§236ΣΩ. φίλτατος εἶ καὶ ὡς ἀληθῶς χρυσοῦς, ὦ Φαῖδρε, εἴ με οἴει λέγειν ὡς Λυσίας τοῦ παντὸς ἡμάρτηκεν, καὶ οἷόν τε δὴ παρὰ πάντα ταῦτα ἄλλα εἰπεῖν·
SOCRATES: You are dearest and truly golden, Phaedrus, if you think I am saying that Lysias has failed entirely, and that it is possible to say other things alongside all of these.
τοῦτο δὲ οἶμαι οὐδʼ ἂν τὸν φαυλότατον παθεῖν συγγραφέα.
But I think not even the worst writer would suffer this.
αὐτίκα περὶ οὗ ὁ λόγος, τίνα οἴει λέγοντα ὡς χρὴ μὴ ἐρῶντι μᾶλλον ἢ ἐρῶντι χαρίζεσθαι, παρέντα τοῦ μὲν τὸ φρόνιμον ἐγκωμιάζειν, τοῦ δὲ τὸ ἄφρον ψέγειν, ἀναγκαῖα γοῦν ὄντα, εἶτʼ ἄλλʼ ἄττα ἕξειν λέγειν;
For instance, on the very subject of the speech, who do you think, while saying that one should gratify a non-lover rather than a lover, could omit praising the rationality of the former and censuring the irrationality of the latter—which are indeed necessary points—and then have any other things to say?
ἀλλʼ οἶμαι τὰ μὲν τοιαῦτα ἐατέα καὶ συγγνωστέα λέγοντι· καὶ τῶν μὲν τοιούτων οὐ τὴν εὕρεσιν ἀλλὰ τὴν διάθεσιν ἐπαινετέον, τῶν δὲ μὴ ἀναγκαίων τε καὶ χαλεπῶν εὑρεῖν πρὸς τῇ διαθέσει καὶ τὴν εὕρεσιν.
But I think such things must be allowed and forgiven in a speaker; and for such things, it is not the invention but the arrangement that should be praised, while for things that are not necessary and are difficult to find, both the invention and the arrangement should be praised.
ΦΑΙ. συγχωρῶ ὃ λέγεις· μετρίως γάρ μοι δοκεῖς εἰρηκέναι.
PHAEDRUS: I agree with what you say; for you seem to me to have spoken reasonably.
ποιήσω οὖν καὶ ἐγὼ οὕτως· τὸ μὲν τὸν ἐρῶντα τοῦ μὴ ἐρῶντος μᾶλλον νοσεῖν δώσω σοι ὑποτίθεσθαι, τῶν δὲ λοιπῶν ἕτερα πλείω καὶ πλείονος ἄξια εἰπὼν τῶνδε παρὰ τὸ Κυψελιδῶν ἀνάθημα σφυρήλατος ἐν Ὀλυμπίᾳ στάθητι.
I too, then, will act in this way: I will grant you to assume that the lover is more diseased than the non-lover; but as for the rest, if you speak other things more abundant and of more value than these, be set up in beaten gold at Olympia, alongside the offering of the Cypselids.
ΣΩ. ἐσπούδακας, ὦ Φαῖδρε, ὅτι σου τῶν παιδικῶν ἐπελαβόμην ἐρεσχηλῶν σε, καὶ οἴει δή με ὡς ἀληθῶς ἐπιχειρήσειν εἰπεῖν παρὰ τὴν ἐκείνου σοφίαν ἕτερόν τι ποικιλώτερον;
SOCRATES: Have you become serious, Phaedrus, because I laid hold of your beloved in jest, and do you think that I will truly attempt to say something else more elaborate in opposition to his wisdom?
ΦΑΙ. περὶ μὲν τούτου, ὦ φίλε, εἰς τὰς ὁμοίας λαβὰς ἐλήλυθας.
PHAEDRUS: As for this, my friend, you have fallen into the same kind of grip.
ῥητέον μὲν γάρ σοι παντὸς μᾶλλον οὕτως ὅπως οἷός τε εἶ, ἵνα μὴ τὸ τῶν κωμῳδῶν φορτικὸν πρᾶγμα ἀναγκαζώμεθα ποιεῖν ἀνταποδιδόντες ἀλλήλοις, καὶ μὴ βούλου με ἀναγκάσαι λέγειν ἐκεῖνο τὸ
εἰ ἐγώ, ὦ Σώκρατες, Σωκράτην ἀγνοῶ, καὶ ἐμαυτοῦ ἐπιλέλησμαι,
καὶ ὅτι
ἐπεθύμει μὲν λέγειν, ἐθρύπτετο δέ· ἀλλὰ διανοήθητι ὅτι ἐντεῦθεν οὐκ ἄπιμεν πρὶν ἂν σὺ εἴπῃς ἃ ἔφησθα ἐν τῷ στήθει ἔχειν.
For you must speak by all means, as best you can, so that we may not be forced to do the vulgar thing that comic actors do, retorting upon one another. Do not make me forced to say that: "If I, Socrates, do not know Socrates, I have also forgotten myself," and that: "He desired indeed to speak, but was coquetting." Rather, consider that we shall not depart from here until you speak what you said you had in your chest.
ἐσμὲν δὲ μόνω ἐν ἐρημίᾳ, ἰσχυρότερος δʼ ἐγὼ καὶ νεώτερος, ἐκ δὲ ἁπάντων τούτων
σύνες ὅ τοι λέγω,
καὶ μηδαμῶς πρὸς βίαν βουληθῇς μᾶλλον ἢ ἑκὼν λέγειν.
We are alone in a deserted place, and I am stronger and younger than you; from all these things, "Understand what I say to you," and by no means wish to speak under compulsion rather than willingly.
ΣΩ. ἀλλʼ, ὦ μακάριε Φαῖδρε, γελοῖος ἔσομαι παρʼ ἀγαθὸν ποιητὴν ἰδιώτης αὐτοσχεδιάζων περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν.
SOCRATES: But, blessed Phaedrus, I shall be ridiculous, an amateur improvising on the same themes in comparison with a good poet.
ΦΑΙ. οἶσθʼ ὡς ἔχει;
PHAEDRUS: Do you know how it stands?
παῦσαι πρός με καλλωπιζόμενος· σχεδὸν γὰρ ἔχω ὃ εἰπὼν ἀναγκάσω σε λέγειν.
Stop coquetting with me; for I have almost the very thing which, if said, will force you to speak.
ΣΩ. μηδαμῶς τοίνυν εἴπῃς.
SOCRATES: Do not say it, then, by any means.
ΦΑΙ. οὔκ, ἀλλὰ καὶ δὴ λέγω· ὁ δέ μοι λόγος ὅρκος ἔσται.
PHAEDRUS: No, indeed, I am saying it right now; and my speech shall be an oath.
ὄμνυμι γάρ σοι—τίνα μέντοι, τίνα θεῶν;
For I swear to you—by which of the gods, though?
ἢ βούλει τὴν πλάτανον ταυτηνί; —ἦ μήν, ἐάν μοι μὴ εἴπῃς τὸν λόγον ἐναντίον αὐτῆς ταύτης, μηδέποτέ σοι ἕτερον λόγον μηδένα μηδενὸς μήτε ἐπιδείξειν μήτε ἐξαγγελεῖν.
Or do you want this plane tree here?—truly, unless you speak the speech to me in the presence of this very tree, I will never again either show or report to you any other speech of anyone else.
ΣΩ. βαβαῖ, ὦ μιαρέ, ὡς εὖ ἀνηῦρες τὴν ἀνάγκην ἀνδρὶ φιλολόγῳ ποιεῖν ὃ ἂν κελεύῃς.
SOCRATES: Oh, you rogue! How well you have found out the way to force a lover of speeches to do whatever you command.
ΦΑΙ. τί δῆτα ἔχων στρέφῃ;
PHAEDRUS: Why then do you twist about, holding back?
ΣΩ. οὐδὲν ἔτι, ἐπειδὴ σύ γε ταῦτα ὀμώμοκας.
SOCRATES: I will do so no longer, since you have sworn these things.
πῶς γὰρ ἂν οἷός τʼ εἴην τοιαύτης θοίνης ἀπέχεσθαι;
For how could I be able to abstain from such a feast?