An Irish scholar, Dr David Horan, has been working since 2008 on a new translation of the complete works of Plato from the original Greek into English. The Leon MacLaren Trust has contributed substantially to this project. Dr Horan’s work is almost done and is expected to be published in a 2-volume hardback book in the second half of 2025. This is a remarkable achievement. Not since the great undertaking of Benjamin Jowett in the late nineteenth century has anyone taken on the challenge of translating the whole of Plato’s writings single-handedly into English. This is a consistent modern translation that is true to the original and yet in a readable style. A modern translation for our own time.
Dr David Horan has described his overall aim as producing a translation that ‘moves the reader toward Plato rather than leaving the reader in peace by adjusting the writings of Plato, and his associated language, to conform with modern expectations’.
For many years now, Dr Horan has run summer schools for students who have studied Platonic dialogues in different parts of the world using earlier drafts of his translations. As a translator, he has seen firsthand how these students have received his translations, and has been able to improve and refine them, many times over, in the light of what he has observed. This is an advantage that few other translators have enjoyed.
For more information on the translation process: platonicfoundation.org
Since 2020, an earlier version of Dr Horan’s complete translation of Plato’s works has been freely available online. This is an invaluable resource, making access to the works of Plato as easy as it has ever been. The number of visitors to this site is growing.
Last year it was used by over 30,000 people.
Dr Horan wishes for as many people as possible to appreciate the wisdom of Plato and its relevance to the issues we face today. And so the complete translations will be made freely available on the internet for use by scholars and members of the public alike. In the same spirit, the published book is to be subsidised to make it as inexpensive as practically possible.
