Plato: The Symposium (Cambridge Texts in the History of Philosophy) by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 2008-04-24T04:00:00+00:00

‘And the same to you. But what should we do?’

‘Whatever you say, and we must obey you. For “one learned leech is worth an army of laymen”.204 Therefore prescribe as you please’.

‘All right, then’, said Eryximachus. ‘Listen and I will tell you. Before you arrived we had decided that each of us should make as fine a speech as possible in praise of Love, going from left to right in turn[214c]. Since all the rest of us have spoken while you, on the other hand, have drunk all your wine but not yet spoken, you are entitled to speak, and afterwards you can give Socrates any instruction you like. He can do the same to the man on his right, and so on’.

‘That is all very well, Eryximachus’, said Alcibiades, ‘but for a drunken man to be in competition with the speeches of the sober is scarcely fair. And another thing, my[214d] dear friend: do you really believe what Socrates said just now? Do you realise that the truth is entirely the opposite of what he was saying? He is the one who starts hitting me if I try to praise anyone else, god or man, in his presence’.

‘Watch what you say!’ said Socrates.

‘By Poseidon!’ exclaimed Alcibiades, ‘You cannot deny that! I would never praise anyone else in your presence’.

‘In that case’, said Eryximachus, ‘go ahead if you want to, and praise Socrates’.

[214e] ‘What’s that?’ said Alcibiades. ‘Do you think I should, Eryximachus? Can I really take on this man and get my revenge in front of you all?’

‘Here, you, wait a bit!’ cried Socrates. ‘What do you have in mind? Will you praise me just for everyone’s amusement, or what?’

‘I shall speak the truth. Are you going to let me?’

‘If it is the truth I will certainly let you. In fact I insist on it’.

‘I will start at once’, said Alcibiades. ‘However, you must do this for me. If I say anything that is not true, please interrupt and tell me that I am mistaken, because I certainly do not intend to say what is untrue. [215a]On the other hand don’t be surprised if I get events mixed up when I try to remember them. It’s not all that easy for someone in my condition to list the particulars of your unusual nature fluently and in the right order.

‘The method of praising Socrates that I shall adopt, gentlemen, is to make comparisons. My subject here will perhaps think I am doing this for amusement but my comparisons will be for the sake of truth, not just to amuse. It is my contention that he is very like those sileni205 that you find in[215b] statuaries’ workshops which the craftsmen make holding pipes or auloi, and when you open them up you see that they contain small statues of the gods inside. I say also that he is like the satyr Marsyas in particular. Not even you, Socrates, could dispute the fact that you are like these creatures in appearance, and now you are going to hear how you are like them in other ways too.

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