An engaging new translation of a timeless masterpiece about coping with the death of a loved one In 45 BCE, the Roman statesman Cicero fell to pieces when his beloved daughter, Tullia, died from complications of childbirth. But from the depths of despair, Cicero fought his way back. In an effort to cope with his loss, he wrote a consolation speech-not for others, as had always been done, but for himself. And it worked. Cicero's Consolation was something new in literature, equal parts philosophy and motivational speech. Drawing on the full range of Greek philosophy and Roman history, Cicero convinced himself that death and loss are part of life, and that if others have survived them, we can, too; resilience, endurance, and fortitude are the way forward. Lost in antiquity, Cicero's Consolation was recreated in the Renaissance from hints in Cicero's other writings and the Greek and Latin consolatory tradition. The resulting masterpiece-translated here for the first time in 250 years-is infused throughout with Cicero's thought and spirit. Complete with the original Latin on facing pages and an inviting introduction, Michael Fontaine's engaging translation makes this searching exploration of grief available to readers once again.

What can the study of the history of ancient philosophy bring to the study of contemporary philosophical problems and questions? In New Essays on Plato and Aristotle eight distinguished philosophers address topics in Greek philosophy that are connected with current philosophical issues. All the essays are original and include Gilbert Ryle on Dialectic in the Academy and R. M. Hare on Plato's indictment of mathematicians.

In his teachings and through his choice of the dialogue-form as a mode of communication, Plato emphasized the communal aspect of intellectual work. The need for having a community work together is nowhere more apparent then when the intellectual task set is that of interpreting the ancient philosophers. Those of us who were fortunate enough to spend some of our years as students at Oxford found that among our most inspiring experiences were the meetings of the Oxford Aristotelian So ciety, as well as the seminars in which B.PhiI. students discussed Plato and Aristotle. Up until the past few years no such group existed on the West Coast. In the fall of 1970 some of us got together to form the West Coast Greek Philosophy Conference, which was within a short time renamed by Prof. T. Rosenmeyer as 'the Aristotelians of the West, Unincorporated'. In our monthly meetings we translate and discuss Greek philosophic texts. For the past two years the group has been working on Aristotle's 'Physics'."

This is the first edition for nearly 150 years, taking into account a fuller range of manuscripts than either of the previous editions, of the collection of problems on natural science and medicine edited by Bussemaker in 1857 as pseudo-Aristotle, Problemata Inedita, and by Usener in 1859 as pseudo-Alexander of Aphrodisias, Problems books 3 and 4, the attribution differing in different manuscripts. The new critical text, based on collation of 31 Greek manuscripts, is accompanied by an annotated English translation. An extensive introduction reconstructs the complex manuscript tradition and examines the origin and nature of the collection, which is argued to be complex, including two distinct groups of problems from approximately the time of Alexander (the second to third centuries AD) together with other material which is similar in character and origin to the Problems included in standard editions of Aristotle, compiled in the third century BC and in some cases related to extant or lost works by Aristotle's colleague Theophrastus. Part of the collection is also related to the eighth-century Latin Problemata Bambergensia. The material in this book will be of interest to historians of ancient science, medicine and thought, and to students of the transmission of ancient texts.

Hegel and Plato are united as political theorists by the convergence of their philosophical aspirations. But their political writings manifest the general disparities involved in their particular ways of seeking to fulfil these aspirations. Professor Browning compares the political thought of Plato and Hegel by locating their political theorizing within the context of their divergent modes of philosophizing.

Edward Urwick's original work draws upon Plato's best known work, the Republic, to provide a new interpretation of Plato's teaching based upon Indian religious thought. Most scholars have sought to interpret the Republic from the standpoint of politics, ethics, and metaphysics and indeed the accepted title of the dialogue - Concerning a Polity or Republic - would seem to legitimate this. Even the alternative title for the work - Concerning Justice - seems to justify such an approach. Yet the original Greek work, Dikaiosune, had a fuller meaning: righteousness. The author believes this gives a truer clue to the meaning of the dialogue. It is a discussion of righteousness in all its forms, from the just dealing of the law-abiding citizen to the spirit of holiness in the saint.

This volume provides a comprehensive, learned and lively presentation of the whole range of Plato's thought but with a particular emphasis upon how Plato developed his metaphysics with a view to supporting his deepest educational convictions. The author explores the relation of Plato's metaphysics to the epistemological, ethical and political aspects of Plato's theory of education and shows how Plato's basic positions bear directly on the most fundamental questions faced by contemporary education.

Did Plato abandon, or sharply modify, the Theory of Forms in later life? In the Phaedo, Symposium, and Republic it is generally agreed that Plato held that universals exist. But in Parmenides, he subjected that theory to criticism. If the criticism were valid, and Plato knew so, then the Parmenides marks a turning point in his thought. If, however, Plato became aware that there are radical differences in the logical behaviour of concepts, and the later dialogues are a record of his attempt to analyse those differences, then Plato's thought can be said to have moved in a new and vitally important direction after the Parmenides. Studies in Plato's Metaphysics brings together twenty essays by leading philosophers from the UK and the USA reflecting upon this important issue and upon the questions arising from it.

R. S. Bluck's engaging volume provides an accessible introduction to the thought of Plato. In the first part of the book the author provides an account of the life of the philosopher, from Plato's early years, through to the Academy, the first visit to Dionysius and the third visit to Syracuse, and finishing with an account of his final years. In the second part contains a discussion of the main purpose and points of interest of each of Plato's works. There is a chapter on Plato's central doctrine, the Theory of Ideas, and a translation of Plato's Seventh Letter, which not only provides valuable additional material for the study of Plato's thought but also contains a vivid account of many incidents in Plato's life.

This valuable work of reference provides a comprehensive bibliography on all scholarly work that was published on Plato and Socrates during the years 1958-73. It thus forms an important addition to Harold Cherniss's bibliography, which covered the years 1950-7. The author has sought to include all materials primarily concerned with Socrates and Plato, together with other works which make a contribution to our understanding of the two philosophers. The bibliography is arranged by topic and there are cross-references at the end of each section. The works in each category are arranged chronologically and then alphabetically (by author) within each year. An effort has been made to distinguish when a book has had more than one edition and when an article has been reprinted. Additionally the author has listed reviews of books and dissertations as these have come to his attention.

Studies of Plato's metaphysics have tended to emphasise either the radical change between the early Theory of Forms and the late doctrines of the Timaeus and the Sophist, or to insist on a unity of approach that is unchanged throughout Plato's career. The author lays out an alternative approach. Focussing on two metaphysical doctrines of central importance to Plato's thought - the Theory of Forms and the doctrine of Being and Becoming - he suggests a continuous progress can be traced through Plato's works. He presents his argument through an examination of the metaphysical sections of six of the dialogues: the Euthyphro, Phaedo, Republic, Parmenides, Timaeus, and Sophist.

This book provides an introduction to Plato's work that gives a clear statement of what Plato has to say about the problems of thought and life. In particular, it tells the reader just what Plato says, and makes no attempt to force a system on the Platonic text or to trim Plato's works to suit contemporary philosophical tastes. The author also gives an account that has historical fidelity - we cannot really understand the Republic or the Gorgias if we forget that the Athens of the conversations is meant to be the Athens of Nicias or Cleon, not the very different Athens of Plato's own manhood. To understand Plato's thought we must see it in the right historical perspective.

Plato's Timaeus was his only cosmological dialogue and for almost thirteen hundred years it provided the basis in the West for educated people's general view of the natural world. The author provides a translation of this important work, together with the Critias - the source of the legendary tale of Atlantis. He has taken particular care to provide an accurate rendering of Plato's words and to avoid putting his own or any other interpretation on the works.

This book provides a clear and informed account of aesthetic and callistic concepts as they occur in the works of Plato and Aristotle. The author illustrates their ideas on art and beauty by close reference to their texts and finds a profound similarity which unites them, revealing many of their differences to be complementary aspects of an essentially similar viewpoint. He also shows how Greek notions of art and beauty are not merely primitive steps in the advance to modern ideas but have a direct relevance to modern critical controversies.

This book helps understand Plato's writings by describing the circumstances in which they were produced. The author begins with an account of Plato's life and development and a brief analysis of some of the more difficult points arising from the criticism of Plato's writings. The remainder of the work considers the total setting - political, literary and philosophical - in which Plato's writings were produced. There are extensive appendices on the Platonic Epistles, Aristotle and the Theory of Ideas, and on the post-Aristotelian tradition. The result is both a lucid account of Plato himself and a comprehensive view of culture in fifth century Greece.

Ian Crombie's impressive volumes provide a comprehensive interpretation of Plato's doctrines. Volume 1 contains topics of more general interest and is mainly concerned with what Plato has to say in the fields of moral philosophy, political philosophy, the philosophy of mind and the philosophy of religion.

Ian Crombie's impressive volumes provide a comprehensive interpretation of Plato's doctrines. Volume 2 deals with more technical philosophical topics, including the theory of knowledge, philosophy of nature, and the methodology of science and philosophy. Each volume is self-contained.

In Plato's Theaetetus, Socrates is portrayed as a midwife to the intellect, a metaphor for his task as a dialectician as he seeks to help give birth to wisdom. Thus it is that the author refers to Plato as the midwife's apprentice. This volume represents an attempt to provide a more manageable account of the author's two volume magnum opus, An Examination of Plato's Doctrines. An accessible and lucid introduction to Plato's ideas is provided which nonetheless challenges traditional interpretations. In particular the author is concerned to offer an interpretation of the significance of what Plato said. The chapters are arranged by topic, for ease of comprehension.

Plato was born around 2,500 years ago. He lived in a small city-state in Greece and busied himself with the problems of his fellow Greeks, a people living in scattered cities around the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. In all he tried to do for the Greeks he failed. Why, then, should people in the modern world bother to read what he had to say? Does it make sense to go to a Greek thinker for advice on the problems of an age so different from his own? To anyone who has questioned the relevance of Plato to the modern world Richard Crossman's lively book provides a brilliant reply. The problems facing Plato's world bear striking parallels to ours today, the author maintains, so who better to turn to than Plato, the most objective and most ruthless observer of the failures of Greek society. Crossman's engaging text provides both an informed introduction to Greek ideas and an original and controversial view of Plato himself.

Translated by Henrik Rosenmeier, A History of Ancient Philosophy charts the origins and development of ancient philosophical thought. For easy reference, the book is divided chronologically into six main parts. The sections are further divided into philosophers and philosophical movements: *Pre-Socratic Philosophy, including mythology, the Pythagoreans and Parmenides *The Great Century of Athens, including the Sophists and Socrates *Plato, including The Republic, The Symposium and The Timaeus *Aristotle, including The Physics, The Metaphysics and The Poetics *Hellenistic Philosophy, including the Sceptics, the Stoics, the Epicureans and Cicero *Late Antiquity, including Neoplatonism, Origen and St Augustine. This comprehensive and meticulously documented book is structured to make ancient philosophical thought and ancient thinkers accessible. It contains: *full references to primary sources *detailed interpretations of key philosophical passages, including surveys of previous philosophical readings *an overview of the development of ancient philosophical thought *discussions of the relationships between philosophers and their ideas *analyses of key philosophical concepts and ideologies including ontology, epistemology, logic, semantics, moral and political philosophy, theology and aesthetics *explanations of Greek philosophical terminology.

There are many fallacious arguments in the dialogues of Plato. The author argues that Plato was fully conscious of the fallacious character of at least an important number of these arguments and that he sometimes made deliberate use of fallacy as an indirect means of setting forth certain of his fundamental philosophical views. Plato introduces them, the author maintains, for the purpose of working out their implications. Plato is thus able to expose them for what they are, to clear away possible lines of attack upon his own position, and even to show that when the proper correction is applied his own views receive support.

This book explores the life-history of the individual within the context of Plato's social thought. The author examines Plato's treatment of the principal crises in an individual life - birth, educational selection, sex, the individual's contract with society, old age, death, and life after death - and provides an unprecedented analysis of Plato's theory of genetics as it appears in the Timaeus. Comparisons are made with contemporary developments in anthropology, sociology, and comparative myth but without losing sight of the fact that Plato, whilst having much to say to the modern world, was not a modern.

In fourth-century Greece (BCE), the debate over the nature of philosophy generated a novel claim: that the highest form of wisdom is theoria, the rational 'vision' of metaphysical truths (the 'spectator theory of knowledge'). This 2004 book offers an original analysis of the construction of 'theoretical' philosophy in fourth-century Greece. In the effort to conceptualise and legitimise theoretical philosophy, the philosophers turned to a venerable cultural practice: theoria (state pilgrimage). In this practice, an individual journeyed abroad as an official witness of sacralized spectacles. This book examines the philosophic appropriation and transformation of theoria, and analyses the competing conceptions of theoretical wisdom in fourth-century philosophy. By tracing the link between traditional and philosophic theoria, this book locates the creation of theoretical philosophy in its historical context, analysing theoria as a cultural and an intellectual practice. It develops a new, interdisciplinary approach, drawing on philosophy, history and literary studies.

How to live a better life. One of the most important books on Western philosophy - a powerful and inspirational guide for the complicated world of today

Few ancient works have been as influential as the MEDITATIONS of Marcus Aurelius. Filled with wisdom, practical guidance, and profound understanding of human behaviour, it remains one of the greatest works of spiritual and ethical reflection ever written. Marcus's insights and advice - on everything from living in the world to coping with adversity and interacting with others - have made the MEDITATIONS required reading for statesmen and philosophers alike, while generations of ordinary readers have responded to the straightforward intimacy of his style.

In Gregory Hays's translation Marcus's thoughts speak with a new immediacy. Never before have Marcus's insights been so directly and powerfully presented.