Symposium

Name: Symposium
Author: Plato

Ancient Greek with an independent English translation.

SymposiumSymposium · 183e–184c

Swipe or use the arrow keys.

Ancient Greek Page · Branch 20 of 88

Symposium · 183e–184c

Book Mode

Ancient Greek

p. 34

183eδημος, ὁ τοῦ σώματος μᾶλλον ἢ τῆς ψυχῆς ἐρῶν· καὶ γὰρ οὐδὲ μόνιμός ἐστιν, ἅτε οὐδὲ μονίμου ἐρῶν πράγματος. ἅμα γὰρ τῷ τοῦ σώματος ἄνθει λήγοντι, οὗπερ ἤρα, “οἴχεται ἀποπτάμενος,” πολλοὺς λόγους καὶ ὑποσχέσεις καταισχύνας· ὁ δὲ τοῦ ἤθους χρηστοῦ ὄντος ἐραστὴς διὰ βίου μένει, ἅτε μονίμῳ συντακείς. τούτους δὴ βούλεται ὁ 184a ἡμέτερος νόμος εὖ καὶ καλῶς βασανίζειν, καὶ τοῖς μὲν 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 ἁλίσκεσθαι ταχὺ αἰσχρὸν νενόμισται, ἵνα χρόνος ἐγγένηται, ὃς δὴ δοκεῖ τὰ πολλὰ καλῶς βασανίζειν, ἔπειτα τὸ ὑπὸ χρημάτων καὶ ὑπὸ πολιτικῶν δυνάμεων ἁλῶναι αἰσχρόν, 184b ἐάν τε κακῶς πάσχων πτήξῃ καὶ μὴ καρτερήσῃ, ἄν τ’ εὐεργετούμενος εἰς χρήματα ἢ εἰς διαπράξεις πολιτικὰς μὴ καταφρονήσῃ· οὐδὲν γὰρ δοκεῖ τούτων οὔτε βέβαιον οὔτε μόνιμον εἶναι, χωρὶς τοῦ μηδὲ πεφυκέναι ἀπ’ αὐτῶν γενναίαν φιλίαν. μία δὴ λείπεται τῷ ἡμετέρῳ νόμῳ ὁδός, εἰ μέλλει καλῶς χαριεῖσθαι ἐραστῇ παιδικά. ἔστι γὰρ ἡμῖν νόμος, ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τοῖς ἐρασταῖς ἦν δουλεύειν ἐθέλοντα 184c ἡντινοῦν δουλείαν παιδικοῖς μὴ κολακείαν εἶναι μηδὲ ἐπονείδιστον, 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

183e 1.Source editor’s annotationἢ τῆς ψυχῆς ἐρῶν B: ἐρῶν ἢ τῆς ψυχῆς T W

183e 2.Source editor’s annotationἅτε οὐδὲ T W: ἅτε οὐ B

184a 1.Source editor’s annotationκαὶ . . . διαφεύγειν secl. Badham

184a 5.Source editor’s annotationδὴ B T: δὴ καὶ W

184b 1.Source editor’s annotationἄν τ’ εὐεργετούμενος B W: ἀντευεργετούμενος T

184b 2.Source editor’s annotationεἰς χρήματα . . . πολιτικὰς secl. Hirschig

184b 6.Source editor’s annotationἔστι . . . νόμος om. Schanz auctore Vermehren

184b 7.Source editor’s annotationὥσπερ T W: ὅσπερ B Stobaeus: ὥσπερ γὰρ Vermehren Schanz

184b 7.Source editor’s annotationἐθέλοντα B T W: ἐθέλοντας vel ἐθελοντὰς Stobaeus

184c 2.Source editor’s annotationμία 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

184c 4.Source editor’s annotationτις ἐθέλῃ τινὰ B T W: τίς τινα θέλῃ Stobaeus

184c 5.Source editor’s annotationἐκεῖνον T W Stobaeus: ἐκεῖνο B

Symposium

p. 35

one, 183e 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,’¹ 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 184a 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, 184b 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 184c 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

About This Reading Edition

The complete Symposium, 172a–223d: at Agathon’s banquet the guests praise Love, Socrates recounts Diotima’s teaching, and Alcibiades praises Socrates. Burnet’s Greek faces a new Diotimos Editions English translation, with an introduction, key words, outline, glossary, critical apparatus, and linked translator notes.

Historical Text and Translation

Greek: Plato, Symposium, in John Burnet, Platonis Opera, volume II (Oxford, 1901; second edition, 1910), in a later impression printed by John Johnson and issued by Humphrey Milford no earlier than January 1935, as described by the supplied edition. Its Greek was taken from the Perseus Digital Library transcription and checked against photographs of that impression; Burnet’s readings and critical apparatus are retained. The digital Greek transcription and its modifications are attributed to the Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University, under CC BY-SA 4.0. English translation and editorial matter: Diotimos Editions, 2026.

About Diotimos Editions

This historical edition credits Diotimos Editions as its English translator.

Rights

The ancient Greek work and Burnet’s printed edition are in the public domain. The Perseus digital Greek transcription and its modifications are reused under CC BY-SA 4.0, as verified from the official Perseus repository license. The supplied edition reports checking its transcription against Burnet’s printed pages. The new English translation and editorial matter are credited to Diotimos Editions, 2026; no open license for those new contributions is stated in the supplied files.