Plato was the first child of Fortune, and the complete preservation of his works was the most remarkable proof of it. Æschylus was the author of at least 70 writings, of which 7 are preserved; Euripides was the author of 95 writings, of which 18 are preserved; Sophocles had 123 writings, aside from his lyric works, of which 7 are preserved. Shakespeare wrote 36 plays, Plato wrote 35 dialogues that are genuine. All of Plato’s writings have come down to us. Why were the writings of Plato preserved from the destroying hand of time? There are at least three causes of their preservation: (1) they had intrinsic beauty; (2) there was contemporary public interest in them; (3) the chief cause, Plato’s school kept close guard over them. By the dialogue Plato could employ the Socratic method, give dramatic effect, and idealize Socrates. The _Republic_ is his crowning literary effort, and the most complete statement of his mature political views. Perhaps the _Philebus_ is the best expression of his idea of goodness, and presents his most complete organization of the sciences. All Plato’s dialogues have a transparent beauty and a purity of diction; and they may be taken as a revelation of himself. All are dialogues save the _Apology_, but the dialogue element grows less and less in his later works. Socrates is usually the spokesman in them, and to him is usually given the deciding word. Only a few have a fixed plan of argument. One thread and then another is followed, and in many no decision whatever is reached; for the dialogues must always be taken as artistic products in which philosophical experiences are idealized. Plato often employs myths or parables to illuminate his arguments. The situations and the literary adornments show the human touch, and the conversation often moves to a dramatic close. In the _Republic_ Plato sought to formulate theoretically certain political conceptions of the ideal State that were then in the air. It is interesting to note that his conception influenced the political idealism of later time, as, for example, Cicero’s _De Republica_, Augustine’s _City of God_, More’s _Utopia_, Campanella’s _State of the Sun_, Bacon’s _New Atlantis_, Macchiavelli’s _Il Principe_. =The Factors in the Construction of Plato’s Doctrine.=