Chapter 6 (265-272) Summary

Socrates and Phaedrus analyze their discourses analyzing relationships that are either based on love or based only on sensual desire. Socrates considers love to be part of divine madness.

Although madness is a certain type of human illness, it can also be inspired by divine interference that frees humans from their usual way of life. There are four divinities associated with four types of gods that provide inspiration accordingly. Apollo provides prophetic inspiration, Dionysus mystic madness, the Muses inspire with poetry while the madness of love is provided by Aphrodite and Eros. These divine inspirations involve four types of madness that are endowed by them. Socrates considers the fourth type to be the best. As previous speeches contained only an outline of the true picture of love with a mixture of various features of love only, it only provided the effects...