"What is justice?" It is the 64,000 dollar question that Socartes, Thrasymachus, and the rest of the gang try to answer in Plato's Repubic. And yet does a novice reader of Plato's writings do justice to Plato's work by reading it solely by itself without any guide? Certainly not. But Plato has an answer. We should put the philosophers in charge to guide the general public. So let Nicholas P. White's companion be viewed as the guide by which you can better understand Plato's Republic.

There is a nice sixty page introduction about Plato's general line of thought: such as, the argument of the Republic, what the theory of the forms is about, and Plato's ethical theory. The rest of the book includes White's commentary on what Plato (or Socrates) is discussing in each section. It includes the arguments discussed, some criticisms of them from time to time, correlations to other greek writings/Plato's writings/earlier sections in the Republic, etc. White will occasionally interact with other scholars and propose what he thinks is the best way to understand the particular passages. I have found this companion to be very useful for understanding what is going on in the Republic during those moments where it just is not registering clearly. Thus, I think this work, in so far as you want to follow what Plato is doing, is a helpful addition to your library and studies.

The Republic by the Plato, itself, is an excellent book. There are many books that have been written on Plato. One of the problem is that the average readers may find themselves struggle to understand many commentary and intrepetive books on Plato. Fortunately, Nicholas P. White does an excellent works by writing a very good intepretive summaries of the Republic that the average readers can understand. The author, also, gives the clear and concise idea of Platonic philosophy without demanding the readers to have fully understanding of Plato and his philosophy.

Possibly the most famous Stoic Philosopher is Marcus Aurelius, whose "Meditations" was written, not to be read as a philosophic treatise, but rather as a personal journal, complete with seemingly random entries and no apparent structure. Moreover, it is clear from his "Meditations" that Marcus Aurelius was greatly influenced by the teachings of Epictetus. In fact, according to Aulus Gellius, Herodes Atticus (who has Marcus Aurelius' teacher at the time) told Marcus Aurelius that Epictetus was the greatest of all the Stoic philosophers, which is quite convenient for us since most of the writings of earilier Stoics (such as Zeno of Citium, Cleanthes and Chrysippus) have been lost, probably in the burning of the Library of Alexandria.

Epictetus, like Socrates, apparently never wrote anything himself; however, his students took very good notes. One student by the name of Flavius Arrian may be responsible for the composition of eight volumes, titled "The Discourses of Epictetus," of which four volumes still survive. Arrian served under Emperor Hadrian who initially choose Atticus to be Marcus Aurelius' teacher. Arrian also wrote another text, titled "The Encheiridion of Epictetus" (or "Handbook" or "Manual"), which also survives and appears to be an abstract of his "Discourses". Throughout the second century, Epictetus was regarded as the greatest of the Stoic philosophers, and became even more popular than Plato. Stoicism nevertheless lost favor in the middle ages and was not revived until 1584 when Justus Lipsius published his "De Constantia".

I would highly recommend the writings of Epictetus to anyone interested in Stoic Philosophy, or anyone at all for that matter. Epictetus should make for an excellent introduction to Stoic Philosophy, and the "Encheiridion" is an excellent introduction to Epictetus. I prefer this particular translation of "The Encheiridion of Epictetus", by Nicholas P. White, over the other translations that I have read. Oldfather's translation (Loeb Classical Library) is also very good.

The "Handbook" is an essential read for the student of philosophy and is quintessential for those who desire a quick glance at stoic philosophy. White's masterful introduction provides the reader with the necessary context she needs in order to digest and enjoy this treat from antiquity. His translation is pleasing to the contemporary ear and true to the text.

I read this book for class a few years ago. If you're looking for a compilation of philosophy, then this is the one to check out.