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Plato studied under Socrates and was Aristotle's teacher. Together these three Greeks developed the basis of philosophical thinking for the entire Western world. Plato was also a writer, mathematician, and founder of the Academy in Athens, which was the first university in Europe. Lesser Hippias ... More

Trajectory presents classics of world literature with 21st century features! Our original-text editions include the following visual enhancements to foster a deeper understanding of the work: Word Clouds at the start of each chapter highlight important words. Word, sentence, paragraph counts, and r... More

Most modern scholars agree that it was written mostly during Plato's so-called middle period.[1] In the dialogue, Socrates is asked by two men, Cratylus and Hermogenes, to tell them whether names are "conventional" or "natural", that is, whether language is a system of arbitrary signs or whether wor... More

It depicts a conversation between Socrates and his wealthy friend Crito regarding justice (δικαιοσύνη), injustice (ἀδικία), and the appropriate response to injustice. Socrates thinks that injustice may not be answered with injustice, and refuses Crito's offer to finance his escape from prison. This ... More

Timaeus is a work of dramatic scope, presenting a view of the world as Plato knew it. Beginning with an account of the origins of the universe and ending with an exploration of human health and psychology, the book puts forward a coherent explanation of the physical and metaphysical realms and their... More

Timaeus, one of Plato's acknowledged masterpieces, is an attempt to construct the universe and explain its contents by means of as few axioms as possible. The result is a brilliant, bizarre, and surreal cosmos-- the product of the rational thinking of a creator god and his astral assistants, and of ... More

Critias, one of Plato's late dialogues, contains the story of the mighty island kingdom Atlantis and its attempt to conquer Athens. Critias is the second of a projected trilogy of dialogues, preceded by Timaeus and followed by Hermocrates, though the latter was possibly never written and Critias was... More

The question The Republic sets out to define is "What is justice?" Given the difficulty of this task, Socrates and his interlocutors are led into a discussion of justice in the city, which Socrates suggests may help them see justice in the person, but on a grander (and therefore easier to discuss) s... More

The Cratylus, Plato's sole dialogue devoted to the relation between language and reality, is acknowledged to be one of his masterpieces. But owing to its often enigmatic content no more than a handful of passages from it have played a part in the global evaluation of Plato's philosophy. This new Eng... More

The Apology is Plato's version of the speech given by Socrates as he defended himself in 399 BC against the charges of "corrupting the young, and by not believing in the gods in whom the city believes, but in other daimonia that are novel . Apology here has its earlier meaning (now usually expressed... More

The Charmides is a dialogue of Plato, in which Socrates engages a handsome and popular boy in a conversation about the meaning of sophrosyne, a Greek word usually translated into English as "temperance", "self-control", or "restraint". As is typical with Platonic early dialogues, the two never arriv... More

The Phaedo is acknowledged to be one of Plato's masterpieces, showing him both as a philosopher and as a dramatist at the height of his powers. For its moving account of the execution of Socrates, the Phaedo ranks among the supreme literary achievements of antiquity. It is also a document crucial to... More

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... More

The First Alcibiades or Alcibiades I is a dialogue featuring Alcibiades in conversation with Socrates. It is ascribed to Plato, although scholars are divided on the question of its authenticity.... More

The Second Alcibiades or Alcibiades II (Greek: Ἀλκιβιάδης βʹ) is a dialogue traditionally ascribed to Plato. In it, Socrates attempts to persuade Alcibiades that it is unsafe for him to pray to the gods if he does not know whether what he prays for is actually good or bad for him. <P> <P> There... More

Plato’s most famous work and the bedrock of Western philosophy Written in the form of a Socratic dialogue, The Republic is an investigation into the nature of an ideal society. In this far-reaching and profoundly influential treatise, Plato explores the concept of justice, the connection between pol... More

Two major works by one of history's best known and most widely read and studied philosophers. In Gorgias, an exploration of the proposition that it is better to suffer wrong than to do wrong, Socrates debates with an amoral young sophist and assets that it is preferable to endure someone else's bad ... More

The text describes a conversation among Socrates, the mathematician Theodorus, another person named Socrates (referred to as "Young Socrates"), and an unnamed philosopher from Elea referred to as "the Stranger". It is ostensibly an attempt to arrive at a definition of "statesman," as opposed to "sop... More

These two dialogues by the greatest of the ancient Greek philosophers explore a vital concern of a democratic society: how to define the special abilities and qualities that make a genuine statesman. They further examine the distinction between an authentic statesman and the sophist, an individual w... More

Widely acknowledged as his most influential work, Republic presents Plato's philosophical views on the nature of justice and his vision for the ideal state. THIS ENRICHED CLASSIC EDITION INCLUDES: A concise introduction that gives the reader important background information A chronology of... More

The awe with which Plato regarded the character of 'the great' Parmenides has extended to the dialogue which he calls by his name.... More

"Moore and Raymond's Charmides is very impressive. The translation is excellent, and the Introduction and notes guide the reader into thorny problems in a way that renders them understandable: e.g., how to translate sôphrosunê, why we should care about self-knowledge, or how to seek to clarify impor... More

What is virtue? Can it be learned or is it innate? Is it possible to know things a priori (before experience)? In this important and influential Socratic dialogue, Plato addresses a wealth of philosophy's fundamental questions, including the difference between actually knowing something and merely m... More

This is an English translation of one of the more challenging and enigmatic of Plato's dialogues between Socrates and Parmenides and Zeno of Elea, that begins with Zeno defending his treatise of Parmenidean monism against those partisans of plurality. Focus Philosophical Library translations are cl... More

This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either pa... More