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Acknowledgments This book has been percolating for many years. Writing on the Republic is not a linear process. Interpretations seem right, then wrong, then better, yet still not just right. One tries again, goes back to the beginning. Finally, a book emerges—narrower in scope, more modest in ambition. I am grateful for the many opportunities I have had to test and refine my understanding of Plato’s great work. The first occasion was a conference organized by John Ferrari at the University of California, Berkeley. Other venues followed: St. Francis College, Mansfield University, the Northeastern Political Science Association, the American Philosophical Association, Marquette University, the Eastern Pennsylvania Philosophical Association, Bar-Ilan University, University of South Carolina, the Society for Ancient Greek Philosophy, University of South Florida, Case Western Reserve University, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, University of Haifa, the International Symposium Platonicum—Tokyo, the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy, the Israel Society for the Promotion of Classical Studies, the Arizona Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy, x Acknowledgments and Texas Tech University. An earlier version of parts of Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 was published in the Proceedings of the Boston Area Colloquium in Ancient Philosophy, vol. 27, edited by Gary S. Gurtler, SJ (Leiden: Brill, 2012), under the title “ The Unjust Philosophers of Rep. VII.” It is reprinted with permission. I appreciate the support of Lehigh University, which granted me a leave of absence for the spring of 2009 and the spring of 2010. I thank my colleague Robin Dillon for stepping in to chair the Philosophy Department for both semesters in my absence. The National Endowment for the Humanities awarded me a summer stipend in 2007 and a fellowship for 2010. (The views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.) I acknowledge as well the ongoing support provided by the Clara H. Stewardson Chair. For two hours every Tuesday afternoon for fourteen weeks, my colleagues in the Philosophy Department at Lehigh read and discussed the Republic, and considered what I had to say about it. They offered support—and criticism—and a variety of fresh perspectives. They are Gordon Bearn, Mark Bickhard, Robin Dillon, Steven Goldman, Michael Mendelson, Gregory Reihman, and Aladdin Yaqub. Other participants in the seminar were Robert Barnes, Bernard Dauenhauer, and Barbara Frankel. I wish to thank the students who undertook independent studies on the Republic under my direction: Dave Eck, Nicole Corali, Dan Roxbury, Tom Cleary, and EJ Schuck. Together we tackled the Republic, reflecting on questions and problems old and new. Two anonymous referees for Cornell University Press proved invaluable . The first persuaded me to drop the three chapters I had already written and to start the book at what was originally to be Chapter 4. The second raised a whole host of challenging questions that I have subsequently done my best to address. A special thank-you to Peter J. Potter, my editor at the Press, who read the manuscript and offered his perspicuous advice and unwavering moral support at every stage of the project’s development. I would like to acknowledge my Plato friends: William Altman, Ronna Burger, Mary Louise Gill, John Ferrari, Anthony Long, Ivor Ludlam, Gerry Mara, Mitchell Miller, Alexander Nehamas, Arlene Saxonhouse, and Alan Udoff. All had a hand in making this book better. Acknowledgments xi Donna Wagner, the Philosophy Department coordinator at Lehigh, has been helpful to me in all things. Jessica Morgan, a student at Lehigh, ably assisted me in preparing the final manuscript. My wonderful family—my husband, Sam, and my daughters, Miriam and Dena—are my emotional mainstays. ...

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