B A U M A N R A R E B O O K S A U G U S T 2 0 2 3 "HIS UTOPIA IS ALARMING AND HIS METAPHYSICS ARE INTOXICATING": 1898 FINE PRESS EDITION OF PLATO'S REPUBLIC 31. PLATO. The Republic. London: Arthur L. Humphreys, 1898. Two volumes. Square octavo, contemporary full brown crushed morocco, raised bands, top edges gilt, uncut; original wrappers bound in. $3200 Fine press edition of Plato's extended dialogue on justice and the nature of the ideal state, a cornerstone of Western philosophy and politics, handsomely bound in full morocco by the Club Bindery. "Its setting and its characters are full of political meaning. Its arguments are tantalizing and its fables fascinating… [Plato's] utopia is alarming and his metaphysics are intoxicating" (Levi, 348). The Republic "has reinforced dedication, awakened vocations to leadership and strengthened the morale of those modest and competent souls who are always in reality the guardians of society" (Rexroth, 79). This edition is a fine press reprint of the 1852 "exact and scholarly" translation by John Llewelyn Davies and David James Vaughan (DNB). The publisher, Arthur L. Humphreys, was one of the proprietors of Hatchards from about 1890 to 1924. With red and black title pages and embellished with woodcut initials. Bookplate. Fine condition, handsomely bound. 31
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDg3OTM=