The narrative dimensions of the Republic may help ascertain whether or
not there was an early proto-Republic and if book 1 were originally an indepen-
dent dialogue, the “Thrasymachus.” See, for example, Holger Thesleff, “The
Early Version of Plato’s Republic,” Arctos 31 (1997): 149– 74.
Howland, The Republic, 4.
On Plato’s Charmides, see Drew Hyland, The Virtue of Philosophy: An In-
terpretation of Plato’s Charmides (Athens: Ohio University Press, 1981); Thomas
Schmid, Plato’s Charmides and the Socratic Ideal of Rationality (Albany: State Uni-
versity of New York Press, 1998); and Christopher Planeaux, “Socrates, Alcibi-
ades, and Plato’s Ta P o t e i d e i a : Does the Charmides Have an Historical Setting?”
Mnemosyne 52 (1998): 72– 77.
See Schmid, Plato’s Charmides, 171n2; and Hyland, Virtue of Philoso-
phy, 27.
N. Van Der Ben suggests that a good deal of time has elapsed between
the dramatic events and the narrative retelling. See N. Van Der Ben, The Char-
mides of Plato: Problems and Interpretations (Amsterdam: B. R. Grüner, 1985), 84.
On Plato’s Protagoras, see David Roochnick, Of Art and Wisdom: Plato’s
Understanding of Techne (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press,
1996); and Coby, Socrates and the Sophistic Enlightenment.
Though most scholars assign a dramatic date somewhere in the
late 430s.
An audience of more than one is also clearly indicated at Phaedo 58d
and Protagoras 310a.
Socrates does make two very minor qualifi cations about his narrative
memory. He “thinks” it was Critias who spoke after Alcibiades (336e), and he
begins to ask questions “something like this” (338e), but these brief remarks do
not detract from his overall display of narrative prowess.
Throughout the dialogues, Crito’s emotional allegiance to Socrates is
unrivaled by any other character. Indeed, aside from Socrates, Crito appears in
more dialogues than any other character. In the Apology, Crito offers to pay a
fi ne on Socrates’ behalf (38c). In the dialogue named after him, we learn that
Crito visits Socrates in prison each day, content to sit quietly by his side and
watch him sleep (43b). Crito attempts to arrange for his escape from prison
(Crito 45b). Crito attends to the details associated with Socrates’ last day and
death sentence (Phaedo 60b, 63d, 115b– 118a). Socrates even directs his last
words to Crito, asking him to pay the debt he owes to Asclepius and not to for-
get it. Crito closes Socrates’ mouth and eyes the moment after he dies (Phaedo
118a). In this dialogue, Socrates’ ongoing discussion of his emotional state and
thought process suggests that the intimacy between them is reciprocal.
Despite this display of narrative confi dence, Socrates does allude to
his inability to remember (Euthydemus 290e). On this point, Szlezák remarks:
“In order to highlight the importance of recognizing that mathematics is sub-
ordinate to dialectic, Plato interrupts the narrative of the dialogue and makes
Crito ask whether the young Clinias said such a clever thing (290e).... To our
