From the book
Symposium
Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordThe active deceiver and the deceived person must remain distinct.
- In the SymposiumPausanias constructs parallel failures.
- In this editionThe edition retains the startling “the deception is beautiful”.
- A place to readThe two parallel cases and their different moral verdicts.
Meaning
The active deceiver and the deceived person must remain distinct. The unusual positive judgment concerns what the mistake reveals about the latter’s purpose.
Use in the book
Pausanias constructs parallel failures. Someone who gratifies a supposedly rich lover for money remains shameful when no money arrives, because the mercenary intention was already displayed. Someone who gratifies a supposedly good lover to become better is not shamed when the lover proves bad, because the intention was virtue. The conclusion does not endorse the educator’s deception or claim that being deceived actually improves the learner.
Places to read
- 184e–185bThe two parallel cases and their different moral verdicts.
Translation in this edition
The edition retains the startling “the deception is beautiful”. The preceding reasoning is needed to prevent this phrase from becoming an unrestricted commendation of deception.
ἀπάτη (apatē)
apatē — Deception: in Pausanias’ exceptional case the deceived person’s mistake may reveal a beautiful intention without making the deceiver good.
- 185b — καλὴ ἡ ἀπάτη. The deception is called beautiful because the youth sought virtue.
Read: Deception and intention.
ἐξαπατάω (exapataō)
exapataō — To deceive thoroughly; the passive marks the person whose expectation proves false.
- 185a — ἐξαπατηθείη. The apparent rich lover is discovered to be poor.
- 185a–b — ἐξαπατηθείη. The apparent good educator is discovered to lack virtue.
Read: Deception and intention.