PHAEDO   By Plato Translated by Benjamin Jowett Contents INTRODUCTION. PHAEDO INTRODUCTION. After an interval of some months or years, and at Phlius, a town of Peloponnesus, the tale of the last hours of Socrates is narrated to Echecrates and other Phliasians by Phaedo the ‘beloved disciple.’ The Dialogue necessarily takes the form of a […]

PARMENIDES   By Plato Translated by Benjamin Jowett Contents INTRODUCTION AND ANALYSIS. PARMENIDES INTRODUCTION AND ANALYSIS. The awe with which Plato regarded the character of ‘the great’ Parmenides has extended to the dialogue which he calls by his name. None of the writings of Plato have been more copiously illustrated, both in ancient and modern […]

  MENO   by Plato   Translated by Benjamin Jowett Contents INTRODUCTION. ON THE IDEAS OF PLATO. MENO INTRODUCTION. This Dialogue begins abruptly with a question of Meno, who asks, ‘whether virtue can be taught.’ Socrates replies that he does not as yet know what virtue is, and has never known anyone who did. ‘Then […]

MENEXENUS   by Plato (see Appendix I)   Translated by Benjamin Jowett Contents APPENDIX I. MENEXENUS INTRODUCTION. PERSONS OF THE DIALOGUE: Socrates and Menexenus. APPENDIX I. It seems impossible to separate by any exact line the genuine writings of Plato from the spurious. The only external evidence to them which is of much value is […]

LYSIS   By Plato   Translated by Benjamin Jowett Contents INTRODUCTION. LYSIS, OR FRIENDSHIP PERSONS OF THE DIALOGUE INTRODUCTION. 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 […]

LACHES OR COURAGE   By Plato   Translated by Benjamin Jowett Contents INTRODUCTION. LACHES, OR COURAGE. PERSONS OF THE DIALOGUE: INTRODUCTION. Lysimachus, the son of Aristides the Just, and Melesias, the son of the elder Thucydides, two aged men who live together, are desirous of educating their sons in the best manner. Their own education, […]

ION   By Plato   Translated by Benjamin Jowett Contents INTRODUCTION. ION INTRODUCTION. The Ion is the shortest, or nearly the shortest, of all the writings which bear the name of Plato, and is not authenticated by any early external testimony. The grace and beauty of this little work supply the only, and perhaps a […]

GORGIAS   by Plato   Translated by Benjamin Jowett Contents INTRODUCTION. GORGIAS INTRODUCTION. In several of the dialogues of Plato, doubts have arisen among his interpreters as to which of the various subjects discussed in them is the main thesis. The speakers have the freedom of conversation; no severe rules of art restrict them, and […]

EUTHYPHRO By Plato Translated by Benjamin Jowett Contents INTRODUCTION.EUTHYPHRO INTRODUCTION. In the Meno, Anytus had parted from Socrates with the significant words: ‘That in any city, and particularly in the city of Athens, it is easier to do men harm than to do them good;’ and Socrates was anticipating another opportunity of talking with him. […]

EUTHYDEMUS by Plato Translated by Benjamin Jowett Contents INTRODUCTION.EUTHYDEMUS INTRODUCTION. The Euthydemus, though apt to be regarded by us only as an elaborate jest, has also a very serious purpose. It may fairly claim to be the oldest treatise on logic; for that science originates in the misunderstandings which necessarily accompany the first efforts of […]