Introduction to the Book

This book is an adaptation of the Public Domain Core Collection version of Plato’s Republic. The basis for the current translation is Benjamin Jowett’s 1888 Clarendon Press third edition translation of Plato’s Republic courtesy of Project Gutenberg. Since January 2024, I have been updating Jowett’s translation in order to make a contemporary English translation that’s accessible to undergraduates, better aligns with the Greek, and reflects recent scholarship on Plato. Currently, only the beginning of Book 7 has been updated. Updating the translation is an ongoing project.

Wherever possible, audio recordings of the text have been added to provide an alternative way to access the content of the texts. Some audio recordings may differ from the text version of the book. This LibriVox audio file was made from the same version of the book. Please see LibriVox for additional recordings of this title.