Beginnings
This publication presents the fruits of a project, commenced in 2008, to translate the complete works of Plato from Greek into English. The venture began quite casually with an enquiry in 2006 from a friend about the possibility of a new translation of Plato’s works. I explained the sheer scale of the task, and I suggested some scholars who might undertake such an enormous endeavour. As the conversation went on it became clear that the friend wanted me to take this on, myself, and he was undaunted when I explained that I could not then continue my paid employment and would require financial support for day to day living expenses to allow me to devote myself entirely to this great undertaking.
Nevertheless, by early 2008 the required arrangements were in place, enabling me to cease my lucrative employment with an American multinational company and devote myself to the work of translation. My employer was generous upon my departure, my initial sponsor was enormously generous, and similar unselfish support from other subsequent sponsors continued until the final stages of this exciting project. Since the entire venture has proceeded in a spirit of great generosity, it would, I believe, be inappropriate to introduce any commercial considerations at this stage. It is my firm belief that work that was so freely and selflessly supported should be readily accessible to anyone who wishes to make use of that work. It is in this spirit that these translations are being made freely available via our website, without charge, to anyone who wishes to read them and make use of them, and as inexpensively as possible through the book published by Gandon Editions.
It has been my privilege to devote my time and energy over the past sixteen years to producing these translations of the dialogues of Plato. I do not, however, make any claim to the superiority of these translations, and it was never my intention to improve upon the excellent work of others. In his generous foreword to this work, John Dillon refers to the fact that new translations of great masters are a vital feature of modern cultural traditions. Jowett’s great venture in the nineteenth century and Thomas Taylor’s work before that, were indeed philosophic and literary gifts to humanity. More recently John M. Cooper’s edition[1] of the complete works with contributions by numerous translators has been a great service to scholarship. Many other great scholars have made important contributions to Plato translation throughout the twentieth century, and I am proud to be able to contribute to such an exalted tradition.
Translating
Over the sixteen-year duration of this undertaking, the translation approach has evolved and refined. In 2008 I was helped greatly by Margot Camp as we laboured meticulously together on the relatively straightforward language of a short dialogue, the Euthyphro. The generous and learned advice of Arthur Farndell, based upon his years of experience translating Ficino, was invaluable in developing an early understanding of the process of translation. As my confidence and competence grew, I believe that I unconsciously adopted a method that Schleiermacher, another great translator of Plato, describes in his seminal essay On the Different Methods of Translating. Here he subordinates the popular designation of translations as being either ‘faithful’ translations or ‘free’ translations, to a division that is more relevant to philosophic works. He writes:
Either the translator leaves the writer in peace as much as possible and moves the reader toward him; or he leaves the reader in peace as much as possible and moves the writer toward him.[2]
If I were to attempt to capture the overall aspiration of these translations, I would say that they aim to move the reader toward Plato rather than leaving the reader in peace by adjusting the writings of Plato, and his associated language, to conform with modern expectations. A few simple examples of the translation of key words may help to explain my intention.
The Greek word aretē in Plato is often translated as ‘virtue’, but being probably cognate with aristos, meaning ‘best’, the word can be understood as referring to what is best about a person. In Book 1 of the Republic Socrates says that the aretē of a human being is justice, but he also refers to the aretē of a horse. It jars somewhat to speak of the ‘virtue’ of a horse and so the translation in the Cooper’s edition[3] includes a footnote explaining the latitude of meanings of this Greek word. In this translation I have consistently translated aretē as ‘excellence’. This approach, I believe, moves the reader closer to Plato, and indeed closer to Socrates, for whom the nature of human excellence and the nature of excellence in general was a constant subject of enquiry, continually unfolding through many dialogues. Plato has consistently used the same word in different contexts in a manner which may also have challenged even his contemporary Greek readers just as much as it challenges us today. I prefer therefore to use ‘excellence’, a less usual translation, rather than leave the reader in peace by using the more familiar word ‘virtue’. A similar issue arises with the word technē, which is often translated as ‘art’, but which I have consistently translated as ‘skill’. The tradition of translating sōphrosunē as ‘temperance’ seems to go back to Cicero’s Latin. But given that the prefix sō indicates ‘safety’ or ‘soundness’ and the fact that the second part of the word refers to thinking or mental activity, the decision was made to translate this word as ‘soundmindedness’. [4] The word ‘nous’ is consistently translated as ‘reason’, except in the Timaeus where it is left untranslated.
In general, the modern reader should, I believe, be challenged by Plato, and the impact and indeed the confrontational nature of his writings should be conveyed through the translation. In appreciating this, I always have in mind Mary Margaret McCabe’s reflection upon Plato’s own purpose. When referring to the effect upon the reader of engaging with the arguments in Plato’s works, she says that Plato’s arguments, ‘…call into question the whole structure of our thought.’ [5] If the writings of Plato can indeed ‘call into question the whole structure of our thought’, and if our troubled world could begin to embrace such a process, then the timeless wisdom of Plato might shine the light of philosophy into those dark areas of modern thinking where it might begin to dismantle some very fixed and harmful structures. I hope that these translations help to convey Plato’s relentless spirit of questioning and enquiry, which he imbibed from his great mentor, Socrates, who wrote nothing himself, and who made no claims to have any knowledge whatsoever.
The Texts
I am persuaded by the argument in Cooper’s introduction[6] to his edition of the complete works that it is best to present the translated dialogues in the sequence found in the ‘Canon’ of Thrasyllus. Not all of the dialogues are included in the printed edition of these translations, as a decision was made to omit some of those that are nowadays regarded as inauthentic, although some dialogues of questionable authenticity do appear in the printed volumes. Hence, we include the Cleitophon, all the Epistles, both Alcibiades dialogues, both Hippias dialogues, Minos, and Epinomis. The website of the Foundation for Platonic Studies will eventually contain translations of all the dialogues, including those omitted from the print edition of the translations. The translations make use of the most recent Oxford Classical Text using the revised Volume 1, and Slings’ OCT edition of the Republic. Dodds’ edition of the Gorgias was used rather than Burnet’s OCT.
Acknowledgements
Special thanks are due to my first sponsor, and the initiator of this entire project, Alan Campbell. It was his vision that gave birth to all this. By the end of 2013 I had completed a PhD in Trinity College Dublin under the supervision of Professor Vasilis Politis, whose precise and rigorous approach to Plato’s works helped me greatly and brought a valuable discipline to the work of translation. Professor John Dillon, with his enormous wealth of scholarship and erudition, has provided constant and generous support for very many years. The School of Philosophy and Economic Science (UK and elsewhere), Newman Education Trust, and The Leon MacLaren Art Trust, all provided essential financial support that was needed until the final years of the undertaking. The many participants in study events and full dialogue readings at the Trinity Plato Centre, Trinity College Dublin, at Townley Hall, and in Dublin, Delphi, Lucca, Amsterdam, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, Auckland, Wellington, Gauteng, Oxford, Loughborough, and New York, all played a crucial part, and I am very grateful to them all.
The Foundation for Platonic Studies has funded the publication of the book and the inclusion of the translations on their website. A generous donation to the Foundation by my friend Seán Ó Lubaigh, who sadly passed away in 2022, was of huge assistance in bringing the publication project to completion. Peter Larsen and Margot Camp have worked heroically for many years checking the integrity of the translations against the original Greek text and ensuring the intelligibility and philosophic coherence of the material, a process commenced a number of years earlier by Bill Fox. As the translation process proceeded Pantazis Tselemanis provided constant, precise and insightful philological and philosophical guidance. A great team of punctuators centred in Melbourne, Australia, led by Marita Brewster, laboured long and hard to bring consistency to the punctuation and to improve the comprehensibility of the final text. John O’Regan and his wife Nicola Dearey of our publishers, Gandon Editions, have steered us wisely to completion over the past few years and guided us to the production of a most handsome finished product. The final printer’s proofs have been scrutinised meticulously by Sandra O’Neil and Margot Camp who have liaised tirelessly with our ever-patient publishers. Eileen Pearson who first introduced us to Gandon Editions has given invaluable encouragement, advice and guidance throughout. The index was compiled by Peter Larsen.
The unfailing support of my adored wife, Frances, is and always has been unwavering and selfless and no words can truly express her importance to my life and work.
David Horan
June 2024
[1] Plato, Complete Works, edited, with introduction and notes, by John M. Cooper, associate editor, D. S. Hutchinson. Hackett, 1997.
[2]From, On the Different Methods of Translating, Translated by Susan Bernofsky, in The Translation Studies Reader, Routledge, 2012. Page 49.
[3] Ibid, page 980, note to Republic I.
[4] In the Cratylus 411e sōphrosunē is the preservation (sōtēria) of wisdom (phronēsis)
[5] M.M. McCabe, Plato’s Individuals, Princeton, 1999, page 21.
[6] Cooper, ibid, Introduction, page viii ff.