Review by Library Journal Review
Griffith's answer to the question "Why another translation of The Republic?" is that most current translations do not follow the form of a conversation, which Griffith feels the dialog is intended to convey. His aim was to translate the Greek text as if it were a conversation, and he has succeeded admirably. The text does indeed flow like a conversation, with the entire back-and-forth interaction that such exchanges involve. A comparison of his renderings of Books I, VII (the allegory of the cave), and VIII (the discussion of the four forms of unjust regimes) with the same passages in the second edition of Allan Bloom's translation of The Republic (Basic Bks., 1991) shows that Griffith's translation is, on the whole, much smoother and in that sense a more comfortable "read." Consider, for example, the first sentence in Book VII. Bloom's translation reads: " `Next, then,' I said, `make an image of our nature in its education and want of education, likening it to a condition of the following kind.' " Here is Griffith's translation: " `If we're thinking about the effect of educationDor the lack of it on our nature, there's another comparison we can make.' " Griffith's smoother style suggests that this new translation may find a greater audience than others have. Griffith has also written a very useful introduction that places the work in historical context and provides a glossary that will help readers identify individuals and places mentioned in the work. Highly recommended for all public and academic libraries.DTerry Skeats, Bishop's Univ. Lib., Lennoxville, Quebec (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
