The Music of the Republic: Essays on Socrates’ Conversations and Plato’s Writings

“This collection of Eva Brann’s is one of the most valuable aids a lover of Plato could have.”—Walter Nicgorski, University of Notre Dame

In fourteen essays, Eva Brann talks with readers about the conversations Socrates engages in with his fellow Athenians. In doing so, she shows how Plato’s dialogues and the timeless matters they address remain important to us today.

The Music of the Republic “will establish [Eva Brann] as one of the great readers and interpreters of the Platonic dialogues in modern times.”—Bruce Foltz, Eckerd College

“It is a wonder and a delight to be led by Eva Brann through the Socratic conversations…Those who do not know the Republic will be initiated into its treasures. Those who believe that it is a great book will understand better what they already know. And all who teach the dialogues will find their souls expanded in the presence of this most generous teacher.” —Ann Hartle, Emory University

“In these wonderfully insightful essays, Eva Brann helps us hear the music of Plato’s dialogues and join the conversation…I found myself filled with envy for her students and happy, with this book, to now be included among them.”—Anthony T. Kronman, Yale University

“The title essay of this collection is a miniature masterpiece, one of the most seminal writings of our time on Plato’s Republic.”—John Sallis, Pennsylvania State University

Eva Brann is a member of the senior faculty at St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland, where she has taught for over fifty years. She is a recipient of the National Humanities Medal. Her other books include The Logos of Heraclitus, Feeling Our Feelings, Homage to Americans, Open Secrets / Inward Prospects, Un-Willing, Then and Now, and Homeric Moments (all published by Paul Dry Books).