Plato

Lysis (annotated) Plato

Lysis is a philosophy classic and a dialogue by Plato. The dialogue consists of two scenes or conversations which seem to have no relation to each other: What is Love? and What is Friendship? he main characters are Socrates, the boys Lysis and Menexenus who are friends, as well as Hippothales, who is in unrequited love with Lysis and therefore, after the initial conversation, hides himself behind the surrounding listeners. Socrates proposes four possible notions regarding the true nature of friendship: Friendship between people who are similar, interpreted by Socrates as friendship between good men. Friendship between men who are dissimilar. Friendship between men who are neither good nor bad and good men. Gradually emerging: friendship between those who are relatives "not kindred" by the nature of their souls. Of all those options, Socrates thinks that the only logical possibility is the friendship between men who are good and men who are neither good nor bad. In the end, Socrates seems to discard all these ideas as wrong, although his para-logical refutations have strong hints of irony about them. Hippothales is accused by Ctesippus, that he still presents annoying praises of his beloved person before the others. He is then asked by Socrates to show his usual behavior in this situation. He admits his love for Lysis, but refuses, that he behaves by the manner depicted by the others. According to Ctesippus it is possible only by his absolute madness, because how would the others know about the love otherwise?