what I'm saying, in other words, is that once he's come into contact with an attractive person and become intimate with him, he produces and gives birth to the offspring he's been pregnant with for so long. He thinks of his partner all the time, whether or nor he's there, and together they share in raising their offspring. Consequently, this kind of relationship involves a far stronger bond and far more constant affection than is experienced by people who are united by ordinary children, because the offspring of this relationship are particularly attractive and are closer to immortality than ordinary children. We'd all prefer to have children of this sort rather than the human kind, and we cast envious glances at good poets like Hormer and Hesiod because the kind of children they leave behind are those which earn their parents renown and 'fame immortal', since the children themselves are immortal."
(208e-209d)