Reading Plato’s Republic

I’m new to Plato’s Republic and reading Robin Waterfield’s translation as it seems the easiest. My edition has 14 chapters, and I’m giving myself to the end of the year to finish this. If you’ve read it, want to read it, join in, but this is a new read for me.

I’ve also started a readalong at thestorygraph https://app.thestorygraph.com/readalongs/9e0e4591-d2c0-4bd5-b511-b77b59d96d70

A few more pages read, still in the Intro part, oh, I like this translation, it makes me feel like I'm following it though some of it is going over me.

The intro essay gives me an overview of what to expect. I never made the connect between the name of this book and its content, I am now intrigued and want to know more.

I also like how Robin Waterfield’s intro essay makes me feel I will be able to keep up with the rest of the book. It’s nice when a book makes me feel this confident but I’m keeping an open mind :)

1/3 way through, I'm surprised by this I thought it would take me longer

Interested in your thread, although I won't have anything intelligent to contribute: Plato's Republic is on my shelves but I've yet to get to it. I don't have immediate plans to read it but it is encouraging to know that it might be a quicker read than anticipated :-)

Sorry, >AInkspill, I hadn't been ready for a read along, although, like >Dilara86, it's ready to be taken out to read (H. D. P. Lee translation, Penguin edition; also the Francis MacDonald Cornford translation - Oxford UP and the one by W. H. D. Rouse - Signet Classic). It's a shame, eh. With studies we read some parts of other works (Apology, Gorgias etc) in Classical Greek and for now I had enough of Plato. State philosophy interests me a lot. I'd love to hear from you some thoughts by Plato you might have liked and others, where you think different. How's his style? Could you think of reading more? I'm heading for Homer and Herodotus in class; Semester starts on Monday.

Read this maybe 40+ years ago, so won't have a lot of thoughts! However, if I remember correctly, was not the entire narrative told by Socrates? Why do you think Plato used Socrates as a narrator? Again, if memory serves me correct, was not the first part of the book the definition of justice and what purpose justice serves? I could be getting this confused with The Prince.

I read parts of The Republic years ago. I’m currently making my way through the complete Dialogues in the Benjamin Jowett translation, which is surprisingly fresh and unfussy even though it’s 19th Century.

>5 Dilara86: I was also surprised that I was reading it faster then I thought I would.

>6 Buchmerkur: I also have, I think HDP Lee translation (but is named as Desmond Lee, and it's a Penguin Ed).

I'm over 50% now, and I am just about keeping up with it. I've not read anything like this before - I was expecting a dry, heavy read but I'm enjoying it, Socreates is quite a character.

And I wasn't prepared for Plato's proposal of this ideal society, and how he (through Soreates) envisages it. Reading on the side, my understanding is that this is an earlier work, where it was more Socrates's view then his own ???

Yes, I could see myself reading more, after a 😀 break.

Homer has been journey (and an amazing one). Herodotus on my tbr, and working up to it, and I'm not reading for a class, just for myself.

>8 PatrickMurtha: let me know how you get on. I've also found reading translations of euripides from 19thC not as hard to read as I thought.

>7 Tess_W: yes,you have remembered correctly, the entire dialogue is voiced by Sacrates.

Why Plato speaks through Socrates is a question that is on my mind.

From my supportive readings, and there is a helpful in the intro in the book, I am left wondering if Plato is carrying on Socrates's work, this was written after the trial of Socrates where different sources all say this has a big impact on Plato. So, I don't know, could this be a reason?

(I’m new to this platform and still getting the hang of it, but really appreciate your input.)

I'm like over half-way. Where Socrates (Plato) is making the agument that only philosophers should rule? His view (which I'm paraphrasing) is because philosophers have taken the time to understand philophy, they know what good is, and therefore are the best people to rule.

To me, the idea of good is not an easy one to pin down, or at least I don't feel as confident as Socrates (Plato).

I don't know, what you all think?

This was the textbook for my freshman philosophy class back in 1973. The tests were a simple true/false format. The correct answers were true if Plato espoused the quote; false if it disagreed with Plato’s stance. The professor merely wanted us to adequately understand the positions in the text. There was lots of discussion in class; but I was shocked how many classmates answered based on their own beliefs.

>14 2wonderY: true/false format, yeah that comes through, I'm reading Robin Waterfield’s translation, where his translation is a hands off approach with a little nudge. It's interesting for me, as I am new to this style of reading.

Just throwing this out there, as a newbie to this kind of reading:

I’ve read roughly ¾ of the main text, and I got to thinking how is it possible to engage with this text neutrally when it has been such an influence?

>16 AnishaInkspill: how is it possible to engage with this text neutrally
How is it possible to "engage with any text neutrally"? (And why would it be desirable?) Every reader has a distinct point-of-view informed by experience.

>17 paradoxosalpha: yeah true, that's my favourite things about books

I've read more, of the main text 80%, 20% of this is notes

I've finished reading Republic.

I’m truly amazed!!! it’s not taken me a longer time to read this. I think a big part of this is the translation, and the second one I kept close by, but I also think all the books I have read before have also helped.

from Plato, this year revisiting The Dream of Reason and The Gang of Three, flicked through it and looks interesting and maybe helpful