Symposium.
Socrates, Eryximachus.
568 The turn of Socrates. Sym- Acumenns, was there not reason in my fears ? and was I not posiuin. ^ ^j.^^ prophet when I said that Agathon would make a won- SocRATEs, derful oration, and that I should be in a strait? cHus. The part of the prophecy which concerns Agathon, replied Eryximachus, appears to me to be true ; but not the other part — that you will be in a strait. Socrates Why, my dear friend, said Socrates, must not I or any cuse him-" "-"^^ '"'^ '"^ ^ Strait who has to speak after he has heard such a self from rich and varied discourse? I am especially struck with the on'^^iie"^ beauty of the concluding words — who could listen to them ground that without amazement ? When I reflected on the immeasurable e never inferiority of mv own powers, I" was ready to run away for understood _■' •' "^ ... , the nature shame, if there had been a possibility of escape. For I was of the com- reminded of Gorgias, and at the end of his speech I fancied They have that Agathon was shaking at me the Gorginian or Gorgonian attributed head of the great master of rhetoric, which was simply to imaginary ^'^v:vi me and my speech into stone, as Homer says and strike greatness me dumb. And then I perceived how foolish I had been in ness^'biit" Consenting to take my turn with you in praising love, and he can only saying that I too was a master of the art, when I really had praise truly. ^^ conception how anything ought to be praised. For in my simplicity I imagined that the topics of praise should be true, and that this being presupposed, out of the true the speaker was to choose the best and set them forth in the best manner. And I felt quite proud, thinking that I knew the nature of true praise, and should speak well. Whereas I now see that the intention was to attribute to Love every species of greatness and glory, whether really belonging to him or not, without regard to truth or falsehood — that was no matter ; for the original proposal seems to have been not that each of you should really praise Love, but only that you should appear to praise him. And so you attribute to Love every imaginable form of praise which can be gathered any- where ; and you say that 'he is all this,' and 'the cause of all that,' making him appear the fairest and best of all to those 199 who know him not, for you cannot impose upon those who know him. And a noble and solemn hymn of praise have you rehearsed. But as I misunderstood the nature of the praise when I said that I would take my turn, I must beg to ' Odyssey, K. 632.
