Written in the form of debates, Great Dialogues of Plato comprises the most influential body of philosophy of the Western world—covering every subject from art and beauty to virtue and the nature of love.
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About the Author
Plato (c. 427–347 b.c.) founded the Academy in Athens, the prototype of all Western universities, and wrote more than twenty philosophical dialogues.
W.H.D. Rouse was one of the great 20th century experts on Ancient Greece, and headmaster of the Perse School, Cambridge, England, for 26 years. Under his leadership the school became widely known for the successful teaching of Greek and Latin as spoken languages. He derived his knowledge of the Greeks not only from his wide studies of classical literature, but also by travelling extensively in Greece. He died in 1950.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
56 of 57 people found the following review helpful
By john b
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I'm new to Plato. That should be said first. With that said, these are the things I have read: The Republic, Meno, Crito, Euthyphros, Symposium, Phaedo, Phaedrus and The Apology. With THAT said, you can appreciate, maybe, what I wanted to say about this book:
Not all of those translations were in this book. Phaedrus was one good example of what was missing, and when I read that, I had read it in another book that I own, with the translator being Benjamin Jowett. I also read Jowetts translation of the Republic. After reading that translation, I came to this book, translated by Rouse.
Hands down, Rouse takes the cake. I immediately noticed a difference in how easily the material is understood. Within the first ten pages of a reread of The Republic (and Symoposium and Apology), I could understand what was being presented far better than I could in the other translation. I had thought before that the material was difficult to understand, and in books like Phaedrus, it can seem so. What I discovered though, is that the material is only as difficult as the translators skill, or lack thereof, makes it. I know that some people have complained about how the material is 'anglicized' for the public, but I would think that this would be a good thing. Plato is from a different time and place than the mass of people living today (with only an elite few really having the full scope to understand everything needed to slog through Jowetts translation- I wasn't really one of them) and should be changed slightly to help accomodate those with the desire to understand him and the contributions he made.
This book does that wonderfully. The annotations do a wonderful job of helping to explain what might seem vague. The quotation marks help to place dialogue in the (english) readers mind. The arrangement of the books is done in an order that makes sense, allowing a person to logically progress through the series of Platos' thought process. The material itself is something that every human being with a desire to learn should experience, and Rouse did a wonderful job of exacerbating that to the public at large.
Bottom line: if you want to read Plato and don't have the time to earn a degree in ancient Hellenistic culture first, then pick up this translation. Also ignore the detractors that might think this way of seeing the ancient Greek as too 'tainted', they're just jealous because Plato is now accessible to everyone in this book.
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful
By Mike
Format:Mass Market Paperback
For those who do not know, Plato was Socrates' preeminent student. The dialogues are treatises on various interesting questions, such as what is love, virtue, etc.... The style of the texts are based on the Socratic method of asking questions and use of analogy to test an hypothesis. This gives the texts the style of mysteries as you follow the twists and turns of the arguments to get to the conclusion. Socrates is often the protagonist guiding the reader so it also gives the texts a sense of biography.
This collection contains probably the best works, and Rouse's translation is clear and easy to read. Enjoyable, entertaining, mind-opening.
This collection contains probably the best works, and Rouse's translation is clear and easy to read. Enjoyable, entertaining, mind-opening.
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
By Randy Walden
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Love him or hate him (and there are plenty who feel both ways), Plato is essential reading for anyone interested in Western thought. So much so that A. N. Whitehead made the famous, if controversial, comment that "all of philosophy is but a series of footnotes to Plato." Even if that's a bit over the top, Plato is still simply one of those "must reads," for philosophy in particular, and for the humanities in general. Plato raised questions about virtue, justice, love, government, god, society, epistemology and metaphysics that we still wrestle with today, and his answers, for better or worse, have greatly impacted our culture and history.
If you're new to Plato, this edition is a good start. I've had my copy of the Great Dialogues of Plato-now dog-eared, scribbled in, and Scotch-taped together-since I first wrestled with the Apology and the Republic in my high school humanities class. These are hardly Plato's only dialogues, but they are arguably the most important, especially for general students. Rouse's translations are highly readable. He captures the flavor of what Plato wanted to say and how he wanted to say it, without sounding antiquated or artificially modern.
It's worth noting that this edition does not present the dialogues in the order in which Plato probably wrote them, but in the order which seems to represent the unfolding of the particular events described. Thus, the Apology, Crito and Phaedo-describing the trial and death of Socrates-come together at the end, even though the Apology was one of the first dialogues written by Plato, and the Phaedo was among his middle dialogues. This is important because earlier dialogues are probably more representative of Plato's teacher, Socrates, while later dialogues reflect increasingly Platonic thinking, even though Plato continued to use "Socrates" as a character. The Socratic ethics of the Apology and Crito, for instance, seem sharply at odds with the ethics of the Republic, probably Plato's most complete and representative work.
So you might want to read the dialogues in the following order: Apology, Crito, and Ion, for roughly Socratic thought; Meno and Phaedo, for transitional dialogues; and Symposium and Republic for solidly Platonic thinking. Of course, there is no universal agreement on the order of Plato's dialogues, nor as to which represents whose views most faithfully.
As for drawbacks to this edition, there are no introductions to the individual dialogues, Rouse's general "Preface" is short and weak, and the standardized reference numbers to the original Greek pages are only summarized at the top of odd pages, instead of given as line-by-line annotations, which makes cross-referencing a chore. (Because of the lack of introductions, you should read at least an article or two on Socrates and Plato from any general history of philosophy.) Nonetheless, I like Rouse's translations, and the edition is worthy of five stars despite its shortcomings. I still refer to my banged up copy, which I'll keep on my bookshelf as long as the pages hold together.
If you're new to Plato, this edition is a good start. I've had my copy of the Great Dialogues of Plato-now dog-eared, scribbled in, and Scotch-taped together-since I first wrestled with the Apology and the Republic in my high school humanities class. These are hardly Plato's only dialogues, but they are arguably the most important, especially for general students. Rouse's translations are highly readable. He captures the flavor of what Plato wanted to say and how he wanted to say it, without sounding antiquated or artificially modern.
It's worth noting that this edition does not present the dialogues in the order in which Plato probably wrote them, but in the order which seems to represent the unfolding of the particular events described. Thus, the Apology, Crito and Phaedo-describing the trial and death of Socrates-come together at the end, even though the Apology was one of the first dialogues written by Plato, and the Phaedo was among his middle dialogues. This is important because earlier dialogues are probably more representative of Plato's teacher, Socrates, while later dialogues reflect increasingly Platonic thinking, even though Plato continued to use "Socrates" as a character. The Socratic ethics of the Apology and Crito, for instance, seem sharply at odds with the ethics of the Republic, probably Plato's most complete and representative work.
So you might want to read the dialogues in the following order: Apology, Crito, and Ion, for roughly Socratic thought; Meno and Phaedo, for transitional dialogues; and Symposium and Republic for solidly Platonic thinking. Of course, there is no universal agreement on the order of Plato's dialogues, nor as to which represents whose views most faithfully.
As for drawbacks to this edition, there are no introductions to the individual dialogues, Rouse's general "Preface" is short and weak, and the standardized reference numbers to the original Greek pages are only summarized at the top of odd pages, instead of given as line-by-line annotations, which makes cross-referencing a chore. (Because of the lack of introductions, you should read at least an article or two on Socrates and Plato from any general history of philosophy.) Nonetheless, I like Rouse's translations, and the edition is worthy of five stars despite its shortcomings. I still refer to my banged up copy, which I'll keep on my bookshelf as long as the pages hold together.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Exactly as promised
Since I am not a Greek scholar I cannot comment on the translation, but it is readable (or as readable as Plato ever is).
Published 5 days ago by Josh
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not my cup of tea
This book was bought for a literature class. Not my cup of tea personally, but it did the job it was supposed to.
Published 11 days ago by Melissa Hillman
4.0 out of 5 stars
For class
It came on time, but too late for me to need it for class as it turned out. oh well.
Published 22 days ago by Cory
5.0 out of 5 stars
School
Would by again from Amazon. They product is always as advertised, packaged and mailed on time. I have bought many products from Amazon with no problems.
Published 6 months ago by Lisa Cain
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Translation - Really
Most Amazon reviewers have approved of these translations, but a couple have been rather harsh. I wonder whether these critics have actually compared these translations to the... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Another Opinion
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great translation and annotations
There is little to say about this publication that has already been stated. However, I would like to point out that the inclusion of 'Ion' is a bit baffling. Read more
Published 12 months ago by QCIC
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Dialogues of Plato
Needed this for my philosophy class, and this book is very practical to have. Great condition, fabulous price. Shipped in amazingly fast time.
Published 16 months ago by happycustomer
2.0 out of 5 stars
No page numbers
I got this edition for a Introductory Government course at college. While it was the edition my professor required, there are no page numbers that go along with this book. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Nicki
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect for a beginner
It's probably not the best translation on the market today. But for a beginner, like myself, it's one of the best introductions to Plato, Socrates, and greek philosophy as one can... Read more
Published on April 23, 2010 by Ayla87
3.0 out of 5 stars
Plato is great, but this translation is not
There is no point in trying to detract from the works of Plato themselves; anyone who is buying a collection of his dialogues is already convinced of his preeminence in Western... Read more
Published on May 31, 2008 by Gregg W. Keithley
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 4
books:
96
books
cite this book:
See all 96 books citing this book
- Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained (Signet Classic Poetry) by John Milton in Front Matter
- Seven Against Thebes (Greek Tragedy in New Translations) by Aeschylus on page 159
- The Wooden Horse: The Fall of Troy (Tales from the Odyssey) by I. M. Richardson on page 421
- Works and Days (Oxford University Press academic monograph reprints) by Hesiod on page 345
- Philosophy of the Human Person by S.J. James B Reichmann on 4 pages
- Utopias and Architecture by Nathaniel Coleman in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Looking At Philosophy: The Unbearable Heaviness of Philosophy Made Lighter by Donald Palmer on page 85, and Back Matter
- The World Is a Waiting Lover: Desire and the Quest for the Beloved by Trebbe Johnson in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- Retrograde Planets: Traversing the Inner Landscape by Erin Sullivan in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
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