List Price: $13.00 Details

Save: $1.30 (10%)

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime & FREE Returns

FREE delivery: Friday, Nov 19 on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon. Details

Fastest delivery: Wednesday, Nov 17
Order within 8 hrs and 14 mins Details

In Stock.

As an alternative, the Kindle eBook is available now and can be read on any device with the free Kindle app.

$$11.70 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Secure transaction

Ships from

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Details

Ships from

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Return policy: Returnable until Jan 31, 2022

Add a gift receipt for easy returns

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime

FREE delivery: Friday, Nov 19 on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon. Details

Used: Acceptable | Details

Sold by Woodbury Books

Fulfilled by Amazon

Share <Embed>

Other Sellers on Amazon

$13.62
& FREE Shipping

Sold by: Book Depository US

$11.91
+ $3.99 shipping

Sold by: RAREWAVES-IMPORTS

$16.21
& FREE Shipping

Sold by: GrandEagleRetail

Flip to back Flip to front

Listen Playing... Paused You're listening to a sample of the Audible audio edition.
Learn more

See all 3 images

Follow the Author

Plato

The Republic (Penguin Classics) Paperback – September 14, 2007

by Plato (Author), Desmond Lee (Translator), Melissa Lane (Introduction)

939 ratings

See all formats and editions

Price

New from

Used from

Kindle

"Please retry"

$10.99

—

Paperback

"Please retry"

$11.70

$8.95

$4.28

Savings Get 3 for the price of 2. Shop items

Enhance your purchase

Plato's The Republic is widely acknowledged as the cornerstone of Western philosophy.

Presented in the form of a dialogue between Socrates and three different interlocutors, it is an inquiry into the notion of a perfect community and the ideal individual within it. During the conversation other questions are raised: what is goodness; what is reality; what is knowledge? The Republic also addresses the purpose of education and the role of both women and men as "guardians" of the people. With remarkable lucidity and deft use of allegory, Plato arrives at a depiction of a state bound by harmony and ruled by "philosopher kings."

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Print length

416 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Penguin Classics
Publication date

September 14, 2007
Grade level

12 and up
Reading age

18 years and up
Dimensions

7.8 x 5.08 x 0.81 inches
ISBN-10

0140455116
ISBN-13

978-0140455113
See all details

Frequently bought together

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Plato
774
Paperback
190 offers from $1.65
Allan Bloom
547
Paperback
90 offers from $3.41
Aristotle
410
Paperback
93 offers from $1.80
Plato
2,444
Paperback
2 offers from $10.36
Plato
319
Paperback
103 offers from $1.21
Plato
1,121
Paperback
39 offers from $3.48

Customers who bought this item also bought

Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1

Aristotle
410
Paperback
93 offers from $1.80
Plato
375
Paperback
123 offers from $1.98
Aristotle
586
Paperback
117 offers from $1.72
Aristotle
208
Paperback
150 offers from $1.34
Immanuel Kant
644
Paperback
55 offers from $7.99
Plato
644
Paperback
158 offers from $1.35

Special offers and product promotions

Get 3 for the price of 2. Offered by Amazon.com. Shop items

Create your FREE Amazon Business account to save up to 10% with Business-only prices and free shipping.

Editorial Reviews

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.

Desmond Lee (1908–1993) taught for many years at Cambridge University and also translated Plato’s Timaeus and Critias for Penguin Classics.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Classics; New edition (September 14, 2007)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0140455116
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0140455113
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 18 years and up
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 12 and up
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.6 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.8 x 5.08 x 0.81 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #10,300 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #5 in Ancient Greek History (Books)
- #6 in Classic Greek Literature
- #9 in Political Philosophy (Books)

Customer Reviews:
939 ratings

Start reading The Republic (Penguin Classics) on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Plato

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Plato (428-348 BCE) was a philosopher and mathematician in ancient Greece. A student of Socrates and a teacher of Aristotle, his Academy was one of the first institutions of higher learning in the Western world. He is widely regarded as the father of modern philosophy.

Customer reviews

5 star		75%
4 star		13%
3 star		6%
2 star		2%
1 star		4%

How are ratings calculated?

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Michael Angelo Rosero

Do NOT Buy Penquin's Version of Plato's Republic

Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2018

Verified Purchase

There is no way to tell where one book ends and the other begins. So, if you are a student like I am, and have to read the first four books for today's class, you have no idea where any of the books begins or ends. Read Plato's Republic, but pick one that isn't this exact version of it.

14 people found this helpful

Helpful

John Amador

Timeless Classic

Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2020

Verified Purchase

This seminal work is a classic as regards the lifecycle of states. It should be mandatory study for students as regards civic awareness and the theory of government.

4 people found this helpful

Helpful

E. Eugene Byrd, Jr.

Challenge

Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2020

Verified Purchase

I am trying to read some classical literature in my retirement years. I found this book to be interesting in it's concepts but difficult to understand and connect. Reading a study guide next.

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Interesting book

Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2021

Verified Purchase

I gave it five star because it requires special talent to write such a great book.

I wouldn’t read it again nor would I recommend this to anyone.

I read it as a challenge and to see what I could learn from it.

I believe one day they might ban this book because of Plato’s view about certain topics.

Helpful

Ritesh Laud

Outstanding political philosophy, still relevant today

Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2005

Verified Purchase

Written over 2300 years ago, this cornerstone of political philosophy retains an astonishing degree of relevancy and applicability to the modern world. The prose takes the form of a friendly debate (with occasional humorous excursions into antagonism when Thrasymachus takes offense a few times) between four or five men, ostensibly on elucidating the nature of justice. Well, besides discussing justice, Plato launches into a description of his ideal state along with a somewhat comprehensive analysis of the various forms of government known to the ancient Greeks: the Spartan timarchy, oligarchy, democracy, and tyranny. I found these sections of the work to be lucid and educational.

In addition, Plato lays the groundwork for his philosophy of the "forms", which are fleshed out in some of his later works. This bit gets heavy and at times incomprehensible; I skimmed some of it.

There are certain assumptions that Socrates (the primary mouthpiece in The Republic) makes that I suppose were taken for granted to the ancient Greeks, such as how weather was assumed to be at the whim of the gods or the importance of animal sacrifice. These assumptions are used to further some logical arguments and arrive at a conclusion, which of course wouldn't pass muster today.

Overall, a very readable and well-written treatise that serves the secondary purpose of proving to the layman how advanced the ancient Greek world was in its thinking.

10 people found this helpful

Helpful

THe Neuro

An Interesting Look into Justice and the Perfect State

Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2012

Verified Purchase

The Republic, by Plato, is a very thoughtful and explorative writing about the perfect state, the role of justice in it, and how it could be materialized. Plato explores how a state should function, in terms of justice, and he discusses what justice is, how it governs human actions, and why it is so important.
The society, according to him, has 3 classes, workers, warriors, and rulers, who must all coexist and work together. They are governed by appetite, spirit(honor), and thought, respectively. Someone who is governed by one thing, say appetite, but holds a position that should be governed by another idea(say ruler), becomes a bad thing for society, in this case a tyrant. Who should hold each postitions, how they should be trained, and what types of things should be allowed in the society, and in their lives are all discussed by Plato, but he does come to the conclusion, that although money can satisfy the appetite, it cannot satisfy the mind, and thought and understanding brings true happiness, and justice brings true good. Education should ensure that good rules the minds of society, for great knowlege combined with evil intentions causes trouble. The world inself has a visible and mental form, and Thinkers and Philosophers are those who access most the mental world. Justice however, is inherently good, and brings the most true good to a society.
Plato's analysis of the state is quite a profound and interesting one, and this book is a simple translation to read and understand and is recommendable to anyone. It is truly a must read, especially in greek literature, as Plato is one of the great thinkers of all time.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Christopher Barrett

Very Well Done.

Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2008

Verified Purchase

My intent is not to bog down the reader with a lot of drivel.

This is one of the better copies of the republic I have seen and read. I would have prefered a hardcover version, but at this price it is a steal. There are copious footnotes and references which further assist the reader in deciphering one of the most published and interested philosphical texts ever.

As far as the work by Plato, it is one of the single most important books ever written and should be read by every person with an above average IQ and a thirst for knowledge and understanding (which begins with truth, thanks Plato!).

10 people found this helpful

Helpful

M. Ivey

Doesn't live up

Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2012

Verified Purchase

With the unwavering praise this book gets, I expected it to be awesome. I love some of Plato's other works - Philebus, Apology, etc. This just didn't do much for me. There are definitely some great points in the book, and it is written pretty well, but at the beginning of book 9 it started to get a little boring, and more than anything I just really couldn't take Plato's philosophical babble anymore. He is in another world in this book (La-La Land). I agree with Aristotle that it is a joke in that it was meant by Plato to be taken seriously (at least politically). I liked it for its writing style as well as individual philosophy. My advice is to read it simply for enjoyment and to pick out the useful philosophical points.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Ben J. Johnson

Early learning.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 25, 2020

Verified Purchase

I purchased this for my friends daughters birthday. She was not impressed. She did like the Dr Seuss book though. Every child should read this, especially if they intend to be a member of the ruling class.

8 people found this helpful

Robert

This book is very closely watched by the GLOBALIST ELITE

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 14, 2021

Verified Purchase

The globalist elite is guarding this book by all means to prevent it to spread in human populations and start the awakening of the humans how the globalist are using the corruption, political power to influence election results and where the political elite has they monopoly. Plato’s REPUBLIC was danger for politics in his age, and the REPUBLIC is danger for present corrupt government and politics as well.

4 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Subjective in its ethics but shouldn't be a taken as a book of empirical discussion on morality

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 21, 2020

Verified Purchase

Often regarded as a cornerstone of modern philosophy, Socrates popularises the very purpose which still holds true today: the study of knowledge for the love of it. His 'philosopher kings' are seemingly prodigies and natural lovers of the field, who should be rulers according to his views. Though the practicality or possibility of this might be nil, Plato does well to leave a broad definition of such kings, for the 'love of knowledge' is a broad and flexible term, doing well to set a history-long tradition of thinkers and thinking that has far developed to today.

Socrates' style of argument might not be the best one, but might have been revolutionary for the time. His frequent use of nature and professions as analogy falls to glaring logical fallacies. Nonetheless in some sections he manages to present arguments which you could not have seen coming.

The argument lies whether The Republic should be seen for its ethical or political side. My view is both: the political is merely a convenient side effect of Socrates' extensive analogy of the state to reflect the individual, to prove an ultimately ethical debate. The question whether living a just life pays off in itself isn't answered in the most satisfactory way for me, yet a lover of knowledge and philosopher would blindly agree that yes, it does pay off. Besides, the other concepts this book is famous for justify its fame; the Simile of The Cave being a rather moving one.

2 people found this helpful

Amazon Customer

A good read, Plato was a wise man.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 9, 2021

Verified Purchase

A wonderful book. hard work at times but worth it. More of a study than a read.
Really made me question the concept of a democracy and all men being equal.

The way they argue every point rather than take it as accepted before coming to an agreement so they can build on it and go deeper in agreement makes the ideas flow into each other and leaves you with a very well supported argument at the end point.

Also considering it’s age it’s a credit to Plato how some of his points are very relevant to modern society. The bit about teachers/parents in democracies fearing kids was a good prediction.

Neasa MacErlean

Why democracy is going downhill, according to Socrates

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 23, 2012

Verified Purchase

Is the UK an oligarchy - with its powerful banks, police, insurance companies and newspapers? Why, if democracy is so good, do so many voters distrust and dislike politicians? Is Mario Monti, the technocrat Italian prime minister in 2011/2012, the ideal kind of leader (despite his lack of popularity at home) that Socrates describes as the guardian? Will watching TV and shortening our attention spans lead to the degradation of democracy? He wrote it 2,400 years ago and much of it is controversial (particularly his distrust of democracy) but Plato's portrayal of Socrates describing the ideal republic and the ideal person is a marvellous start for an analysis of modern politics, life and discipline. It is long and can be difficult at times but most of it is illuminating, optimistic and well worth studying. It is hard to disagree with his idea wisdom leads you to the best life, and that if you make mistakes you have not reached the right level of wisdom. And could we dispute the four virtues he holds up as being the necessary ones for states and individuals - courage, discipline, justice and, of course, wisdom. A question I would ask is how the reluctant leader/guardian type would come out under the modern Myers-Briggs analysis? Are they INTJs and INTPs?

18 people found this helpful

See all reviews

Buy new: $11.70$11.70 FREE delivery: Friday, Nov 19 on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon. Ships from: Amazon.com Sold by: Amazon.com

Buy used: $9.95

Other Sellers on Amazon

Follow the Author

Similar authors to follow

The Republic (Penguin Classics) Paperback – September 14, 2007

Enhance your purchase

Frequently bought together

Customers who viewed this item also viewed

Customers who bought this item also bought

Special offers and product promotions

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Product details

About the author

Plato

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Top reviews from other countries

Buy new:

$11.70

FREE delivery: Friday, Nov 19 on orders over $25.00 shipped by Amazon.

Ships from: Amazon.com

Sold by: Amazon.com

Buy used:

$9.95