The New Lifetime Reading Plan

Thucydides—The Peloponnesian War, tr. Benjamin Jowett in The Greek Historians; ed. F.R.B. Godolphin (2 vols., Random); ed. Richard Livingstone (Oxford U. Press); tr. Rex Warner (Penguin); Complete Writings, tr. Richard Crawley, introd. by J. Finley, Jr. (Modern Library). Especially good is The Landmark Thucydides: A Comprehensive Guide to the Peloponnesian War, edited by Robert B. Strassler (Free Press); this augments the Crawley trans­lation with extensive maps, commentary, and other aids.

Further reading: The definitive reference is Gomme, Andrewes, and Dover, A Historical Commentary on Thucydides (5 vols.), updated by Simon Hornblowers A Commentary on Thucydides (first of two projected vols.). See also Simon Hornblower, Thucydides; W.R. Connor, Thucydides; J.H. Finley, Thucydides, 2d ed.

10. Sun-tzu—Tr. Roger Ames, Sun-tzu: The Art of Warfare (Ballantine); Ralph Sawyer (Westview); Samuel B. Griffith (Oxford U. Press). The 1910 translation by Lionel Giles remains useful as well.

Further reading: Ralph Sawyer, The Seven Military Classics of Ancient China, includes Sun-tzu and other texts, and has an excel­lent introduction. Both Roger Ames and Ralph Sawyer have also translated Sun Fins Art ofWar.

нi. Aristophanes—There is an excellent translation in one volume of The Birds, The Clouds, and The Wasps by William Arrowsmith (U. Michigan Press). Heinemann has Plays in two volumes; Bantam has Complete Plays in one. Penguin has Lysistrata and Other Plays, tr. Alan H. Sommerstein.

Further reading: Dana F. Sutton, Ancient Comedy: The War of the Generations; Douglas M. MacDowell, Aristophanes and Athens: An Introduction to the Plays; Kenneth McLeish, The Theater of Aristophanes.

Plato—Jowetfs translation, though Victorian, is classic. His ver­sion of the Complete Works may be found in the two-volume Random House edition, introduced by Raphael Demos. The Portable Plato, ed. Scott Buchanan (Viking), contains the Jowett translations of Protagoras, Phaedo, Symposium, and The Republic. Look for the Jowett versions in other paperback editions as well. Other good, more modern translations: Republic, tr. Francis M. Cornford (Oxford U. Press); Protagoras and Meno, tr. W.K Guthrie (Penguin); The Last Days of Sуcrates (includes Euthyphro, Apology, Crito, Phaedo), tr. Hugh Tredennick (Penguin).

Further reading: Rex Warner, The Greek Philosophers; A.E. Taylor, Plato: The Man and His Work; G.C. Field, The Philosophy of Plato; I.F. Stone's iconoclastic The Trial of Sуcrates.

Aristotle—Basic Works, ed. Richard McKeon (Random); Aristotle. Selections from Seven Books, ed. Philip Wheelwright (Odyssey Press); Introduction to Aristotle, ed. Richard McKeon (Modern Library); Ethics, tr. J.A. Thomson (Penguin); Nicomachean Ethics, tr. W.D. Ross (Oxford U. Press); Politics, tr. J.A. Sinclair (Penguin); Poetics, introd. by G.F. Else (U. of Mich. Press).

Further reading: Mortimer J. Adler, Aristotle for Everyone; Abraham Edel, Aristotle and His Philosophy. The Aristotle bibliog- raphy is of course enormous; consult your librarian.

Mencius—Translations by D.C. Lau (Penguin; this is the pre- ferred version); W.A.C.H. Dobson (Oxford U. Press); James R. Ware (Mentor); Lionel Giles (abridged; John Murray); James Legge in The Chinese Classics.

Further reading: Fung Yu-lan, A History of Chinese Philosophy, tr. Derk Bodde (2 vols); Benjamin I. Schwartz, The World of Thought in Ancient China. For translations of Mencius's philosophical rivais: Lao-tzu, Tao Te Ching, tr. by Arthur Waley, D.C. Lau, Victor Mair, Moss Roberts, among many others; Chuang-tzu, tr. by A.C. Graham, Burton Watson, Victor Mair; Mo- tzu, tr. Burton Watson, Y.P. Mei.