The Republic — Page 1

English → It INTRODUCTION AND ANALYSIS. Level 9/10

The Republic of Plato is the longest of his works with the exception of the Laws, and is certainly the greatest of them.

La Repubblica di Platone è la più lunga delle sue opere, ad eccezione delle Leggi, ed è certamente la più grande di esse.

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.

Vi sono approcci più vicini alla metafisica moderna nel Filebo e nel Sofista; il Politico o Statista è più ideale; la forma e le istituzioni dello Stato sono delineate più chiaramente nelle Leggi; come opere d'arte, il Simposio e il Protagora sono di maggiore eccellenza.

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.

Ma nessun altro Dialogo di Platone possiede la stessa ampiezza di vedute e la stessa perfezione di stile; nessun altro mostra una conoscenza altrettanto profonda del mondo, o contiene più di quei pensieri che sono nuovi come pure antichi, e non di una sola epoca ma di tutte.

Nowhere in Plato is there a deeper irony or a greater wealth of humour or imagery, or more dramatic power.

In nessun'altra opera di Platone si trova un'ironia più profonda o una maggiore ricchezza di umorismo o di immagini, o una più grande forza drammatica.

Nor in any other of his writings is the attempt made to interweave life and speculation, or to connect politics with philosophy.

Né in alcun altro dei suoi scritti si tenta di intrecciare la vita con la speculazione, o di connettere la politica con la filosofia.

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 Repubblica è il centro attorno al quale gli altri Dialoghi possono essere raggruppati; qui la filosofia raggiunge il punto più alto (cfr., specialmente nei Libri V, VI, VII) a cui i pensatori antichi siano mai giunti.

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.

Platone tra i Greci, come Bacone tra i moderni, fu il primo a concepire un metodo della conoscenza, benché nessuno dei due distinguesse sempre il semplice schema o forma dalla sostanza della verità; ed entrambi dovettero accontentarsi di un'astrazione della scienza che non era ancora realizzata.

Vocabulary

Repubblica: re-pub-bli-ca — Republic; Plato's famous philosophical dialogue on justice
Platone: pla-to-ne — Plato, ancient Greek philosopher and writer
più: più — Adverb meaning more or most
lunga: lun-ga — Feminine adjective meaning long in length or duration
opere: o-pe-re — Plural of opera: works, literary or artistic pieces
eccezione: ec-ce-zio-ne — Exception; something excluded from a general rule
Leggi: leg-gi — Laws; title of Plato's last philosophical dialogue
certamente: cer-ta-men-te — Adverb meaning certainly, definitely, without doubt
grande: gran-de — Adjective meaning great, large, or important
Vi: vi — Pronoun/adverb meaning there, in it, or to it
approcci: ap-proc-ci — Approaches; methods or ways of dealing with something
vicini: vi-ci-ni — Adjective meaning close, near, or similar to
metafisica: me-ta-fi-si-ca — Metaphysics; branch of philosophy studying fundamental reality
moderna: mo-der-na — Feminine adjective meaning modern, contemporary, or current
Filebo: fi-le-bo — Philebus; Platonic dialogue on pleasure and the good
Sofista: so-fi-sta — Sophist; Platonic dialogue on definition and non-being
Politico: po-li-ti-co — Statesman; Platonic dialogue on the ideal ruler
Statista: sta-tis-ta — Statesman; skilled and experienced political leader
ideale: i-de-a-le — Adjective meaning ideal, perfect, or existing in theory
forma: for-ma — Form, shape; also third person singular of formare
istituzioni: is-ti-tu-zio-ni — Institutions; established organizations or systems of society
Stato: sta-to — State; politically organized community or government entity
delineate: de-li-ne-a-te — Delineated; outlined or described clearly and precisely
chiaramente: chia-ra-men-te — Adverb meaning clearly, plainly, in a clear manner
arte: ar-te — Art; creative expression through painting, literature, music
Simposio: sim-po-si-o — Symposium; Platonic dialogue on the nature of love
Protagora: pro-ta-go-ra — Protagoras; Platonic dialogue on virtue and sophistry
maggiore: mag-gio-re — Adjective meaning greater, major, or older
eccellenza: ec-cel-len-za — Excellence; outstanding quality or superiority in something
nessun: nes-sun — Adjective meaning no, not any (masculine singular)
altro: al-tro — Adjective or pronoun meaning other, another, or else
Dialogo: di-a-lo-go — Dialogue; a written philosophical conversation between characters
possiede: pos-sie-de — Third person singular of possedere: possesses, owns, has
stessa: stes-sa — Feminine adjective meaning same, very, identical
ampiezza: am-piez-za — Breadth, width; the extent or scope of something
vedute: ve-du-te — Views, perspectives; opinions or ways of seeing things
perfezione: per-fe-zio-ne — Perfection; the state of being flawless or complete
stile: sti-le — Style; a distinctive manner of expression or writing
mostra: mos-tra — Shows, displays; third person singular of mostrare
conoscenza: co-nos-cen-za — Knowledge; understanding or familiarity with something
altrettanto: al-tret-tan-to — Adverb meaning equally, just as much, as well
profonda: pro-fon-da — Feminine adjective meaning deep, profound, or thorough
mondo: mon-do — World; the earth or the realm of human experience
contiene: con-tie-ne — Contains; third person singular of contenere: to hold
quei: quei — Masculine plural demonstrative adjective: those
pensieri: pen-sie-ri — Thoughts; ideas or reflections in one's mind
nuovi: nuo-vi — Masculine plural adjective meaning new or novel
pure: pu-re — Adverb meaning also, yet, even, or although
antichi: an-ti-chi — Masculine plural adjective meaning ancient or old
sola: so-la — Feminine adjective meaning alone, only, or single
epoca: e-po-ca — Era, epoch; a period of time in history
tutte: tut-te — Feminine plural adjective or pronoun meaning all, every
nessun': nes-sun — Elided form of nessuna: no, not any (feminine)
altra: al-tra — Feminine adjective meaning other or another
opera: o-pe-ra — Work; a literary, artistic, or musical composition
trova: tro-va — Finds, is found; third person singular of trovare
ironia: i-ro-ni-a — Irony; use of language to convey the opposite meaning
ricchezza: ric-chez-za — Richness, wealth; abundance of quality or resources
umorismo: u-mo-ris-mo — Humor; the quality of being funny or amusing
immagini: im-ma-gi-ni — Images; visual representations or mental pictures
forza: for-za — Force, strength; power or intensity of expression
drammatica: dram-ma-ti-ca — Feminine adjective meaning dramatic or theatrically powerful
Né: né — Conjunction meaning nor, neither, not even
alcun: al-cun — Adjective meaning any, some (used in negative contexts)
scritti: scrit-ti — Writings; plural of scritto, written works or texts
tenta: ten-ta — Attempts; third person singular of tentare: to try
intrecciare: in-trec-cia-re — To interweave, intertwine; to connect or blend together
vita: vi-ta — Life; the state of being alive or one's existence
speculazione: spe-cu-la-zio-ne — Speculation; theoretical reasoning or philosophical contemplation
connettere: con-net-te-re — To connect, link; to join two things together
politica: po-li-ti-ca — Politics; the activity of governing or political science
filosofia: fi-lo-so-fi-a — Philosophy; the study of knowledge, reality, and existence
centro: cen-tro — Center; the middle point or main focus of something
attorno: at-tor-no — Adverb meaning around, surrounding, in the vicinity of
quale: qua-le — Relative pronoun meaning which or who
altri: al-tri — Masculine plural adjective meaning other or others
Dialoghi: di-a-lo-ghi — Dialogues; plural of dialogo, philosophical written conversations
possono: pos-so-no — Third person plural of potere: can, are able to
essere: es-se-re — Infinitive of to be; fundamental auxiliary verb in Italian
raggruppati: rag-grup-pa-ti — Grouped, clustered; past participle of raggruppare
qui: qui — Adverb meaning here, in this place
raggiunge: rag-giun-ge — Reaches, attains; third person singular of raggiungere
punto: pun-to — Point; a specific location, moment, or degree of something
alto: al-to — Adjective meaning high, tall, or elevated
cfr.: con-fron-ta — Abbreviation of confronta: compare, cf. (scholarly reference)
specialmente: spe-cial-men-te — Adverb meaning especially, particularly, above all
Libri: li-bri — Books; plural of libro, major sections of a long work
cui: cui — Relative pronoun meaning whom, which, to which
pensatori: pen-sa-to-ri — Thinkers; people who engage in intellectual or philosophical thought
siano: sia-no — Third person plural present subjunctive of essere: may be
mai: mai — Adverb meaning ever, never (depending on context)
giunti: giun-ti — Arrived, reached; past participle of giungere: to arrive
tra: tra — Preposition meaning between, among, or within
Greci: gre-ci — Greeks; the people of ancient or modern Greece
Bacone: ba-co-ne — Bacon; referring to Francis Bacon, English philosopher
moderni: mo-der-ni — Masculine plural adjective meaning modern, contemporary thinkers
fu: fu — Third person singular past of essere: was, he/she was
primo: pri-mo — Adjective meaning first in order or importance
concepire: con-ce-pi-re — To conceive; to form an idea or devise a plan
metodo: me-to-do — Method; a systematic procedure or way of doing something
benché: ben-ché — Conjunction meaning although, even though, despite the fact
nessuno: nes-su-no — Pronoun or adjective meaning nobody, no one, none
due: du-e — Number two; both of two things mentioned
distinguesse: dis-tin-gues-se — Third person singular imperfect subjunctive of distinguere: to distinguish
sempre: sem-pre — Adverb meaning always, ever, or still
semplice: sem-pli-ce — Adjective meaning simple, plain, or uncomplicated
schema: sche-ma — Scheme, framework; an outline or structural plan
sostanza: sos-tan-za — Substance; the essential or fundamental nature of something
verità: ve-ri-tà — Truth; the quality of being in accord with reality
entrambi: en-tram-bi — Both; referring to two people or things together
dovettero: do-vet-te-ro — Third person plural past of dovere: had to, were obliged
accontentarsi: ac-con-ten-tar-si — To content oneself; to be satisfied with something limited
astrazione: as-tra-zio-ne — Abstraction; a concept separated from concrete reality
scienza: scien-za — Science; systematic knowledge or study of natural phenomena
era: e-ra — Third person singular imperfect of essere: was, used to be
ancora: an-co-ra — Adverb meaning still, yet, again, or not yet
realizzata: re-a-liz-za-ta — Realized, achieved; past participle of realizzare: to accomplish

← Previous Next →

Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.

Create free account →