Tao te Ching vs Φαίδων: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Ouvrages avant 1800, Religion, Philosophy, Fiction
Tao te Ching
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"Within ancient Chinese, a sole character possesses a broad, and sometimes contradictory, range of meanings. Moreover, the Tao Te Ching is rife with terms and expressions that have no exact counterpart in English. So…
Φαίδων
“PERSONS OF THE DIALOGUE: Phaedo, who is the narrator of the dialogue to Echecrates of Phlius.”
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After an interval of some months or years, and at Phlius, a town of Peloponnesus, the tale of the last hours of Socrates is narrated to Echecrates and other Phliasians by Phaedo the 'beloved disciple.' The Dialogue…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate Tao te Ching highest: Tao te Ching 4.3 · Φαίδων 4.1.
- Tao te Ching is the quickest read — about 1 hours vs 3 for Φαίδων.
- Tao te Ching has the widest readership — 187513 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Tao te Ching | Φαίδων | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.3 (187513) | 4.1 (17232) |
| Hardcover | 3.8 (7) | — |
Reception
| Tao te Ching | Φαίδων | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 187513 | 17232 |
| Editions | 648 | 291 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 261154 | — |
| Reading it now | 39972 | — |
| Written reviews | 10158 | 5 |
| Wikipedia attention | 28380 | 5092 |
| Pages | 84 | 198 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Tao te Ching or Φαίδων?
Tao te Ching has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Tao te Ching 4.3/5, Φαίδων 4.1/5).
Which is shorter to read: Tao te Ching or Φαίδων?
Tao te Ching is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Tao te Ching (84 pages, ≈ 1 h 33 m); Φαίδων (198 pages, ≈ 3 h 40 m).
Which is harder to read: Tao te Ching or Φαίδων?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Tao te Ching: Demanding; Φαίδων: Demanding.