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/lit/ - Literature

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7171977 No.7171977 [Reply] [Original]

Why is the only edition of Alan Bloom's Republic so incredibly hideous?

Is the translation really good enough to make up for this travesty?

>> No.7171996
File: 29 KB, 220x326, c140b11f7c9ee4d2f225e81a202f0d12.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7171996

>>7171977
My edition looks like this.

Yes, the translation is worth it.

>> No.7172048

>>7171996
It makes me sad.

Why didn't everyone involved put in their best effort?

I want to read Plato's Republic and everyone I've asked assures me that Bloom's translation is the best, but now I'm hesitant because it just looks so ugly

I'm not sure if I can enjoy this entire book, place it to my bookshelf and live with the reality that I actually went and bought something this aesthetically disturbing.

That green with the black on white, the fucking font, "let's just slap some Greek shit in the middle so people know it's Plato", "let's just fucking write s e c o n d e d i t i o n with dumb pacing here just because there's some space", the whole "brought to you by the author of" and the list of shit that Alan Bloom did in this book I could live with on it's own, but all in all this just makes me want to not touch the book ever.

Were people just lazy?
How does something like this happen?

Is there any way I could maybe rip off the cover and attach a new one without destroying the book in the process?

The way books look is of great import to me.

>> No.7172053

>>7172048
>tfw no aesthetic philosophical classics

life is suffering

>> No.7172079
File: 188 KB, 487x410, 1430737662421.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7172079

>>7172053
I'm at the point where I feel like the Penguin's cover of The Republic that just has a vague beige background with Plato's face slapped on it is an artistic masterpiece.

Right now I'm trying to cope with the fact that Marcus Aurelius' Meditations are apparently best symbolized by a red bird and a feather on a black background that make the whole thing look like the hottest new YA trash.
I haven't read the thing so maybe red birds and white feathers have some kind of major significance in Stoicism but by god they at least could have made them look less shit
All in all it doesn't look too bad though, I think I can deal with this one. There's another edition with a relief on it but it's just kind of ugly and I think I prefer the bird

All the covers for the Tao Te Ching apparently consist of nothing but stock images of China and a bunch of moon runes because it's just SO zen
I might actually just read the Tao of Pooh because the cover is sweet, even though I know it's dumbed down and simplified.

Why does it have to be this way?

>> No.7172091

>>7172079
opening that picture makes it look like there's a piece of dirt on mys creen and i tried to wipe it off

>> No.7172110
File: 769 KB, 585x430, 1438061246169.gif [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7172110

>own mostly white books
>they will yellow and brown as the years go by

>> No.7172117

>>7172079
I have that exact Meditations edition and it's infinitely more aesthetic than le roman bust man, idk what you're talking about

I do need all my covers to be aesthetic as humanly possible tho

>> No.7172120
File: 14 KB, 225x346, 41nWUK1qOJL._SY344_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7172120

>>7171977
Everytime I see this cover I think "Starbucks". For fucks sakes, do people who design book covers have mental retardation, or are they just aesthetically blind? I cant even count how many times ive turned down buying better copies of books because it looks so bad.

Also I have a contender for "Worst covers - Greek edition", pic related; an absolute tragedy.

>> No.7172127

>>7172120
wut Modern Library covers are always aesthetic as fuck

>> No.7172136

>>7172117
>Having something related to the subject matter on the cover
>Having some minamalist shit thats completely unrelated is better

Its like you hate anything remotely old, dont you?

>> No.7172149

>>7172127
>Stupid picture of a crytal ball in front of the acropolis(?)
>Picture isnt even big enough, so they repasted half of it on the top and bottom
>"blah blah blah shit" -Jew york times, shit on the cover
>Title blocks are in like 3 different places
>Also has an ugly bronze/gold/brown spine

Worst book award goes to...

>> No.7172166

>>7172149
that copy/paste shit they do on every modern library cover like that, it's kinda their thing

also lol jew york times. there are people who take /pol/ shit with them when the leave the house, my condolences

its fine nigga

>>7172136
huh? no, it's just aurelius' bust i aint fucking with on an aesthetic level

>> No.7172177

>>7172166
I feel like you are trying too hard to be internet-black and for the sake of everyone involved you should stop.

>> No.7172190

>>7172177
>saying nigga
>'trying too hard to be internet black'

fuck off back to tumblr

>> No.7172225
File: 32 KB, 300x475, 41mLa+Dq6rL._SX298_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7172225

>when you find a nice edition of a book you want to read but you can't find anyone that's willing to sell it to you
>tfw you can't trust those amazon people that sell it used because they will probably just send you a different edition

it feels bad

>> No.7172301

When I read the Republic in college, the teacher assigned a Victorianish translation that nobody liked. I personally went on a quest for a better translation and after comparing all the major ones including Bloom's, the one I liked best was the Sterling & Scott translation published by W.W. Norton.

>> No.7172352

>>7172301
Why did you end up liking that one best?

>> No.7172360

>>7172352
This was six years ago, but it sounded best to me, I remember. It was the least awkward.

>> No.7172483

>>7171977
Apparently Alain Badiou has a translation of the republic? Or a reinterpretation or something

>> No.7172830

>>7172483
Oh, that stupid thing. Worth it only if you want to learn Badiou's philosophy in the lamest way possible.

>> No.7172862

>>7171977

Why does this cover read like this Allan Bloom guy wrote a book untitled " The Republic of Plato " ? The title should be " The Republic ", the author Plato, and the translator's name should be written much smaller somewhere.

>> No.7172867

>>7172862
I dunno, it's like people might be curious who might be responsible for translating this ancient Greek text, you fucking autist.

>> No.7172888

>>7172867
>being such a retard you can't find the name of the translator if it's not written in big ass capital letters on the cover

Yeaah, you totally got it.

>> No.7172935
File: 431 KB, 1085x1400, gunsmoke.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7172935

Good lord, somebody tell me this is a meme. I've seen people say this before. "Why is the translator's name larger than the author?" I'll tell you why. Covers are designed to emphasize what is most likely to interest you.

Take a look at the cover in the first post. Bloom's name isn't very prominent, right? "Plato" is way larger. That's the first edition; it came out in 1968. Nobody cared about Allan Bloom in 1968. Now flash forward to 1987. Allan Bloom publishes The Closing of the American Mind, a book about the debasement of higher education. It's a controversial book, widely discussed, and Bloom becomes a well-known author. Four years later, in 1991, they reissue his translation of the Republic. Now Bloom's got a name and his name alone is likely enough to get some people to buy the book. So they give it a cover that emphasizes his name, and that's the cover you see in the OP, the second edition from 1991, which came out when The Closing of the American Mind was still on American minds.

>> No.7172951

>>7172935
First of all, the translators name is still too big on the first cover, and even then, it doesn't fix the issue that >>7172862 was pointing out about The Republic of Plato not being the title of the book.


Now, if you live in a country where people are more likely to buy a book because it was translated by Allan Bloom than because it was written by Plato and you're proud of it, you are a disgrace to humanity.

>> No.7172955

>>7172951
I feel like everyone seeking out a copy of the Republic has figured out it's written by Plato, the translator is probably more important

OP for example isn't looking to buy a copy of The Republic written by Plato, he's looking to buy a copy of the Republic translated by Bloom

>> No.7172956

>>7171977
Quit being a bitch you phoney faggot; this isn't /fa/

>> No.7172960

>>7172956
stop buying ugly books and being such a fuccboi then

>> No.7172963

>>7172960
>preferring contents to cover
>being a fuccboi
Nice bait but you're a fag mate

>> No.7172982

>>7172951
>disgrace to humanity

You're on tilt, son.

>> No.7172983

>>7172963
>I will happily let mentally disfigured publishing houses shove literal trash down my throat
>I will openly display signs of my terrible taste around my home and person
>and I will pay them for it, too
>I don't care what things look like on the surface! never judge a book by it's cover haha! :)
>not in the least am I offended by literal excrement made book cover, I have successfully tricked myself into thinking this garbage looks kind of nice if you look at it at the right angle!

looks like a case of being a massive fuccboi to me buddy

>> No.7172985

On /lit/, we whiteknight Greek philosophers.

>> No.7172987

>>7172888
>being such an autist that "The Republic of Plato" triggers you

>> No.7172989

>>7172983
>I suck the cock of what other people think
If I was a Stirner memer I'd say you're fairly spooked son

>> No.7172991

>>7172951
In what way is the size of the translator's name on the cover an "issue"? I think, to reasonable people, this becomes an issue only when the name of the author is so small that you have to squint to read it. And even then, how hard is it to squint?

>> No.7173019

>>7172989
>he unirionically thinks aesthetic pleasure is for other people's sake and not your own

good one champ, but I think it's time to stop being a pleb!

>> No.7173029

>>7173019
>he thinks aesthetic pleasure comes from material aesthetics
Think we know who the true pleb is mate, whewwwwwww

>> No.7173033

>>7173029
>surrounded by ugly trash
>but it still all looks good because this pile of shit right here is supposed to be Plato and truly, I am enlightened by his spirit no matter how many days I have gone without showering
>*tips fedora*

>> No.7173036

I like the cover.

>> No.7173040

>>7173036
you probably also like eating feces

>> No.7173041

>>7173033
>*tips fedora*

>> No.7173046

>>7173029
hihi i bet you are the type of guy that goes after women for their "character" because he can't get no attractive girls

>> No.7173052

I was trying to see what OP saw in the book cover until he revealed himself to be an idiot.

>> No.7173065

>>7172983
>I buy books as decoration so my visitors might think I'm intelligent

If you want art buy art, covers are irrelevant. Buy hardcovers and remove the sleeve with its commercial nonsense if your ADD is troubling you. You're hardly an aesthete, they generally learn to speak at an early age. Language presents the most frequent opportunities to produce aesthetics.

>> No.7173078

>>7173046
Haha and I bet he's a fuckin homo fag aswell lolmao!

>> No.7173085

>>7173052
>>7173065
Is it really wrong that I prefer nice things over ugly things?

The book is great, the translation is great, I just wish the cover did it justice.

Looking at a nice book cover brings me pleasure, I enjoy it.
Is it wrong to take joy in something nice?

From what I have gathered so far I know that some of the Greeks told me that I should take joy in nice things and do my best not to get angry when not-nice things happen, but I just can't help to be disappointed.
I know whoever put this together could have tried harder and done better, I feel like even I could have done better given enough time and resources

>> No.7173100

Aestheticism is great and all, but bitching about book covers just seems phony and fake to me.

>> No.7173103

How irrelevant

>> No.7173112
File: 102 KB, 510x729, teleny.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7173112

ITT: ugly book covers

>> No.7173121

>>7173085
As I said, I like the cover. I think it looks good. Are you non-American, by chance? I'm American and I have yet to see a UK cover that I preferred to the cover we have here. They always seem washed out and dull. But maybe they like their covers. Maybe different countries just have different tastes.

>> No.7173301

>>7171977

I think the cover looks good (and autism friendly). What is your problem with it? You must be a dreamy fairy girly girl if you prefer stuff like >>7172225.

>> No.7173334

>>7173301
>>7173121
What do you like about it?

I'm genuinely interested in changing my viewpoint, but I really can't find anything positive about the cover.

I don't like the colors, I don't like the dumb spacing and the place the put s e c o n d e d i t o n, I dislike the circle they used to make it look more Greek, the long list of all the great things Bloom did with this book, his big name (although smaller than Plato) and the "brought to you by the author of" I could do with on their own, but in combination with all the rest it just adds up to a complete disaster

>> No.7173343

>>7173334
also the font isn't among my favorites either

>> No.7173347

>>7171977

>Giving a single shit what the cover looks like

It's not like it changes the content of the book. Just rip the cover off if it bothers you that much you trite faggot.

>> No.7173412
File: 17 KB, 170x241, 161_logo_U2.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
7173412

>>7171977
do you think that your cover is ugly?

>be italian
>want to read about Magellan first voyage to circumnavigate the globe
>the ship has an italian member, Antonio Pigafetta (an hobbit-tier hilly motherfucker that was in Spain at the time has follow of a bishop)
>He, God knows why, chose to be part of the Magellan crew and write a day-by-day journal.
>Magellan was forced to accept the presence of this rookie writer on the ship.
>237 members and 3 ships at the start.
>3 years after 20-30 members and 1 ship the end, with a stowed cargo (in cloves) of the value of 3 times the English annual GDP.
>Magellan dies, Antonio motherfucker Pigafetta (new captain), is one of the 20-30 survivors.
>his diary of the voyage is published.

Pic related is the ONLY edition available in Italy.

>> No.7173488

>Muh material book cover
>2016
>actually buying that paper shit
>bet he doesn't even throw them away/sell them after reading/scanning them
Kill yourself go back to >>/a/

>> No.7173496

>>7171977
>tfw buying old philosophy books on Amazon for £1
>tfw opening them up, feeling the yellow creased pages
>tfw dogears and notes everywhere, imprints from people maybe dead by now
>tfw you can smell the same acrid decay of paper

There is nothing comfier than hideous and rotting books.

>> No.7173507
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7173507

>>7172048
>>7172079

>> No.7173600
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7173600

>>7171977