To mark Eva Brann's fiftieth year on the faculty of St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland, twenty-three of her colleagues, friends, and former students have contributed essays, poems, and artwork to "The Envisioned Life." They celebrate Brann's "passion for learning and her deep love of books, her breadth of knowledge and interests, her boundless energy, her mastery of the spoken and of the written word, her virtues of leadership, and her bright and generous spirit."

Paul Dry Books has published three books by Eva Brann: "Homeric Moments," "The Music of the Republic," and "Open Secrets / Inward Prospects."

Plato's "Sophist" takes the form of a conversation between four characters - Socrates, the great philosopher who is shortly to be tried for impiety and corruption, Theaetetus, a brilliant young mathematician, Theaetetus' elderly teacher Theodorus, and a stranger introduced as "a very philosophical man". The conversation, often considered one of the greatest of all Platonic dialogues, concerns "the purveyor of ignorance" - the sophist. In the Greece of Socrates' time there was a group of travelling professors who gave themselves the honorary title of "sophists", or "wisdom-pliers". Their principle activity was to sell their expertise, particularly of rhetorical techniques and of philosophical opinions. This trading of philosophical insight by those believing themselves to be universal experts is politely but devastatingly undermined by Socrates and his interlocutors, in this, one of the most important of Plato's extant philosophical texts.

A first rate translation at a reasonable price. --Michael Rohr, Rutgers University

Translation in English, with an introduction and glossary of key terms. Socrates on death, dying, and the soul. The glossary of key terms is a unique addition to Platonic literature by which concepts central to each dialogue are discussed and cross-referenced as to their occurrences throughout the work. In such a way students are encouraged to see beyond the words into concepts. Modern Students can now appreciate the wisdom of the world's greatest thinkers. Through clear, faithful translations, renowned scholars have made classical philosophical texts accessible and inspirational.

Readers of Plato have often neglected the Laws because of its length and density. In this set of interpretive essays, notable scholars of the Laws from the fields of classics, history, philosophy, and political science offer a collective close reading of the dialogue "book by book" and reflect on the work as a whole. In their introduction, editors Gregory Recco and Eric Sanday explore the connections among the essays and the dramatic and productive exchanges between the contributors. This volume fills a major gap in studies on Plato's dialogues by addressing the cultural and historical context of the Laws and highlighting their importance to contemporary scholarship. -- Indiana University Press

"Where does happiness lie?" "What is the best life?" Aristotle ponders these abiding questions in his Nicomachean Ethics - a work which has profoundly influenced Western thinking on ethical matters. A book of apparent obviousness, the Ethics possesses a depth and complexity that readers at first may miss. In his study, "In Pursuit of the Good", Salem guides and deepens our understanding of Aristotle's masterpiece, thus helping us to decide what the good life should really be.