Plato

'This text is perfect for political theory or intellectual history courses at any post-secondary level; nor would it be irrelevant for a philosophy class with supplementary discussion or reading. The translation is both fully pleasurable to read and true to Plato's vernacular and dramatic intentions; the introduction is clear-eyed, smart, free of dogma, and non-didactic; and the format and apparatus provide every kind of help to be hoped for from a non-commentary ... Griffith translates the conversations vividly and brilliantly, in a colloquial but elegant English ...' Bryn Mawr Classical Review 'First it seems that the goal of this new translation is to update the language, making it more readable and colloquial, and thus brining the dialogues to a wider readership ... The result is that these new translations read more smoothly in more colloquial English, making them suitable as introductions to undergraduates and specialists ... this new edition in the Cambridge series 'Texts in the History of Political Thought' will surely be the edition to find on the shelves of scholars, and in the hands of more advanced students.' Robert C. Robinson, Political Studies Review This text is perfect for political theory or intellectual history courses at any post-secondary level; nor would it be irrelevant for a philosophy class with supplementary discussion or reading. The translation is both fully pleasurable to read and true to Plato's vernacular and dramatic intentions; the introduction is clear-eyed, smart, free of dogma, and non-didactic; and the format and apparatus provide every kind of help to be hoped for from a non-commentary. It is refreshingly oriented away from establishing or asserting Plato's views about politics, justice, democracy, or some factitious version of `rhetoric.' The combination of three texts makes particular pedagogical sense, and for such a combination this edition wins out over alternative competing versions. Griffith translates the conversations vividly and brilliantly, in a colloquial but elegant English, full of sensitivity to Socrates' modulation of rapport with his interlocutors. --Christopher Moore, The University of Texas at Austin, Bryn Mawr Classical Review