PLATO'S GORGIAS

A Platonic dialogue attempts to find truth through the push-pull of dialectic, that verbal give-and-take that stimulates thought and uncovers falsehood. Agora Publications has recorded some of Plato's most famous dialogues and also publishes the modernized texts by Albert A. Anderson of Benjamin Jowett's 1873 translations used for these recordings. All of the tapes make for a lively exposure to Platonic thought. The philosophical nature of the talk makes the printed manual a valuable supplement to this audiobook. The ideal preparation is to read the dialogue before listening to the tapes. Gorgias begins as a discussion of the arts of persuasion and evolves into a study of pleasure versus goodness and enduring an evil act versus committing one. The hurried pace of this discussion, its many abstractions and rapid-fire Socratic questions will test the concentration of many listeners. William Sigalis's performance is also rather hectoring. In spite of this lapse, Agora should be applauded for its plan to record all of Plato's dialogues. Both students and the interested general listener will welcome the tapes as a vivid way to experience classical literature. G.H. ©AudioFile, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC/JAN 99]