Selections from Plato

by Plato, Lewis Leaming Forman, Alexander Tulin (Foreword)

This classic text, which contains the complete Greek text of the Apology and of Crito with other selections, offers an introduction to Plato’s language as well as an introduction to Socrates as presented by Plato. These two goals determined Lewis Leaming Forman’s ample selection of passages from the writings of Plato. Forman’s detailed and helpful notes enhance appreciation of how Greek prose―particularly Plato’s―produces its effects. They include helpful discussions of syntax, the uses of particles, the effects of word order, and rhetorical devices. Forman also includes an appendix with an additional set of notes containing information chiefly on various syntactic patterns in the Greek language. Particularly suitable for second-, third-, or fourth-year students of Greek, this volume is also a useful resource for the Platonic scholar.

576 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1927

About the author

Plato (Greek: Πλάτων), born Aristocles (c. 427 – 348 BC), was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the written dialogue and dialectic forms. He raised problems for what became all the major areas of both theoretical philosophy and practical philosophy, and was the founder of the Platonic Academy, a philosophical school in Athens where Plato taught the doctrines that would later become known as Platonism.
Plato's most famous contribution is the theory of forms (or ideas), which has been interpreted as advancing a solution to what is now known as the problem of universals. He was decisively influenced by the pre-Socratic thinkers Pythagoras, Heraclitus, and Parmenides, although much of what is known about them is derived from Plato himself.
Along with his teacher Socrates, and Aristotle, his student, Plato is a central figure in the history of philosophy. Plato's entire body of work is believed to have survived intact for over 2,400 years—unlike that of nearly all of his contemporaries. Although their popularity has fluctuated, they have consistently been read and studied through the ages. Through Neoplatonism, he also greatly influenced both Christian and Islamic philosophy. In modern times, Alfred North Whitehead famously said: "the safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato."