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Bibliographical reference

Platons Werke. Hrsg. von F. Schleiermacher. Bd. 1.1. Berlin: Realschulbuchhandlung, 1804.

Description

The German translation of Plato’s work was initially planned by Friedrich Schlegel in Berlin. Schleiermacher undertook the enterprise, and published first five volumes between 1804 and 1809, and a final sixth volume in 1828. Schleiermacher did not consider the Timaeus and the Laws as dialogues written by Plato and did not include them in his (almost complete) collection of Plato’s works in German. The translator established a chronological order of Plato’s works and composed both an introduction and a comprehensive interpretation of each dialogue. These introductions appeared in English as early as 1836. Schleiermacher’s work was also relevant for the attention given to the Greek language of the time and for the attempt to give the German reader an idea of the linguistic complexity of Plato’s work.