Another translation question - Plato

[Pierre Menard]

Yes, another translation thread. I'd really appreciate some help on this one, as I'm driving myself crazy trying to figure out which translation to start with. I want one which is reasonably accurate but more importantly, a good literary translation. A good balance between the two would be nice.

A quick rundown of the ones I've considered:

Benjamin Jowett - Regarded quite well for his classical style, but I know some of his bowdlerisation of the text bothers people.

Alan Bloom - I've heard he's quite prone to injecting his personal subjective notions on the translation which worries me.

Grube - I've heard it's not great as a literary text.

Desmond Lee - I've heard good things about his Republic from a literary standpoint, but haven't heard much about his accuracy.

Tom Griffith - Same as above.

A.D. Lindsay - Everyman's Library's translator of choice for The Republic, but I can't find hardly any info on.

Waterfield - I've heard many mixed things on both accuracy and readability so I'm totally unsure.

Norton Critical Editions released a translation of The Republic by William C. Scott and Richard W. Sterling. I've heard good things about this one, but not a lot of people have talked about it.

And then there's also the Loeb editions, which I'm unsure about on literary quality.

Hackett Publishing has done many as well outside of Grube, and I've heard varying opinions on those.

[Pompey Bum]

If you have any Greek at all (even if it's not Attic), I would recommend using the Loeb polyglots. Go back and forth between the English and facing Greek, and you will get an infinitely clearer understanding of the text than if you just use a translation. Loebs tend to feature great classicists from yesteryear, so you may have to tough out some (only slightly) archaic language, but since modern English has lost some nuances over time (and Plato's Greek is nothing if not nuanced), your clearer understanding of the text will more than compensate. Even if you don't use the Greek text, I would still probably recommend a Loeb. It isn't going to wet nurse you (meaning you will have to think for yourself), but if you are interested in understanding Platonic thought--as opposed to merely doing a quick reading for an assignment--you are going to have to do that in any case. Good luck!

[Calidore]

Amazon reviews are always a good place to start, as there are people who will post detailed comparisons of various translations of whatever.

Sight unseen, you generally won't go wrong with Norton, thanks to the quality of their translations and editing and the supplementary materials they include.

You could also check various translations at your library and gutenberg.org and see what style speaks to you the most.

[Pierre Menard]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

As with all great literature, reading multiple translations is usually a good idea.
I'll definitely check out the Norton, the Loeb and a couple of others when I can. Might look at a different translator for each Plato work, and get a good sense of them all.