The Socratic Dialogues Early Period, Volume 2 cover art

The Socratic Dialogues Early Period, Volume 2

Gorgias, Protagoras, Meno, Euthydemus, Lesser Hippias, Greater Hippias

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The Socratic Dialogues Early Period, Volume 2

By: Plato, Benjamin Jowett - translator
Narrated by: David Rintoul, full cast
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About this listen

Here, in this second collection of Socratic Dialogues from Plato's Early Period, read by David Rintoul as Socrates with a full cast, are contrasting six works. Often, as with Gorgias, which opens the recording, Socrates combats the popular subjects of sophistry and rhetoric, in direct conversation with Gorgias (a leading sophist teacher), and with one of his pupils, Callicles.

In Meno, Socrates encounters another Gorgias pupil, Meno, and a debate on 'virtue' ensues. Virtue is also the topic in Protagoras, though this dialogue is largely narrated by Socrates (David Rintoul), who 'reports' the conversation which had taken place shortly before.

Euthydemus is one of the most entertaining of all the Socratic Dialogues, with the two vastly overconfident brothers Euthydemus and Dionysodorus, supposedly capable wrestlers, boxers and musicians, who have come to Athens to teach sophistry. They enter into philosophical debate with Socrates, who at times is almost amazed by their brash sense of superiority.

The Lesser Hippias dialogue considers issues of morality, truth and lies, with reference to Homer's great characters Achilles and Odysseus, while the Greater Hippias enquires into the nature of beauty.

Translation: Benjamin Jowett.

Public Domain (P)2017 Ukemi Productions Ltd Greek & Roman History Philosophy

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Except.... I no longer know what beautiful is! Or good. Or virtue. To paraphrase Stephen Fry, perhaps the definition of each is like an oily trout. The harder you squeeze it, the faster it slips away.

A beautiful rendition

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The dialogues are beautifully voiced and compelling. I felt like I was transported back to ancient Greece and part of the conversation.

Soothing narrator brings dialogues to life

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If like me you’ve tried numerous times to get into Plato and failed, this could be your lucky break. I always gave up because I got frustrated at some of the seemingly pedantic quibbles but, when you listen to it, the narrators do a really good job of conveying that same exasperation and you begin to realise you’re not alone and several of the characters in the dialogue feel the same way. So Plato was aware that people would respond in this way to some of what he was saying.

I have found these narrations about 10 times easier to listen to than reading the books because the tone of the characters often helps you to understand where they are really coming from. Amazing book! Absolute gem!

Engrossing

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This was a fairly tough old slog through the Platonic dialogues. The performances made it so much easier but all in all the content just wasn't up to the usual standards of the great king of all Philosophy. Looking forward to volume 3, but volume 2 is nowhere near as good as vol 1.

Still, it's Plato, so it's always worth a hearing

Not the best of Plato by any means

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