Meno by Plato

This etext was prepared by Sue Asscher MENO by Plato Translated by Benjamin Jowett INTRODUCTION. This Dialogue begins abruptly with a question of Meno, who asks, ‘whether virtue can be taught.’ Socrates replies that he does not as yet know what virtue is, and has never known anyone who did. ‘Then he cannot have met

Timaeus by Plato

This etext was prepared by Sue Asscher TIMAEUS by Plato Translated by Benjamin Jowett INTRODUCTION AND ANALYSIS. Of all the writings of Plato the Timaeus is the most obscure and repulsive to the modern reader, and has nevertheless had the greatest influence over the ancient and mediaeval world. The obscurity arises in the infancy of

Theaetetus by Plato

This etext was prepared by Sue Asscher THEAETETUS by Plato Translated by Benjamin Jowett INTRODUCTION AND ANALYSIS. Some dialogues of Plato are of so various a character that their relation to the other dialogues cannot be determined with any degree of certainty. The Theaetetus, like the Parmenides, has points of similarity both with his earlier

The Republic by Plato, translated by B. Jowett

The Republic of Plato is the longest of his works with the exception of the Laws, and is certainly the greatest of them. There are nearer approaches to modern metaphysics in the Philebus and in the Sophist; the Politicus or Statesman is more ideal; the form and institutions of the State are more clearly drawn out in the Laws; as works of art, the Symposium and the Protagoras are of higher excellence.

Symposium by Plato, translated by B. Jowett

This etext was prepared by Sue Asscher SYMPOSIUM by Plato Translated by Benjamin Jowett INTRODUCTION. Of all the works of Plato the Symposium is the most perfect in form, and may be truly thought to contain more than any commentator has ever dreamed of; or, as Goethe said of one of his own writings, more

Statesman by Plato

This etext was prepared by Sue Asscher STATESMAN by Plato Translated by Benjamin Jowett INTRODUCTION AND ANALYSIS. In the Phaedrus, the Republic, the Philebus, the Parmenides, and the Sophist, we may observe the tendency of Plato to combine two or more subjects or different aspects of the same subject in a single dialogue. In the

Sophist by Plato

This etext was prepared by Sue Asscher SOPHIST by Plato Translated by Benjamin Jowett INTRODUCTION AND ANALYSIS. The dramatic power of the dialogues of Plato appears to diminish as the metaphysical interest of them increases (compare Introd. to the Philebus). There are no descriptions of time, place or persons, in the Sophist and Statesman, but

Protagoras by Plato, translated by B. JowettOr the Sophists

This etext was prepared by Sue Asscher PROTAGORAS by Plato Translated by Benjamin Jowett INTRODUCTION. The Protagoras, like several of the Dialogues of Plato, is put into the mouth of Socrates, who describes a conversation which had taken place between himself and the great Sophist at the house of Callias–‘the man who had spent more
Plato's Republic

Plato’s Republic

THE Republic of Plato is the longest of his works with the exception of the Laws, and is certainly the greatest of them. There are nearer approaches to modern metaphysics in the Philebus and in the Sophist; the Politicus or Statesman is more ideal; the form and institutions of the State are more clearly drawn out in the Laws; as works of art, the Symposium and the Protagoras are of higher excellence.

Philebus by Plato

This etext was prepared by Sue Asscher PHILEBUS by Plato Translated by Benjamin Jowett INTRODUCTION AND ANALYSIS. The Philebus appears to be one of the later writings of Plato, in which the style has begun to alter, and the dramatic and poetical element has become subordinate to the speculative and philosophical. In the development of

Lysis by Plato

INTRODUCTION. No answer is given in the Lysis to the question, ‘What is Friendship?’ any more than in the Charmides to the question, ‘What is Temperance?’ There are several resemblances in the two Dialogues: the same youthfulness and sense of beauty pervades both of them; they are alike rich in the description of Greek life.

Lesser Hippias by Plato

This etext was prepared by Sue Asscher LESSER HIPPIAS by Plato (see Appendix I) Translated by Benjamin Jowett APPENDIX I. It seems impossible to separate by any exact line the genuine writings of Plato from the spurious. The only external evidence to them which is of much value is that of Aristotle; for the Alexandrian