Politics

Aristotle (384–322 BC) studied under Plato and later taught in Athens at the Lyceum, writing on logic, nature, ethics and politics. The Politics is a collection of lecture notes or treatises that were gathered after his death. It builds on his Nicomachean Ethics, which treats the good life for the individual, by asking what kind of community makes such a life possible.

Benjamin Jowett (1817–1893), an Oxford scholar, produced this English version, published in 1885, in the plain and dignified prose of the Victorian era. The recording follows the eight books in thirty sections, from the foundations of the household and the city in Book One onward. Some of Aristotle’s views, especially on slavery and the status of women, are now rejected, and a thoughtful listener will want to weigh them critically. The book remains a cornerstone of political philosophy and a fascinating record of how an ancient thinker approached questions we still debate.

Reading the Politics today is a reminder of how many familiar debates, about wealth, equality, the rule of law and the role of education, were already under discussion in ancient Greece. Aristotle’s attention to practical detail, such as the size of a city or the stability of a middle class, still seems surprisingly modern.

Thirty recordings, about 9.2 hours in all, are read by LibriVox volunteers. The work divides well into sessions: Book One, on the household and the city, makes a natural first evening, and the later books can follow at whatever pace suits you. Aristotle argues as a lecturer builds a case, defining terms, surveying the opinions of others and testing them against the evidence, so it helps to pause after each section and ask whether the case convinces you.