First Edition in English. “The Republic of Plato in Ten Books” was translated by H. Spens and includes a preliminary discourse concerning the philosophy of the ancients by the translator. “Republic” is Plato’s best-known work, written in approximately 380 BCE in Greek; it is a Socratic dialogue discussing justice and the just man. In addition, the work discusses city-state, particularly in relation to order and character.

Three key topics are identified in “Republic:” the definition of justice, theory of universals, and five forms of government and their nature (aristocracy, timocracy, oligarchy, democracy, and tyranny). The dialogue ultimately argues and mounts a defense of a just life and its connection to happiness.

“Republic” is an extensive work that cultivates and defines the ideas of justice and what it means to be a just man; there is little wonder it has been proven to be one of the world’s most influential works in the genres of philosophy and political theory.