Platonic Love

Elisa Cuttjohn, SRC

ne of the most influential aspects of sex, and sublimation of basic human instincts. Neoplatonism on Western culture was After the other speakers introduce their theories OMarsilio Ficino’s doctrine of Platonic about love, Socrates then shares what he learned love.1 Richard Hooker, Ph.D. writes, on this subject from a woman philosopher — While Renaissance artists, thinkers, and Diotima of Mantinea, who initiated him not other cultural producers only picked only into the mysteries of love when he was up Neoplatonism in part, the doctrine young; she also taught him about Wisdom, of Platonic love diffused quickly all Beauty, and the Good. The “seer” Diotima, throughout the culture. It significantly an Arcadian priestess, represents the “mystical changed the European experience of element in Platonism, and her discourse is a 4 sexual love which, since antiquity, had blend of allegory, philosophy, and myth.” always been closely related to erotics and As we progress in our lives, Diotima told physical attraction. Suddenly writers, Socrates, we grow in our conception of artists, poets, philosophers, and women’s love. First we are stirred by the beauty of communities began discussing sexual the young body. Then we begin to see love in terms of spiritual bonds, as the beauty in all bodies. At this point we reflecting the relationship between the look to the beauty of the soul. As man individuals and God. 2 [a person] is able to identify the beauty Continuing to today, the concept of in all souls, he soon appreciates the Platonic love is widely understood as: beauty in the laws, and the structure of all things. Lastly we discover the beauty 1. love of the Idea of beauty, seen as of the forms, the divine ideas. Love is terminating an evolution from the important for it starts and continues us desire for an individual and the love on our path.5 of physical beauty to the love and James Lesher, Ph.D., writes that the story contemplation of spiritual or ideal that Diotima told concerned: beauty. nothing less than the means by which 2. an intimate companionship or a mortal being can achieve union with relationship, especially between a perfect, eternal, and divine being... two persons of the opposite gender, For many later writers, especially those that is characterized by the absence engaged in defining Christian doctrine of sexual involvement; a spiritual during its formative period, Socrates’ 3 affection. speech provided a framework for The origin of the concept of Platonic love understanding a truth of the utmost comes from Plato’s Symposium, a dialogue set importance—that love is not simply an in an all-night banquet where the partygoers aspect of human life but the means by decide to discuss the concept of Love (Eros). which mortal beings can ascend from The conversation produces a series of reflections the physical realm to become united by the all-male participants on gender roles, with God.6 Page 43 Professor Lesher continues: Love is also a philosopher: or lover of What seems to be the main conclusion is wisdom, and being a lover of wisdom a view that Plato will consider important is in a mean between the wise and the enough to return to again and again in ignorant. And of this too his birth is the other dialogues: the best and most fully cause; for his [Eros’s] father is wealthy appropriate object of human desire is and wise, and his mother poor and philosophia, i.e. a life devoted to the foolish. Such, my dear Socrates, is the contemplation of a set of eternal, perfect, nature of the spirit Love. The error in and unchanging realities.7 your conception of him was very natural, and as I imagine from what you say, has Below are some excerpts from Socrates’ arisen out of a confusion of love and the tale of Love from Symposium. Plato does not beloved, which made you think that love mention Diotima again. was all beautiful. 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 And now, taking my leave of you, I described.” would rehearse a tale of love which I I said, “O thou stranger woman, thou heard from Diotima of Mantinea, a sayest well; but, assuming Love to be woman wise in this and in many other such as you say, what is the use of him kinds of knowledge, who in the days to humans?” “That, Socrates,” she of old, when the Athenians offered replied, “I will attempt to unfold: of his sacrifice before the coming of the plague, nature and birth I have already spoken; delayed the disease ten years. She was my and you acknowledge that love is of the instructress in the art of love, and I shall beautiful. But someone will say: Of the repeat to you what she said to me... beautiful in what, Socrates and Diotima? After explaining to Socrates that Eros (Love) is a – or rather let me put the question more great spirit, an intermediate between the divine dearly, and ask: When a person loves and the mortal, Diotima says: the beautiful, what does he desire?” I “The truth of the matter is this: No answered her “That the beautiful may be deity is a philosopher or seeker after his.” “Still,” she said, “the answer suggests wisdom, for he is wise already; nor a further question: What is given by the does any human who is wise seek after possession of beauty?” wisdom. Neither do the ignorant seek “To what you have asked,” I replied, “I after Wisdom. For herein is the evil of have no answer ready.” “Then,” she said, ignorance, that he who is neither good “Let me put the word good in the place nor wise is nevertheless satisfied with of the beautiful, and repeat the question himself: he has no desire for that of once more: If he who loves good, what is which he feels no want.” it then that he loves? “The possession of “But who then, Diotima,” I said, “are the good,” I said. “And what does he gain the lovers of wisdom, if they are neither who possesses the good?” “Happiness,” the wise nor the foolish?” “A child may I replied; “there is less difficulty in answer that question,” she replied; “they answering that question.” “Yes,” she are those who are in a mean between said, “the happy are made happy by the Rosicrucian the two; Love [Eros] is one of them. For acquisition of good things. Nor is there Digest wisdom is a most beautiful thing, and any need to ask why a person desires No. 1 Love is of the beautiful; and therefore happiness; the answer is already final.” 2012 Page 44 “You are right.” I said. “And is this wish and this desire common to all? and do all people always desire their own good, or only some people? – what say you?” “All people,” I replied; “the desire is common to all.” “Why, then,” she rejoined, “are not all people, Socrates, said to love, but only some of them? whereas you say that all people are always loving the same things.” “I myself wonder,” I said, – “why this is.” “There is nothing to wonder at,” she replied; “the reason is that one part of love is separated off and receives the name of the whole, but the other parts have other names.” Diotima and Socrates continue to discuss love, the good, and beauty. Diotima then says: “Marvel not then at the love which all humans have of their offspring; for that universal love and interest is for the sake of immortality.” I was astonished at her words, and Socrates (469 – 399 BCE). said: “Is this really true, O thou wise Diotima?” And she answered with all the of the glorious fame of immortal virtue; authority of an accomplished sophist: for they desire the immortal.” “Of that, Socrates, you may be assured; Diotima then offers that for most people, even think only of the ambition of humans, the love of offspring serves mostly to preserve a and you will wonder at the senselessness person’s memory, giving them the blessedness of their ways, unless you consider and immortality which they desire in the how they are stirred by the love of an future. immortality of fame. They are ready to “Who, when he thinks of Homer and run all risks greater far than they would Hesiod and other great poets, would not have for their children, and to spend rather have their children than ordinary money and undergo any sort of toil, and human ones? Who would not emulate even to die, for the sake of leaving behind them in the creation of children such them a name which shall be eternal. Do as theirs, which have preserved their you imagine that Alcestis would have memory and given them everlasting died to save Admetus, or Achilles to glory? Or who would not have such avenge Patroclus, or your own Codrus children as Lycurgus left behind him to in order to preserve the kingdom for be the saviors, not only of Lacedaemon, his sons, if they had not imagined that but of Hellas, as one may say? There is the memory of their virtues, which still Solon, too, who is the revered father of survives among us, would be immortal? Athenian laws; and many others there “Nay,” she said, “I am persuaded that are in many other places, both among all humans do all things, and the better hellenes and barbarians, who have given they are the more they do them, in hope to the world many noble works, and Page 45 have been the parents of virtue of every mean and narrow-minded, but drawing kind; and many temples have been towards and contemplating the vast sea raised in their honor for the sake of of beauty, he will create many fair and children such as theirs; which were never noble thoughts and notions in boundless raised in honor of any one, for the sake love of wisdom; until on that shore of his mortal children. he grows and waxes strong, and at last “These are the lesser mysteries of love, the vision is revealed to him of a single into which even you, Socrates, may science, which is the science of beauty enter; to the greater and more hidden everywhere. To this I will proceed; please ones which are the crown of these, and to give me your very best attention: to which, if you pursue them in a right “He who has been instructed thus spirit, they will lead, I know not whether far in the things of love, and who has you will be able to attain. But I will do learned to see the beautiful in due order my utmost to inform you, and do you and succession, when he comes toward follow if you can. For he who would the end will suddenly perceive a nature proceed aright in this matter should of wondrous beauty (and this, Socrates, begin in youth to visit beautiful forms; is the final cause of all our former toils) and first, if he be guided by his instructor – a nature which in the first place is aright, to love one such form only – out everlasting, not growing and decaying, of that he should create fair thoughts; or waxing and waning; secondly, not and soon he will of himself perceive that fair in one point of view and foul in the beauty of one form is akin to the another, or at one time or in one relation beauty of another; and then if beauty or at one place fair, at another time or in of form in general is his pursuit, how another relation or at another place foul, foolish would he be not to recognize that as if fair to some and foul to others, or the beauty in every form is and the same! in the likeness of a face or hands or any And when he perceives this he will abate other part of the bodily frame, or in any his violent love of the one, which he will form of speech or knowledge, or existing despise and deem a small thing, and will in any other being, as for example, in become a lover of all beautiful forms; in an animal, or in heaven or in earth, or the next stage he will consider that the in any other place; but beauty absolute, beauty of the mind is more honorable separate, simple, and everlasting, which than the beauty of the outward form. without diminution and without “So that if a virtuous soul have but a increase, or any change, is imparted to little comeliness, he will be content to the ever-growing and perishing beauties love and tend him, and will search out of all other things. and bring to the birth thoughts which “He who from these ascending under may improve the young, until he is the influence of true love, begins to compelled to contemplate and see the perceive that beauty, is not far from beauty of institutions and laws, and to the end. And the true order of going, understand that the beauty of them all is or being led by another, to the things of one family, and that personal beauty of love, is to begin from the beauties of is a trifle; and after laws and institutions earth and mount upwards for the sake he will go on to the sciences, that he may of that other beauty, using these as steps Rosicrucian see their beauty, being not like a servant only, and from one going on to two, Digest in love with the beauty of one youth and from two to all fair forms, and from No. 1 or person or institution, himself a slave fair forms to fair practices, and from 2012 Page 46 fair practices to fair notions, until from nourishing true virtue to become the fair notions he arrives at the notion of friend of the Divine and be immortal, absolute beauty, and at last knows what if mortal human may. Would that be an the essence of beauty is. ignoble life?” “This, my dear Socrates,” said the ENDNOTES stranger of Mantinea, “is that life above 1Richard Hooker, “Renaissance Neo-Platonism,” all others which people should live, in http://hermetic.com/texts/neoplatonism.html. the contemplation of beauty absolute...” 2Ibid. 3Random House Dictionary at Dictionary.com, “...what if humans had eyes to see “Platonic love,” (New York: Random House, the true beauty—the divine beauty, I 2012), http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ mean, pure and dear and unalloyed, not platonic+love. clogged with the pollutions of mortality 4R.G. Bury, The Symposium of Plato, http://www. and all the colors and vanities of human perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atex t%3A1999.04.0090%3Atext%3Dintro%3Asectio life—thither looking, and holding n%3D4. converse with the true beauty simple 5Chris Marvin, “Diotima of Mantinea,” The Win- and divine? Remember how in that dow, Philosophy on the Internet, http://www. communion only, beholding beauty with trincoll.edu/depts/phil/philo/phils/diotima.html. 6 the eye of the mind, he will be enabled James Lesher, “Later Views of the Socrates of Plato’s Symposium,” from M. Trapp, ed., Socrates to bring forth, not images of beauty, but in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Century, (Ashgate: realities (for he has hold not of an image Centre for Hellenic Studies, 2007), p. 61. but of a reality), and bringing forth and 7Ibid.

Diotima of Mantinea.

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