8 h 8 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 200 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 200 pagesAbout this book
What if the universe is a living being, shaped by reason rather than left to chaos?
In Plato’s Timaeus, a conversation about an ideal city opens into a vision of the cosmos. Socrates welcomes his hosts, and the astronomer Timaeus begins a long account of how the world comes to be. His starting point is a good maker, the Demiurge, who looks to a perfect pattern and brings order to what has no order.
From that beginning, Timaeus connects the stars, the elements, the human body and the soul. Mathematics and geometry help explain the world’s structure, while philosophy asks what lasts and what changes. This is not an account built on experiment. It is an attempt to bring nature, religion, medicine and ethics into one picture—and to ask where human beings belong.
What you’ll discover
- Order out of chaos Explore Plato’s account of a good craftsman shaping the cosmos after an eternal pattern.
- A universe with soul Consider a world whose life and reason reach beyond the human beings within it.
- Nature shaped by number Follow the proportions and geometric forms that give this vision of nature its structure.
- The puzzle of space Meet the strange idea of a receptacle that receives the shapes of changing matter.
- Human beings within the whole See how the making of body and soul connects human life to cosmic order.
Who will love it
For anyone curious about the roots of science, philosophy and religious thought, or about where Atlantis first appears. For readers who enjoy exploring how mathematics, music and ethics connect human life to the order of the cosmos.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A feast of talk begins the cosmos
- Reason knows what lasts, opinion what changes
- A good maker built a living world
- Number and music give the cosmos soul
- Matter is a receptacle shaped by geometry
- People are small cosmos with a duty
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 8 h 8 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 9 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in, 200 pages: 9,95 USD when you start free, 15,95 USD on its own.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in, 200 pages: 16,95 USD when you start free, 22,95 USD on its own.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Timaeus in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Timaeus
by Plato
A good craftsman shapes a living cosmos, and Timaeus explores how its order echoes in the human soul.
Challenging5–10 hours to read25 languages
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A feast of talk begins the cosmos
The dialogue opens the day after a conversation about an ideal city. Socrates greets his hosts and recalls that he described an ideal city the day before. Now he wishes to see that city in action, as one might want to watch a beautiful painted animal move. His listeners are Timaeus, Critias and Hermocrates, and each agrees to give a speech in return.
Timaeus comes from Locri in southern Italy. He is presented as a statesman and a student of the heavens, which makes him the right person to speak about nature. Critias will go first with a tale, which Plato uses to set a frame around the whole work. He says that his grandfather told him what the Athenian lawgiver Solon had learned from Egyptian priests about ancient Athens.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Timaeus
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy just the printed book?
Yes. The paperback costs 15,95 USD on its own. Start free and you pay the cost of printing: 9,95 USD for this paperback, and any other book at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Plato's Timaeus about?
It is mainly a long speech by the astronomer Timaeus on how the universe was made by a good craftsman, how its soul and body are built, and how human beings fit into that order.
Who is the Demiurge in Timaeus?
The Demiurge is the divine craftsman who shapes the world. The word is Greek for craftsman. He is good, works with existing matter, and copies an eternal pattern, so he is not a creator from nothing.
Does Timaeus mention Atlantis?
Yes. The dialogue opens with Critias retelling a story about ancient Athens and the lost island of Atlantis. The full tale is continued in the companion dialogue Critias, which Plato left unfinished.
More like this
Free
Free
Free
Free
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
Popular in philosophy & ideas
See all
Free
Free
Free
Free
