While Plato’s Laws is not as evocative - nor as famous - as the Republic, it is nevertheless an important complement to it, and a fascinating read – and it is also in its own right a classic of political philosophy. Whether or not you agree with Saunders' statement (in his Introduction) that "Plato could perfectly well have written the Laws when he wrote the Republic", it will nevertheless be more or less apparent after reading both that (as he continues to say) "the one should not be read without the other".

Three elderly guys, or Gentlemen rather; the unnamed Athenian Stranger, Clinias (a Cretan) and Megillos (a Spartan) are on their way from Knossos to Mount Ida and the Cave of Zeus - and after Clinias informs the other two that he, along with nine others, has been given the responsibility of composing a legal code for a new Cretan colony, they decide to pass the time with creating the laws for this state, which is given the name of Magnesia. It is not that much of a dialogue (although it is classified as one); it consists mainly of long monologues by the Athenian, and with the other two – very gentlemanly – mostly agreeing with him and spurring him on. They also function as representatives of their respective states when the Spartan and Cretan legislation is discussed in Book I.

I started reading Plato’s Laws in the Complete Works (Hackett edition) but decided I would also get the paperback with Saunders' translation so I could read while commuting as well (the other one being a tad too heavy for it to be practical to carry around..) Now, Plato isn’t really ideal (heh) for reading while there’s a lot of disturbances around you, so I often ended up re-reading those passages that I’d already read while on the move. Still, it never hurts to read any parts of Plato’s texts twice anyway. Initially I wasn’t entirely pleased with the subsection headings that had been added by Saunders (these are kept in the Penguin edition while they are omitted in the Hackett edition), but I decided I rather liked them when I first got used to them being there, and they will surely be useful whenever I want to look something up again.

The only thing I really disliked about Saunders' translation was his use of the term "God" - with a capital G - alongside the term "gods" (lowercase). I found that thoroughly distracting, especially as the gods are rarely left out of the discussion. Whenever Plato would write about one of the gods, he would use the term ho theos ("the god"), of which the plural would be hoi theoi - and while Christianity undoubtedly owes much of its philosophical basis to Plato, it's absurd to try to plant it into Plato's own writings in this manner. Plato takes metempsychosis for granted, and I found the way he applies that in his argumentation very intriguing. Indeed, the entire Book X (which deals with religious questions) was a remarkable read – the same goes for his argumentation for drinking parties as an educational device in Book II. Just mentioning these in particular because I particularly enjoyed them, but it should also be added that there is a clear structure to the whole of this work and that the masterful composition of the Laws very much adds to the pleasure of reading it (as in all of Plato’s work... though in a long and complex work like this one, it is an even greater accomplishment). In the final Book (XII) of the Laws there’s the introduction - or rather: innovation - of the Nocturnal Council – I suppose no one would have expected Plato to leave this new state without philosophers.

While it might not be especially tempting for anyone today to become a citizen of the proposed state of Magnesia, it can be useful to consider that things could well have looked a bit different for someone living in the fourth century BCE. And, of course, Plato's influence on political thought ever since would be difficult to overestimate. The Laws has a similar utopian character as the Republic though here theory merges with practical application; the discussion about the essence of virtue, education as acquisition of virtue, unwritten customs and their intimate relation to written law, crime and the purpose of punishment, the usefulness of preambles to the laws, the role of the Scrutineers ("our god-like 'straighteners'" fit to exercise "authority over the authorities"), and the role of the Nocturnal Council in supplementing and interpreting (or even changing) legislation.. Plato here presents an overall practical plan for the ideal state, but at the same time his philosophical ideas are very much present in the discussion.




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The greatest value for human beings is not merely—as most people believe—to be safe and to exist, but to become, and to be, as good as possible for as long as they remain alive. ( )

12/6/21

Everything I say is right: the book. ( )

It's fascinating that Plato's final work abandons the lofty abstractions of The Symposium, Phædrus, and The Republic for a detailed legislative plan to establish a new colony in Crete. Socrates is absent as is the Theory of Forms. It's as if Plato chose to leave something concrete and practical as his last testament. Sadly, little of his literary art remains, especially in the latter half. ( )