★★★★★ 5
Plato's dialogue about the physical world
Format: Paperback
The two biggest topics in the Timaeus are astronomy and the elements of bodies, which are constructed using triangles and the tetrahedron, octahedron, icosahedron, and cube. I would like to see a translation of the Timaeus that uses it as a way to introduce all the astronomy that appears in the dialogue. Introducing the astronomy does not mean just talking in words about spheres or the zodiac or the ecliptic, but actually explaining how these were used by astronomers. Cornford has much to say, but to someone who has not learned any Greek astronomy his commentary will be opaque and hard to use. I didn't know the astronomy well enough to readily understand Cornford's explanations. I plan to learn more classical Greek astronomy, perhaps using Evans'
, and then read Waterfield's translation of the Timaeus
.
Before reading this you should have read the Republic and know some classical Greek natural philosophy, mathematics, and astronomy. Although Cornford's commentary makes the dialogue staccato, I am glad for it because I wouldn't otherwise have understood much of what Plato says. The Timaeus and the Parmenides are the two dialogues of Plato that one needs commentary to understand; the Parmenides demands the commentary because so much of what is happening depends on the original language, and the Timaeus demands the commentary because of all the things the reader is supposed to be familiar with.
The following is a list of topics I kept while reading the dialogue: theory of Forms 27d-28a, 51a-52a; harmonics 35b-36b; time 37c-38e, 39b-e; vision 45b-46c, 67c-68d; space 52b; surfaces 53c; weight 62d-63e; sound 67a-67c; physiology 70c-79e, 80d-86a; antiperistasis 79e-80c.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2015
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