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Fascinating stuff. In "Gorgias," Socrates talks to an orator, convincing him that oratory isn't that great because either you need to be an expert in other fields or a liar to be good at it. Then some rambunctious people take over the discussion for the orator, saying that all power is good (one of them sounds like a more lucid Nietzsche or a more profound Trump) to which Socrates says that doing wrong to others is the worst thing you can do against yourself, finishing that maneuver off in affirming the immortality of the soul and foretelling his own martyrdom. A regular afternoon.
The "Phaedrus" is a strangely flirtatious conversation between Socrates, the old man, and the beautiful youth Phaedrus. In it, Socrates shows that he can be quite an orator himself when he feels like it, then gets around to describing what we call "Platonic Love," a love which, while excited by the beautiful image of the earthly beloved, is actually a love for the transcendent. Plato is a genius and, as CS Lewis says, his Socrates is one of the few historical characters you feel like you've met once you read their disciple's description of them (his others are Jesus and Samuel Johnson. Good company).
The "Phaedrus" is a strangely flirtatious conversation between Socrates, the old man, and the beautiful youth Phaedrus. In it, Socrates shows that he can be quite an orator himself when he feels like it, then gets around to describing what we call "Platonic Love," a love which, while excited by the beautiful image of the earthly beloved, is actually a love for the transcendent. Plato is a genius and, as CS Lewis says, his Socrates is one of the few historical characters you feel like you've met once you read their disciple's description of them (his others are Jesus and Samuel Johnson. Good company).
