Plato
The Symposium

PERSONS OF THE DIALOGUE:

APOLLODORUS, who repeats to his companion
the dialogue which he had heard from Aristodemus,
and had already once narrated to Glaucon;
PHAEDRUS; PAUSANIAS; ERYXIMACHUS; ARISTOPHANES; AGATHON; SOCRATES;
ALCIBIADES; A TROOP OF REVELLERS.

Scene: The House of Agathon.

Concerning the things about which you ask to be informed I believe that I am not ill-prepared with an answer. For the day before yesterday I was coming from my own home at Phalerum to the city, and one of my acquaintance, who had caught a sight of me from behind, hind, out playfully in the distance, said: “Apollodorus, O thou Phalerian man, halt!” So I did as I was bid; and then he said, “I was looking for you, Apollodorus, only just now, that I might ask you about the speeches in praise of love, which were delivered by Socrates, Alcibiades, and others, at Agathon’s supper. Phoenix, the son of Philip, told another person who told me of them; his narrative was very indistinct, but he said that you knew, and I wish that you would give me an account of them. Who, if not you, should be the reporter of the words of your friend? And first tell me, he said, were you present at this meeting?”

“Your informant, Glaucon,” I said, “must have been very indistinct indeed, if you imagine that the occasion was recent; or that I could have been of the party.”

“Why, yes,” he replied, “I thought so.”

“Impossible,” I said. “Are you ignorant that for many years Agathon has not resided at Athens; and not three have elapsed since I became acquainted with Socrates, and have made it my daily business to know all that he says and does. There was a time when I was running about the world, fancying myself to be well employed, but I was really a most wretched thing, no better than you are now. I thought that I ought to do anything rather than be a philosopher.”

“Well,” he said, “jesting apart, tell me when the meeting occurred.”

“In our boyhood,” I replied, “when Agathon won the prize with his first tragedy, on the day after that on which he and his chorus offered the sacrifice of victory.”

“Then it must have been a long while ago,” he said; “and who told you – did Socrates?”

“No indeed,” I replied, “but the same person who told Phoenix – he was a little fellow, who never wore any shoes – Aristodemus, of the deme of Cydathenaeum. He had been at Agathon’s feast; and I think that in those days there was no one who was a more devoted admirer of Socrates. Moreover, I have asked Socrates about the truth of some parts of his narrative, and he confirmed them.” “Then,” said Glaucon, “let us have the tale over again; is not the road to Athens just made for conversation?” And so we walked, and talked of the discourses on love; and therefore, as I said at first, I am not ill-prepared to comply with your request, and will have another rehearsal of them if you like. For to speak or to hear others speak of philosophy always gives me the greatest pleasure, to say nothing of the profit. But when I hear another strain, especially that of you rich men and traders, such conversation displeases me; and I pity you who are my companions, because you think that you are doing something when in reality you are doing nothing. And I dare say that you pity me in return, whom you regard as an unhappy creature, and very probably you are right. But I certainly know of you what you only think of me – there is the difference.

Companion. I see, Apollodorus, that you are just the same – always speaking evil of yourself, and of others; and I do believe that you pity all mankind, with the exception of Socrates, yourself first of all, true in this to your old name, which, however deserved I know how you acquired, of Apollodorus the madman; for you are always raging against yourself and everybody but Socrates.

Apollodorus. Yes, friend, and the reason why I am said to be mad, and out of my wits, is just because I have these notions of myself and you; no other evidence is required.

Com. No more of that, Apollodorus; but let me renew my request that you would repeat the conversation.

Apoll. Well, the tale of love was on this wise – But perhaps I had better begin at the beginning, and endeavour to give you the exact words of Aristodemus:

He said that he met Socrates fresh from the bath and sandalled; and as the sight of the sandals was unusual, he asked him whither he was going that he had been converted into such a beau.

“To a banquet at Agathon’s,” he replied, “whose invitation to his sacrifice of victory I refused yesterday, fearing a crowd, but promising that I would come to-day instead; and so I have put on my finery, because he is such a fine man. What say you to going with me unasked?”

“I will do as you bid me,” I replied.

“Follow then,” he said, “and let us demolish the proverb: ‘To the feasts of inferior men the good unbidden go’ instead of which our proverb will run: ‘To the feasts of the good the good unbidden go,’ and this alteration may be supported by the authority of Homer himself, who not only demolishes but literally outrages the proverb. For, after picturing Agamemnon as the most valiant of men, he makes Menelaus, who is but a fainthearted warrior, come unbidden to the banquet of Agamemnon, who is feasting and offering sacrifices, not the better to the worse, but the worse to the better.”

“I rather fear, Socrates,” said Aristodemus, “lest this may still be my case; and that, like Menelaus in Homer, I shall be the inferior person, who ‘To the leasts of the wise unbidden goes.’ But I shall say that I was bidden of you, and then you will have to make an excuse.”

“Two going together,” he replied, in Homeric fashion, “one or other of them may invent an excuse by the way.”

This was the style of their conversation as they went along. Socrates dropped behind in a fit of abstraction, and desired Aristodemus, who was waiting, to go on before him. When he reached the house of Agathon he found the doors wide open, and a comical thing happened. A servant coming out met him, and led him at once into the banqueting-hall in which the guests were reclining, for the banquet was about to begin. “Welcome, Aristodemus,” said Agathon, as soon as he appeared – “you are just in time to sup with us; if you come on any other matter put it off, and make one of us, as I was looking for you yesterday and meant to have asked you, if I could have found you. But what have you done with Socrates? ”

I turned round, but Socrates was nowhere to be seen; and I had to explain that he had been with me a moment before, and that I came by his invitation to the supper.

“You were quite right in coming,” said Agathon, “but where is he himself?”

“He was behind me just now, as I entered,” he said, “and I cannot think what has become of him.”

“Go and look for him, boy,” said Agathon, “and bring him in; and do you, Aristodemus, meanwhile take the place by Eryximachus.”

The servant then assisted him to wash, and he lay down, and presently another servant came in and reported that our friend Socrates had retired into the portico of the neighbouring house. “There he is fixed,” said he, “and when I call to him he will not stir.”

“How strange,” said Agathon. “Then you must call him again, and keep calling him.”

“Let him alone,” said my informant; “he has a way of stopping anywhere and losing himself without any reason. I believe that he will soon appear; do not therefore disturb him.”

“Well, if you think so, I will leave him,” said Agathon. And then, turning to the servants, he added, “Let us have supper without waiting for him. Serve up whatever you please, for there; is no one to give you orders; hitherto I have never left you to yourselves. But on this occasion imagine that you art our hosts, and that I and the company are your guests; treat us well, and then we shall commend you.” After this, supper was served, but still no Socrates; and during the meal Agathon several times expressed a wish to send for him, but Aristodemus objected; and at last when the feast was about half over – for the fit, as usual, was not of long duration – Socrates entered; Agathon, who was reclining alone at the end of the table, begged that he would take the place next to him; that “I may touch you,” he said, “and have the benefit of that wise thought which came into your mind in the portico, and is now in your possession; for I am certain that you would not have come away until you had found what you sought.”

“How I wish,” said Socrates, taking his place as he was desired, “that wisdom could be infused by touch, out of the fuller the emptier man, as water runs through wool out of a fuller cup into an emptier one; if that were so, how greatly should I value the privilege of reclining at your side! For you would have filled me full with a stream of wisdom plenteous and fair; whereas my own is of a very mean and questionable sort, no better than a dream. But yours is bright and full of promise, and was manifested forth in all the splendour of youth the day before yesterday, in the presence of more than thirty thousand Hellenes.”

“You are mocking, Socrates,” said Agathon, “and ere long you and I will have to determine who bears off the palm of wisdom – of this Dionysus shall be the judge; but at present you are better occupied with supper.”

Socrates took his place on the couch, and supped with the rest; and then libations were offered, and after a hymn had been sung to the god, and there had been the usual ceremonies, they were about to commence drinking, when Pausanias said, “And now, my friends, how can we drink with least injury to ourselves? I can assure you that I feel severely the effect of yesterday’s potations, and must have time to recover; and I suspect that most of you are in the same predicament, for you were of the party yesterday. Consider then: How can the drinking be made easiest?”

“I entirely agree,” said Aristophanes, “that we should, by all means, avoid hard drinking, for I was myself one of those who were yesterday drowned in drink.”

“I think that you are right,” said Eryximachus, “the son of Acumenus; but I should still like to hear one other person speak: Is Agathon able to drink hard?”

“I am not equal to it,” said Agathon.

“Then,” said Eryximachus, “the weak heads like myself, Aristodemus, Phaedrus, and others who never can drink, are fortunate in finding that the stronger ones are not in a drinking mood. (I do not include Socrates, who is able either to drink or to abstain, and will not mind, whichever we do.) Well, as of none of the company seem disposed to drink much, I may be forgiven for saying, as a physician, that drinking deep is a bad practice, which I never follow, if I can help, and certainly do not recommend to another, least of all to any one who still feels the effects of yesterday’s carouse.”

“I always do what you advise, and especially what you prescribe as a physician,” rejoined Phaedrus the Myrrhinusian, “and the rest of the company, if they are wise, will do the same.”

It was agreed that drinking was not to be the order of the day, but that they were all to drink only so much as they pleased.

“Then,” said Eryximachus, “as you are all agreed that drinking is to be voluntary, and that there is to be no compulsion, I move, in the next place, that the flute-girl, who has just made her appearance, be told to go away and play to herself, or, if she likes, to the women who are within. To-day let us have conversation instead; and, if you will allow me, I will tell you what sort of conversation.” This proposal having been accepted, Eryximachus proceeded as follows:

“I will begin,” he said, “after the manner of Melanippe in Euripides – ‘Not mine the word’ which I am about to speak, but that of Phaedrus. For often he says to me in an indignant tone: ‘What a strange thing it is, Eryximachus, that, whereas other gods have poems and hymns made in their honour, the great and glorious god, Love, has no encomiast among all the poets who are so many. There are the worthy sophists too – the excellent Prodicus for example, who have descanted in prose on the virtues of Heracles and other heroes; and, what is still more extraordinary, I have met with a philosophical work in which the utility of salt has been made the theme of an eloquent discourse; and many other like things have had a like honour bestowed upon them. And only to think that there should have been an eager interest created about them, and yet that to this day no one has ever dared worthily to hymn Love’s praises! So entirely has this great deity been neglected.’ Now in this Phaedrus seems to me to be quite right, and therefore I want to offer him a contribution; also I think that at the present moment we who are here assembled cannot do better than honour the god Love. If you agree with me, there will be no lack of conversation; for I mean to propose that each of us in turn, going from left to right, shall make a speech in honour of Love. Let him give us the best which he can; and Phaedrus, because he is sitting first on the left hand, and because he is the father of the thought, shall begin.”

“No one will vote against you, Eryximachus,” said Socrates. “How can I oppose your motion, who profess to understand nothing but matters of love; nor, I presume, will Agathon and Pausanias; and there can be no doubt of Aristophanes, whose whole concern is with Dionysus and Aphrodite; nor will any one disagree of those whom I, see around me. The proposal, as I am aware, may seem rather hard upon us whose place is last; but we shall be contented if we hear some good speeches first. Let Phaedrus begin the praise of Love, and good luck to him.” All the company expressed their assent, and desired him to do as Socrates bade him.

Aristodemus did not recollect all that was said, nor do I recollect all that he related to me; but I will tell you what I thought most worthy of remembrance, and what the chief speakers said.