收入本杰明·乔伊特所译的全部柏拉图作品，每篇附有乔伊特所作的导读和分析；另附其他人所译的《大希庇阿斯》、《第七封信》等，以及英文原版的柏拉图著作索引。
此套《柏拉图著作集5（英文本）》是为适应中国读者阅读、研究柏拉图著作的需要而编辑出版的，共6卷。尽管柏拉图的著作，尤其是一些名篇，至20世纪出现了不少优秀译文，但一百余年前乔伊特这套完整的英译本仍然具有不可替代的地位和价值。百余年来，该译本经多次再版，广为传播，为柏拉图的研究和阐释作出了历史性的贡献，至今仍具有不可替代的文学魅力和学术价值。
此英译本在中国国内的出版有着重要的学术意义，一方面可以澄清以往的中译本中那些含混不清的译法或者误译、漏译的地方，另一方面可以为读者提供不同的阐释，以供对照，这对于像柏拉图这样重要的哲学家而言是非常必要的。
《柏拉图著作集5（英文本）》为该套文集之第5卷。
本杰明·乔伊特（Benjamin Jowett，1817-1893），牛津大学教授，19世纪英国杰出的古典学学者，以翻译和研究古希腊哲学著作知名。乔伊特所译柏拉图著作英译本首次出版于1871年，收录柏拉图绝大部分作品，迄今为止是由同一人所译的篇幅最多、最完整的英译本。百余年来，该译本经多次再版，广为传播，为柏拉图著作的研究和阐释作出了历史性的贡献，至今仍具有独特的文学魅力和学术价值。
Introduction
Sophist
Introduction
Statesman
Introduction
Philebus
Introduction
Timaeus
Introduction
Critias
But suppose， once more， that we were to appoint someone as the guardian of the law， who was both ignorant and interested， and who perverted the law： would not this be a still worse evil than the other? Certainly. For the laws are based on some experience and wisdom. Hence the wiser course is， that they should be observed， although this is not the best thing of all， but only the second best. And whoever， having skill， should try to improve them， would act in the spirit of the lawgiver. But then， as we have seen， no great number of men， whether poor or rich， can be makers of laws. And so， the nearest approach to true government is， when men do nothing contrary to their own written laws and national customs. When the rich preserve their customs and maintain the law， this is called aristocracy， or if they neglect the law， oligarchy. When an individual rules according to law， whether by the help of science or opinion， this is called monarchy； and when he has royal science he is a king， whether he be so in fact or not； but when he rules in spite of law， and is blind with ignorance and passion， he is called a tyrant. These forms of government exist， because men despair of the.true king ever appearing among them； if he were to appear， they would joyfully hand over to him the reins of government. But， as there is no natural ruler of the hive， they meet together and make laws. And do we wonder， when the foundation of politics is in the letter only， at the miseries of states? Ought we not rather to admire the strength of the political bond? For cities have endured the worst of evils time out of mind； many cities have been shipwrecked， and some are like ships foundering， because their pilots are absolutely ignorant of the science which they profess.
Let us next ask， which of these untrue forms of government is the least bad， and which of them is the worst? I said at the beginning， that each of the three forms of government， royalty， aristocracy， and democracy， might be divided into two， so that the whole number of them， including the best， will be seven. Under monarchy we have already distinguished royalty and tyranny； of oligarchy there were two kinds， aristocracy and plutocracy and democracy may also be divided， for there is a democracy which observes， and a democracy which neglects， the laws. The government of one is the best and the worst： the government of a few is less bad and less good： the government of the many is the least bad and least good of them all， being the best of all lawless governments， and the worst of all lawful ones.
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