The following arguments and evidence for the musical structure of Plato's dialogues were refined and strengthened in lectures for classicists at the University of Manchester, University College London, the University of Leeds and the Classical Association Conference at Durham University. They amplify many times over the grounds for the conclusions first reported in my “Plato's Forms, Pythagorean Mathematics, and Stichometry” (2010), and I am grateful to Acumen for bringing this book out promptly in response to the debate they occasioned.

At a time when the study of the humanities in universities is endangered, this debate has brought an extraordinary degree of attention to classics and ancient philosophy. The scholars and journalists who discussed this research in newspapers, broadcasts and online forums throughout the world have reminded many of the living importance of ancient Greek philosophy and literature.

These findings open up new lines of research, many more than can be pursued by any one scholar, and it may take time to assess their implications. As my title indicates, this book has a limited aim. It is a study of the musical structure in two dialogues, prefaced by some general and historical evidence.

However tantalizing, there are two reasons for proceeding in this way. First, Plato's musical symbols are repeated at regular intervals through the text of each dialogue and so can be studied rigorously and objectively.