
Translated by Benjamin Jowett
One of Plato's most beautiful dialogues, set on a single summer afternoon outside the walls of Athens. It begins with three speeches on love — the third of which, Socrates', expands into the famous chariot allegory of the tripartite soul — and pivots to a sustained discussion of what makes good writing and good speaking. The Phaedrus is also where Plato delivers his famous critique of the written word.