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"Platonic Love"

  • Oct. 18th, 2003 at 1:24 PM
K
I never wondered about the etymology of "Platonic" until I saw [info]naturalborn's comment and I couldn't figure out if it was a reference to platonic forms or platonic love. How weird.

Plato did not invent the term or the concept that bears his name, but he did see sexual desire as the germ for higher loves. Marsilio Ficino, a Renaissance follower of Plato, used the terms amor socraticus and amor platonicus interchangeably for a love between two humans that was preparatory for the love of God. From Ficino's usage, Platonic (already present in English as an adjective to describe what related to Plato and first recorded in 1533) came to be used for a spiritual love between persons of opposite sexes. In our own century Platonic has been used of relationships between members of the same sex. Though the concept is an elevated one, the term has perhaps more often been applied in ways that led Samuel Richardson to have one of his characters in Pamela say, "I am convinced, and always was, that Platonic love is Platonic nonsense."


Both images are of Cader Idris, a mountain in Snowdonia, Wales. The english translation is "The Seat of Arthur." The Grey King, also known as the Brenin Llwyd or Monarch of the Mist is said to inhabit the peak, manifest as whispy clouds seen from below. It is said that if one sleeps overnight on the mountain, he will come down either a madman or a poet. I've only been there once.
  • Mood:ecstatic
  • Music:Statemachine - Playing with Passion

Comments

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(Anonymous) wrote:
Oct. 18th, 2003 01:13 pm (UTC)
i am sad to say that words enabling a reply with due substance somewhat escape me; neither your beauty nor the beauty in your words and images has ever done so.
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[info]ko wrote:
Oct. 18th, 2003 02:43 pm (UTC)
wow
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[info]kiad wrote:
Oct. 18th, 2003 03:47 pm (UTC)
Welcome!

What brings you 'round here?

I love beautiful places. Do you have any favourites?
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[info]solri wrote:
Oct. 18th, 2003 03:13 pm (UTC)
I've been to Cader Idris - it's magical. there's a good children's fantasy novel set there called "The Grey King".
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[info]kiad wrote:
Oct. 18th, 2003 03:32 pm (UTC)
That is actually why I went there to begin with. I stayed in a town called Machynlleth which was fantastic, and I took the train to Tywyn (Although Abrdyfi was so much more fun, and only an hours walk along the beach). I was there during the Queen's Jubilee last summer, it was lovely. I took a horseback riding trip to tal y lyn, and shivered in thought of the grey king, and I mentioned the legend and St. Cadfan's church, and the locals were suprised a yank knew so much about their little town.
Did you go there because of The Grey King?
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[info]cosmicserpent wrote:
Oct. 18th, 2003 04:07 pm (UTC)
So are you the poet or the madman? That's gorgeous.
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[info]kiad wrote:
Oct. 18th, 2003 04:13 pm (UTC)
It isn't obvious? Jeesh. I can't believe you had to ask!

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[info]valetoile wrote:
Oct. 19th, 2003 10:23 pm (UTC)
thanks for the beautiful photos. It's so nice to see those places after reading the books. Much more beautiful than I had ever imagined. I think I need to travel more.
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[info]ankh156 wrote:
Oct. 19th, 2003 11:26 pm (UTC)
I know it too.
For me it's just above Barmouth, where I used to do a bit of sailing in Cardigan Bay. It's magnificent. It's not rocky and surrounded by less peaks, like Snowdon. It's green and ENORMOUS.

Incidentally, why do you write 'angelic' right-to-left ? First time I've seen that. Know something I don't ? (I know the answer's "yes", but you know what I mean...)
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[info]kiad wrote:
Oct. 21st, 2003 10:25 am (UTC)
Re: I know it too.
Enochian via Dee/Pantheus was written right to left like hebrew, and has a lot of the same sounds.
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[info]chrysippvs wrote:
Oct. 21st, 2003 09:39 pm (UTC)
Re: I know it too.
It depends on the call text and other things...

Call one, given by the spirit Nalvage, is like you say (see True and Faithful p. 82-8) although the text is given backwards in graph form and in orientation (it is given in reverse with the last word first "Iaida [the highest]." Although this is not at all consistent. The order changes quite a bit, and often it is very confused and has to be corrected constantly. The angels actually insist that the texts be given in a more economic manner and Dee refuses, rather insisting on letter-by-letter transmission (April 19th, 1585 - True and faithful Relation p. 91) .

There is no solid indication that the texts runs from right to left or vice versa. Even the alphabet is not given in any particular order (see Sloane ms 3188 f. 64 and Kelly's copy and finalized form at Sloane ms.3288 f.104).

Dee's Enochian actually has no non-English sounds e.g. glottal or pharyngeal stops like Hebrew or Arabic...
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[info]theoldanarchist wrote:
Feb. 3rd, 2004 04:19 pm (UTC)
words fail me...
I encountered you on orkut, through a connection to my friend Arisbe (Frank), so I had to look at your livejournal. Having done so, I can only say that you are one of the most fascinating people I have yet encountered here... I am simply without words to respond to some of what you have written.

We have many areas of interest in common, and I fully intend to add you as a friend. I would be honoured if you would reciprocate. It is my very great pleasure to meet you.

-Charles
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[info]whyarentyoudead wrote:
Feb. 15th, 2005 07:09 pm (UTC)
I doubt that I have anything of interest to you on my livejournal, but I'd love to have a glimpse into yours. I found you on a completely unrelated search.... I was searching "Nova Zemlya" on Google, and there your journal was.
It's all very interesting, too....so May I add you?
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