Cratylus

Description

The Cratylus, Plato's sole dialogue devoted to the relation between language and reality, is acknowledged to be one of his masterpieces. But owing to its often enigmatic content no more than a handful of passages from it have played a part in the global evaluation of Plato's philosophy. This new English translation by C D C Reeve is the first since 1926, and incomparably the most helpful and accessible now available. It opens up the Cratylus to all philosophically interested readers, as well as to cultural historians and to those whose primary concern is the history of linguistics. The full and lucid introduction does much to illuminate the internal dynamic of this important text and to explain its place within Plato's oeuvre.

C D C Reeve is Professor of Philosophy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

It is. . . remarkable that Reeve's is the first new English translation since Fowler's Loeb edition of 1926. Fortunately, Reeve has done an excellent job. His version is not slavishly literal but is in general very accurate. It is also very clear and readable. Reeve is particularly to be congratulated for having produced versions of some of the more torturous passages, which are not only faithful to the text but also make good sense in English. The long and detailed introduction is worth reading in its own right. --R. F. Stalley, The Classical Review The Cratylus , Plato's sole dialogue devoted to the relation between language and reality, is acknowledged to be one of his masterpieces. But owing to its often enigmatic content no more than a handful of passages from it have played a part in the global evaluation of Plato's philosophy. This new English translation by C. D. C. Reeve is the first since 1926, and incomparably the most helpful and accessible now available. It opens up the Cratylus to all philosophically interested readers, as well as to cultural historians and to those whose primary concern is the history of linguistics. The full and lucid Introduction does much to illuminate the internal dynamic of this important text and to explain its place within Plato's oeuvre. --David Sedley, University of Cambridge Perhaps no subject matter is more distinctive or more central to twentieth century philosophy than the philosophy of language. The Cratylus , Plato's most sustained investigation of language, may be his least appreciated work, no doubt in large part because of its difficult Greek. At long last, Reeve's fine translation will make this rich work accessible to students and scholars of Plato. In addition, Reeve's long introductory essay provides a concise guide to the argument and is itself a significant piece of scholarship. Teachers of Plato (and historical linguistics) are truly in his debt. --Allan Silverman, Ohio State University