Now, now, my children, be at peace, and don’t tear things up, especially not poems. Our talk has moved under its own laws to a conclusion and has left us many things to talk about on another day. Let me thank you all – Deximenes, I thank you for your hospitality and this excellent and inspiring wine, I thank Mantias for so generously holding back his argument, I thank Acastos for being so certain that art is truth – and I thank Plato, who is youngest, for producing such a great shower of hazy, golden thoughts.

CALLISTOS

What about me?

SOCRATES

I thank you for being the most beautiful.

MANTIAS

I think he did very well.

DEXIMENES

You are the most beautiful, Socrates.

SOCRATES

And let us thank the gods for the gift of love, which Acastos spoke so truly of just now, and thank the god who is love, whom Plato praised with so much poetic eloquence. In truly loving each other we learn more perhaps than in all our other studies.

Laughing and embracing each other they begin to go away. Plato and Socrates are last.

PLATO

Oh–

SOCRATES

What?

PLATO

I’m so happy. I don’t know why. I love you so much.

SOCRATES

I’m so glad, Come – and – dear boy –

PLATO

Yes?

SOCRATES

Don’t write it all down!

Plato laughs. Socrates puts his arm round him and leads him off.

ABOVE THE GODS: A Dialogue about Religion

ABOVE THE GODS:
A Dialogue about Religion

Characters in order of appearance

A SERVANT

ANTAGORAS a sophist, in love with Timonax

TIMONAX a socially conscious youth

ACASTOS a serious questing youth

SOCRATES

PLATO

ALCIBIADES

Athens in the late fifth century BC.

Socrates is about sixty years old, Alcibiades about forty, Plato about twenty.

Acastos, Antagoras and Timonax are fictional characters.

At the house of Antagoras. The servant is arranging wine and fruit. Enter, garlanded after a religious festival, Antagoras, Timonax and Acastos. Acastos smiles at the servant, who bows and withdraws. They fiddle with their garlands.

ACASTOS

I love religious festivals, they’re such fun.

TIMONAX

Fun?

ACASTOS

Well, of course it’s serious, it’s a solemn occasion –

TIMONAX

I thought you didn’t believe in fun!

ANTAGORAS

Religious people always have to pretend they enjoy it, it’s their least elegant form of hypocrisy!

TIMONAX

Let’s have a drink.

Enter Socrates. They all rise and wait till he is seated. They sit. Antagoras pulls Timonax to sit with him.

SOCRATES to Antagoras

How kind of you to invite us.

ANTAGORAS

My house is honoured.

SOCRATES

Where’s young Plato?

TIMONAX

Please not Plato, he’s so emotional, he always spoils the argument, he gets cross when he can’t explain his ideas.

ACASTOS

My garland is full of fleas!

TIMONAX

So is mine!

Hasty removal of garlands.

ANTAGORAS

They recycle these things. What an image of human life, flowers full of fleas!

ACASTOS watching the fleas with sympathy

Ah, look at them!

ANTAGORAS