Diatoma's notion of beauty is that it is an abstract god-like entity. She indicates that beauty is above mortality, and indeed godlike as she refers to beauty as the "divine Beauty(212A)." She believes that it exists seperate from all other things and says that if someone could see, "Beauty itself, absolute, pure, unmixed, not polluted by human flesh or colors or any other great nonsense of mortaility(211E)" that this would this person would no longer give birth to images of beauty. He would not make things that are beautiful, because he would no longer see beauty in great things or people. He would make true virtue itself because he would have seen with true Beauty in its pure form. She goes on to say that this man, if any could, would be the one to become immortal. He has moved beyond the thinking and desires of other men, and with exposure to true, unadulterated beauty could move into another plane of existence because he would no longer perceive the world as other mortals do. Back to Philosophy page Ryan's Writings main page |
| Plato's Symposium: Ultimate Beauty in Diatoma's Speech by Ryan Cofrancesco |