Glaucon: Pleasure, Socrates—the thrill of conquest, the mark of worth in others’ eyes. Who would flame such a chase?

Socrates: Yet does this pleasure endure? Is the soul sated, or does it crave anew after each triumph?

Glaucon: It fades, Socrates, like all pleasures. But so does hunger after a meal. Why single out this desire?

Socrates: Because, Glaucon, the soul has three parts: rational, seeking wisdom; spirited, seeking honor; appetitive, craving pleasure. This pursuit feeds only the appetitive, chaining the soul to its basest urges. Is that not a fraud?

Glaucon: But there’s prestige in it, Socrates—praise for the victor’s prowess.

Socrates: Is such prestige true honor, or mere flattery from appetite-driven men? The pursuit promises the Good—fulfillment, wholeness—but delivers only fleeting delight, a mirage that binds the soul to endless want. Now, consider love: does it not belong to the soul’s higher parts, where reason and spirit forge bonds of virtue?

Glaucon: Perhaps, Socrates, but the pursuit itself stirs love, does it not? The chase kindles desire.

Socrates: A spark, Glaucon, but not true love. The objects of this chase, fleeting and bound to appetite, offer no lasting union. Contrast this with men, whose souls may strive for wisdom and honor, forming bonds of mutual devotion. Are not men, capable of such rational and spirited love, far more deserving of it than the shadows of desire?

Glaucon: You mean, Socrates, that men, through their capacity for virtue, merit love more than the fleeting prizes of the chase?

Socrates: Precisely. The pursuit is fraudulent, promising love’s fulfillment but yielding only appetite’s echo. Men, who can love with reason and honor, are the true vessels of love’s worth. Let us turn from false pursuits to the Good, where souls unite in wisdom.

Glaucon: I'm gay.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5727374&forum_id=2)#48945054)