From the book
Lysis
Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordAgapaō means cherish; prize; set store by.
- In LysisAt 214e–215b2, the argument passes from a lack of benefit or need to a lack of cherishing, and from not cherishing to not loving.
- Reading contextThe related adverb ἀγαπητῶς qualifies Socrates’ possession of his apparent argumentative quarry at 218c, rendered “if only just” in the edition.
- A place to readThe Greek example means “One who needs nothing would not cherish anything either.”
- English renderings
- Cherish; prize; set store by
Meaning
Cherish; prize; set store by.
Grammatical category: verb.
Use in the book
At 214e–215b2, the argument passes from a lack of benefit or need to a lack of cherishing, and from not cherishing to not loving. This verb supplies an evaluative step: the other matters to the person who loves. It is not a separate technical species of love opposed to friendship or erotic love.
The person who does not know is said to cherish and love the knower (215d); later, cherishing the good because of the bad is reconsidered (220d). The related adverb ἀγαπητῶς qualifies Socrates’ possession of his apparent argumentative quarry at 218c, rendered “if only just” in the edition.