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1、oxfordworld’sclassicsTIMAEUSANDCRITIASPlato(c.427–347bce),Athenianphilosopher-dramatist,hashadaprofoundandlastinginfluenceuponWesternintellectualtradition.Bornintoawealthyandprominentfamily,hegrewupduringtheconflictbetweenAthensandthePeloponnesianstateswhichengulfedtheGreekworldfrom431to4
2、04bce.Followingitsturbulentafter-math,hewasdeeplyaffectedbythecondemnationandexecutionofhisreveredmasterSocrates(469–399)onchargesofirreligionandcorruptingtheyoung.Inrevulsionfrompoliticalactivity,Platodevotedhislifetothepursuitofphilosophyandtocomposingmem-oirsofSocraticenquirycastindia
3、logueform.Hewasstronglyin-fluencedbythePythagoreanthinkersofsouthernItalyandSicily,whichheissaidtohavevisitedwhenhewasabout40.SometimeafterreturningtoAthens,hefoundedtheAcademy,anearlyancestorofthemodernuniversity,devotedtophilosophicalandmathematicalenquiry,andtotheeducationoffuturerule
4、rsor‘philosopher-kings’.TheAcademy’smostcelebratedmemberwastheyoungAristotle(384–322),whostudiedthereforthelasttwentyyearsofPlato’slife.Theirworksmarkthehighestpeakofphilosophicalachievementinantiquity,andbothcontinuetorankamongthegreatestphilosophersofalltime.PlatoistheearliestWesternp
5、hilosopherfromwhoseoutputcompleteworkshavebeenpreserved.Atleasttwenty-fiveofhisdialoguesareextant,rangingfromfewerthantwentytomorethanthreehundredpagesinlength.Fortheircombinationofdramaticrealism,poeticbeauty,intellectualvitality,andemotionalpowertheyareuniqueinWesternliterature.RobinWa
6、terfieldisawriter,livinginGreece.Hehasprevi-ouslytranslated,forOxfordWorld’sClassics,Plato’sRepublic,Symposium,Gorgias,andPhaedrus,andMenoandOtherDialogues,Aristotle’sPhysics,Herodotus’Histories,Plutarch’sGreekLivesandRomanLives,Euripides’OrestesandOtherPlaysandHeraclesandOtherPlays,Xen
7、ophon’sTheExpeditionofCyrus,andTheFirstPhilosophers:ThePresocraticsandtheSophists.AndrewGregoryisReaderinHistoryofScienceintheDepartmentofScienceandTechnologyStudies,UniversityCollegeLondon.HisbooksincludePlato’sPhilosophyofScience,Eureka!TheBirthofScience,andAncientGreekCosmog
