 216–222), 199 lines, the end of what Diotima taught Socrates and the coming of Alcibiades: the love of honour concluded; those pregnant in body and those pregnant in soul, the poets and lawgivers whose children are immortal, and the lover who educates; the perfect rites and those of the beholding, the ascent from one beautiful body to all bodies, to souls, to ways of life and laws, to kinds of knowledge, and to the sudden sight of the beautiful itself; the close of Socrates’ speech; and, in Aristodemus’ reported narration again, the knock at the door, Alcibiades’ drunken arrival, his discovery of Socrates beside Agathon, Socrates’ plea for protection, and Alcibiades’ choice of himself as ruler of the drinking. The block ends inside his call for a cup, at 213e10. The Greek was set line for line from the photographs of Burnet’s page, with his apparatus, and the English written and annotated in the approved voice; independent reviewers then checked the Greek and the apparatus against the photographs letter by letter, the English against the Greek clause by clause, and every note and the extended Editorial Note against their sources.

**What the reviewers caught.** In the apparatus, three marks had been misread: B’s form at 209b3 is περὶ ὧν, with a circumflex and a rough breathing; B and T’s form at 211d3 is εἰδῇς, the subjunctive of “know”, with no acute on ι; and the letter written over an erasure in W at 211c7 is ῃ, with its iota subscript. The three asterisks of 213d2 had been lost in typesetting and are restored. In the text, ζώῳ at 211a8 has no iota subscript under its first ω on this page and is kept as printed, and the ο of τοῦ at 211c8, which a flaw makes look like σ, was measured against both letters and printed whole. The rest of the text, the margins, the blank line at 212c4 and the apparatus were confirmed letter by letter on all seven pages; the Stephanus numbers 210 and 212, solid on the masks, were read on full renderings. In the English, ἐρᾶν is again “be in love (with)” in three places where it had become “love” (208e1, 210a7, 210c1); a dropped “then” was restored twice (209a3, 213e8); διά with the accusative is “because of”, not “for the sake of” (209e3–4); Alcibiades’ “the day before yesterday” now matches Block I (213e4, as 175e); four Stephanus markers were moved to the first word of their section; the decent man of 210b8 is “fine”, since “decent” belongs to *chrēstos*; the followers of 212d7 are “followers”, as at 203c; *diaita* at 196a is now “living”, since “way of life” is kept for *epitēdeuma*; and ten phrases that followed Lamb’s Loeb translation were reworded, among them “on stated terms” (213a2) and Alcibiades’ “I choose as ruler of the drinking …, myself”, which keeps Burnet’s comma and order. In the notes, the symposiarch is described as Plutarch describes him, as the one who set each guest’s measure; Agathon’s festival is given its source in Athenaeus; Parmentier is named by surname only, as Burnet names him; the textual notes now name their witnesses; and two notes were added for readings the English depends on: the papyrus’ “to give birth to” against the manuscripts’ “to be pregnant with” (209a3), and Alcibiades’ question “Will you receive …?” against T and W’s command (212e4). In the Editorial Note, the entries printed under the key e 4 at 212e, the papyrus’ two forms printed with marks, and the forms of this block kept as printed or printed whole are described.

### Block VIII: 213e–219b (Burnet pages 59–65)

**How it was made.** Burnet pages 59–65 (scan pp. 223–229), 207 lines: Alcibiades’ great cup and his toast to Socrates; Eryximachus’ protest and the order of speeches; Alcibiades’ refusal to praise anyone but Socrates; and, after Burnet’s blank line, the first part of his speech in praise of Socrates: the likenesses of the silenus statues and the satyr Marsyas, the power of Socrates’ words over him, his shame, the golden statues inside, his attempts on Socrates at the gymnasium and at dinner, the night he kept him, and Socrates’ ironic answer to his offer. The block ends at 219b2 with Socrates’ “we shall deliberate”. The Greek was set line for line from the photographs of Burnet’s page, with his apparatus, and the English written and annotated in the approved voice; independent reviewers then checked the Greek and the apparatus against the photographs letter by letter, the English against the Greek clause by clause, and every note and the extended Editorial Note against their sources.

**What the reviewers caught.** In the apparatus, the lemma at 217b6 is ἄν with an acute, like the text’s ἄν before μοι, not ἂν. The rest of the text, the margins, the verse line at 214b7 with its indent, the blank line at 215a4, the quotation marks and letterspacing of “χρύσεα χαλκείων” (219a1) and the apparatus were confirmed letter by letter on all seven pages; ᾄδομεν at 214b1 has a smooth breathing on the page, against the transcription, and the second siglum at 214b6 is a clear T, kept as printed. In the English, ἡγεῖσθαι is again “believe” in three places where it had become “think”; ἔμβραχυ, Cobet’s reading, is “at all”, not the manuscripts’ “in short”, and κελεύειν keeps “tell” (217a2); νέου is “of a young man”, not “young” with the soul (218a6); four particles were restored (215a5, 216c2, 217a6, 217c3); κοινωνεῖν is “be partners in”, with the adjective “wisdom-loving” (218b3–4); Socrates’ λόγοι stay “speeches” (218a5); διατίθεσθαι is “be disposed” (215e7); Socrates’ “Hush!” repeats Diotima’s (201e10); the page join at 215b4–5 now keeps γε on its own page; six Stephanus markers were moved; and eleven phrases that followed Lamb’s Loeb translation were reworded, among them “when the lamp had gone out” and “stirring him” (218b–c). In the notes, Xenophon’s Socrates does not call himself uglier than a silenus but claims that the Naiads bear sileni like him (*Symposium* 5.7; Critobulus at 4.19); Herodotus reports Marsyas’ skin at Celaenae without saying he saw it (7.26.3), and the contest is given its source in Apollodorus; Idomeneus’ line is spoken to Nestor about the wounded Machaon; the note on Burnet’s “we had dined” says that the first person is Photius’; the Corybants, Pericles’ joint guardianship with Ariphron, the two passages on the Sirens, the two proverbs of wine and truth (*Suda* ο 134; Alcaeus fr. 366) and the Orphic formula of the profane (fr. 1a–b Bernabé, with the Derveni papyrus) are given as their sources give them; and a note was added on Burnet’s own ἐπαινέσαι (214e5). In the Editorial Note, the conversation Alcibiades reports is described as set in single marks, and *eirōnikōs* is added to the key terms.

### Block IX: 219b–223d (Burnet pages 66–72)

**How it was made.** Burnet pages 66–72 (scan pp. 230–236), 180 lines, the end of the dialogue: the rest of Alcibiades’ speech, from the night under Socrates’ cloak, through Socrates on campaign at Potidaea, enduring hunger, drink and winter and standing in thought from dawn to dawn, his rescue of Alcibiades and the retreat from Delium, to the likeness of his speeches to the sileni that open and the warning to Agathon; and, after Burnet’s blank line, the narration again: Socrates’ reply, the quarrel over the places on the couch, the revellers, Aristodemus’ sleep and waking, Socrates’ argument with Agathon and Aristophanes about comedy and tragedy, and his going to the Lyceum. The Greek was set line for line from the photographs of Burnet’s page, with his apparatus, and the English written and annotated in the approved voice; independent reviewers then checked the Greek and the apparatus against the photographs letter by letter, the English against the Greek clause by clause, and every note and the extended Editorial Note against their sources.

**What the reviewers caught.** In the apparatus, the reading of W and the papyrus at 220c2 is τοδ’ without an accent, which the draft had taken over from the verse above (kept as printed), and T’s reading at 223b8 is ἕαδε, with an acute beside the breathing; the short line before the verse at 220c1 is now set short, as Burnet sets it. The rest of the text, the margins, the verse at 220c2 with its indent, the letterspacing at 221b3–4, the blank line at 222c1, the two supplements and the apparatus were confirmed letter by letter on all seven pages. In the English, the participle “cut off” and the “toils” of πόνοι were restored (219e7–9); σῴζειν keeps “keep safe” (220d8); ὡς ἀληθῶς keeps “in truth” (219b7); χρήμασι and σιδήρῳ are “by money” and “by iron” (219e1–2); μετὰ Σωκράτους goes with the sleeping, not with the getting up (219c7–d1); αὖ, γε, δή, ἀλλά, μᾶλλον and καί were restored in ten places; καὶ μέντοι is “and what is more” (222a8); λόγος at 223a8 is Socrates’ “argument”; two Stephanus markers were moved (222a1, 222d1); and the phrases that followed Lamb’s Loeb translation were reworded, among them “let fly” (219b3) and “until dawn came” (220d4). In the notes, the order of praise at 222e is worked out from the Greek (Agathon, lying below Socrates, would be the next he praised); the Lenaea are given from Athenaeus, since the *Symposium* does not name the festival; the battle of the prize is “probably” the one before Potidaea, since Isocrates puts it in Phormio’s later campaign (16.29), and Plutarch’s chapter is 7.3–4; Laches is named as general at Thucydides 5.61.1; the word at 220a6 is *karterēsis*, not *karteria*; the satyr play is the City Dionysia’s; and the *Republic* is cited for what it says (395a). In the Editorial Note, Aristides is identified as Aelius Aristides, who quotes the retreat from Delium in his speech *To Plato: In Defence of Oratory*; the papyrus’ accented readings at 220a4 and 220c7 and its supplied letters at 219c5 and 219d7 are described; and Vind. 21 is listed at all three of its places.