Books by Plato

Book SynopsisTranslated by John Llewelyn Davies and David James Vaughan. With an Introduction by Stephen Watt. The ideas of Plato (c429-347BC) have influenced Western philosophers for over two thousand years. Such is his importance that the twentieth-century philosopher A.N. Whitehead described all subsequent developments within the subject as foot-notes to Plato's work. Beyond philosophy, he has exerted a major influence on the development of Western literature, politics and theology. The Republic deals with the great range of Plato's thought, but is particularly concerned with what makes a well-balanced society and individual. It combines argument and myth to advocate a life organized by reason rather than dominated by desires and appetites. Regarded by some as the foundation document of totalitarianism, by others as a call to develop the full potential of humanity, the Republic remains a challenging and intensely exciting work.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA literal translation, allowing the simplicity and vigor of the Greek diction to shine through.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA translation that offers an introduction presenting both basic information and a sense of scholarly opinion.Trade ReviewA fantastic book. Translation is graceful and elegant yet uncannily accurate. Footnotes very useful, especially for teaching purposes, and the price is surprisingly low. --Eve Browning Cole, University of Minnesota

Read more less

Book SynopsisPresents the translation of a dialogue on virtue, wisdom, and the nature of sophistic teaching. This title provides an introduction that illuminates the dialogue's perennial interest, its Athenian political background, and the particular difficulties and ironic nuances of its argument.Trade ReviewA very readable translation that conveys both the philosophical and the dramatic context better than any existing translation. It is extremely accurate in conveying the movement of the argument and in noting significant points of philosophical usage. . . . I am very impressed with the vividness and the easy flow of the prose. --John Cooper, Princeton University

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe revised edition of Grube's classic translation follows and furthers Grube's noted success in combining fidelity to Plato's text with natural readability, while reflecting the fruits of new scholarship and insights into Plato's thought since publication of the first edition in 1974.Trade ReviewC.D.C. Reeve has taken the excellent Grube translation and, without sacrificing accuracy, rendered it into a vivid and contemporary style. It is intensity that is often lost in translation, but not here. This is not just a matter of style. The Republic is full of brilliant thoughts, and one needs to preserve brilliance to capture them. In the cave of translations, Reeve’s revision of Grube's Republic is closest to the sun. --Jonathan Lear, University of ChicagoReeve has reworked the Grube translation thoroughly, raising the level of philosophical accuracy and updating the language, all the while retaining--and indeed enhancing--the celebrated readability of the Grube original. For a long time to come, Grube-Reeve will deservedly be the first choice of scholars and students alike. --John Cooper, Princeton University

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis translation of Plato's classic work is published along with an extensive introductory essay, which situates the work in the context of the development of Greek science and discusses points of contemporary interest.Trade ReviewDonald Zeyl's fresh and faithful translation and his lucid, comprehensive commentary will bring the sublime Timaeus to life for contemporary students of cosmology, metaphysics, history of science, and philosophy. --Sarah Broadie, Princeton University

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe third edition of The Trial and Death of Socrates presents G. M.A. Grube's distinguished translations, as revised by John Cooper for Plato, Complete Works. A number of new or expanded footnotes are also included along with a Select Bibliography.

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade Review"Those interested in the Republic primarily as a work of philosophy can not do better than Grube. . . . [He] renders Plato's arguments in unfussy, idiomatic English . . . sensitive to nuances of argument and the connection of philosophical ideas." —John M. Cooper, Princeton University“Unmistakably superior: more lucid, more accurate, more readable. Above all, they’re lucidly adorned, unpretentious, and in translating Plato that counts a good deal. The prose is, as English prose, persuasive, cogent, and as eloquent as it can be without departing from the text.” —William Arrowsmith

Read more less

Book Synopsis"Phaedo (Second Edition)".Trade ReviewA first rate translation at a reasonable price. --Michael Rohr, Rutgers University

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisA translation of Plato's dialogue. It features an introduction that explores the dialogue's center themes, its connection with related discussions in other dialogues, and its implication for the interpretation of Plato's metaphysics.Trade ReviewThis translation of one of Plato's most challenging dialogues is so unpretentiously honest that it risks undercutting its own significant merits. As far as I can judge, it will prove most helpful not only to students of classical studies and philosophy, but to anybody who is interested in the questions treated by the Sophist. Clarity seems to be the editor and translator's aim, and it is well achieved in: (a) an introduction which without philosophical arm-twisting brings in the views of some modern philosophers on negative and false statement (as inconclusive as Plato's), (b) a select bibliography and a summary of the arguments which students will find useful, and (c) a translation of the text in civilized modern English. Space forbids the adduction of parallel passages. However, I do not hesitate to claim that in terms of accuracy and credible conversational style, the translation will stand comparision with those of A.E. Taylor and F.M. Cornford. --David Rankin, in The Classical Review

Read more less

Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThe original publication of Rowe's translation in 1995 was a landmark event in the study of this fascinating but enigmatic dialogue. Based on a careful and convincing revised Greek text, the contemporary English of this unpretentious, clear, and--above all--accurate revised version make it by far the best available. In fact, Rowe’s translation is now and will surely remain the only acceptable choice. --John Cooper, Princeton University

Read more less

Book SynopsisHarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics.

Read more less

Book SynopsisRich in drama and humour, the Early Socratic Dialogues include the controversial Ion, a debate on poetic inspiration; Laches, in which Socrates seeks to define bravery; and Euthydemus, which considers the relationship between philosophy and politics. Together, these dialogues provide a definitive portrait of the real Socrates and raise issues still keenly debated by philosophers, forming an incisive overview of Plato's philosophy.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThroughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are. Plato''s retelling of the discourses between Socrates and his friends on such subjects as love and desire, truth and illusion, spiritual transcendence and the qualities of a good ruler, profoundly affected the ways in which we view human relationships, society and leadership - and shaped the whole tradition of Western philosophy.

Read more less

Book SynopsisEuthyphro; Apology of Socrates; CritoTrade ReviewLikely to be the standard edition of these dialogues for some time to come. * The Times (London) *

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis paperback edition of Dodds''s standard edition of Plato''s Gorgias is designed to meet the needs both of undergraduates and professional scholars. The text and apparatus criticus are based on a fresh survey of the evidence: two major manuscripts are here for the first time fully collated, and account has been taken both of new papyri and of the exceptionally rich indirect tradition. The text is supplemented by a full introduction giving details on the subject and structure of the dialogue, its characters and intended historical setting, the real date of composition, and the background to Plato and Athens at the time of composition. The commentary, besides explaining Platonic usages and discussing textual points, aims to treat the historical, philosphical, and literary questions which arise from the text.Trade Review`Professor Dodds's fine edition (which both fairly overhauls the manuscript tradition and supplies a commentary as wide-ranging as it is perspicacious) fills a gap untouched in this country since 1890 ... The Gorgias should have a special appeal to contemporary students, and to historians no less than philosophers.' Times Literary Supplement `The admired qualities of [Dodd's works], a scholarship both exact and deep, an economy and lucidity in exposition (Dodds has few rivals in saying much in the fewest words with absolute clarity), and an immense level-headedness and sobriety which - combined with the sharpest acumen and independence of judgement in the handling of evidence - is never seduced by the charm of fantasy, all these once more characterize his edition of the Gorgias.' Philosophical QuarterlyTable of ContentsPart 1 The dialogue: subject and structure; personages and period; date of composition - the relative date, the absolute date; Plato and Athens. Part 2 The evidence for the text: the medieval manuscripts - the first family B T W and P, the second family F, the Byzantine recensions; the Papyri; ancient commentaries - Olympiodorus, the scholia; the indirect tradition.

Read more less

Book Synopsis''Some of our greatest blessings come from madnessPhaedrus is widely recognized as one of Plato''s most profound and beautiful works. It takes the form of a dialogue between Socrates and Phaedrus and its ostensible subject is love, especially homoerotic love. Socrates reveals it to be a kind of divine madness that can allow our souls to grow wings and soar to their greatest heights. Then the conversation changes direction and turns to a discussion of rhetoric, which must be based on truth passionately sought, thus allying it to philosophy. The dialogue closes by denigrating the value of the written word in any context, compared to the living teaching of a Socratic philosopher.The shifts of topic and register have given rise to doubts about the unity of the dialogue, doubts which are addressed in the introduction to this volume. Full explanatory notes also elucidate issues throughout the dialogue that might puzzle a modern reader. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World''s Cla

Read more less

Book Synopsis"Theaetus," the "Sophist," and the "Statesman" are a trilogy of Platonic dialgues that show Socrates formulating his conception of philosophy as he prepares the defense for his trial. Originally published together as "The Being of the Beautiful

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisAmong Plato's later dialogues "The Parmenides" is considered one of the most significant. This book provides a translation of the text along with a structural analysis.

Read more less

Book SynopsisProvides a translation of the dialogues of Plato. This book argues that the particular formulation by Plato had a direct and profound influence on the Founding Fathers and the development of American constitutional law.

Read more less

Book SynopsisBenjamin Jowett's translations of Plato have long been classics in their own right. In this volume, Professor Hayden Pelliccia has revised Jowett's renderings of five key dialogues, giving us a modern Plato faithful to both Jowett's best features and Plato's own masterly style.Gathered here are many of Plato's liveliest and richest texts. Ion takes up the question of poetry and introduces the Socratic method. Protagoras discusses poetic interpretation and shows why cross-examination is the best way to get at the truth. Phaedrus takes on the nature of rhetoric, psychology, and love, as does the famous Symposium. Finally, Apology gives us Socrates' art of persuasion put to the ultimate test--defending his own life.Pelliccia's new Introduction to this volume clarifies its contents and addresses the challenges of translating Plato freshly and accurately. In its combination of accessibility and depth, Selected Dialogues of Plato is the ideal introduction to one of the key th

Read more less

Book SynopsisA compilation of the essential works of Plato in  one paperback volume: The Republic, The  Symposium, Parmenides, Euthyphro, Apology,  Crito, and Phaedo.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis is a critical edition of the Clitophon, a dialogue generally ascribed to Plato. Professor Slings here provides a text accompanied by a translation. The book also contains a very extensive introduction and a commentary in English.Trade Review"This book is an important and original work of scholarship, well and thoroughly done." Bryn Mawr Classical ReviewTable of ContentsPreface; Abbreviations; Introduction; Part I. Prolegomena to the Dialogue: 1. Introduction; 2. Summary and analysis of composition; 3. Is the Clitophon unfinished?; 4. The Clitophon as a Short Dialogue; 5. The characters of the dialogue; Part II. Meaning and Authenticity: 6. Philosophical protreptic in the fourth century BCE; 7. Protreptic in the Clitophon; 8. Protreptic in Plato; 9. Elenchos in the Clitophon; 10. Justice in the Clitophon; 11. The meaning of the Clitophon; 12. Date and authenticity; Text and translation; Commentary; Appendices: I. The ending of Aristotle's Protrepticus; II. Note on the text; Bibliography; Indexes.

Read more less

Book SynopsisPlato''s Crito is an investigation of morality and justice. It presents a dialogue which takes place in Socrates'' prison cell, where he awaits execution. He is visited by his friend Crito who has made arrangements to smuggle him out of prison. Socrates, however, reasons that this would be the wrong moral choice, and that he should act justly rather than selfishly. This edition of the Crito was first published in 1888, with a second edition published in 1891. It is now on its sixteenth printing. The text is given in full, in the original Greek with an introduction and notes.Table of ContentsPrefaces; Introduction; Text; Notes; Appendix; Vocabulary; Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn 399 BC Socrates was prosecuted, convicted, sentenced to death and executed. These events were the culmination of a long philosophical career, a career in which, without writing a word, he established himself as the figure whom all philosophers of the next few generations wished to follow. The Apologies (or Defence Speeches) by Plato and Xenophon are rival accounts of how, at his trial, Socrates defended himself and his philosophy. This edition brings together both Apologies within a single volume. The commentary answers literary, linguistic and philosophical questions in a way that is suitable for readers of all levels, helping teachers and students engage more closely with the Greek texts. The introduction examines Socrates himself, the literature generated by his trial, Athenian legal procedures, his guilt or innocence of the crimes for which he was executed, and the rivalry between Xenophon and Plato.Trade Review'… a welcome addition to our tools for understanding Socrates, Plato, and Xenophon.' David M. Johnson, Exemplaria ClassicaTable of ContentsIntroduction; ΠΛΑΤΩΝΟΣ ΑΠΟΛΟΓΙΑ ΣΩΚΡΑΤΟΥΣ; ΞΕΝΟΦΩΝΤΟΣ ΑΠΟΛΟΓΙΑ ΣΩΚΡΑΤΟΥΣ; Commentary.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis edition of Plato's Meno has extensive preliminary chapters provided by Bluck, designed to truly enhance the reader's engagement with this ancient text. In the introductory chapters, he reviews the argument of the Meno, and summarises Plato's use of the hypothetical method in the Meno, the Phaedo and the Republic.Table of ContentsPreface; Introduction; 1. The argument of the Meno; 2. 'Recollection' in other dialogues; 3. Transmigration and 'recollection' before Plato; 4. The hypothetical method; 5. The date of the Meno; 6. The setting and the characters; 7. The evidence for the text; Text; commentary; Appendix; Select bibliography; Indices.

Read more less

Book SynopsisPlato's Symposium is the most literary of all his works and one which all students of classics are likely to want to read. Sir Kenneth Dover provides here a sympathetic and modern edition of the kind that is long overdue.Trade Review'This commentary … does three things superbly. It explains Plato's Greek punctiliously, especially the less familiar constructions, particles, and words that are often loosely or wrongly translated. With a razor's sharpness it cuts through sloppy or faulty logic in Plato's Greek. And it provides the necessary background material, whether historical, literary, sexual, or social.' Greece & Rome' … few books can have given in three pages so informative and at the same time so provocative an account of Plato's philosophy.' The Times Educational Supplement'This is a tight-packed, authoritative, but readable edition.' J.A.C.T. BulletinTable of ContentsPreface; Abbreviations; Introduction: 1. Eros; 2. Homosexuality; 3. Philosophy; 4. Historical basis; 5. Date of composition; 6. Symposia; 7. Encomia; 8. Textual transmission; 9. Bibliography; The Symposium; Commentary; Indexes to the introduction and commentary; Appendix 1. Disagreements with Burnet's edition; Appendix 2. Proper names; Appendix 3. Greek words; Appendix 4. General.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis 1996 book provides a commentary on selected texts of Plato concerned with poetry: the Ion and relevant sections of the Republic. It was the first commentary to present these texts together in one volume, and the first in English on Republic 2 and 3 and Ion for nearly 100 years.Trade Review'a valuable resource … a model of clarity, concision, careful research, and judicious presentation of difficult and controversial issues. It will be a useful took for both students and more advanced scholars for years to come.' The Classical ReviewTable of ContentsIntroduction: 1. Mimesis; 2. Poetry and inspiration; 3. Plato as poet; 4. The battle between poetry and philosophy; 5. Plato and Homer; 6. The Platonic legacy; 7. The text; Ion; Republic 376e–398b9; Republic 595–608b10; Commentary; Appendix: Poetic inspiration in Plato; Bibliography; Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Statesman is Plato's neglected political work, but it is crucial for an understanding of the development of his political thinking. In its presentation of the statesman's expertise, The Statesman modifies, as well as defending in original ways, this central theme of the Republic. This new translation makes the dialogue accessible to students of political thought and the introduction outlines the philosophical and historical background necessary for a political theory readership.Table of ContentsPreface; Introduction; Translator's notes; Chronology of principal events; Bibliography; Biographical note; Statesman; Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn this rendition, first published in 2000, Ferrari and Griffith have produced a vivid, dignified and accurate textbook of one of the great works of Western political thought. It contains an expanded introduction assessing the cultural and political background and general argument; text notes; summary of content; full glossary; chronology of events; and guide to further reading.Trade Review"[Griffith's] aim was to traslate the Greek text as if it were a conversation, and he has succeeded admirably." Library Journal"In addition to a vivid, dignified and accurate rendition of Plato's text, the student and general reader will find many aids to comprehension in this volume: an introduction that assesses the cultural background to the Republic, its place within political philosophy, and its general argument; succinct notes in the body of the text; an analytical summary of the work's content; a full glossary of proper names; a chronology of important events; and a guide to further reading. The result is an accomplished and accessible edition of this seminal work, suitable for philosophers and classicists as well as historians of political thought at all levels." African Sun Times Review of BooksTable of ContentsIntroduction: the thirty; Faction; A Spartan utopia?; The philosopher and the king; A political work?; City and soul; Mathematics and metaphysics; A guide to further reading; Principal dates; Abbreviations and conventions; Editor's synopsis of The Republic; The Republic: Book 1; Book 2; Book 3; Book 4; Book 5; Book 6; Book 7; Book 8; Book 9; Book 10.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn this rendition, first published in 2000, Ferrari and Griffith have produced a vivid, dignified and accurate textbook of one of the great works of Western political thought. It contains an expanded introduction assessing the cultural and political background and general argument; text notes; summary of content; full glossary; chronology of events; and guide to further reading.Trade Review"[Griffith's] aim was to traslate the Greek text as if it were a conversation, and he has succeeded admirably." Library Journal"In addition to a vivid, dignified and accurate rendition of Plato's text, the student and general reader will find many aids to comprehension in this volume: an introduction that assesses the cultural background to the Republic, its place within political philosophy, and its general argument; succinct notes in the body of the text; an analytical summary of the work's content; a full glossary of proper names; a chronology of important events; and a guide to further reading. The result is an accomplished and accessible edition of this seminal work, suitable for philosophers and classicists as well as historians of political thought at all levels." African Sun Times Review of BooksTable of ContentsIntroduction: the thirty; Faction; A Spartan utopia?; The philosopher and the king; A political work?; City and soul; Mathematics and metaphysics; A guide to further reading; Principal dates; Abbreviations and conventions; Editor's synopsis of The Republic; The Republic: Book 1; Book 2; Book 3; Book 4; Book 5; Book 6; Book 7; Book 8; Book 9; Book 10.

Read more less

A new edition, with Greek text and Commentary, primarily intended for advanced undergraduates and graduate students of ancient Greek literature and philosophy, although also useful for scholars who want an up-to-date account of how to understand the text, argument, style and background of the work.

Read more less

Book SynopsisPlato's Alcibiades represents Socrates, the exemplary philosopher, trying to win for philosophy the youthful Alcibiades, who later became the exemplary man of unscrupulous action. Although the dialogue was widely admired in antiquity as the very best introduction to Plato, this is the first commentary to be published in modern times.Trade Review"This text will be essential for all students of Plato..." Religious Studies Review"The Alcibiades is rich in Platonic argument and character portrayal, and its relatively simple structure makes it attractive for its traditional use as an introduction to Plato. Further, the editor and Cambridge University Press have produced an attractive and handy book, reminiscent of Burnet's Phaedo in size and format, though with smaller type. Whether or not the Alcibiades is returned to the place it held in the canon for more than two millennia, this volume will be a convenient resource at many levels." Journal of the History of PhilosophyTable of ContentsIntroduction; PLATONOS ALKIBIADES; Commentary.

Read more less

Book SynopsisPlato''s Laws is one of the most important surviving works of ancient Greek political thought. It offers sustained reflection on the enterprise of legislation, and on its role in the social and religious regulation of society in all its aspects. Many of its ideas were drawn upon by later political thinkers, from Aristotle and Cicero to Thomas More and Montesquieu. This book presents the first translation of the complete text of the Laws for thirty-five years, in Tom Griffith''s readable and reliable English. Malcolm Schofield, a leading scholar of Greek philosophy, introduces the main themes and characteristics of the work, as well as supplying authoritative notes on the structure and detail of Plato''s argument, together with a guide to further reading. The book will be a key resource for those interested in Greek philosophy and of the history of political thought.Table of ContentsIntroduction; Synopsis; Principal dates; A guide to further reading; The Laws: Book 1; Book 2; Book 3; Book 4; Book 5; Book 6; Book 7; Book 8; Book 9; Book 10; Book 11; Book 12; Appendix; Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisPlato's Laws is one of the most important surviving works of ancient Greek political thought. This new translation into accessible English also includes an authoritative introduction and notes on the text. It will be a key resource for scholars and graduate and undergraduate students of the history of political thought.Table of ContentsIntroduction; Synopsis; Principal dates; A guide to further reading; The Laws: Book 1; Book 2; Book 3; Book 4; Book 5; Book 6; Book 7; Book 8; Book 9; Book 10; Book 11; Book 12; Appendix; Index.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA monumental work of moral and political philosophy, a book surpassed only by the Bible in its formative influence on two thousand years of Western thought. What does it mean to be good? What enables us to distinguish right from wrong? How should human virtues be translated into a just society? In the course of its tautly reasoned Socratic dialogues, The Republic accomplishes nothing less than an anatomy of the soul and an exhaustive description of a State that both mirrors and enforces the soul’s ideal harmony. The resulting text is at once mystical and elegantly logical and may be read as a template for the societies in which most of us live today.

Read more less