out of the past

Reprints from the classics; biographies of famous homosexuals.

Extracts from

THE SYMPOSIUM

by Plato

(as translated by W. HAMILTON)

Readers who missed the first of this series, in ONE's February, 1955 issue, will find therein a short editorial introduction.

Between the speech of Pausanias and the speech of Socrates, there are three minor speeches, by Eryximachus, Aristophanes, and Agathon, in that order. These speeches approach the subject of Love from various Greek conceptions of natural science, anthropology, and aesthetics. They are minor in the sense that they do not add any pronounced moral or ethical conceptions of Love to those brought forward by other speakers, and for this reason we will not print lengthy verbatim extracts. Eryximachus relates Love primarily to the concept of harmony-of harmonious relationship in general. As illustration, he cites relationships among the functions of a healthy body as compared to a diseased body; he then moves on to music, contrasting harmonious with discordant arrangements of sounds; of this, he says, "Music, by implanting mutual love and sympathy, causes agreement between (its) elements, just as medicine does in its different sphere, and music, in its turn, may be called a knowledge of the principles of love in the realm of harmony and rhythm"; from this he proceeds to consider the natural elements, heat and cold, dry and wet, etc., in due proportions of which natural growth is encouraged. In all harmonious relationships within different classes of elements, he visualizes the operation of the Love-principle, while in all clashes, or disorders, which work an injury to life, he infers the absence of the Love-principle. In general, he paints the "heavenly" or divine love as the power of concord, which establishes strength and health, and increases virtuous or upright conduct, when it is experienced among human beings. As to the vulgar, or common love, he says, ". . . anyone who employs this must exercise great caution... so as to cull the pleasure which it affords without implanting any taint of debauchery."

Aristophanes, in his speech, delves deeply into Greek speculations on human evolution. Of especial significance is his mention of hermaphrodites as a one-time distinct and productive "sex", whose members contained both the male and female organs of generation in a single organism. His reasoning from this and other premises fails in many respects to parallel what is considered scientifically tenable,

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