Nor when love
is of this disinterested sort is there any disgrace in being deceived, but
in every other case there is equal disgrace in being or not being deceived.
For he who is gracious to his lover under the impression that he is rich,
and is disappointed of his gains because he turns out to be poor, is
disgraced all the same: for he has done his best to show that he would
give himself up to any one's 'uses base' for the sake of money; but this is
not honourable. And on the same principle he who gives himself to a lover
because he is a good man, and in the hope that he will be improved by his
company, shows himself to be virtuous, even though the object of his
affection turn out to be a villain, and to have no virtue; and if he is
deceived he has committed a noble error. For he has proved that for his
part he will do anything for anybody with a view to virtue and improvement,
than which there can be nothing nobler. Thus noble in every case is the
acceptance of another for the sake of virtue. This is that love which is
the love of the heavenly godess, and is heavenly, and of great price to
individuals and cities, making the lover and the beloved alike eager in the
work of their own improvement.
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