ood man; and he tries to
educate it; and at the touch and presence of the beautiful he brings
forth the beautiful which he conceived long before, and the beautiful
is ever present with him and in his memory even when absent, and in
company they tend that which he brings forth, and they are bound
together by a far nearer tie and have a closer friendship than those
who beget mortal children, for the children who are their common
offspring are fairer and more immortal. Who, when he thinks of Homer
and Hesiod[63] and other great poets, would not rather emulate them
in the creation of children such as theirs, which have preserved their
memory and given them everlasting glory? Or who would not have such
children as Lycurgus[64] left behind to be the saviors, not only of
Lacedaemon, but of Hellas, as one may say? There is Solon, too, who is
the revered father of Athenian laws; and many others there are in
various places, both among Hellenes and barbarians. They all have done
many noble works, and have been the parents of virtue of every kind,
and in honor of their children many temples have been raised, which
were never raised in honor of the mortal children of any one.

"These are the lesser mysteries of love, into which even you,
Socrates, may enter; to the greater and more hidden ones which are the
crown of these, and to which, if you pursue them in a right spirit,
they will lead, I know not whether you will be able to attain. But I
will do my utmost to inform you, and do you follow if you can. For he
who would proceed rightly in this matter should begin in youth to turn
to beautiful forms; and first, if his instructor guide him rightly, he
should learn to love one such form only--out of that he should create
fair thoughts; and soon he will find himself perceive that the beauty
of one form is truly related to the beauty of another; and then if
beauty in general is his pursuit, how foolish would he be not to
recognize that the beauty in every form is one and the same! And when
he perceives this he will abate his violent love of the one, which he
will despise and deem a small thing, and will become a lover of all
beautiful forms; this will lead him on to consider that the beauty of
the mind is more honorable than the beauty of the outward form. So
that if a virtuous soul have but a little comeliness, he will be
content to love and tend it, and will search out and bring to the
birth thoughts which may improve the young, until