Updated · each edition is described in its publisher’s own words, checked against the listing
18 in-print translations and 12 audiobooks, compared by who made them, when, and what each one is actually trying to do — Plato.
Start with Robin Waterfield (1993–2009 (various dialogues), Oxford World's Classics) for a first read; choose Allan Bloom (1968, Basic Books) to stay closest to the original. The longer answer. No single edition of Republic · Laws · Timaeus · Crito is best for everyone, because the editions are optimised for different things: for a first read, the editions described as the most readable are Robin Waterfield, Desmond Lee, Christopher Gill; to stay closest to the original, Allan Bloom; on audio the choice is mostly which translation is being read and whether it is one narrator or a full cast.
Every claim below is the publisher’s or translator’s own description, shown next to it, so you can judge rather than take our word. And you can read the whole thing free on this site first.
Scriptorium Press publishes a complete new plain-English translation of Republic · Laws · Timaeus · Crito, free, with a complete free audiobook. No account, no paywall — 56 works in this volume.
Start reading free → Free audiobook → Whole book on one page →Older translations, out of copyright, hosted free by Internet Archive, Online Library of Liberty (Liberty Fund), Perseus Digital Library, Project Gutenberg. Not our work and not affiliate links — they are here because they are genuinely useful.
| Translator | Year | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benjamin Jowett | 1892 (3rd ed.) | prose, most-downloaded free English Republic | Project Gutenberg → |
| Benjamin Jowett | 1871 | alternate Jowett Republic ebook | Project Gutenberg → |
| Benjamin Jowett | 1892 | prose | Project Gutenberg → |
| Benjamin Jowett | 1892 | prose | Project Gutenberg → |
| Benjamin Jowett | 1892 | prose | Project Gutenberg → |
| Benjamin Jowett | 1892 | prose | Project Gutenberg → |
| Benjamin Jowett | 1892 | prose | Project Gutenberg → |
| Benjamin Jowett | 1892 | prose | Project Gutenberg → |
| Benjamin Jowett | 1892 | prose | Project Gutenberg → |
| Benjamin Jowett | 1892 | prose | Project Gutenberg → |
| Benjamin Jowett | 1892 | prose | Project Gutenberg → |
| Benjamin Jowett | 1892 | prose | Project Gutenberg → |
| Benjamin Jowett | 1892 | prose | Project Gutenberg → |
| Benjamin Jowett | 1892 | prose | Project Gutenberg → |
| Benjamin Jowett | 1892 | prose | Project Gutenberg → |
| Benjamin Jowett | 1892 | prose | Project Gutenberg → |
| Benjamin Jowett | 1892 | prose | Project Gutenberg → |
| Benjamin Jowett | 1892 | prose | Project Gutenberg → |
| Benjamin Jowett | 1892 | compilation | Project Gutenberg → |
| Benjamin Jowett | 1875 (1st ed.) | scanned book, PDF/ePub/text download | Internet Archive → |
| Benjamin Jowett | 1892 (3rd ed.) | free PDF/ePub, public domain, vol. 1 of 5 | Online Library of Liberty (Liberty Fund) → |
| James Adam (ed./comm.) | 1902 | scholarly edition, not a straight reading translation | Perseus Digital Library → |
Sorted as the research file records them. The note on each row is that edition’s own published description.
| Translator | Year | Publisher | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John M. Cooper (editor); multiple translators | 1997 | Hackett Publishing | the standard one-volume complete works used in academia, prose, scholarly | Find it |
| Benjamin Jowett | 1871 | Oxford (various reprints; public domain widely sold) | classic Victorian prose translation, still in print in cheap editions | Find it |
| Robin Waterfield | 1993–2009 (various dialogues) | Oxford World's Classics | readable modern prose, widely recommended for individual dialogues | Find it |
| Christopher Rowe | 2004 | Penguin Classics | scholarly modern prose translation with extensive notes | Find it |
| Desmond Lee | 1955 | Penguin Classics | long-standing readable prose edition, widely sold for decades | Find it |
| Allan Bloom | 1968 | Basic Books | literal, philosophically rigorous prose; interpretive essay included | Find it |
| G. M. A. Grube (revised by C. D. C. Reeve) | 1992 | Hackett Publishing | clear teaching prose translation, very widely assigned | Find it |
| Alexander Nehamas and Paul Woodruff | 1989 | Hackett Publishing | most-recommended Symposium edition, precise scholarly prose | Find it |
| Christopher Gill | 1999 | Penguin Classics | readable prose with introduction | Find it |
| Walter Hamilton | 1951 | Penguin Classics | older but still-sold readable prose edition | Find it |
| Peter Kalkavage / other Focus Philosophical Library translators | 2001 | Focus Publishing / Hackett | scholarly prose, philosophy-classroom standard | Find it |
| John M. Cooper and D.S. Hutchinson, editors | 1997 | Hackett | the standard one-volume complete Plato, used across academia | Find it |
| C.D.C. Reeve | 2004 | Hackett | a fresh translation rendering the dialogue as direct speech | Find it |
| Trevor J. Saunders | 1970 | Penguin Classics | the standard accessible English Laws | Find it |
| Donald J. Zeyl | 2000 | Hackett | scholarly, with a long interpretive essay | Find it |
| G.M.A. Grube, revised by John M. Cooper | 2002 | Hackett | the classic teaching volume | Find it |
| Chris Emlyn-Jones and William Preddy | 2013 | Loeb Classical Library | replaced the older Shorey Loeb | Find it |
| R.G. Bury | 1926 | Loeb Classical Library | the dual-language edition | Find it |
Those are affiliate links. They cost you nothing extra and pay a small commission to the people who publish these editions, and to us.
The thing that most changes an audiobook of Republic · Laws · Timaeus · Crito is which translation is being read — a scholarly text and a colloquial one are different listening experiences before the narrator says a word.
| Narrator | Translation read | Publisher | Year | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Barclay | Christopher Rowe (Penguin Classics) | Penguin Audio / Tantor | 2020 | acclaimed modern scholarly translation, unabridged | Listen |
| Adam Verner | Allan Bloom | Recorded Books / Blackstone | 2022 | landmark literal Bloom translation, unabridged | Listen |
| Bruce Alexander | Tom Griffith | Naxos AudioBooks | 1997 | first-ever audio recording of the Republic, unabridged | Listen |
| Leighton Pugh | unspecified (Naxos house translation) | Naxos AudioBooks | 2021 | newer unabridged Naxos re-recording, ~12h40m | Listen |
| David Timson (abridged reading) | unspecified | Naxos AudioBooks | 1995 | catalogue no. NA419512, abridged intro edition | Listen |
| James Langton | Benjamin Jowett (commonly paired) | Tantor Audio | 2007 | widely available classic-translation unabridged edition | Listen |
| Pat Bottino | Benjamin Jowett | Blackstone Audio | 1995 | early Blackstone catalog edition, public-domain Jowett text | Listen |
| Don Hagen | Raymond Larson | Recorded Books | 1992 | Recorded Books catalog staple | Listen |
| full cast (David Shaw-Parker, Tim Bentinck, Andrew Branch, Daniel Flynn, Gordon Griffin, Hayward B. Morse, Christopher Scott, Susan Sheridan, David Timson) | unspecified (Naxos dramatized script) | Naxos AudioBooks | 2005 | full-cast dramatized production, unabridged | Listen |
| Ray Childs | Benjamin Jowett | Agora Publications / New Internet Technologies | 2016 | budget public-domain-text edition | Listen |
| Jonathan Cowley | Benjamin Jowett | self/indie audiobook production | 2016 | three-text public-domain compilation | Listen |
| Bruce Alexander and full cast | Naxos AudioBooks | 2020 | Apology and Phaedo, a dramatized full-cast production | Listen |
Affiliate links, including the Audible ones. They cost you nothing extra. Our own audiobook of Republic · Laws · Timaeus · Crito stays free either way.
The editions described as the most readable are Robin Waterfield (1993–2009 (various dialogues)), Desmond Lee (1955), Christopher Gill (1999), Walter Hamilton (1951). Their published descriptions emphasise pace and plain modern idiom rather than strict line-by-line fidelity, which is what makes them easier on a first pass.
The editions noted for fidelity to the source are Allan Bloom (1968) - described as literal, close to the received text, or annotated line by line.
The most frequently recommended are John M. Cooper (editor); multiple translators (1997), Robin Waterfield (1993–2009 (various dialogues)), Alexander Nehamas and Paul Woodruff (1989). "Most recommended" is not the same as "best for you": a scholarly standard and an easy first read are different books, and the table on this page shows which is which.
There are 12 commercial recordings. They differ mainly in which translation is being read and whether it is a single narrator or a full cast: Jim Barclay reads Christopher Rowe (Penguin Classics); Adam Verner reads Allan Bloom; Bruce Alexander reads Tom Griffith. A complete free audiobook of our own translation is also on this site.
Yes. Scriptorium Press publishes a complete new plain-English translation of Republic · Laws · Timaeus · Crito free to read, with a complete free audiobook, no account and no paywall - 56 works in this volume.