26 h 41 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 26 h 41 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What should laws do when no perfect ruler exists to guide a city?
On the island of Crete, three old men walk and talk about how people should live together. The Athenian Stranger, Cleinias and Megillus set out to design laws for a new city. In Plato’s Laws, questions of justice reach into daily life: education, farming, marriage, money, courts and the training of rulers.
Unlike Plato’s Republic, with its philosopher rulers, this dialogue asks how written rules can guide ordinary citizens. Socrates is absent. The Athenian Stranger leads the search for laws that build virtue, explain their purpose and balance authority with freedom. The stakes are practical: what holds a city together, and what kind of people does it teach its citizens to become?
What you’ll discover
- Virtue before victory Explore why Plato asks laws to cultivate good character rather than prepare citizens only for war.
- Education beyond facts Consider an education that shapes pleasure and pain, teaching children what to love and hate.
- Persuasion beside command Follow the argument that laws should explain their reasons, not simply demand obedience.
- Authority balanced with freedom Examine why the Athenian Stranger sees a mixed constitution as the safest foundation for government.
- Punishment meant to heal Encounter an approach to crime that asks what punishment should repair, alongside ideas that trouble readers today.
Who will love it
This book suits readers who love politics and the question of how a good society is built, and anyone curious about Plato's ideas on education, justice, and religion.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A walk becomes a city's plan
- Peace needs more than courage
- Reason needs our active support
- Power lasts when power is checked
- Laws should persuade before commanding
- Limited wealth protects the city's unity
- Character grows through play and habit
- Punishment should cure as well as protect
- Judge rules by character and accountability
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Laws
by Plato
Three old men walk a hot Cretan road and plan the laws of a city for 5040 households.
Challenging10–20 hours to read20 languages
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“the safest general characterization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of a series of footnotes to Plato.”
In short
Three old men walk a hot road on Crete, from the city of Cnosus toward the cave of Zeus. One is a Cretan named Cleinias, one is a Spartan named Megillus, and one is an Athenian Stranger who is never named.
Laws at a glance
- Reading time
- About 14 h 45 min11 h 45 min fast, 17 h 35 min slow
- Length
- 211,100 words
- Library level
- Challenging long sentences, a rich vocabulary
- First published
- about 350 BCby Plato
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Laws should aim at all virtue, not war
The book opens with a challenge to Crete and Sparta. Cleinias explains that Cretan customs, such as shared meals and gymnasia, exist for war. In his view every city is secretly at war with every other, so a good lawgiver arranges everything to win. The Athenian disagrees. A lawgiver who looks only to war aims at the lowest part of goodness.
He ranks the goods. Wisdom leads, then temperance, then justice, and courage comes fourth. Health, beauty, strength, and wealth follow far behind. Tyrtaeus praises the brave soldier in foreign war. Theognis praises the man who stays loyal when his own city splits into factions. The second man needs every virtue, while a hired soldier may stand his ground and still be foolish.
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Details
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 17 h 20 min
- Level
- Challenging
Cite this edition
Plato. Laws. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/laws.
Plato. (2026). Laws. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/laws (Original work published ca. 350 B.C.E.)
Plato. Laws. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/laws.
@book{plato2026laws,
author = {Plato},
title = {Laws},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/laws},
note = {First published ca. 350 BCE}
}
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What is Plato's Laws about?
It is a conversation among an Athenian, a Cretan, and a Spartan who design the laws for a new colony on Crete. They discuss virtue, education, property, government, crime, and religion, and they explain the reasoning behind each rule.
Who are the speakers in Laws?
They are an unnamed Athenian Stranger, Cleinias of Cnosus, and Megillus of Sparta. The Athenian leads the argument, Cleinias is charged with founding the colony, and Megillus asks questions and speaks for Spartan customs.
How is Laws different from the Republic?
The Republic describes an ideal city of rulers who are philosophers. Laws plans a more practical second-best city, with fixed laws, property for each family, and checks on every official, written for a colony that could really be founded.
The author
Plato
428 BC–348 BC · Ancient Greek philosopher
4th-century BCE Greek philosopher.
“Peace and goodwill among people are best.”
More by Plato
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