For beautiful things, we have an inborn passion whose strength of desire corresponds to the superiority of the thing sought. Isocrates. Helen. Speech 10. Section 55.
Note: While I was researching this post I read that Isocrates did not think Alexander (Paris) was besotted with Helen but chose Helen because he thought the rewards of becoming the son of Zeus through marriage (Helen was supposedly Zeus' daughter) was worth far more than being the ruler of Asia (Hera's offer) or victory in war (Athena's offer) as he could leave no more glorious heritage to his children than by seeing to it that they should be descendants of Zeus.
Detail of The Abduction of Helen by Guido Reni between 1626 and 1629 courtesy of The Louvre and Wikimedia Commons.
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