Abstract
The present paper examined how Polish philosophers, historians and classicists understood and interpreted Plato’s Euthyphro in the 19th century. The article provides evidence for a twofold interest that Polish readers had for the dialogue in this period. Firstly, Catholic thinkers focused on the ethical issues of the dialogue and supported the revival of the Scholasticism, confirming, at the same time, the vitality of Plato’s thought. Secondly, the text of Plato’s opusculum was a convenient didactic material for various teachers of the Greek language: while the Euthyphro gave them the opportunity to raise ethical and logical issues, they also taught philosophy on the basis of this dialogue.
Highlights
The works of Polish philosophers, historians and classicists on the Euthyphro in the 19th century developed independently of any translations of the dialogue, even though two Polish translations of the dialogue were published (Platon 1858 and 1881) in the century1
The work was published in five parts and written by an author who hid themselves behind the pseudonym “C.”2 In this text, along with the passages devoted explicitly to the substance of the Euthyphro, the author made various remarks concerning the future of Poland and the Catholic Church, the decline of values, the critique of the socialist and individualistic movements etc
The need of becoming reacquainted with Greek philosophy was justified by Adamski (1883/1884: 4577) in the following way: “since reason has to precede faith and philosophy has to pave the way for the revealed religion, and since we have to turn back to where we came from in our modern civilization, we have to turn to the philosophy, that preceded the birth of the Gospel, which is Greek philosophy.”
Summary
The works of Polish philosophers, historians and classicists on the Euthyphro in the 19th century developed independently of any translations of the dialogue, even though two Polish translations of the dialogue were published (Platon 1858 and 1881) in the century1. Pawlicki regarded the early dialogues, including the Euthyphro, as historical sources providing us with knowledge of Socrates.
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