Laws
by Plato · Νόμοι
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- c. 350 BCE
- Language
- Greek
- Length
- Long · 520 pp300 to 700 pages
- Difficulty
- Difficult4 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendThe Laws of Plato, translated by Thomas L. PangleUniversity of Chicago Press, 1988Literal and complete, with an interpretive essay; the translation most seminars use.
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Plato's longest and last dialogue, in which an unnamed Athenian stranger walks with a Cretan and a Spartan to the cave of Zeus and drafts a legal code for a new colony called Magnesia. Over twelve books they discuss the purpose of law, education, drinking parties, music, marriage, property, crime and punishment, and religion, with the preludes to each law meant to persuade citizens before compelling them. The city is a second-best to the Republic's, ruled by law rather than by philosophers.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Laws are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
