From the book
Symposium
Plato · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordThe opposition describes an attitude or mode of performance, not an infallible test for the truth of what is said.
- In the SymposiumPhaedrus complains that much earnest effort has been spent praising trivial subjects while Love is neglected.
- In this editionPaidia, “play”, should not be confused with paideia, “education”, despite their visible resemblance.
- A place to readThe disproportion of serious effort and its subjects.
Meaning
The opposition describes an attitude or mode of performance, not an infallible test for the truth of what is said.
Use in the book
Phaedrus complains that much earnest effort has been spent praising trivial subjects while Love is neglected. Pausanias uses the same earnestness vocabulary for the investments of lovers, which may be misdirected. Agathon closes by acknowledging both play and measured earnestness in his offering. This self-description discourages treating every flourish as a solemn proposition, but does not make the speech irrelevant to the inquiry. Alcibiades later contrasts Socrates’ habitual play with the extraordinary things he has seen when Socrates becomes serious.
Places to read
Translation in this edition
Paidia, “play”, should not be confused with paideia, “education”, despite their visible resemblance. The edition renders spoudē according to context with earnestness or serious concern, not automatically as philosophical rigor.
παιδιά (paidia)
paidia — Play or playfulness, which may coexist with a measured serious purpose.
- 197e — παιδιᾶς. Agathon says his speech shares partly in play.
Read: Play and earnestness.
σπουδή (spoudē)
spoudē — Earnestness, serious effort or committed concern; it does not mean truth or correctness merely by itself.
- 177c — πολλὴν σπουδὴν. Effort lavished on trivial subjects intensifies Phaedrus’ complaint.
- 197e — σπουδῆς μετρίας. Agathon claims measured earnestness alongside play.
Read: Play and earnestness.