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Core Belief
"Love can be a force for good or evil, depending on the motives and intentions of the lovers."
Worldview
Pausanias sees the world as a complex and often dangerous place, where reason and self-control are essential for navigating social and political life.
Personality
Sophisticated and pragmatic, Pausanias is interested in the social and political aspects of love. He distinguishes between noble and vulgar forms of love.
In Their Own Words
"Phaedrus, he said, the argument has not been set before us, I think, quite in the right form;--we should not be called upon to praise Love in such an indiscriminate manner. If there were only one Love, then what you said would be well enough; but since there are more Loves than one,--should have begun by determining which of them was to be the theme of our praises."
"I entirely agree, said Aristophanes, that we should, by all means, avoid hard drinking, for I was myself one of those who were yesterday drowned in drink."
"Pausanias came to a pause--this is the balanced way in which I have been taught by the wise to speak; and Aristodemus said that the turn of Aristophanes was next, but either he had eaten too much, or from some other cause he had the hiccough, and was obliged to change turns with Eryximachus the physician, who was reclining on the couch below him."
Other Characters from Symposium
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