[402d]
“Then,”
said I, “when there is a coincidence1
of a beautiful disposition in the soul and corresponding and harmonious
beauties of the same type in the bodily form—is not this the
fairest spectacle for one who is capable of its contemplation2?” “Far
the fairest.” “And surely the fairest is the most
lovable.” “Of course.” “The true
musician, then, would love by preference persons of this sort; but if there
were disharmony he would not love this.” “No,”
he said, “not if there was a defect in the soul; but if it were in
the body he would bear with it and still be willing to bestow his
love.”
1 Symposium 209 Bτὸ συναμφότερον, 210 C, Wilamowitz, vol. ii. p. 192.
2 Music and beauty lead to the philosophy of love, more fully set forth in the Phaedrus and Symposium, and here dismissed in a page. Plato's practical conclusion here may be summed up in the Virgilian line (Aeneid v. 344): “Gratior et pulchro veniens in corpore virtus.”
Plato. Plato in Twelve Volumes, Vols. 5 & 6 translated by Paul Shorey. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1969.
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