Plato Speaks

Selected passages from Plato’s Republic with facing commentary: Plato has justly been called the teacher of the West. This book is intended for the reader who would like to engage with the words of Plato at a level which does not require the unaided reading of an entire dialogue. On every left-hand page, the reader will find, in translation, a passage from Plato’s most famous dialogue, the Republic, and on the facing right-hand page, a commentary on that passage. The commentaries attempt to draw out Plato’s meaning for the benefit of those readers who require elucidation of the texts. The book is not ‘Plato made easy’, for that would be an injustice to Plato: rather, it seeks to show that the teaching of Plato is clear and accessible, if not always easy. The book will have succeeded in its principal aim if the reader feels encouraged to proceed to the reading of one or more entire dialogues of Plato