The Republic — Page 1
The Republic of Plato is the longest of his works with the exception of the Laws, and is certainly the greatest of them.
La République de Platon est la plus longue de ses œuvres, à l'exception des Lois, et elle en est certainement la plus grande.
There are nearer approaches to modern metaphysics in the Philebus and in the Sophist; the Politicus or Statesman is more ideal; the form and institutions of the State are more clearly drawn out in the Laws; as works of art, the Symposium and the Protagoras are of higher excellence.
Le Philèbe et le Sophiste s'approchent davantage de la métaphysique moderne ; le Politicus ou l'Homme d'État est plus idéal ; la forme et les institutions de l'État sont exposées plus clairement dans les Lois ; en tant qu'œuvres d'art, le Banquet et le Protagoras sont d'une excellence supérieure.
But no other Dialogue of Plato has the same largeness of view and the same perfection of style; no other shows an equal knowledge of the world, or contains more of those thoughts which are new as well as old, and not of one age only but of all.
Mais aucun autre Dialogue de Platon ne possède la même ampleur de vue ni la même perfection de style ; aucun autre ne témoigne d'une connaissance égale du monde, ni ne contient davantage de ces pensées qui sont à la fois nouvelles et anciennes, et qui n'appartiennent pas à une seule époque mais à toutes.
Nowhere in Plato is there a deeper irony or a greater wealth of humour or imagery, or more dramatic power.
Nulle part chez Platon on ne trouve une ironie plus profonde, ni une plus grande richesse d'humour ou d'images, ni une puissance dramatique plus grande.
Nor in any other of his writings is the attempt made to interweave life and speculation, or to connect politics with philosophy.
Et dans aucun autre de ses écrits on ne tente d'entrelacer la vie et la spéculation, ni de relier la politique à la philosophie.
The Republic is the centre around which the other Dialogues may be grouped; here philosophy reaches the highest point (cp, especially in Books V, VI, VII) to which ancient thinkers ever attained.
La République est le centre autour duquel les autres Dialogues peuvent être regroupés ; c'est ici que la philosophie atteint le point le plus élevé (cf., notamment dans les Livres V, VI, VII) auquel les penseurs de l'Antiquité soient jamais parvenus.
Plato among the Greeks, like Bacon among the moderns, was the first who conceived a method of knowledge, although neither of them always distinguished the bare outline or form from the substance of truth; and both of them had to be content with an abstraction of science which was not yet realized.
Platon parmi les Grecs, comme Bacon parmi les modernes, fut le premier à concevoir une méthode de connaissance, bien que ni l'un ni l'autre n'ait toujours distingué le simple contour ou la forme de la substance de la vérité ; et tous deux durent se contenter d'une abstraction de la science qui n'était pas encore réalisée.
Vocabulary
- République
- Republic; title of Plato's famous philosophical dialogue
- Platon
- Plato, ancient Greek philosopher
- plus
- Adverb meaning 'more' or 'most'
- longue
- Feminine adjective meaning 'long'
- œuvres
- Works, literary or artistic creations
- exception
- Exception, something excluded from a general rule
- Lois
- Laws; title of one of Plato's dialogues
- certainement
- Adverb meaning 'certainly' or 'definitely'
- grande
- Feminine adjective meaning 'great' or 'large'
- Philèbe
- Philebus, a Platonic dialogue on pleasure and good
- Sophiste
- Sophist, one who uses clever but misleading arguments
- approchent
- Third plural of 'approcher': 'approach' or 'come close'
- davantage
- Adverb meaning 'more' or 'to a greater extent'
- métaphysique
- Metaphysics, branch of philosophy about fundamental reality
- moderne
- Adjective meaning 'modern' or 'contemporary'
- Politicus
- Politicus, Platonic dialogue about the ideal statesman
- Homme
- Noun meaning 'man' or 'human being'
- État
- State, organized political community or government
- idéal
- Adjective meaning 'ideal' or 'perfect'
- forme
- Form, shape, or philosophical concept of ideal structure
- institutions
- Institutions, established organizations or social structures
- exposées
- Past participle of 'exposer': presented or set forth clearly
- clairement
- Adverb meaning 'clearly' or 'plainly'
- tant
- Adverb meaning 'so much' or 'as much'
- art
- Art, skill, or creative expression
- Banquet
- Symposium, Platonic dialogue on love and beauty
- Protagoras
- Protagoras, Platonic dialogue on virtue and sophistry
- excellence
- Excellence, outstanding quality or superiority
- supérieure
- Feminine adjective meaning 'superior' or 'higher'
- aucun
- Adjective or pronoun meaning 'no', 'none', 'not any'
- autre
- Adjective meaning 'other' or 'another'
- Dialogue
- Dialogue, written conversation used in Platonic philosophy
- possède
- Third singular of 'posséder': 'possesses' or 'owns'
- même
- Adjective or adverb meaning 'same' or 'even'
- ampleur
- Breadth, scope, or magnitude of something
- vue
- View, vision, or perspective on something
- ni
- Conjunction meaning 'nor' or 'neither'
- perfection
- Perfection, flawless quality or state of being perfect
- style
- Style, distinctive manner of writing or expression
- témoigne
- Third singular of 'témoigner': 'testifies' or 'shows'
- connaissance
- Knowledge or understanding of something
- égale
- Feminine adjective meaning 'equal' or 'comparable'
- monde
- World, earth, or society in general
- contient
- Third singular of 'contenir': 'contains' or 'holds'
- pensées
- Thoughts, ideas, or reflections
- fois
- Time, occasion; 'à la fois' means 'at the same time'
- nouvelles
- Feminine plural of 'nouveau': 'new' or 'recent'
- anciennes
- Feminine plural of 'ancien': 'ancient' or 'old'
- appartiennent
- Third plural of 'appartenir': 'belong' or 'pertain to'
- seule
- Feminine adjective meaning 'alone', 'single', or 'only'
- époque
- Era, period, or age in history
- toutes
- Feminine plural of 'tout': 'all' or 'every'
- Nulle
- Feminine of 'nul': 'no', 'none', or 'nowhere'
- part
- Part or place; 'nulle part' means 'nowhere'
- chez
- Preposition meaning 'at the home of' or 'among'
- trouve
- Third singular of 'trouver': 'finds' or 'one finds'
- ironie
- Irony, expression conveying meaning opposite to literal words
- profonde
- Feminine adjective meaning 'deep' or 'profound'
- richesse
- Richness, wealth, or abundance of quality
- humour
- Humor, quality of being funny or amusing
- images
- Images, mental or visual representations
- puissance
- Power, strength, or force
- dramatique
- Adjective meaning 'dramatic' or 'striking'
- écrits
- Writings, written works or texts
- tente
- Third singular of 'tenter': 'attempts' or 'tries'
- entrelacer
- To interweave or interlace two or more elements together
- vie
- Life, existence, or way of living
- spéculation
- Speculation, abstract philosophical or theoretical thinking
- relier
- To connect, link, or relate things together
- politique
- Politics or political affairs and governance
- philosophie
- Philosophy, study of fundamental questions about existence
- centre
- Center, central point around which things revolve
- autour
- Adverb or preposition meaning 'around' or 'surrounding'
- duquel
- Relative pronoun 'of which' or 'from which' (masculine)
- autres
- Plural adjective meaning 'other' or 'others'
- Dialogues
- Dialogues, Plato's philosophical works in conversational form
- peuvent
- Third plural of 'pouvoir': 'can' or 'are able to'
- être
- Infinitive 'to be'; also used as auxiliary verb
- regroupés
- Past participle of 'regrouper': grouped together or clustered
- ici
- Adverb meaning 'here' or 'in this place'
- atteint
- Third singular of 'atteindre': 'reaches' or 'attains'
- point
- Point, level, or degree of something
- élevé
- Past participle of 'élever': elevated, high, or lofty
- notamment
- Adverb meaning 'notably' or 'in particular'
- Livres
- Books, divisions or sections of a larger work
- auquel
- Relative pronoun 'to which' or 'at which' (masculine)
- penseurs
- Thinkers, people engaged in philosophical or intellectual thought
- Antiquité
- Antiquity, ancient historical period of Greece and Rome
- soient
- Subjunctive of 'être': 'may be' or 'are' (subj.)
- jamais
- Adverb meaning 'never' or 'ever'
- parvenus
- Past participle of 'parvenir': reached, attained, or succeeded
- parmi
- Preposition meaning 'among' or 'amongst'
- Grecs
- Greeks, people of ancient or modern Greece
- Bacon
- Francis Bacon, English philosopher of scientific method
- modernes
- Plural adjective meaning 'modern' or referring to modern thinkers
- fut
- Simple past of 'être': 'was' (literary or formal)
- premier
- Adjective meaning 'first' or 'foremost'
- concevoir
- To conceive, devise, or formulate an idea or plan
- méthode
- Method, systematic procedure or approach to a task
- bien
- Adverb meaning 'well'; noun meaning 'good'
- ait
- Subjunctive of 'avoir': 'may have' or 'has' (subj.)
- toujours
- Adverb meaning 'always' or 'still'
- distingué
- Past participle of 'distinguer': distinguished or differentiated
- simple
- Adjective meaning 'simple', 'plain', or 'mere'
- contour
- Outline, contour, or general shape of something
- substance
- Substance, essential nature or material of something
- vérité
- Truth, accurate or genuine state of affairs
- tous
- Masculine plural of 'tout': 'all' or 'both'
- deux
- Number meaning 'two'
- durent
- Simple past of 'devoir': 'had to' or 'were obliged to'
- contenter
- To content oneself with, settle for something
- abstraction
- Abstraction, concept separated from concrete reality
- science
- Science or knowledge, systematic study of the world
- était
- Imperfect of 'être': 'was' or 'used to be'
- encore
- Adverb meaning 'still', 'yet', or 'again'
- réalisée
- Past participle of 'réaliser': realized, achieved, or accomplished
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