ABSTRACT
Plato theory of law is a fundamental part of his general philosophy, and it illumines and is illumined by the entire Platonic corpus. In thinking of legislation, Plato followed the traditional Greek distinction between written and unwritten law. Lawyers abounded, he observed, when wealth increased. Plato's fumbling effort at a classification of property was probably caused by the absence of a tradition of theoretical analysis, one of the rewards of professionalization. Athenian justice was held in great contempt by Plato, and there are many indications throughout his writings that he gave much thought to its reform. From Attic practice Plato borrowed the idea of a Board of Examiners to watch over the conduct and audit the proceedings of administrative officials and judges. It is plain to perceive in all this, that Plato was endeavoring to extend his ideas of code-making from the civil to the criminal field, and to devise a penal code based upon rational principles.
