Plato - Symposium Excerpt

Aristophanes: Humans have never understood the power of Love, for if they had they would
surely have built noble temples and altars and offered solemn sacrifices; but this is not done, and
most certainly ought to be done, since Love is our best friend, our helper, and the healer of the
ills which prevent us from being happy.

To understand the power of Love, we must understand that our original human nature was not
like it is now, but different. Human beings each had two sets of arms, two sets of legs, and two
faces looking in opposite directions. There were three sexes then: one comprised of two men
called the children of the Sun, one made of two women called the children of the Earth, and a
third made of a man and a woman, called the children of the Moon. Due to the power and might
of these original humans, the Gods began to fear that their reign might be threatened. They
sought for a way to end the humans’ insolence without destroying them.

It was at this point that Zeus divided the humans in half. After the division the two parts of each
desiring their other half, came together, and throwing their arms about one another, entwined in
mutual embraces, longing to grow into one. So ancient is the desire of one another which is
implanted in us, reuniting our original nature, making one of two, and healing the state of
humankind.

Each of us when separated, having one side only, is but the indenture of a person, and we are
always looking for our other half. Those whose original nature lies with the children of the Sun
are men who are drawn to other men, those from the children of the Earth are women who love
other women, and those from the children of the Moon are men and women drawn to one
another. And when one of us meets our other half, we are lost in an amazement of love and
friendship and intimacy, and would not be out of the other’s sight even for a moment. We pass
our whole lives together, desiring that we should be melted into one, to spend our lives as one
person instead of two, and so that after our death there will be one departed soul instead of two;
this is the very expression of our ancient need. And the reason is that human nature was
originally one and we were a whole, and the desire and pursuit of the whole is called Love.