Allan Bloom is the man for me, too. Besides all this, he's very readable.
Everyman wrote:pmath wrote:
I hear W. H. D. Rouse's translation of The Republic is very readable
It's certainly one of the standard translations and perfectly readable, but personally I prefer the Allan Bloom (no, NOT Harold Bloom!) translation.
The reasons I like Bloom are, first, that he has the benefit of more recent scholarship that wasn't available to Jowett, Rouse, and other earlier translators. Second, and more important to me, he has stuck more closely to what Plato actually wrote. While every translator injects a certain part of themselves and their thinking into any work they translate, other translators of Plato have tended to try to help readers out by shading their translations to match their personal interpretations of difficult or potentially ambiguous passages. (Jowett and Cornford are famous, or infamous, for this; I haven't studied Rouse carefully enough to know how he handles such passages, so can't specifically criticize his translation on this ground.) These editorial interpretations are sometimes controversial and sometimes haven't stood up to the test of time.
Bloom has tried as much as possible to stick with what Plato wrote, and let the reader decide what the passages mean, even where that may mean seeming repetitive or allowing a potentially ambiguous passage to remain ambiguous. As a serious reader of Plato, I appreciate this approach.
Sorry but I find Bloom far too conservative (and eccentric). His references are often weak or not there at all, relying rather on his strong opinions. I have the Penguin Classic edition with Professor Desmond Lee's translation and Notes. Lee was a Cambridge Classics scholar. B&N do the Desmond Lee translation too:-
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnIn
Robin Waterfield, Professor of Greek Cultural History at Durham University, has also done a translation of The Republic which is the one currently used in our schools. I also looked at a more atheistic/pantheistic version by Grube & Reeve recently which looked interesting. B&N do a combined book and audio with a translation by Reeve:-
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnIn
You pays your money and takes your pick
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnIn
Robin Waterfield, Professor of Greek Cultural History at Durham University, has also done a translation of The Republic which is the one currently used in our schools. I also looked at a more atheistic/pantheistic version by Grube & Reeve recently which looked interesting. B&N do a combined book and audio with a translation by Reeve:-
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnIn
You pays your money and takes your pick
Laurel wrote:
Allan Bloom is the man for me, too. Besides all this, he's very readable.
Everyman wrote:pmath wrote:
I hear W. H. D. Rouse's translation of The Republic is very readable
It's certainly one of the standard translations and perfectly readable, but personally I prefer the Allan Bloom (no, NOT Harold Bloom!) translation.
The reasons I like Bloom are, first, that he has the benefit of more recent scholarship that wasn't available to Jowett, Rouse, and other earlier translators. Second, and more important to me, he has stuck more closely to what Plato actually wrote. While every translator injects a certain part of themselves and their thinking into any work they translate, other translators of Plato have tended to try to help readers out by shading their translations to match their personal interpretations of difficult or potentially ambiguous passages. (Jowett and Cornford are famous, or infamous, for this; I haven't studied Rouse carefully enough to know how he handles such passages, so can't specifically criticize his translation on this ground.) These editorial interpretations are sometimes controversial and sometimes haven't stood up to the test of time.
Bloom has tried as much as possible to stick with what Plato wrote, and let the reader decide what the passages mean, even where that may mean seeming repetitive or allowing a potentially ambiguous passage to remain ambiguous. As a serious reader of Plato, I appreciate this approach.
Choisya, I just read Book I, and the translation is very good. The print in this edition is relatively small, though, so you may be better off with your Penguin Classics edition anyway!
Choisya wrote:
For goodness sake pmath - by the time I have finished reading your reocmmendations, I will be bankrupt!
pmath wrote:
... I also just got this collection of Plato's dialogues in preparation for our discussion of Thomas More's Utopia, since I hear W. H. D. Rouse's translation of The Republic is very readable:
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?EAN=9780451527455
Yes that is probably true. I find a lot of American writing too hyberbolic. I like a bit of stiff upper lip
Everyman wrote:
Perhaps you prefer Lee to Bloom because you prefer the British to the American approach to the Greeks. Which wouldn't be surprising.
Message Edited by Choisya on 02-19-200701:29 AM
You had better make an appointment to see President Bush right away Historybuff
historybuff234 wrote:
I agree with what you guys said about philosophy in UK schools. I think that it is great that I an going to be more philosophy right now when I am 7th grade. I think it will help em when I get to college. When I read The Prince it really makes me think about things. It made think about the situation in Iraq and i the world right now right now and I came up with a way that I think will improve the situation.
You are only limited by the boundries of your imagination and the laws in your area- Red GreenMessage Edited by historybuff234 on 02-19-200705:46 PM
