Eva Brann’s contributions to the larger academic community are twofold: She gives her students, colleagues, and readers a sweeping variety of writings and offers herself as a model of one who never shies from thinking, discussing, and seeking knowledge; and she is a tireless defender of the educational practices at St. John’s College, where she has been a tutor for more than half a century.
Plato’s Republic begins with a young boy pulling Socrates’ cloak to get his attention. He was…