Greek Philosophy
Plato's Ideal State
The Republic-III (Jowett's Translation)
Read by ROBERT FARQUHARSON
' The Republic' is the longest and most famous of Plato's Dialogues. It is couched in the form of a conversation-a leisure hour discussion-between Socrates and his pupils, but it represents the pick of Plato's mature thought of several years. This evening's reading is to be taken from the passage in which, the argument already far advanced, Socrates discusses the various forms of government known in his time, including democracy and tyranny, and describes the type of men whom he supposes to correspond with each form. Both democracy and tyranny are condemned, the one in a half comic spirit of satire, the other with the full torrent of Plato's disapproval.