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570 The truth about Love. Syiii- posmiii. Socrates, Agathon. Love, therefore, is not good or great, but desires to be good or great. A secining exception ; of course we admit that a man may desire the continu- ance or in- crease of that which he has. And now, said Socrates, I will ask about Love : — Is Love of something or of nothing ?

Of something, surely, he replied.

Keep in mind what this is, and tell me what I want to know — whether Love desires that of which love is. Yes, surely. And does he possess, or does he not possess, that which he loves and desires ? Probably not, I should say. Nay, replied Socrates, I would have you consider whether 'necessarily' is not rather the word. The inference that he who desires something is in want of something, and that he who desires nothing is in want of nothing, is in my judg- ment, Agathon, absolutely and necessarily true. What do ■you think? I agree with you, said Agathon. Very good. Would he who is great, desire to be great, or he who is strong, desire to be strong ? That would be inconsistent with our previous admissions. True. For he who is anything cannot want to be that which he is ? Very true. And yet, added Socrates, if a man being strong desired to be strong, or being swift desired to be swift, or being healthy desired to be healthy, in that case he might be thought to desire something which he already has or is. I give the example in order that we may avoid misconception. For the possessors of these qualities, Agathon, must be supposed to have their respective advantages at the time, whether they choose or not ; and who can desire that which he has ? Therefore, when a person says, I am well and wish to be well, or I am rich and wish to be rich, and I desire simply to have what I have — to him we shall reply: 'You, my friend, having wealth and health and strength, want to have the con- tinuance of them ; for at this moment, whether you choose or no, you have them. And when you say, I desire that which I have and nothing else, is not your meaning that you want to have what you now have in the future?' He must agree with us — must he not ? He must, replied Agathon.