“And we, on our part, will prove in answer to him that the madness of love is the greatest of heaven's blessings, and the proof shall be one which the wise will receive, and the witling disbelieve.”
- Source
- Phaedrus
- Date
- 4th century BCE
- Local voice
- Dialogue speaker · Socrates
Meaning of “And we, on our part, will prove in…”
Socrates reverses his earlier criticism of lovers by proposing that some kinds of inspired passion can be gifts rather than failings. His defense belongs to a mythical and philosophical speech, not to a claim that impulsive behavior is automatically beneficial or justified.
Where does it come from?
Phaedrus, around Stephanus 245b–c, in Socrates’s second speech (palinode) to Phaedrus following his retraction of the anti-lover argument. Benjamin Jowett English, Project Gutenberg #1636; the complete sentence occurs in the dramatic speech after examples of prophetic, religious and poetic inspiration. The divine origin of love is a claim of this ancient philosophical argument, not independently established evidence.
Why the local voice matters
Phaedrus, Jowett translation; Socrates is a character speaking inside this dialogue, not Plato as a direct historical speaker.
