Plato's longest and last work. An Athenian stranger discusses legislation for a new colony in Crete, covering everything from marriage law to drinking parties. Where the Republic imagines the ideal, the Laws builds something that might actually work.
Start ReadingAn Athenian stranger, a Spartan, and a Cretan walk to the cave of Zeus on Crete. They discuss the purpose of law and whether legislation should aim at courage or at virtue as a whole.
Education and drinking. The Athenian argues that properly regulated symposia train self-control — a counterintuitive defence of wine as a tool of moral education.
Music, gymnastics, and dance as instruments of civic education. The art that shapes citizens must itself be shaped by law.
The history of government — from the earliest human communities after the flood through Sparta, Persia, and Athens. What makes constitutions succeed and fail.
The new colony of Magnesia. Its location, population, and constitutional design. The selection of legislators and the division of land into 5,040 lots.
Marriage laws, property regulations, and the supervision of education. The detailed legal code for Magnesia begins.
Criminal law: murder, assault, robbery. The Athenian distinguishes voluntary from involuntary harm and establishes a graduated system of penalties.
Injury, insult, and the regulation of trade. Laws governing the marketplace, craftsmanship, and commercial honesty.
Laws concerning the family: inheritance, guardianship, treatment of parents, orphans, and the elderly. A comprehensive code of domestic justice.
Theology and impiety. The Athenian argues that the gods exist, that they care about humans, and that they cannot be bribed. Atheism is a crime against the state.
Further criminal law and the regulation of foreign travel. Citizens may only travel abroad after age forty, and they must report what they learn.
The Nocturnal Council — a body of senior citizens who guard the constitution and ensure that the laws remain oriented toward virtue. The dialogue's conclusion and Plato's last word on politics.