Free eBooks 4 Texts On Socrates: Plato's Euthyphro, Apology Of Socrates, Crito And Aristophanes' Clouds, Revised Edition Available To Downloads
Widely adopted for classroom use, this book offers translations of four major works of ancient Greek literature which treat the life and thought of Socrates, focusing particularly on his trial and defense (three dialogues by Plato: Euthyphro, Apology of Socrates, and Crito) and on the charges against Socrates (Aristophanes' comedy Clouds).This is the only collection of the three Platonic dialogues that also includes Clouds, a work that is fundamental for understanding the thought of Socrates in relation to the Athenian political community and to Greek poetry. Thomas G. West's introduction provides an overview of the principal themes and arguments of the four works. There are extensive explanatory notes to the translations.In their translations, the Wests capture successfully the simplicity and vigor of straightforward Greek diction. They strive for as high a degree of accuracy as possible, subordinating concerns for elegance and smoothness to the goal of producing the most faithful and most reliable English versions of these texts. For this new edition, Thomas West has revised the introduction and updated the annotated bibliography, which includes the best of the secondary literature on Socrates and on the texts included in this book.
Paperback: 192 pages
Publisher: Cornell University Press; 1 edition (August 27, 1998)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0801485746
ISBN-13: 978-0801485749
Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #15,504 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #18 in Books > Textbooks > Social Sciences > Political Science > Political History #33 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > Philosophy > History & Surveys #39 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Philosophy > Greek & Roman
This is an outstanding translation of these Greek texts. These are texts that many of us regularly teach in introductory classes, and it is a great help to have such a reliable translation: the translation is clear and accessible, but maintains an unusually strict adherence to the form of the original Greek. This makes it useful for advanced study as well. The running footnotes to the text are especially helpful for giving students the relevant points of historical and legal context for understanding Socrates's position, but they are sparse enough that they do not intrude in the interpretation of the text. This is the only translation of these texts that I will use in my courses.
This is a real rarity in Platonic scholarship--a synoptic translation of four important works on the life of Socrates; in other words, the translators use the same English words to convey the same important Greek terms in each of their translations in order to aid the reader in recognizing how those terms evolve in meaning and shape the drama of each of the works, or in short, in recognizing the dialogue which exists between the works rather than merely within them. A former reviewer seems to have missed the point of this work: if you want someone to TELL YOU WHAT PLATO MEANS, you can read a two line summary in an encyclopedia, but if you want to find out why Plato went and wrote an entire dialogue rather than a two line summary, you have to pay close attention to what he actually says. These translations are about as close as you can get without having advanced knowledge of Greek, and even then, the Wests note specific usages of key terms which even a native speaker of ancient Greek might not have noticed on a first reading, and which are largely ignored by the scholarly community. This is an ideal translation for students of politics, history, philosophy, and classical literature who want to know why the most profound and poetic civilization of antiquity put the first philosopher to death, and why he let them.
I used this book for my undergraduate course on Ancient Philosophy. It was a required textbook, but it is also a quality book in its own right. The translations seem to be very sharp, and the additional material was very helpful.It gives a terrific context for Socrates, both as how Plato presents him and how he was perceived by his contemporaries.
While this book contains some excellent texts I feel it was lacking in historical commentary or contextual data that would be helpful for a philosophy student, especially if you're looking for guidance as to where to go for additional information.
This book really came through for me, it was in mint condition and it was just amazing to read and analyze.
It was awesome! I got it in the time I needed and I can count on to get all my books.
Good quality purchase on the shipping and handling side. The writing is lovely too.
Best edition of dialogues for your introductory level philosophy class.
4 Texts on Socrates: Plato's Euthyphro, Apology of Socrates, Crito and Aristophanes' Clouds, Revised Edition Plato: Five Dialogues: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Meno, Phaedo (Hackett Classics) The Trial and Death of Socrates: Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, death scene from Phaedo (Hackett Classics) Six Great Dialogues: Apology, Crito, Phaedo, Phaedrus, Symposium, The Republic (Dover Thrift Editions) Aristophanes' Clouds Socrates and Aristophanes Plato: Apology (Greek Edition) Clouds, Rain, Clouds Again (I Wonder Why) Plato: 'The Republic' (Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought) Books of Breathing and Related Texts -Late Egyptian Religious Texts in the British Museum Vol.1 (Catalogue of the Books of the Dead and Other Religious Texts in the British Museum) Wealth (The Comedies of Aristophanes, Vol. 2) (The Comedies of Aistophanes, Vol 2) (v. 2) (Ancient Greek Edition) Aristophanes: Lysistrata (Focus Classical Library) Three Plays by Aristophanes: Staging Women (New Classical Canon) Four Plays by Aristophanes: Lysistrata, The Frogs, A Parliament of Women, Plutus (Wealth) Death Without Denial, Grief Without Apology: A Guide for Facing Death and Loss An Apology for Raymond Sebond (Penguin Classics) The Five Languages of Apology: How to Experience Healing in All Your Relationships The Resurrection of Theism: Prolegomena to Christian Apology Clouds and Clocks: A Story for Children Who Soil Swallowing Clouds: A Playful Journey through Chinese Culture, Language, and Cuisine
