Laws: Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

Laws, credited to Plato, is available as a LibriVox volunteer audiobook. This guide identifies the recording, its source summary and its audio tracks.

About the work

The LibriVox catalogue summary, preserved with the recording, reads:

LibriVox recording of Laws, by Plato. Translated by Benjamin Jowett. Read by Geoffrey Edwards. Νόμοι (Laws) is Plato's final dialogue written after his attempt to advise the tyrant Dionysius II of Syracuse. The dialogue takes place between: an Athenian Stranger (Socrates? A god in human form?); the quiet Lacedaemonian Megillus; and the Cretan Cleinias. The Stranger asks whether humans live to be more effective at waging war or if there is something more important a legislator should seek to achieve. During their pilgrimage Cleinias discloses his role in the establishment of a new colony and the three discuss what would make the colony perfect including: location; a fixed population size; entitlement to land; the four economic classes; the restriction of retailers; a static system of music; the fair treatment of foreigners; defined punishments; and proper religious observance. (Summary by Geoffrey Edwards)

Recording facts

• Recording title: Laws
• Author credits: Plato
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 20
• Listed recording duration: 17:12:38

Catalogue topics

• philosophy
• plato
• greek
• athens
• law
• ethics
• politics
• constitution

Track guide

1. 01 - Book I (Part I) — 39:17
2. 02 - Book I (Part II) — 43:37
3. 03 - Book II — 1:09:56
4. 04 - Book III (Part I) — 43:29
5. 05 - Book III (Part II) — 42:29
6. 06 - Book IV — 1:01:47
7. 07 - Book V — 1:05:42
8. 08 - Book VI (Part I) — 53:33
9. 09 - Book VI (Part II) — 50:13
10. 10 - Book VII (Part I) — 59:21
11. 11 - Book VII (Part II) — 58:58
12. 12 - Book VIII — 1:11:47
13. 13 - Book IX (Part I) — 57:04
14. 14 - Book IX (Part II) — 42:37
15. 15 - Book X (Part I) — 41:50
16. 16 - Book X (Part II) — 47:31
17. 17 - Book XI (Part I) — 53:45
18. 18 - Book XI (Part II) — 34:18
19. 19 - Book XII (Part I) — 41:45
20. 20 - Book XII (Part II) — 53:48

Listen to this recording

Open the complete recording and player on Internet Archive. The player includes the full track list and available download formats.

Source and rights

This is a record from LibriVox's official Internet Archive collection, with a public-domain licence recorded in its metadata. LibriVox's policy includes its catalogue summaries as well as its recordings. Its public-domain assessment follows United States law; copyright status can differ elsewhere. The summary and track facts are reproduced and reformatted from that record. Dates attached to the archive upload are not treated as original book publication dates.