[276a]
Socrates
Now tell me; is there not another kind of speech, or word, which shows itself to be the legitimate brother of this bastard one, both in the manner of its begetting and in its better and more powerful nature?Phaedrus
What is this word and how is it begotten, as you say?Socrates
The word which is written with intelligence in the mind of the learner, which is able to defend itself and knows to whom it should speak, and before whom to be silent.Phaedrus
You mean the living and breathing word of him who knows, of which the written word may justly be called the image.
Now tell me; is there not another kind of speech, or word, which shows itself to be the legitimate brother of this bastard one, both in the manner of its begetting and in its better and more powerful nature?Phaedrus
What is this word and how is it begotten, as you say?Socrates
The word which is written with intelligence in the mind of the learner, which is able to defend itself and knows to whom it should speak, and before whom to be silent.Phaedrus
You mean the living and breathing word of him who knows, of which the written word may justly be called the image.