Five Great Dialogues

by Plato, Louise Ropes Loomis (Editor), Benjamin Jowett (Translator)

Foreword by Louise Ropes Loomis. Five of the great dialogues of this influential philosopher, translated by Oxford professor B. Jowett. Includes the Apology, Crito, Phaedo, Symposium, and Republic.

Genres: Philosophy, Classics, Nonfiction, History

528 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1942

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

[Andre · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my ten volume set of Classics Club books published by Walter J. Black, Inc. These Dialogues: Apology, Crito, Phaedo, Symposium, and Republic were translated by B. Jowett, edited with Introduction by Louise Ropes Loomis. This First hardbound Edition was printed in 1942.

[Marcelo Tempes · Rating 5 out of 5]

""Who then are the true phlosophers?" "Those" I said. "who are the lovers of the vision of truth."

Relendo meus grifos agora, ao finalizar a leitura, fiquei embasbacado com a quantidade de ideias, conceitos e verdades que esses 5 diálogos contém. Ficamos perplexos diante de tamanha sabedoria, e de minha tão baixa capacidade para assimilar esse conteúdo tão concentrado. Platão trata dos mais diversos assuntos com a propriedade que só um filósofo de seu calibre poderia ter. Temas de extrema relevância atual estão em sua obra de 2400 anos de idade.

Para resumir, já que não tenho a menor capacidade de, de fato, sintetizar as obras: Apologia de Sócrates trata do julgamento do filósofo e de sua interessantíssima argumentação perante o juri. Críton trata da injustiça e da justiça, e de como uma injustiça não pode anular a outra, apenas somarem-se. Fédon trata mais propriamente de uma longa, e um tanto mais complexa, argumentação de Sócrates em favor da eternidade da alma. E enfim, A República provém de um diálogo de Sócrates e alguns companheiros onde um lado argumenta que os injustos levam vantagem enquanto os justos levam a pior; para provar seu ponto - de que a justiça compensa, tanto em vida quanto em morte - Sócrates cria um estado ideal e demonstra de que forma, as formas mais injustas de governo, também criam as criaturas mais infelizes, sendo a mais infeliz delas o tirano.

"I found that the men most in repute were all but the most foolish; and that others less esteemed were really wiser and better."

"And thus having got rid of the foolishness of the body we shall be pure and hold converse with the pure, and know of ourselves the clear light everywhere, which is no other than the light of truth. For the impure are not permitted to approach the pure."

"Evil is the vulgar lover who loves the body rather than the soul, inasmuch as he is not even stable, because he loves a thing which is in itself unstable, and therefore when the bloom of youth which he was desiring is over, he takes wing and flies away, in spite of all his words and promises."

"Then love, she said, may be described as the everlasting possesion of the good? That is most true."

" 'How does love suit with age, Sophocles; are you still the man you were?' 'Peace' he replied; 'most gladly have I escaped the thing which you speak; I feel as if I had escaped from a mad and furious master.' "

""Wealth" I said, "and poverty; the one is the parent of luxury and indolence, and the other of meanness and viciousness, and both of discontent.""

[Luke Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man, philosophers sure are funny. They just talk and talk and talk and talk. I know this book wasn’t necessarily supposed to be hilarious, but I seriously found it hilarious how Socrates droned on and on in circles. And hey, we even get the classic cave allegory in here. Good stuff, though once again, it can be quite funny.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A monumental treatise on THE ultimate philosophy, which Socrates—through Plato—goes to great lengths to prove by reason that the optimal life for both individual and society is rooted in virtue.

[Jose Emilio :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably I'd give a better read in a future, not ready to make an articulated impression of the content

[Mike Hattie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am convinced that Socrates & Plato are prophets of truth & virtue & the meaning of life & the meaning of death.

[Jonathan Jerden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apology, Crito, Phaedo, Symposium, and Republic.

All excellent, until Book V of the Republic, when Socrates/Plato go off the rails on women, children, education, and his contempt of individual freedoms.

[Ben Franks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This edition of Plato’s Socratic dialogues contains the Apology, Crito, Phaedo, Symposium, and the Republic (my own reading only took me through the first four as a friend recommend I read the Republic in Allan Bloom’s translation). The first three dialogues are weighty in tone as they walk us through three key moments in the final days of Socrates’ life. The Apology recounts the defense he offered before the citizens of Athens. The Crito tells us of his frame of mind in the night before his death, and the Phaedo recounts his final hours as he discusses philosophy with his students before taking the hemlock. The Symposium is markedly different in both tone and setting. The context for this dialogue is a dinner party in which Socrates sits at table with the best and brightest of Athens. The attendees decide that each member of the party should give a speech in honor of love and at the end they will decide which speech was the best.

As each of these works has long since established themselves as central to the Western Canon, my thoughts on them are largely immaterial. I will only say that it is easy to see why Plato has been required reading for so many centuries and across so many cultures. Even where one parts ways with Plato’s conclusions (typically voiced through the person of Socrates), there is much to learn about how to argue and how to think. The comments in the Phaedo about philosophy being the art of learn how to die well are thought-provoking and helpful. The translation and introductions offered in this edition were lucid and useful. I would highly recommend.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Parts of it are astute, timeless, resonant. Other parts are clumsy, underdeveloped, and outdated. Plato’s ramblings remind me of the complaint (just one?) about the Tragedy of Hamlet: this guy (Hamlet) can’t pick a lane. The abridging of certain texts (like the Republic) is understandable for the modern times of 1942.

Plato’s ventriloquism (using Socrates) is pretty neat as a narrative structure: essentially starting almost every ‘dialogue’ with some form of “I heard from this other guy who heard from Socrates who told him about this awesome verbal showdown he (Socrates) had with a bunch of dumdums”.

There’s lots to kvetch about with this one, but the innate wonder it occasionally stirs up (what does it mean to be “good”? How do you utilize good people to cultivate a good society?) is worth a read.

Probably better to get a more modern translation, since editor Loomis frequently interjects with footnotes to provide a more clear (or equally baffling) interpretation of a Greek phrase or sentence.

However, the moments of meta-textual levity (and the binding! This book is 80+ years old and in decent shape) really brought this one joy for me.

[Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Great" collection of five Plato dialogues -- more than enough interest here to spur me into buying an actual copy of Plato's Republic; the one included here is abridged.