From the book
Lysis
Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordExagriainō means make wild, alienate, provoke an unsociable response.
- In LysisThe infinitive is opposed directly to κηλεῖν.
- Reading contextThe practical point is that the lover makes his beloved less approachable through the very performance intended to attract him.
- A place to readThe Greek example means “not to charm but to make wild.”
- English renderings
- Make wild, alienate, provoke an unsociable response
Meaning
Make wild, alienate, provoke an unsociable response.
Grammatical category: verb.
Use in the book
The infinitive is opposed directly to κηλεῖν. A lover’s speeches and songs ought to captivate their hearer; if instead they make him wild, they display a serious lack of musical or cultural skill.
Its force continues the hunting image, in which the pursuer scares away his own quarry. “Anger” may capture part of the effect but narrows the image too much. The practical point is that the lover makes his beloved less approachable through the very performance intended to attract him.
Places to read
- 206bμὴ κηλεῖν ἀλλ’ ἐξαγριαίνειν — not to charm but to make wild.