" To the
latter "the face of the beloved is the reflection of the sublimely
beautiful." He would like to sacrifice to her, as to the immortal gods.
All beautiful bodies represent to him in an increasing measure the idea
of the beauty of form, which again is subordinate to the beauty of the
soul. It points the way to metaphysical beauty, the eternal and
imperishable idea of mankind. Socrates could scorn the beauty of the
individual because he saw in it merely an imperfect reflection of
perfect beauty. In its truest sense Platonic love is, therefore,
impersonal; it is not spiritual love for a human being, but a peculiar
characteristic of the Greek cult of beauty. We shall again meet this
principle of beauty-worship in metaphysical love, the adoration of
woman; thanks to Plato, it has for all time become the inalienable
property of the human mind. The striving to rise above all individualism
was another ideal which a later period revived. But the pivot round
which the emotions revolved was the love for a beloved individual, the
modern, European, fundamental motive, as opposed to the antique Platonic
cult of ideas.
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