Republic (Oxford World's Classics) [Paperback]

Plato (Author), Robin Waterfield (Translator)

Book Description

Series: Oxford World's Classics | Publication Date: June 23, 1994

The central work of one of the West's greatest philosophers, The Republic of Plato is a masterpiece of insight and feeling, the finest of the Socratic dialogues, and one of the great books of Western culture. This new translation captures the dramatic realism, poetic beauty, intellectual vitality, and emotional power of Plato at the height of his powers. Deftly weaving three main strands of argument into an artistic whole--the ethical and political, the aesthetic and mystical, and the metaphysical--Plato explores in The Republic the elements of the ideal community, where morality can be achieved in a balance of wisdom, courage, and restraint.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Robin Waterfield has produced an idiomatic, lively, and thoroughly up-to-date Englishing of Plato's Republic....Waterfield...succeeds beautifully...in making engaging English out of Plato's Greek. For this teachers of Greek philosophy owe him gratitude."--Ancient Philosophy

"Waterfield's translation is certainly the best of the Republic available. It is accurate and informed by deep philosophical understanding of the text; unlike other translations it combines these virtues with an impressive ability to render Plato into English that is as varied and expressive as is Plato's Greek."-- Professor Julia Annas, University of Arizona

"Translated in an easy, accessible style, as though these were people, not textbooks speaking. The introduction is lucid and complete."--E.N. Genovese, San Diego State University

"An excellent translation and introduction. The best I have seen."--Tom Christenson, Capital University

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Greek

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 475 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (June 23, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192829092
• ISBN-13: 978-0192829092
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 4.6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #482,793 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fairly good edition., October 18, 1999

By 

Arseny A. Tseytlin ([e-mail]) (Chicago, Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Republic (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

Firstly I should say that this is not the best translation of the republic. Even though the book is great in itself, the translator have changed the structure of the book by dividing it in 12 books instead of 10. However, the main pro of the book are short paragraphs inside the text which help to understand the ideas of Plato. Also I don't like that the notes are after the text. I think it is better when they are on the same page as the text they refer to.

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Read this and learn about morality, December 19, 2002

By 

Canicus "canicus" (TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Republic (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

This translation is superb.

This book provokes us with questions. It challenges our assumptions. It asks questions. It also provides few answers. Don't read this thinking that you'll find the ideal government, because you won't, and as the introduction points out, it was never really the point.

Instead, read this to find out about morality. It cannot help but point a person in the right direction. I don't think it answers the question of what morality is completely, but for that matter, I can't do much better. This is one of my sources.

Clearly, I can't take much of this and apply it directly to politics. I value diversity and conflict. I think that those things help us. Truth can only be found when we seek freely in society. In short, I love democracy. That said, it is very applicable for my inner-life. If I fill my mind with garbage, that is exactly what I will give out. I need to censor the citizens of my mind or else my inner polis will be corrupted more than it is.

It's criticisms of democracy, especially the democratic mind, are particularly poignant. Read it side-by-side with Thucydides and an account of the French Revolution and find the limitations of what we take for granted.

If someone thinks they shouldn't read a book like this because they have the Bible, then they would be in error. I am a Christian, and reading the Bible usually leaves me with more questions than answers. If a person thinks that way he aren't reading the Bible, and should begin criticising his own beliefs. Start by reading Ecclesiastes, and then this, for Ecclesiastes teaches one of Socrates' main points: we know nothing, and in the end, all that matters is how we lived. Now when such a person finishes this book, he may find that you think that Paul borrowed some from this text's ideas about the Church as the Body of Christ and every person having a specific part to play through their spiritual gifts, and the Body becoming ill if any one member of the body does not act in his role. I offer such a long statement having to do with Christianity, because reading these works, and those who read them, have been undully criticized by those who have not read them.

It is simply that morality is not an exclusive thing. A Christian should realize that the Bible assumes that much of what is moral can be plainly known. To neglect what has been said elsewhere is to suffer from a myopic vision of morality. This book will make a person ask questions, and that is its goal. It is not all compatable, but some is. Please do not dismiss it just because one is a Christian. I am, and I greatly enjoy Plato's works.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good for an inexpensive translation, November 9, 2006

By 

Nathan P. Gilmour "hardlythelastword" (Statham, GA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Republic (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

I'm wrapping up a semester of teaching this translation of Republic, and I've had few complaints. Waterfield's editorial hand is visible, but that in itself, in the hands of a competent teacher, leads to good discussions above and beyond Plato's ideas.

With regards to Plato's masterwork, there's no good place to start save reading it for oneself. Plato is dead wrong in places (with regards to poetry and marriage just to get rolling), but his genius is that he's wrong as an idealist philosopher, encouraging readers to assert and refine their own ideals as counter-arguments. In other words, in order to refute Plato, one must out-Plato Plato.

Deconstruction is fine for deconstructionists, but a good discussion of this juggernaut of ancient thought is the life for me.