She defined the purpose of love in her speech as "giving birth to beauty, whether in the body or in the soul" (206C). He who seeks beauty is spiritually elevated, “starting with beautiful things and using them as rising stars” (221C). In this explanation, love is more than just a selfish desire. It’s almost like a ladder to improvement. Diotima also makes the distinction that to love is “to be in love” rather than “to be loved” (204C). Where Aristophanes focuses on the fact that receiving is the main motivation for love, Diotima instead asserts that it should be