The Last Days of Socrates (Penguin Classics)

I am new to reading Plato's works on Socrates and have never studied philosophy at any educational level. Therefore, I came to this book as a 30 year old with no previous knowledge of Socrates (aside from knowing of him) or Plato's dialogues. It has been said in other reviews but I totally agree that these four dialogues that make up this book are the best place to start for reading Socratic philosophy. I actually tried to read Early Socratic Dialogues (Penguin Classics) first but aside from an excellent introduction on the life and work of Socrates, I found the book very difficult to read. It is filled with extensive footnotes and explanations during each dialogue that make reading it disruptive and difficult. I did read most of that book but gave up towards the end, with a view to coming back to it in future when I am more familiar with Plato's work. I then began reading The Last Days of Socrates and this was a completely different experience. There again is a great introduction but reading the dialogues this time is a much more involving and understood journey. As the title suggests, these four dialogues of Plato's tell the end of Socrates and do so in a way that has much less commentary during the text (though there is some) and generally aims not to confuse or patronise the reader. As I understand it, the first 3 dialogues of this book were written around the same time and are much shorter in length than the final dialogue Phaedo. Phaedo is considered a much later work of Plato and is the most difficult to get your head round but is still a very enthralling and enlightening discussion as Socrates is about to drink the cup of poison. The highlight for me though is Apology. This is the dialogue concerned with Socrates trial and sentencing, and is one of those writings that simply blew me away. I don't want to go into much detail how and why, but it's simply to do with how Socrates speaks to the jury (his condemners) after he has been told he will die. It really is extraordinary and eye-opening stuff. In conclusion, I whole-heartedly recommend this book. I think it is enjoyable, enlightening and a fantastic introduction to the work of Plato and Socrates.

朗読に適している。素晴らしい。

Bezorgt met heel veel shade aan het boek, lag niet aan de bezorging.

while you are reading this book you understand that one of the least appreciated virtue of humans is capability of acceptance of their own ignorence and genius of socrates. such a masterpiece from plato.

Good books