The works of Plato (Vol. 1 of 6)

In Short

This introductory volume collects nine foundational Socratic dialogues translated by Henry Cary, capturing the philosophical framework of early and middle-period Plato. The collection follows Socrates through a dramatic arc: from his public trial in Athens (Apology) and his refusal to escape prison (Crito), to his final deathbed discussion on the soul's immortality (Phædo). Interspersed with this central tragedy are dynamic debates with leading sophists, rhetoricians, and young citizens. Across works like Gorgias, Protagoras, Phædrus, Theætetus, Euthyphron, and Lysis, Socrates dissects the nature of rhetoric, virtue, knowledge, piety, and friendship. Rather than offering rigid dogmatic answers, the text operates through rigorous cross-examination (elenchus), stripping away false claims of expertise to reveal the necessity of intellectual humility. It has endured for millennia because it establishes the foundational method of Western philosophical inquiry, framing the pursuit of virtue and truth as an urgent, livable practice rather than a mere academic exercise.

The Story

The volume constructs an intellectual portrait of Socrates, framing his philosophical mission around the historical tragedy of his trial and execution. It opens with the Apology, where Socrates addresses the Athenian court. Defending himself against charges of corrupting the youth and impiety, he explains his life's purpose: acting as a divine "gad-fly" sent to rouse a sluggish city from its moral sleep. Refusing to plead for his life through emotional appeals or abandon his philosophical calling, he accepts the death penalty, warning his accusers that harming a good man is impossible, as the true injury lies in committing injustice.

In Crito, the narrative moves to Socrates's prison cell shortly before his execution. His wealthy friend Crito offers a well-funded escape plan, urging him to flee into exile to save his life and protect his family. Socrates systematically rejects the offer, arguing that one must obey reason over popular opinion. He asserts that breaking the laws of the city—even when an unjust sentence has been passed—destroys the social contract and inflicts moral harm on the soul. He chooses to remain and accept his punishment.

Phædo presents the tragic climax of Socrates's life. On his final day, surrounded by grieving disciples, Socrates engages in a deep dialogue on the nature of death and the immortality of the soul. He argues that true philosophers spend their lives preparing for death by separating the soul's pursuit of truth from bodily distractions. Examining arguments of cyclical renewal, recollection, and the ultimate nature of essential Forms, Socrates comforts his followers. After giving final instructions to Crito regarding a small ritual debt to Æsculapius, he calmly drinks the hemlock and dies, remembered by Phædo as the wisest and most just man of his time.

Alongside this narrative arc of his trial and death, the remaining dialogues showcase Socrates in active debate across Athens, testing the claims of famous thinkers and young students. In Gorgias, he confronts famous rhetoricians, dismantling the claim that rhetoric is a noble art. He demonstrates that unprincipled persuasion is merely a form of flattery and contends that doing wrong is a far greater evil than suffering wrong. In Protagoras, Socrates engages the famed sophist over whether virtue can be taught, exploring the relationship between pleasure, knowledge, and moral choices, ultimately showing that vice stems from ignorance and improper measurement of good and evil.

In Phædrus, set along a riverbank, Socrates shifts to the nature of love and speechmaking. Using the famous allegory of the soul as a charioteer driving two winged steeds—one noble, one unruly—he illustrates the soul's struggle to ascend toward divine truth. He critiques the written word, warning that text offers only an image of knowledge rather than living understanding written in the learner's soul. Theætetus takes up the fundamental question of epistemological theory, as Socrates acts as an intellectual "midwife" to help a young mathematician define knowledge, proving along the way that perception alone is insufficient. Finally, in Euthyphron and Lysis, Socrates explores piety outside a courthouse and tests the definition of friendship with young boys, showing that true wisdom begins by recognizing one's own ignorance.

How It Unfolds

The gad-fly's defense Standing trial before the Athenian jury, Socrates refuses to alter his conduct or beg for mercy, declaring that God assigned him to rouse the city like a gad-fly on a sluggish horse. He accepts his death sentence, maintaining that a good man cannot be harmed by a worse one.

Duty over flight Confined in prison, Socrates resists Crito's desperate pleas to help him break out and flee Athens. He proves that popular opinion is meaningless compared to reason, concluding that flouting the laws of his city to save his physical life would ruin his soul.

The final hours Gathered with his closest friends on the day of his execution, Socrates discusses the soul's immortality to ease their grief. He provides proofs for the soul's continuous existence before drinking the hemlock and dying in quiet composure.

The critique of rhetoric In intense debate with Gorgias, Polus, and Callicles, Socrates exposes rhetoric as mere flattery rather than a genuine art. He insists that tyrants who commit injustice are wretched, establishing that suffering an evil is preferable to committing one.

Measuring virtue and pleasure Socrates debates the famous sophist Protagoras on whether human virtue can be taught. He argues that people fail to do good out of ignorance, lacking the art of measurement to weigh immediate pleasures against long-term harms.

The soul's chariot and written words Walking outside the city walls with Phædrus, Socrates speaks of love and the soul's journey, comparing human nature to a charioteer driving two difficult, winged horses. He cautions against relying on written texts, which yield only the appearance of wisdom without living dialogue.

Midwifery of the mind Engaging the young mathematician Theætetus, Socrates acts as a mental midwife to examine various definitions of knowledge. Though they dismantle perception and false judgment, they show that defining knowledge requires rigorous, ongoing examination.

The People

• Socrates: The central philosopher of every dialogue, driven by a relentless desire to examine life, uncover truth, and cultivate virtue. Standing trial and facing execution, he refuses to compromise his principles, valuing the health of the soul over physical survival or social approval.
• Crito: A loyal, wealthy companion of Socrates who values personal devotion and social duty. He is deeply distressed by Socrates's impending execution and tries to persuade him to escape prison, but he ultimately defers to Socrates's reasoning and attends to his final burial details.
• Phædo: A devoted disciple present at Socrates's execution who narrates his master's final hours, arguments on immortality, and calm death to Echecrates with profound affection and reverence.
• Cebes: A reflective Pythagorean philosopher who pushes Socrates during his final day for rigorous, logical proof regarding the soul's survival after death, raising tough objections like the analogy of a weaver outlasting his garments.
• Gorgias: A famous and polished teacher of rhetoric who boasts of his ability to persuade audiences on any subject, but finds himself backed into a corner when Socrates forces him to define the moral purpose of his art.
• Polus: An aggressive young student of Gorgias who passionately argues that tyrants holding absolute power are envied and happy, only to be systematically shown by Socrates that committing unjust acts makes a person truly wretched.
• Callicles: A sharp, unapologetic politician who argues that natural justice allows the strong to dominate the weak, challenging Socrates's philosophical life before being forced to confront the contradictions in his own views on pleasure and goodness.
• Protagoras: A renowned, elder sophist who asserts that human virtue can be taught for a fee, engaging in a battle of intellect and poetic interpretation with Socrates over the unity of courage, wisdom, and justice.
• Phædrus: A young, enthusiastic lover of speeches who walks with Socrates along the river ILissus, listening to speeches on love and helping Socrates examine the flaws of written language.
• Theætetus: A bright, modest young geometry student who works through complex definitions of knowledge under Socrates's guided questioning, experiencing the painful but constructive process of having his false assumptions exposed.

In Its Own Voice

"For, if you should put me to death, you will not easily find such another, though it may be ridiculous to say so, altogether attached by the deity to this city as to a powerful and generous horse, somewhat sluggish from his size, and requiring to be roused by a gad-fly..." Socrates explains to the Athenian court why his constant, disruptive questioning serves the city's highest moral good rather than its detriment.

"For I not now only, but always, am a person who will obey nothing within me but reason, according as it appears to me on mature deliberation to be best." In his prison cell, Socrates responds to Crito's emotional pleas to escape by reaffirming his lifelong commitment to principled rational argument.

"For writing, indeed, Phædrus, has this inconvenience, and truly resembles painting. For its productions stand out as if they were alive, but, if you ask them any question, they observe a solemn silence." Socrates warns Phædrus about the limitations of written text compared to active, living philosophical dialogue.

What It's Really About

Beneath the varied subjects of rhetoric, geometry, piety, and love, this volume is fundamentally about the moral imperative of self-examination and the nature of the soul. Socrates operates on the radical conviction that the soul's health is man's most vital concern, far outweighing wealth, reputation, or physical survival. Across these dialogues, Plato argues that true evil does not consist in suffering harm, imprisonment, or death at the hands of others, but in committing injustice oneself. To do wrong willingly is to injure one's own soul, corrupting the very agency capable of living a good life.

The text also addresses the deep conflict between genuine knowledge (episteme) and superficial opinion (doxa). Through debates with rhetoric teachers like Gorgias and sophists like Protagoras, Socrates distinguishes between arts that cultivate authentic goodness and mere techniques of persuasion that flatter public desires. Knowledge is not a passive commodity transferred from teacher to student; it requires an active, often painful process of unlearning false beliefs. The dialogues demonstrate that philosophical inquiry is not a set of abstract doctrines, but an ongoing, lived commitment to truth—one that demands absolute integrity even when faced with the hemlock.

Why Read It Today

Reading this collection today offers direct access to the foundational texts of Western thought, presented in Henry Cary's literal 19th-century translation. Far from dry treatises, these works are dramatic, human encounters. The reader experiences Socrates not as an untouchable icon, but as a quick-witted, relentless, and dryly humorous conversationalist who walks the streets of Athens, poking holes in political posturing and intellectual pretension. Watching him navigate his trial, refuse a safe prison escape, and face his execution with calm composure remains deeply moving.

The volume is not without its reading challenges. Cary's translation maintains an archaic, formal English register filled with dense sentence structures, Victorian phrasing, and occasional untranslated Greek terms in footnotes. Furthermore, the dialectical method (elenchus) requires intense concentration: Socrates frequently leads his interlocutors through long chains of subtle deductions, mathematical examples, and formal logic. The dialogues often end in aporia—an impasse where initial definitions are demolished without a clean, simple answer replacing them.

Yet these difficulties are precisely what make the book transformative. It trains the reader to slow down, analyze arguments critically, and resist easy answers. In an era dominated by rapid persuasion, political spin, and unexamined consensus, Socrates's insistence on questioning authority and examining one's own life remains as urgent, challenging, and necessary as ever.