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Plato: Phaedrus · 38 of 38 · tr. Benjamin Jowett

Section 1†

By all means. Soc. Beloved Pan, and all ye other gods who haunt this place, give me beauty in the inward soul; and may the outward and inward man be at one. May I reckon the wise to be the wealthy, and may I have such a quantity of gold as a temperate man and he only can bear and carry.-Anything more? The prayer, I think, is enough for me. Phaedr. Ask the same for me, for friends should have all things in common. Soc. Let us go.
Themes
◆Divine Providencetheology

Pronoia — the doctrine that the divine actively orders the unfolding of the cosmos and human affairs toward intelligible ends, against pure chance or blind necessity.

The gods are invoked to actively grant specific blessings such as beauty and wealth upon the petitioner's request.

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◆Inner Lightanthropology

The divine spark or luminous quality residing within the human person, potentially recognisable through introspection.

The prayer explicitly requests 'beauty in the inward soul,' locating divine radiance within the human person.

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◆Kingdom Withinanthropology

The claim that the divine realm is present inside the individual, accessible without external mediation.

The request for beauty in the inward soul suggests that the divine realm is accessible internally rather than externally.

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◆Living Godtheology

The divine conceived as active, present, and dynamic—not an abstract principle but a personal responsive reality.

The gods are addressed directly as active agents who can grant specific material and spiritual blessings.

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◆Mystical Unionsoteriology

The merging of the individual soul or self with the divine, transcending personal identity.

The prayer seeks to make 'the outward and inward man be at one,' indicating a union of the human self with divine beauty.

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◆Prayerpraxis

Direct address to the divine, whether petitionary, contemplative, or liturgical; speech and silence offered upward.

The passage is structured as a direct petition to the gods for specific material and spiritual blessings.

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◆Renunciation Of Wealthethics

The spiritual danger of attachment to material possessions; wealth as a spiritual obstacle.

The speaker specifies that only a 'temperate man' can bear the gold, implying a spiritual limitation on material attachment.

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◆Self Knowledgesoteriology

The recognition of one's own true divine nature as the primary path to liberation; 'know thyself' as soteriology.

The prayer for beauty in the inward soul aligns with the Platonic emphasis on knowing one's own true nature as a path to wholeness.

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Related passages · 5 parallels
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Divine Names|Chapter 3, Section 1a
“CHAPTER III What is the power of Prayer? Also concerning the Blessed Hierotheus and concerning Reverence and the Writing of Divinity. 1. And first of all, if it like thee, let us consider the highest Name, even “Goodness,” by which all t…”
Both passages emphasize the importance of prayer and the desire for inner beauty or goodness. They share a theme of seeking divine connection and unity, though they come from different mystical traditions.
◆christian_mysticism|Pseudo-Dionysius: The Mystical Theology|Chapter IIa
“How it is necessary to be united with and render praise to Him Who is the cause of all and above all. Unto this Darkness which is beyond Light we pray that we may come, and may attain unto vision through the loss of sight and knowledge, an…”
Both passages express a desire for unity with a higher power or divine essence, emphasizing the transcendence of the self and the pursuit of a deeper, more spiritual form of knowledge or vision. Plato's Socrates prays for inner beauty and wisdom, while the second passage seeks union with a divine darkness beyond light and knowledge.
◆christian_mysticism|Meister Eckhart's Sermons (Field translation)|IIc
“No man desires anything so eagerly as God desires to bring men to the knowledge of Himself. God is always ready, but we are very unready. God is near us, but we are far from Him. God is within, and we are without. God is friendly; we ar…”
Both passages express a desire for inner unity and connection with the divine or higher self. Meister Eckhart's sermon emphasizes God's readiness and humanity's estrangement, while Socrates' prayer in the Phaedrus seeks inner beauty and harmony between the outward and inward man.
◆christian_mysticism|Meister Eckhart's Sermons (Field translation)|Vb
“It is necessary, therefore, for all the creatures which issued forth from God to co-operate earnestly with all their powers to form a Man who may again attain that union with God which Adam enjoyed before he fell, and who may again restore…”
Both passages express a desire for unity with the divine and the transformation of human nature through this union. Plato's Socrates prays for inner and outer beauty to be aligned, while the Vb passage discusses the union of human nature with the Divine Nature through Christ.
◆christian_mysticism|Meister Eckhart's Sermons (Field translation)|VIIb
“How can the inner man be born in God, when the outer man abides not in the following of Christ, in self-mortification and in suffering, for there is no being born of God, except through Christ. Love is the fulfilling of all commands; there…”
Both passages emphasize the importance of inner transformation and the unity of the inner and outer self. Plato's Socrates prays for inner beauty and wisdom, while the Christian mystic passage discusses the inner work of the soul in union with God, highlighting the necessity of inner morality and divine grace.