The original texts of Plato have been lost, and the surviving manuscripts differ from one another. Through systematic research into the dialogue Euthydemus, classicist Joachim Kraaij has identified the most reliable manuscripts. This paves the way for a more accurate reconstruction of Plato’s words.
Kraaij: “Plato is one of the most well-known Western philosophers, yet what he actually wrote remains uncertain. His texts were composed before the invention of the printing press, and Plato’s original manuscripts have been lost. The surviving copies were made much later and differ significantly from one another, as errors were introduced during the copying process.”
Manuscript stemma
In order to produce a reliable reconstruction of Plato’s original text, Kraaij studied and compared all extant manuscripts and the earliest printed editions of Plato’s dialogue Euthydemus. “I incorporated the results of that comparison into a manuscript stemma—a sort of family tree—which shows at a glance which manuscripts were copied from others, and which were not. The manuscripts that turned out not to be copies of other surviving ones are the most important, as they preserve the oldest textual layer,” Kraaij explains.
Original text
Kraaij continues: “For the Euthydemus, this came down to three manuscripts. Based on these, I reconstructed the likely original version of several passages using traditional philological methods alongside new linguistic and literary insights. My research also sheds light on how the text has been read, interpreted, and studied throughout the centuries.”
Crucial step
The study clarifies how the surviving manuscripts of Plato’s Euthydemus relate to each other. “This is a crucial step in reconstructing the original text,” Kraaij says, “since scholars primarily rely on the most fundamental sources. As every edition or translation of Plato’s work ultimately depends on such textual reconstructions, this research provides an essential foundation for all further study of the Athenian philosopher, and for a deeper understanding of the transmission of his works and his place in European intellectual history.”