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The Republic

Plato

The Republic

Paper book: €54.99

Digital: €16.99

Original publication
380 BC
Bilingual edition
June 12, 2026
Pages
851
Difficulty
Hard
Genres
Philosophy, Economics, History
Moods
Think it through, Travel back in time
Translated from
English

Book summary

On a feast day at Piraeus, the port of Athens, Socrates and his friends ask what justice is, and whether the just man is happier than the unjust one. To answer, Socrates imagines an ideal city ruled by philosophers. This is where he tells the famous allegory of the cave: chained prisoners take shadows on a wall for reality.

For more than two thousand years, this book has fed debates on power, education and truth. It still helps us ask who should govern, and why.

With the translation always in front of you, you can read this great dialogue in the language you are learning.

The plot

Would you stay honest if you could become invisible? A young Athenian tells the story of a shepherd who becomes invisible by turning his ring. With it, he says, no one would stay honest.

The world of the book

Festival at the port of Athens. The book opens in Piraeus, the port of Athens, during a brand-new festival in honour of a goddess from abroad.

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