Plato and Platonism

",By Platonism,", the author clarifies, ",is meant not Neo-Platonism of any kind, but the leading principles of Plato's doctrine, which I have tried to see in close connexion with himself as he is presented in his own writings.",The critique here presented of Plato's work is never independent of Plato as a man or Plato as philosopher, but rather enables Pater to study the close relation between author and text. The diversity of areas covered is in itself a fine achievement, and Pater is able to give each area enough attention to make it self-sufficient (each chapter was originally a lecture), yet at the same time, he succeeds in unifying all the areas to make for a well-structured book.Especially interesting are the chapter which explores the relationship between Plato and Socrates, the chapter on Plato's aesthetics, the chapter on Plato's Republic, and the chapter dealing with the relationship between Plato and the Sophists.