Phaedrus

Plato (Πλάτων) (c. 428 BCE - c. 347 BCE)
Translated by Benjamin Jowett (1817 - 1893)

“For there is no light of justice or temperance, or any of the higher ideas which are precious to souls, in the earthly copies of them: they are seen through a glass, dimly…”

Socrates and his earnest friend Phaedrus, enjoying the Athenian equivalent of a lunchtime stroll in the park, exchange views on love and on the power of words, spoken and written.

Phaedrus is the most enchanting of Plato’s Erotic dialogues (capitalised in honour of the god). The barefoot philosopher urges an eager young acquaintance – who has allowed his lover’s oratorical skills to impress him overmuch – to re-examine the text of Lysias’s speech in the light of his own exalted (and Platonic) vision of Love.

Not long ago this early example of literary dismantling was itself deconstructed by a contemporary sage - Jacques Derrida.

The present reader tries to present Socrates as he conceivably was: the chortling, pot-bellied ex-soldier, a flirtatious yet charismatic talker with a serious passion for Truth. (Introduction by Martin Geeson)

Genre(s): Classics (Greek & Latin Antiquity), Ancient

Language: English

Section Chapter Reader Time
Play 01 01 - "My dear Phaedrus, whence come you..." Martin Geeson
00:13:29
Play 02 02 - "What an incomprehensible being you are..." Martin Geeson
00:14:55
Play 03 03 - "Now, Socrates, what do you think?" Martin Geeson
00:16:15
Play 04 04 - "And now, dear Phaedrus, I shall pause..." Martin Geeson
00:15:36
Play 05 05 - "Your love of discourse, Phaedrus, is superhuman..." Martin Geeson
00:13:34
Play 06 06 - "I might tell of many other noble deeds..." Martin Geeson
00:19:18
Play 07 07 - "Thus far I have been speaking..." Martin Geeson
00:23:06
Play 08 08 - "And so the beloved, who, like a god..." Martin Geeson
00:19:14
Play 09 09 - "Shall we discuss the rules of writing...?" Martin Geeson
00:12:09
Play 10 10 - "Suppose that you read me the first words..." Martin Geeson
00:18:36
Play 11 11 - "Leave the unimportant..." Martin Geeson
00:13:38
Play 12 12 - "Oratory is the art of enchanting the soul..." Martin Geeson
00:10:55
Play 13 13 - "Enough appears to have been said..." Martin Geeson
00:11:49
Play 14 14 - "And now, Phaedrus, having agreed..." Martin Geeson
00:10:57