For the beloved is the truly beautiful, and delicate, and
perfect, and blessed; but the principle of love is of another nature, and
is such as I have described.'
I said, 'O thou stranger woman, thou sayest well; but, assuming Love to be
such as you say, what is the use of him to men?' 'That, Socrates,' she
replied, 'I will attempt to unfold: of his nature and birth I have already
spoken; and you acknowledge that love is of the beautiful. But some one
will say: Of the beautiful in what, Socrates and Diotima?--or rather let
me put the question more clearly, and ask: When a man loves the beautiful,
what does he desire?' I answered her 'That the beautiful may be his.'
'Still,' she said, 'the answer suggests a further question: What is given
by the possession of beauty?' 'To what you have asked,' I replied, 'I have
no answer ready.' 'Then,' she said, 'let me put the word "good" in the
place of the beautiful, and repeat the question once more: If he who loves
loves the good, what is it then that he loves?' 'The possession of the
good,' I said.
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