The third volume of Professor Guthrie's great history of Greek thought, entitled The Fifth-Century Enlightenment, deals in two parts with the Sophists and Socrates, the key figures in the dramatic and fundamental shift of philosophical interest from the physical universe to man. Each of these parts is now available as a paperback with the text, bibliography and indexes amended where necessary so that each part is self-contained. The Sophists assesses the contribution of individuals like Protagoras, Gorgias and Hippias to the extraordinary intellectual and moral fermant in fifth-century Athens. They questioned the bases of morality, religion and organized society itself and the nature of knowledge and language; they initiated a whole series of important and continuing debates, and they provoked Socrates and Plato to a major restatement and defence of traditional values.

‘This book, like the age it reflects, is a brilliant achievement. Professor Guthrie’s study combines remarkable erudition and inclusiveness of scope with a lucis and readable style … Professor Guthrie succeeds in giving us the most balanced and perceptive treatment of fifth-century thought that has yet been written.’

Source: The American Historical Review

‘Once again the qualities for which the first two volumes have justly been praised are in evidence. Chief among these qualities are the lucidity of the author’s writing, the judiciousness of his opinions and the comprehensiveness of his treatment … Other historians of Greek philosophy have impressed their philosophical personality more firmly on their accounts. But for those who wish their guide above all to be sound, Professor Guthrie is incontestably their man.’

Source: The Times Literary Supplement