The Republic

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Summary: The brilliant beginning of all philosophy
Review: Plato's Republic is unquestionably the origin of philosophical lines of thought which are still undoubtedly relevant today. Written in dialogue form (i.e. like a discussion between many characters), the main exponent of the argument is Socrates, Plato's friend and mentor who was executed by the Athenian government - an event which led Plato to effectively denounce democracy as an impractical system. The Republic is the result of this denouncement: beginning with the philosophical question 'What is justice?', it proceeds to lay out the nature of the ideal state. Along the way, we are given Plato's legandary Theory of Forms, including the fantastically simple Simile of the Cave - a brilliant philosophical exposition of the difference between this world and the 'proper', 'real' world of which Earth is only a shadow. Desmond Lee's translation makes the very best of a particularly tricky task, and compromises on several key passages with effective authority. The main problem for the modern layman is in getting used to the Socratic form of argument in textual form - seeing Glaucon and Adeimantus answering with "Yes", "I agree" and "That's quite right" for 350-odd pages will drive anybody a little crazy after a while! That (very minor) nitpick aside, there are two excellent appendices regarding the philosophical passages in the text, plus a detailed bibliography for those who wish to follow up on the book. And it's worth it, believe you me.

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Summary: The Greatest of the Socratic Dialogues
Review: To disagree with "seth," this is one of the best translations of Plato's greatest work I have ever read. The Penguin Classics translations make the works accessible to the modern reader because at the time they were written they were accessible to the average educated person. Plato did not write his "Republic" in an obscure, confusing style, and it should certainly not be read in a translation of that type. Of course, to be ultimately truthful, one should always read the original. As most cannot do that, I suggest taking an easy-to-read prose translation of all the great works, which the Penguin Classics series provides.

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Summary: Plato's flawed Republic
Review: I thought I'd add a different viewpoint to those before me. I agree that Plato is a major element to western philosophy: in reading The Republic I saw the groundings for many later philosophers. However, Plato does not describe any world in which I would wish to live.

First, this is not Socrates' dialog, it is Plato, presenting himself through the mouth of Socrates. It is interesting to compare Xenaphon on Socrates, as the only other surviving work by Socrates' students. Xenaphon is far less sophisticated, and as an exile from Athens, has a different point of view.

Throughout, the speaker in The Republic builds on assumptions from an ancient world view, with which I disagree in many instances. E.g. marriage is based on an established, middle-aged man taking on a malliable bride and training her in household management. E.g. no one person can do two things well (except, of course, the philosopher-king). E.g. the city's leadership can make the best breeding choices for the people. These are not merely asides, but building blocks in the argument.

In all, I found this to be interesting reading, but not persuasive in creating my own view of how people, and the world, work.

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Summary: An unorthodox translation.
Review: Waterfield's translation of Plato's classic is excellent. What is most notable here, in my opinion, is his decision to translate Plato's "dikaion" as "morality" rather than "justice". This makes perfect sense: in Aristotle, justice is the virtue (in fact the sum of all other virtues) of our dealings with others, while other virtues are defined as they contribute to individual well being. Greek "justice" is not therefore poitical, as we use the term "justice," rather, it is much more like what we call "morality". Waterfield's choice to fly in the face of convention here is also justified by his contention that the political theory of the REPUBLIC cannot be taken seriously. In fact, Waterfield seems to consider the REPUBLIC to contain much more allegory than that of the Cave, Sun, and Er myths. The whole political schema, he suggests is an allegory of the self. In all, this is a nice translation, highly readable, and very reasonably priced.

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Summary: An excellent recent translation of the Republic
Review: This is not a comment on the substance of the Republic, which I would not presume to attempt here. I used this translation in a course and had many comments from students on how modern-sounding it seemed to them. (I think this was meant in a complimentary sense.) It is a very fine translation, superior to Cornford and Grube in my opinion. There is an excellent long introduction by the translator, and plenty of helpful notes. With few exceptions the translation is faithful to the original Greek. On the minus side, the type is too small, and the notes are placed at the end rather than in the body of the text, an unnecessary inconvenience. Also, references to other of Plato's works are sparing, which somewhat limits its usefulness as a research resource. But the positives of this book are overwhelming. This is definitely the translation of choice for readers of the Republic.

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Summary: the republic revisited
Review: the other reviewer gave this book a 9 and recommended it because it is worth reading. i am a bit surprised. perhaps his standard is high, but as far as i'm concerned, books don't get better than this, not even those written by plato himself. the republic poses the greatest challenge to almost all of the facile assumptions common among the educated today. it demands the closest reading and rewards the patient reader nothing, other an emerging ability to think, an activity that is becoming increasingly rare, buried by a great deal of post-modern sophistry.This translation is one of the more faithful ones, preserving plato's thought while striving to be readable. it should provide an inviting introduction for the beginner.

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Summary: Great book, mediocre translation.
Review: Sir Desmond Lee's second edition of this, the translation of Plato's Republic, misses the mark it seeks to strike. By using too much contemporary (for the 1970's) English, we lose the feel for what Plato was actually trying to say. This translation would have read much better had it followed the original text more faithfully. This, though, is one of the pitfalls of writing for Penguin: if it's a translated work, it better sound modern--no matter that it was written two millenia ago.

But The Republic itself? Stunningly simple. Beautifully wrought. Criticized as a bone thrown to totalitarianism, this work still remains the core of all modern political, social and philosophical thought. Most powerful is the opening Book, where Socrates definitively refutes the common herd's definition of justice. The masterful reasoning he employs to demolish Thrasymachus's argument that justice is that which is in the interest of the stronger party will enlighten as well as refresh: might does not make right, then or now. The later Books pack comparatively less punch, but nonetheless will give any thoughtful person plenty to sink his teeth into. The philosophical section on the Line, the Sun and the Cave cannot be understood without supplemental reading, as they form an integral part of Plato's theory of Forms, an idea he never fleshed out concretely in any one tract. Modern philosophy departments have consigned this book to the trash heap, to which the objective reader can only say this: If The Republic is trash, then our own generation's literary legacy looks bleak indeed.

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Summary: Greek philosophy at its best
Review: The father of all philosophy, all his ideas in one book! This book, which still interests and angers philosophers today, is the most startling and triumphant work composed in philosophy, ever. The allegory of the cave, the divided line theory, the utopian city, all the greatest philosophical ideas are contained here. This work inspires, enlightens, and develops the mind, of all readers, from young children to college philosophy professors. Enjoy!!!

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Summary: The guide to living throughout every century.
Review: In Plato's Republic exists a guide to life and living for every person alive. By trying to describe the ideal state, Plato creates the first "Utopia" and in the meantime questions our perceptions of reality, the idea of justice and reality. Through Plato's thought we can see the only way to judge fairness and equality is through the ideal state and what man could be, not what man is. Plato's look on justice and reality is unmatched despite hundreds of attempts to replicate his thought and style in the past few millenium

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Summary: Has great insight for philosophy but...
Review: Tends to be very circular in reasoning. I had a hard time understanding most of what was being said. I believe that there are better books in the PHIL department.

You decide