Alcibiades I

PlatoProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.7

Word count: 107K words
Chapters: 11

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Alcibiades I by PlatoAuthor: Plato (spurious and doubtful works), 427? BCE-347? BCE,Language: English, Class: PA: Language and Literatures: Classical Languages and Literature, Release Date: Mar 1, 1999

Editor's review

Alcibiades I is a dialogue attributed to Plato but widely regarded by scholars as spurious or of doubtful authorship; this is the public-domain English text provided by Project Gutenberg. Its value lies not in confirming Plato's own thought but in presenting a typical classical dialogue on the tension between "know thyself" and political ambition: Socrates and Alcibiades, on the verge of public life, discuss what affairs suit him and whether education can make one fit to govern. For readers, it is an accessible sample of how Socratic questioning works—short, with arguments building step by step—suitable as light practice in reading classical philosophy in the original. Given the doubtful authorship, there is no need to treat it as Plato's settled view; instead, note the techniques of definitional analysis, analogy, and cross-examination. The electronic edition is easy to search and compare, suited to close reading in segments during commutes or between classes, and best used alongside a translation or annotated edition. Overall, it works better as supplementary material on classical philosophy and political education than as a standalone authoritative text.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Philosophy beginners who want to get familiar with Socratic questioning through a short dialogue.
Students of classical political philosophy interested in the relation between education and political ambition.
Teachers and self-learners who need a public-domain English original for comparative reading or classroom materials.
Classics enthusiasts interested in spurious and doubtful texts and questions of Platonic authorship.

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking a systematic grasp of Plato's mature thought, which this single dialogue can easily misrepresent.
Beginners who prefer modern vernacular translations with detailed annotations.
Readers seeking definitive authorship and scholarly consensus, since the attribution itself is doubtful.

Reading tips

Read through once to grasp the flow of the dialogue, then go back and mark Socrates' definitional questions and analogies.
Use a reliable introduction to Plato or a translator's preface to understand the background of the spurious-text problem.
Keep separate notes on the two threads—"know thyself" and political ambition—and write a brief summary afterward.
If the English is difficult, read bilingually: first the Chinese to grasp the argument, then return to the English wording.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Was this really written by Plato?

The author field is marked "Plato (spurious and doubtful works)," indicating scholarly disagreement over the attribution; it is generally not regarded as a confirmed work of Plato. Read it as a classical dialogue, focusing on the arguments and questions, without attributing its views directly to Plato himself.

Can I read this e-book if my English is weak?

This is a public-domain English text—short but argument-dense. Readers with weaker English can first read a Chinese translation or introduction to clarify the dialogue's structure, then return to the English; reading bilingually paragraph by paragraph and noting unfamiliar terms separately will make it much less daunting.

What background knowledge do I need for this dialogue?

It helps to know the basic form of Socratic and Platonic dialogues and to have some sense of ancient Greek city-state politics and civic education. If you have no background at all, read an introductory work on Plato first; the debate about self-knowledge and fitness for politics will then be easier to follow.

How is the electronic edition best used?

The Gutenberg e-edition is convenient for searching keywords, copying passages, and reading in segments, making it suitable for classroom materials or comparative reading. Use it alongside a print translation or annotated edition and consult notes where the argument jumps; you can also search for key terms such as "self-knowledge" and "education" for thematic rereading.

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About the author

Plato Author · Ancient Greek

Plato (c. 427 BCE–347 BCE) was an ancient Greek philosopher, a student of Socrates and the teacher of Aristotle. He was born in Athens around 427 BCE and died in 347 BCE. He founded the Academy and laid the foundations of Western philosophy with his dialogues. The four works listed here—Alcibiades I, Lesser Hippias, Alcibiades II, and Eryxias—are spurious or doubtful dialogues attributed to him. Public information on their exact dating, authorship, and transmission is limited; they generally unfold as Socratic dialogues dealing with ethical, political, and educational questions. In classical scholarship they have long been discussed as part of the reception of Plato's works, and their style and thought have also influenced later research on the authenticity of the Platonic corpus.