This collection brings together three of Plato's most enduring classics: the Symposium , the Apology , and the famous "Allegory of the Cave" from the Republic . The Symposium , a dialogue on the nature and purpose of love centered around the ideals of beauty and goodness, is arguably the deepest inquiry of its kind in Western philosophy. The Apology , Plato's account of the speech given by Socrates at his trial in 399 BC, constitutes an essential defense of Socrates' life and philosophy. Finally, the "Allegory of the Cave," written as a fictional dialogue between Socrates and Plato's brother, Glaucon, is a profound commentary on the human understanding of reality. This edition is the translation by Benjamin Jowett.