§243ΣΩ. εἰ δʼ ἔστιν, ὥσπερ οὖν ἔστι, θεὸς ἤ τι θεῖον ὁ Ἔρως, οὐδὲν ἂν κακὸν εἴη, τὼ δὲ λόγω τὼ νυνδὴ περὶ αὐτοῦ εἰπέτην ὡς τοιούτου ὄντος·
SOCRATES: But if Love is, as indeed he is, a god or something divine, he could not be anything evil; yet the two speeches just now spoke of him as if he were such.
ταύτῃ τε οὖν ἡμαρτανέτην περὶ τὸν ἔρωτα, ἔτι τε ἡ εὐήθεια αὐτοῖν πάνυ ἀστεία, τὸ μηδὲν ὑγιὲς λέγοντε μηδὲ ἀληθὲς σεμνύνεσθαι ὡς τὶ ὄντε, εἰ ἄρα ἀνθρωπίσκους τινὰς ἐξαπατήσαντε εὐδοκιμήσετον ἐν αὐτοῖς.
In this way, then, they both sinned against Love, and moreover, the foolishness of them both was very charming, in that while saying nothing sound or true, they put on grand airs as if they were something, in case they might deceive some paltry fellows and gain reputation among them.
ἐμοὶ μὲν οὖν, ὦ φίλε, καθήρασθαι ἀνάγκη· ἔστιν δὲ τοῖς ἁμαρτάνουσι περὶ μυθολογίαν καθαρμὸς ἀρχαῖος, ὃν Ὅμηρος μὲν οὐκ ᾔσθετο, Στησίχορος δέ.
For me, therefore, my friend, there is a necessity to purify myself; and for those who sin in matters of mythology, there is an ancient purification, which Homer did not perceive, but Stesichorus did.
τῶν γὰρ ὀμμάτων στερηθεὶς διὰ τὴν Ἑλένης κακηγορίαν οὐκ ἠγνόησεν ὥσπερ Ὅμηρος, ἀλλʼ ἅτε μουσικὸς ὢν ἔγνω τὴν αἰτίαν, καὶ ποιεῖ εὐθὺς—
"
οὐκ ἔστʼ ἔτυμος λόγος οὗτος,
οὐδʼ ἔβας ἐν νηυσὶν εὐσέλμοις,
οὐδʼ ἵκεο Πέργαμα Τροίας·
For having been deprived of his sight because of his slander of Helen, he was not ignorant like Homer, but being a servant of the Muses, he recognized the cause, and straightway composed: "This speech is not true, nor did you embark on the well-benched ships, nor did you come to the towers of Troy.
"
καὶ ποιήσας δὴ πᾶσαν τὴν καλουμένην Παλινῳδίαν παραχρῆμα ἀνέβλεψεν.
"And having composed all of the so-called Palinode, he immediately recovered his sight.
ἐγὼ οὖν σοφώτερος ἐκείνων γενήσομαι κατʼ αὐτό γε τοῦτο· πρὶν γάρ τι παθεῖν διὰ τὴν τοῦ Ἔρωτος κακηγορίαν πειράσομαι αὐτῷ ἀποδοῦναι τὴν παλινῳδίαν, γυμνῇ τῇ κεφαλῇ καὶ οὐχ ὥσπερ τότε ὑπʼ αἰσχύνης ἐγκεκαλυμμένος.
I, then, shall be wiser than them in this very respect; for before I suffer anything because of my slander of Love, I shall attempt to pay him my palinode, with my head bare and not, as before, covered up out of shame.
ΦΑΙ. τουτωνί, ὦ Σώκρατες, οὐκ ἔστιν ἅττʼ ἂν ἐμοὶ εἶπες ἡδίω.
PHAEDRUS: There is nothing, Socrates, that you could have said to me sweeter than this.
ΣΩ. καὶ γάρ, ὠγαθὲ Φαῖδρε, ἐννοεῖς ὡς ἀναιδῶς εἴρησθον τὼ λόγω, οὗτός τε καὶ ὁ ἐκ τοῦ βιβλίου ῥηθείς.
SOCRATES: For indeed, my good Phaedrus, you realize how shamelessly the two speeches were spoken, both this one and the one delivered from the book.
εἰ γὰρ ἀκούων τις τύχοι ἡμῶν γεννάδας καὶ πρᾷος τὸ ἦθος, ἑτέρου δὲ τοιούτου ἐρῶν ἢ καὶ πρότερόν ποτε ἐρασθείς, λεγόντων ὡς διὰ σμικρὰ μεγάλας ἔχθρας οἱ ἐρασταὶ ἀναιροῦνται καὶ ἔχουσι πρὸς τὰ παιδικὰ φθονερῶς τε καὶ βλαβερῶς, πῶς οὐκ ἂν οἴει αὐτὸν ἡγεῖσθαι ἀκούειν ἐν ναύταις που τεθραμμένων καὶ οὐδένα ἐλεύθερον ἔρωτα ἑωρακότων, πολλοῦ δʼ ἂν δεῖν ἡμῖν ὁμολογεῖν ἃ ψέγομεν τὸν ἔρωτα;
For if some man of noble and gentle character, who happened to be in love with another of similar character, or had ever been in love before, should hear us saying that lovers raise great enmities for small causes and behave jealously and harmfully toward their beloveds, how do you not think he would believe he was hearing people who had been brought up among sailors somewhere and had never seen any free love, and would be very far indeed from agreeing with us in the things we find fault with in Love?
ΦΑΙ. ἴσως νὴ Δίʼ, ὦ Σώκρατες.
PHAEDRUS: Perhaps indeed, by Zeus, Socrates.
ΣΩ. τοῦτόν γε τοίνυν ἔγωγε αἰσχυνόμενος, καὶ αὐτὸν τὸν ἔρωτα δεδιώς, ἐπιθυμῶ ποτίμῳ λόγῳ οἷον ἁλμυρὰν ἀκοὴν ἀποκλύσασθαι· συμβουλεύω δὲ καὶ Λυσίᾳ ὅτι τάχιστα γράψαι ὡς χρὴ ἐραστῇ μᾶλλον ἢ μὴ ἐρῶντι ἐκ τῶν ὁμοίων χαρίζεσθαι.
SOCRATES: I, therefore, being ashamed before this very man, and fearing Love himself, desire to wash out the salty hearing, as it were, with a sweet-tasting speech; and I advise Lysias also to write as quickly as possible that one ought to favor a lover rather than a non-lover under similar circumstances.
ΦΑΙ. ἀλλʼ εὖ ἴσθι ὅτι ἕξει τοῦθʼ οὕτω· σοῦ γὰρ εἰπόντος τὸν τοῦ ἐραστοῦ ἔπαινον, πᾶσα ἀνάγκη Λυσίαν ὑπʼ ἐμοῦ ἀναγκασθῆναι γράψαι αὖ περὶ τοῦ αὐτοῦ λόγον.
PHAEDRUS: But rest assured that it will be so; for when you speak the praise of the lover, there is every necessity that Lysias will be forced by me to write a speech again on the same subject.
ΣΩ. τοῦτο μὲν πιστεύω, ἕωσπερ ἂν ᾖς ὃς εἶ.
SOCRATES: I believe this, as long as you are who you are.
ΦΑΙ. λέγε τοίνυν θαρρῶν.
PHAEDRUS: Speak then with confidence.
ΣΩ. ποῦ δή μοι ὁ παῖς πρὸς ὃν ἔλεγον;
SOCRATES: Where indeed is my boy to whom I was speaking?
ἵνα καὶ τοῦτο ἀκούσῃ, καὶ μὴ ἀνήκοος ὢν φθάσῃ χαρισάμενος τῷ μὴ ἐρῶντι.
So that he may hear this too, and may not, through not hearing it, anticipate us by favoring the non-lover.
ΦΑΙ. οὗτος παρά σοι μάλα πλησίον ἀεὶ πάρεστιν, ὅταν σὺ βούλῃ.
PHAEDRUS: He is right here, very close to you, always present whenever you wish.