The Works

Plato [Rev. J. P. Potter's 1793-1861 annotated copy]

Published by R. Wilks Chancery Lane for Thomas Taylor, London, 1804

About this Item

cxxiii, 544p: 657p: 600p: 614p: 720p. Contemporary calf with gilt ruled boards and spines. Marbled end papers. Spine labels to volume III replaced. The translator, Thomas Taylor, (1758-1835) was the first to translate the complete works of Plato as well as Aristotle. Taylor, writes Clarke Greek Studies in England p117-119, was "Most fanatical of all champions of ancient philosophy. he was almost entirely self-taught. "He conceived the design of translating the extant remains of the Greek philosophers, and succeeded not only in completing the translation of Plato begun by Sydenham but in adding the works of Aristotle and a large part of the neo-Platonist corpus." He was not short of critics. Porson remarked that "he had plunged to the very bottom of pagan philosophy without staying to learn the inflexions of the Greek words". Rev. John Phillips Potter's (1793-1861) working copy richly annotated & underlined throughout. Marginal annotations are both in Greek and English. Rev. Potter is best known for "The Religion of Socrates" and "Characteristics of the Greek Philosophers Socrates and Plato". Rev Potter wrote down a conversation that he had with Thomas Taylor regarding Plato a year before he passed. Also from the Library of John Thomas Athawes JP (1837 - 1915) with armorial bookplate on the inside front board. Athawes was an English first-class cricketer and clergyman. Hinges cracked and some are weak, but holding. Headbands rubbed. Corners bumped and some scuffing and stains to the boards. A remarkable example of 19th scholarship.

Seller Inventory # 008662

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Works
• Publisher: R. Wilks Chancery Lane for Thomas Taylor, London
• Publication Date: 1804
• Language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Very Good