Subject
Dialogues, Greek -- Translations into English Books
Best books
Xenophon
The Economist
"The Economist" by Xenophon is a Socratic dialogue written around 362 BC. It explores household management and agriculture through conversations between Socrates and two Athenians. The work examines what constitutes true wealth, the art of managing property and slaves, and the education of wives. Through the gentleman-farmer Ischomachus, Xenophon presents ideas about gender roles, rural life, and leadership that have sparked debate among scholars—some viewing the text as patriarchal, others seeing proto-feminist elements, and many detecting layers of irony throughout.
Plato
Crito
"Crito" by Plato is a dialogue written around 399 BC. It depicts a conversation between Socrates and his friend Crito as Socrates awaits execution in prison. Crito urges Socrates to escape, offering money and refuge, but Socrates refuses. Through their debate about justice and injustice, Socrates personifies the Laws of Athens to argue that wrongdoing cannot be answered with wrongdoing. The dialogue presents an early statement of social contract theory.
Xenophon
Hiero
"Hiero" by Xenophon is a dialogue written around 474 BC. Set as a conversation between Hiero, tyrant of Syracuse, and the poet Simonides, it explores whether a tyrant's life is truly more pleasant than a commoner's. Drawing from experience in both positions, Hiero challenges common assumptions about power and happiness, revealing the hidden miseries of tyranny—the violence, fear, and impossible longing for genuine love and praise that trap rulers in their positions.
Plato
The dialogues of Plato in five volumes, Vol. 2 (of 5) : $b Translated into English with analyses and introductions
"The dialogues of Plato in five volumes, Vol. 2 (of 5) : Translated into…." by B. Jowett is a scholarly translation and commentary written in the late 19th century. The volume presents English translations of several Platonic dialogues alongside analyses and introductions. Its focus is Socratic philosophy—questions of virtue, knowledge, justice, rhetoric, and the soul—designed to guide readers through both the texts and their philosophical stakes. The opening of the volume lays out editorial notes about formatting and sidenotes, a contents list (including Meno, Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Phaedo, and Gorgias), and then turns to an extensive introduction to Meno. Jowett sketches the dialogue’s central question—whether virtue can be taught—showing how Socrates first demands a definition of virtue, dismantles Meno’s shifting answers, and contrasts “right opinion” with knowledge; he also previews the appearance of Anytus and the claim that statesmen act by inspired opinion rather than teachable knowledge. He introduces Plato’s theory of recollection and immortality as a response to the paradox of inquiry, and broadens the discussion with reflections on the ideas, their treatment across other dialogues, and comparisons with later philosophy. The text then begins Meno itself: Meno asks if virtue is teachable; Socrates insists they define virtue; Meno offers definitions (virtue by role, then power to rule, then desire and ability to obtain good), each of which Socrates refutes or shows to be circular. After Meno likens Socrates to a numbing torpedo, Socrates answers the inquiry-paradox by invoking recollection and demonstrates it with a slave-boy, who, through questioning, moves from confident error to recognizing his ignorance as a step toward learning.
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