The Laws

by Plato

Book Overview

In the Laws, Plato describes in fascinating detail a comprehensive system of legislation in a small agricultural utopia he named Magnesia. His laws not only govern crime and punishment, but also form a code of conduct for all aspects of life in his ideal state from education, sport and religion to sexual behaviour, marriage and drinking parties. Plato sets out a plan for the day-to-day rule of Magnesia, administered by citizens and elected officials,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0140442227
• ISBN13: 9780140442229
• Release Date: August 1970
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Length: 560 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.1" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Plato As Law Giver

I read this book as part of my research into Plato himself. It's hard for me to see how relevant a book like this is today. Plato's world was very different than today. People owned slaves, there was no internet or mass communications, Christianity didn't even exist yet, etc.. However it did provide some of the insights I was looking for about Plato himself. Plato's writings have a smooth quality. St. Augustine called Plato's philosophy very 'clear'. Reading his works can almost be like a sort of religious experience since he often talks about the various mythological gods and God Himself. A book carries the spirit of the author I guess. Plato believed in reincarnation and the law of karma. For example he felt that the death penalty is a blessing in disguise for incorrigible criminals since it prevents them from contaminating their souls with even more evil. I feel this book shows the influence of two things that were very important for Plato; his belief in Atlantis and the books in the old testament of the bible that talk about the details of those laws that were given from on high. These two things were always there deep in his thoughts. Atlantis was a utopian society at first and it seems that for all of his life Plato was trying to recreate this ideal society. But I doubt that he could have imagined the information that came out in the 1900s from the great Edgar Cayce (Osiris). Sometimes when people see flying saucers those are our ancestors from Atlantis travelling through time. It is not a coincidence that fate chose Plato to preserve the legend of Atlantis for future generations. He was there on Atlantis himself at the very beginning. Interestingly the author of this translation doesn't agree that The Laws shows how Plato became more realistic when he realized that the idealistic society described in The Republic could never become a reality. That is a common theory that many people believe. Rather he feels Plato would have known that The Republic could never beome a reality. I think the next thing I'll read about Plato is a biography as part of my ongoing research. Jeff Marzano The Atlantis Dialogue: Plato's Original Story of the Lost City, Continent, Empire, Civilization Ufo...Contact from Planet Iarga The Giza Power Plant : Technologies of Ancient Egypt Edgar Cayce's Egypt: Psychic Revelations on the Most Fascinating Civilization Ever Known Initiation Initiation in the Great Pyramid (Astara's Library of Mystical Classics) Edgar Cayce's Story of the Old Testament From the Birth of Souls to the Death of Moses

Plato As Law Giver

I read this book as part of my research into Plato himself. It's hard for me to see how relevant a book like this is today. Plato's world was very different than today. People owned slaves, there was no internet or mass communications, Christianity didn't even exist yet, etc.. However it did provide some of the insights I was looking for about Plato himself. Plato's writings have a smooth quality. St. Augustine called Plato's philosophy very 'clear'. Reading his works can almost be like a sort of religious experience since he often talks about the various mythological gods and God Himself. A book carries the spirit of the author I guess. Plato believed in reincarnation and the law of karma. For example he felt that the death penalty is a blessing in disguise for incorrigible criminals since it prevents them from contaminating their souls with even more evil. I feel this book shows the influence of two things that were very important for Plato; his belief in Atlantis and the books in the old testament of the bible that talk about the details of those laws that were given from on high. These two things were always there deep in his thoughts. Atlantis was a utopian society at first and it seems that for all of his life Plato was trying to recreate this ideal society. But I doubt that he could have imagined the information that came out in the 1900s from the great Edgar Cayce (Osiris). Sometimes when people see flying saucers those are our ancestors from Atlantis travelling through time. It is not a coincidence that fate chose Plato to preserve the legend of Atlantis for future generations. He was there on Atlantis himself at the very beginning. Interestingly the author of this translation doesn't agree that The Laws shows how Plato became more realistic when he realized that the idealistic society described in The Republic could never become a reality. That is a common theory that many people believe. Rather he feels Plato would have known that The Republic could never beome a reality. I think the next thing I'll read about Plato is a biography as part of my ongoing research. Jeff Marzano Fulcanelli: Master Alchemist: Le Mystere des Cathedrales, Esoteric Intrepretation of the Hermetic Symbols of The Great Work (Le Mystere Des Cathedrales ... of the Hermetic Symbols of Great Work) The Atlantis Dialogue: Plato's Original Story of the Lost City, Continent, Empire, Civilization Ufo...Contact from Planet Iarga The Giza Power Plant : Technologies of Ancient Egypt Edgar Cayce's Egypt: Psychic Revelations on the Most Fascinating Civilization Ever Known Initiation Initiation in the Great Pyramid (Astara's Library of Mystical Classics) Edgar Cayce's Story of the Old Testament From the Birth of Souls to the Death of Moses

Foundational to the study of the history of political and philosophic thought

This is not an exciting book. It is not fun to read, and you will probably be tempted to stop reading in many times as you slog through it. But it is an incredibly important book, one that needs to be read. And it is worth reading, despite the effort it takes. This translation by Trevor Saunders is somewhat disappointing, but it is the best that I have seen. It is too modernized in many places. I am very annoyed when he has Plato saying things like "Bon Voyage" or "poppycock." I fail to see why this is necessary at all. The book itself is split into twelve books. The first deals with the inadequacy of the current political systems in Athens and Sparta. Plato rejects both complete democracy and oligarchy. He moves on to discuss the educational benefits of drinking parties, which is one of his most eccentric ideas. Book two deals with the educational purpose of the arts, and continues to support his drinking parties. In this section Plato shows that he very much supports censorship by the state. Book three in a lesson in history. First Plato gives the history of mankind (which is rather interesting), and then he gives his history of political systems, showing how monarchy, oligarchy, and democracy arose, and how they changed over time. Book four begins to discuss how the colony that they will be creating will work. It discussus the supremacy of Law, and how we should legislate. Book five gives the preamble to the laws, and discusses personal morality, emotion, the distribution of land, monetary systems, and classes of citizens. Book six lists all of the positions which will need to exist (i.e. police officers, judges, etc.), and how courts will work. He then moves into a discussion of marriage, which he purposely selects as the first thing to legislate because he considered it foundational to the state. Book seven outlines Plato's ideas about education, going through various disciplines and discussing what should be taught. There is a rather humerous section where he is discussing what literature should be taught. He concludes that the book he is currently writing is by far the greatest literature ever produced, and should thus be the only required reading. Such a humble man he was. Book eight deals with sports, the military, sexual conduct, agriculture, economics, and foreign trade (which he strongly discourages). Book nine lists crimes which merit capital punishment, distinguishes between voluntary and involuntary crimes, and deals with crimes committed in anger and cases of homicide by insane people. He also discusses some non-capital crimes like assault. Book ten discussus religion, and attempts to prove three things. First, the gods exist. Second, they are active in the world and care for mankind. And third, that they cannot be persuaded by humans to change their minds. He also discussus impiety and punishments dealing with religion. Book eleven deals with laws of property ownership, commercial law, family law,

Laying down the law

When one thinks of Plato and his ideas of politics, one naturally gravitates toward his best-known work, the Republic. In that book, Plato set up the ideal city-state, with classes born and bred to specific functions and roles in society, and a sense of philosophical outlook consistent across the board. However, such a society was unlikely to be brought out, in Plato's time and, as it turned out, in any other. Plato tried at different times to persuade rulers to become his envisioned philosopher-king; the last attempt was with a tyrant of Syracuse, who in the end imprisoned Plato rather than following his directions. Plato wrote this work, 'The Laws', as the last of his dialogues. Its difference from the Republic is immediately apparent in the absence of Socrates as a character - Plato at the end of his life has finally taken to working in his own right and not through a proxy. Just looking at the contents will show the breadth of this work - it involves practically every aspect of civil society: legislative bodies (and Plato has some scathing commentaries on some that he has known); education and its proper role and method (including even drinking parties as part of the educational process); ideas of monarchy, democracy, and the balance of power (some American constitutional ideas were generated from a reading (and occasional misreading) of this work); civil administration; arts and sciences; military and sports training; sexual conduct; economics; criminal law, torts, and judicial process; religion and theology; civil law, property and family law; Plato even argues for the need of a 'nocturnal council', one that delves not only into the practical aspects of the law, but also their philosophical bases. According to translator and editor Trevor Saunders, 'The reader of the Republic who picks up the Laws is likely to have difficulty in believing that the same person wrote both.' Saunders speculates that Plato in his older years changed from optimism to pessimism, from idealism to realism, but that this is not all there is to the assumption, because in actual fact the transition from the Republic to the Laws involves transitioning unattainable ideals to attainable realities. Plato describes the construction of a utopian society in great detail, down to the number of citizens permitted to live in the city (5040) and the length of time foreigners might reside in the city (20 years). This shows that Plato considers politics to be an exact science (indeed, despite the inclusion of the 'nocturnal council', he did see his system of laws being essentially unalterable through history). Plato is not averse to the use of force and coercion to set up and maintain the utopian society. Finally, Plato sees a self-contained kind of society that is likely to become xenophobic to the extreme, with less tolerance toward its own citizens than toward those foreigners permitted to live and work in the city. Indeed, for the virtuous citizens to be fr

Must read

If you think you know what Plato thought of society after reading 'Republic' wait and read this first. You will realize its the opposite of whats in the republic what Plato believed. He did this to avoid complications such that Socretes faced.