The Symposium of Plato
Symposium is undeniably one of the masterpieces of classical literature. The subtlest and most brilliant of Greek artists in prose has left us no finer, no more fascinating specimen of his skill than this dialogue in which, with the throbbing pulse of life for his theme, he matches that theme by the dramatic verve and vigour of his style.
The interest of the book is not merely literary or philosophical: it appeals also to the wider circle of students of culture and of life and of the “criticism of life” through its richness of suggestion and by its vividness of portraiture.
To mention one point alone,—nowhere else, not even in the Phaedo, does the personality of Socrates shine before us so full and clear, “in form and gesture so express and ad- mirable,” as in the pages of the Symposium.
To miss reading it is to miss the enjoyment of a veritable ἑστίαμα λόγων, blended and seasoned with curious art. In the preparation of this edition, I have been indebted mainly to the labours of continental scholars, for the sufficient, if surprising, reason that no English commentary has existed heretofore. It was, indeed, this singular fact, together with the recent publication of an interesting Papyrus fragment of the text, which chiefly moved me to attempt a commentary myself. On many of the interesting questions connected with the literary form and philosophical substance of the dialogue much more might have been said, but I have thought it best to keep both the Introduction and the Notes within a moderate compass.