batch.motif.greek-plato-phaedrus-jowett-gutenberg-l1675-l1779
---
record_id: batch.motif.greek-plato-phaedrus-jowett-gutenberg-l1675-l1779
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/phaedrus-jowett.md
passage_locator:
label: PHAEDRUS / INTRODUCTION. / ON THE DECLINE OF GREEK LITERATURE. / PHAEDRUS;
lines 1675-1779
start: '1675'
end: '1779'
translation: Phaedrus
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: The passage presents the end of Lysias' speech arguing that favors should
be given to worthy non-lovers rather than passionate lovers, followed by a dialogue
in which Phaedrus praises the speech and Socrates critiques it, claims to be inspired
by older sources, and is urged to produce a rival speech with a playful promise
of a golden image at Delphi.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The quoted speaker argues that favors should not be granted to those who besiege
one with prayers, but to those who are worthy of love and able to remain beneficial
friends.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The quoted speaker says love ought to benefit both parties and injure neither.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Phaedrus asks Socrates whether the discourse is excellent, especially in its
language.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: Socrates says the speech had a ravishing effect on him and that, following
Phaedrus' ecstatic reading, he became inspired with a frenzy.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: Phaedrus adjures Socrates by Zeus, described as the god of friendship, to
give his real opinion.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: Socrates criticizes the speech as repetitive and says its merit is rhetorical
rather than substantive.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: Socrates refers to ancient sages, both men and women, and names Sappho and
Anacreon as possible sources of better discourse.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:8
text: Socrates says his bosom is full and compares himself to a pitcher filled through
the ears from another's waters.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:9
text: Phaedrus asks Socrates to make a new oration and promises, like the nine Archons,
to set up a golden image at Delphi of himself and Socrates.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:10
text: 'Socrates says the topic necessarily includes commonplaces: praising the discretion
of the non-lover and blaming the indiscretion of the lover.'
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: speaker of the quoted discourse
description: The voice concluding the argument that favors should be granted to
worthy non-lovers rather than passionate lovers.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: lover
description: A passionate suitor contrasted with friends and non-lovers; described
as eager, prayerful, and liable to quarrel when passion ends.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:10
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: worthy non-lover or lasting friend
description: A person presented as worthy of love, continuing in friendship through
life and showing virtue after youth's charm has passed.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:10
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Socrates
description: Dialogue participant who reacts to the speech, critiques its rhetoric,
invokes older sources, and is asked to produce another speech.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:10
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Phaedrus
description: Dialogue participant who praises the discourse, presses Socrates for
his opinion, and requests a new oration.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:9
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Lysias
description: Named as the author whose speech Socrates and Phaedrus discuss.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:10
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Zeus, god of friendship
description: A deity invoked by Phaedrus in adjuring Socrates to speak his real
opinion.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: ancient sages, men and women
description: Earlier speakers and writers whom Socrates says would rise in judgment
against him if he assented to Phaedrus.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Sappho and Anacreon
description: Named by Socrates as possible sources from whom he may have heard better
things on the subject.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: nine Archons
description: A civic group invoked by Phaedrus in comparison to his promise to set
up golden images at Delphi.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
roles:
- id: role:1
label: moral adviser
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The speaker gives counsel about whom to favor and what kind of love is beneficial.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: passionate suitor contrasted with stable friendship
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The lover is described as eager, prayerful, indiscreet, and temporary in
attachment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:10
- id: role:3
label: worthy lasting friend
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The non-lover or friend is associated with worthiness, shared possessions
in age, discretion, continuity, and virtue.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:10
- id: role:4
label: critic and inspired respondent
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Socrates evaluates the speech, claims inspired frenzy, and says he can make
another speech from remembered sources.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: role:5
label: auditor and challenger
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Phaedrus praises the speech, demands Socrates' opinion, and asks for a new
oration.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:9
- id: role:6
label: author under discussion
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Lysias is named as the speaker whose arguments and arrangement are evaluated.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:10
- id: role:7
label: divine witness to oath
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Phaedrus adjures Socrates by Zeus, called the god of friendship.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:8
label: source of remembered wisdom or discourse
assigned_to:
- fig:8
- fig:9
basis: Socrates says he may have heard better things from ancient sages such as
Sappho or Anacreon.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:9
label: model for votive dedication
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: Phaedrus says that, like the nine Archons, he will set up a golden image
at Delphi.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Zeus as god of friendship
literal_form: Invocation of Zeus in an oath-like adjuration
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:2
label: divine frenzy
literal_form: Socrates says he became inspired with a frenzy
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: pitcher filled from another's waters
literal_form: A pitcher and waters used as an image for received speech or knowledge
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:8
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:4
label: golden image at Delphi
literal_form: A promised golden image of Phaedrus and Socrates to be set up at Delphi
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: sym:5
label: bloom or charm of youth
literal_form: Youth described as bloom and charm that others may enjoy or that may
leave
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Counsel against favoring the passionate lover
summary: The quoted discourse argues that favors should be given to worthy and lasting
friends rather than to eager lovers who besiege one with prayer or care only briefly.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Phaedrus praises the speech and Socrates reacts
summary: Phaedrus asks whether the discourse is excellent, and Socrates replies
that its effect was ravishing and that he became inspired with frenzy while following
Phaedrus' ecstasy.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Oath and rhetorical critique
summary: Phaedrus invokes Zeus as god of friendship to demand Socrates' real opinion,
while Socrates distinguishes praise of language from praise of content and criticizes
the speech as repetitive.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:4
label: Appeal to older sages and remembered speech
summary: Socrates says ancient sages would oppose his agreement with Phaedrus, names
Sappho and Anacreon as possible sources, and compares his fullness of speech to
a pitcher filled through the ears from another's waters.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: scene:5
label: Promise of a Delphic image for a new oration
summary: Phaedrus asks Socrates to produce a new speech and promises, like the nine
Archons, to set up golden images at Delphi; Socrates answers by limiting his claim
and identifying required commonplaces of the subject.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: lasting friendship preferred over passionate attachment
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The discourse contrasts the unstable lover with the worthy friend or non-lover
who remains beneficial through life.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:10
confidence: high
cautions: This is an ethical-rhetorical motif in the dialogue rather than a mythic
narrative episode.
- id: motif:2
label: mutual-benefit love
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The quoted speaker explicitly states that love should advantage both parties
and injure neither.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: The passage gives a normative statement, not a developed mythic pattern.
- id: motif:3
label: inspired speech from earlier wisdom
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Socrates claims he can speak because he has been filled through the ears
from another source, possibly ancient sages such as Sappho or Anacreon.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage frames this humorously and rhetorically; it does not narrate
a formal divine revelation.
- id: motif:4
label: votive reward for inspired or superior speech
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: Phaedrus promises to set up golden images at Delphi if Socrates produces
a new and better oration.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The promise appears playful and conversational; the passage does not show
an actual ritual dedication.
- id: motif:5
label: divine adjuration in a philosophical contest
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Phaedrus invokes Zeus, called the god of friendship, to compel Socrates to
give his true judgment about the speech.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The divine reference is an oath formula within dialogue, not an extended
divine intervention.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 1675-1700
quote_or_summary: The speaker says favors should go not to those who besiege one
with prayer, but to those worthy of love, who remain friends through life and
show virtue after youth's charm has passed.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/phaedrus-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary supplied.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: lines 1702-1709
quote_or_summary: '"Now love ought to be for the advantage of both parties, and
for the injury of neither."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/phaedrus-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short quotation.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 1713-1715
quote_or_summary: Phaedrus asks Socrates what he thinks and whether the discourse
is excellent, especially in language.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/phaedrus-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary supplied.
- id: ev:4
type: quote
locator: lines 1716-1721
quote_or_summary: Socrates says the effect was "ravishing" and that he became "inspired
with a phrenzy."
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/phaedrus-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short quotation.
- id: ev:5
type: quote
locator: lines 1725-1729
quote_or_summary: Phaedrus says, "I adjure you, by Zeus, the god of friendship,"
to give a real opinion.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/phaedrus-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short quotation.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 1730-1740
quote_or_summary: Socrates asks whether they should praise the author's sentiments
or only the language, then says the speech seemed repetitious and ostentatiously
varied.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/phaedrus-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary supplied.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 1746-1755
quote_or_summary: Socrates says ancient sages, men and women, would judge against
him if he agreed with Phaedrus, and names Sappho and Anacreon as possible sources.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/phaedrus-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary supplied.
- id: ev:8
type: quote
locator: lines 1756-1763
quote_or_summary: Socrates says he has been "filled through the ears, like a pitcher,
from the waters of another."
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/phaedrus-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short quotation.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 1764-1772
quote_or_summary: Phaedrus asks Socrates to make a new and better oration and promises,
like the nine Archons, to set up golden images at Delphi of both of them.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/phaedrus-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary supplied.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 1773-1779
quote_or_summary: Socrates says Lysias did not miss the mark entirely, since any
speech on the topic must praise the discretion of the non-lover and blame the
indiscretion of the lover; originality lies in arrangement beyond commonplaces.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/greek/project-gutenberg/phaedrus-jowett.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary supplied.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: The passage is primarily philosophical-rhetorical rather than mythic. Motif
candidates are limited to explicit ethical, devotional, and inspiration imagery
present in the text. No external comparison claims were made.
reviewer_status:
status: needs_review
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Machine-generated draft from OpenAI Batch; not human-reviewed.
extracted_by: openai_batch:gpt-5.5
extracted_at: '2026-04-28'
notes: |-
Used only supplied passage and metadata. Available taxonomy refs were applied sparingly and only where the wording directly supported them.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:greek-plato-phaedrus-jowett-gutenberg__l1675-l1779
passage_sha256=ce82379abd57dd09acdf571d973581d90d991a2e4fe05c58295cf7a2c678133b