Chapters 25-30, Midas, Cicadas, Gardening for Fun and Profit, Something Serious Is Missing, Takeover, Read Me the Bit Again Summary and Analysis

In Chapter 25, Midas, Carson points out that Lysias prefers the nonlover on moral grounds because he sidesteps the radical focus that Eros puts on the "now" in the lover's mind and thus avoids a loss of self-control. AId in this way, Midas is actually a good analogy to the lover, who is divided by his desire to touch and not to touch at the same time. The golden touch is a symbol of a perfect, self-destroying yet self-maintaining desire.

Chapter 26, Cicadas, points out that cicadas spend their entire lives in starvation, always pursuing their desires; they thereby represent the ultimate dilemma of the erotic. Eros...