Dialogues of Plato Containing the Apology of Socrates, Crito, Phaedo and Protagoras

by Plato, Benjamin Jowett (translator)

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

Genres: Philosophy, Classics, Nonfiction

472 pages, cloth

Published June 25, 2004

About the author

Plato (Greek: Πλάτων), born Aristocles (c. 427 – 348 BC), was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the written dialogue and dialectic forms. He raised problems for what became all the major areas of both theoretical philosophy and practical philosophy, and was the founder of the Platonic Academy, a philosophical school in Athens where Plato taught the doctrines that would later become known as Platonism.
Plato's most famous contribution is the theory of forms (or ideas), which has been interpreted as advancing a solution to what is now known as the problem of universals. He was decisively influenced by the pre-Socratic thinkers Pythagoras, Heraclitus, and Parmenides, although much of what is known about them is derived from Plato himself.
Along with his teacher Socrates, and Aristotle, his student, Plato is a central figure in the history of philosophy. Plato's entire body of work is believed to have survived intact for over 2,400 years—unlike that of nearly all of his contemporaries. Although their popularity has fluctuated, they have consistently been read and studied through the ages. Through Neoplatonism, he also greatly influenced both Christian and Islamic philosophy. In modern times, Alfred North Whitehead famously said: "the safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato."

Reviews

[Avalon · Rating 4 out of 5]

During his life Socrates was continually committing a crime, one that eventually brought him to death. The crime? As said by the Accusers: "Socrates is an evil-doer; a meddler who searches into things under the earth and in heaven and makes the worse appear the better cause, and teaches the aforesaid practices to others." In a shorter phrase: Socrates thought and lived his life thinking.
Thinking was the exact opposite of what the court at the time was doing. There was an absence of thought, so the presence of thought was actually quite offensive to them.

If I were to be accused of something I would hope it would be thinking; the accusation of learning, of studying and of progressing.

[Aaron Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've undertaken the task of reading the Great Books as outlined by Mort Adler and published by Britannica. I am neither an academic nor a prisoner, so to undertake this task is a labour of love. Or symptomatic of a deeper mistrust of humanity. Take your pick.
I started with Plato because, Plato. I should say I went back and reread the Apology and the Crito. I 'read' them in college. Okay, not really. I was supposed to but probably read something else, like Piers Anthony. Or drank beer. Both. I did both.
What we pass-off as a liberal arts education today is a pale imitation of a proper grounding in the Classics. What have is the legacy of Dr. Elliot's five-foot shelf. Yes, you can get a rough equivalent of a liberal arts education thru reading and not having to spend the money on or the time attending university. The claim is 15 minutes per day is the same as a liberal arts education, through reading passages and selections instead of entire texts. Most of what we do in university are survey and introductory courses until we make it to our senior year when we take a deep dive into the oeuvre of an individual author. The texts are supposed to reflect the Great Conversation and epitomize Western thought. What's lacking is a critical apparatus to guide us in what to read, in what order, and why. It doesn't do anyone any good to think they can read Nietzsche without any background in Greek philosophy. Everything is predicated on everything else. There is nothing new under the sun, only what is in fashion and how it is sold to the public. And what better time to revisit a reading list than during a pandemic!
(The other nice thing about the Great Books is they are, almost without exception, available in the public domain. I got my copy courtesy the Gutenberg Project, all nicely formatted as an ebook and complete with a cover.)
These dialogues are our first real lessons in leadership and politics and it is fitting they come to us from the perspective of a soldier. The Dialogues recount the last days of Socrates, his trial (the Apology), his incarceration and refusal to escape (the Crito), and his farewell to friends before his execution (the Phædo). We are shown the fear and hypocrisy of politicians and we are witness to the stubborn intransigence of Socrates. He could leave (there is more than a hint the City Fathers want him to leave), but he will not and this goes to the heart of the matter: principle.
If Socrates leaves, it makes him a hypocrite. He has lived in Athens his entire life. The city has given him everything. And now it wants his life. For Socrates, to do anything less undermines everything he stands for. If he runs, how can anyone take him seriously? His credibility would be destroyed. Everything he taught would be proven worthless. Socrates has no choice - his philosophy and his principles demand nothing less than total obedience to Athens. So he plays politics, makes a mockery of the court, and takes the ultimate ownership of his situation. This is how he lived, this is how he will die, and frankly his military training wouldn't allow him to do otherwise.
And the result?
Socrates died and left with the foundation of the foundation of Western philosophy.

[John · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to read "Phaedo" for my book group.

What a weird hot mess.

My best guess is that someone (Socrates? Plato?) is trying to achieve the poetry of a holy work by throwing up lots and lots of uncertainty and ambiguity. I really, really don't know why these little plays (the "dialogues") are so popular. Was the Renaissance crowd just that desperate for something as comparably old as the Bible?

[Michael Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read for all rational humans

I read the The Harvard Classics deluxe (registered) edition translation by Benajmin Jowett. This book includes three works (or Dialogues) by Plato: The Apology, Phaedo, and Crito. The most famous of these diologues is The Apology which recounts Socrates’ trial. His opening defense sets the tone: “How you have felt, O men of Athens, at hearing the speeches of my accusers, I cannot tell; but I know that their persuasive words almost made me forget who I was, such was the effect of them; and yet they have hardly spoken a word of truth.” This was not a typical defense but rather a repudiation of his accusers. The second work is the Crito where Plato discusses Socrates’s incarceration awaiting execution and his rejection of an escape attempt. The third work is the Phaedo where Socrates says goodbye to his friends and family before consuming the infamous Hemlock poison.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspirational. Great translation.

[Chuck Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read in college but read again as part of Harvard Classics reading project.

[Casey Winters · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classic, but kind of trite at this point. Not very logical either, IMO.