Arguably the most influential text in the history of Western philosophy, Plato's rich meditation on society and justice appears here in its acclaimed, quite accessible 1968 translation by Allan Bloom, the first to take a strictly literal approach. In addition to the annotated text, Bloom includes a substantial interpretive essay and two prefaces which shed light on Plato's intentions, while Adam Kirsch contributes an introduction which sets the work in its intellectual and historical context.