In The Republic, Plato tackles the big issues of the state and the individual: how the state should be ruled, and by whom; and the way the individual should lead his life - and why. Plato casts Socrates in the role of the leader and teacher in this carefully - reasoned enquiry held in association with students of his circle. Yet despite the rigour of the argument - the need for a philosopher-king; the need for just behaviour by all -the beneficent humanity of Socrates and the poetic imagination of Plato are vividly apparent. The lively quality of the dialogue can be clearly appreciated in this new translation by Tom Griffith.