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Plutarch Lives, VII, Demosthenes and Cicero. Alexander and Caesar (Loeb Classical Library) (Volume VII) Hardcover – January 1, 1919

by Plutarch (Author), Bernadotte Perrin (Translator)
4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 30 ratings
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Comparative biographies of distinguished Greeks and Romans.

Plutarch (Plutarchus), ca. AD 45–120, was born at Chaeronea in Boeotia in central Greece, studied philosophy at Athens, and, after coming to Rome as a teacher in philosophy, was given consular rank by the emperor Trajan and a procuratorship in Greece by Hadrian. He was married and the father of one daughter and four sons. He appears as a man of kindly character and independent thought, studious and learned.

Plutarch wrote on many subjects. Most popular have always been the forty-six Parallel Lives, biographies planned to be ethical examples in pairs (in each pair, one Greek figure and one similar Roman), though the last four lives are single. All are invaluable sources of our knowledge of the lives and characters of Greek and Roman statesmen, soldiers, and orators. Plutarch's many other varied extant works, about sixty in number, are known as Moralia or Moral Essays. They are of high literary value, besides being of great use to people interested in philosophy, ethics, and religion.

The Loeb Classical Library edition of the Lives is in eleven volumes.

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  1. Print length
    640 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Harvard University Press
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 1919
  5. Dimensions
    4.25 x 1.2 x 6.37 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0674991109
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0674991101
  8. See all details
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About the Author

Bernadotte Perrin (1847–1920) was Lampson Professor of Greek Literature and History at Yale University.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harvard University Press (January 1, 1919)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 640 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0674991109
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0674991101
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.25 x 1.2 x 6.37 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.8 4.8 out of 5 stars 30 ratings

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Plutarch

Plutarch

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Plutarch (/ˈpluːtɑːrk/; Greek: Πλούταρχος, Ploútarkhos, Koine Greek: [plǔːtarkʰos]; later named, upon becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus (Λούκιος Μέστριος Πλούταρχος);[a] c. AD 46 – AD 120) was a Greek historian, biographer and essayist, known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia. He is classified as a Middle Platonist. Plutarch's surviving works are believed to have been originally written in Koine Greek.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo from Parallel Lives, Amyot's French translation [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars I love Loeb Classic books.
Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2019
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Great book, very informative and an excellent quality printing.
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Jesus is Lord
5.0 out of 5 stars Plutarch gives wonderful insight. Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" is based on the ...
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2016
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Plutarch gives wonderful insight. Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" is based on the testimony of Plutarch's writings. Suetonius, Thucydides, and Plutarch are essential for a better understanding of "ourselves".
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dlh
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2016
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Not as good as Mary Renault's "the Persian Boy"
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Brian
4.0 out of 5 stars not new
Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2024
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It says that it’s new but it’s slightly ripped on the back
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4.0 out of 5 stars not new
Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2024
It says that it’s new but it’s slightly ripped on the back
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Wendy
5.0 out of 5 stars Just what we needed.
Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2015
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Exactly what my daughter needed for class and it was easy to obtain.
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Arch Stanton
5.0 out of 5 stars My Favorite Classical Author
Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2011
Since there are so many of these darn things the review shall be divided into three sections. First, a brief description of the Loeb series of books and their advantages/disadvantages. Second shall be my thoughts on the author himself, his accuracy, as well as his style and the style of his translator. This is of course only my opinion and should be treated as such. The final part shall review what this particular book actually covers.

The Loeb series date back to the turn of the last century. They are designed for people with at least some knowledge of Greek or Latin. They are a sort of compromise between a straight English translation and an annotated copy of the original text. On the left page is printed the text in Greek or Latin depending on the language of the writer and on the right side is the text in English. For somebody who knows even a little Greek or Latin these texts are invaluable. You can try to read the text in the original language knowing that you can correct yourself by looking on the next page or you can read the text in translation and check the translation with the original for more detail. While some of the translations are excellent mostly they are merely serviceable since they are designed more as an aid to translation rather than a translation in themselves. Most of them follow the Greek or Latin very closely. These books are also very small, maybe just over a quarter the size of your average hardcover book. This means that you'll need to buy more than just one book to read a complete work. They are also somewhat pricey considering their size. The Loeb Collection is very large but most of the more famous works can be found in better (and cheaper) translations elsewhere. If you want to read a rarer book or read one in the original language then you can't do better than the Loeb Editions.

There are 11 volumes of Plutarch's Lives as well as a further 16 of his Moralia in the Loeb series which includes all his known works. Plutarch is without doubt my favorite Classical author. His books are personal, entertaining, and he just comes across as a generally warm and friendly guy. That last part is very rare in Classical authors. His most famous works are his Lives. These were basically mini-biographies of famous men. The writing of Lives was very popular in Antiquity with Suetonius being perhaps the most famous example. What makes Plutarch's different however is the way that he captures the character and the ability of his subjects. Unlike other Lives which divide their subject into topics and then record these out of context, Plutarch's ones follow a chronological order. He also took more care over them than others did. Lives were considered less reputable than Histories but Plutarch treated his like mini-Histories. The interpretation might be different but he is rarely caught out in errors except where his sources make the same errors. Also unlike most Classical writers he doesn't go overboard on the moralizing. These works were written to educate and instruct but the basic lessons are simple enough and he only goes into ethical conclusions in his comparison after each paired life.

This is one of the rare times where I really think that the Loeb translations are the best ones out there. While these works are available for cheaper elsewhere (Modern Library  Volumes 1  and  Volume 2 ) they are generally based off the Dryden translation. Avoid the Dryden translation. It is very old (1683) and a lot of these "new" translations are simply the Dryden translation with a few spelling and wording changes to make it sound more modern. While the Loeb translations may seem older (the 1910s) they are at least written in modern English translated directly from the Greek. The Penguin ones are better but for some reason they felt the need to split them up by era ( On Sparta  [Lycurgus, Agesilaus, Agis, Cleomenes, and some Spartan Sayings],  The Rise and Fall of Athens  [Theseus, Solon, Themistocles, Aristides, Cimon, Pericles, Nicias, Alcibiades, Lysander],  The Age of Alexander  [Agesilaus, Pelopidas, Dion, Timoleon, Demosthenes, Phocion, Alexander, Demetrius, Pyrrhus],  The Makers of Rome  [Coriolanus, Fabius Maximus, Marcellus, Cato the Elder, Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus, Sertorius, Brutus, Mark Antony],  Rome in Crisis  [Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus, Sertorius, Lucullus, Younger Cato, Brutus, Antony, Galba, and Otho],  The Fall of the Roman Republic  [Marius, Sulla, Crassus, Pompey, Caesar, Cicero]). These were dual Lives. They paired off famous Greeks with famous Romans and compared their careers, the idea being that they had similar virtues and vices. Splitting them up like that ruins the original intent of the author and removes the analysis after each pair. Even when the comparison seems forced it is at least evident why Plutarch included what he did.

Demosthenes and Cicero. Alexander and Caesar.
19 people found this helpful
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Ed
5.0 out of 5 stars What would Caesar do? Or rather, what should Caesar have done?
Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2006
I am not a scholar of ancient history. I was led to this book after hearing a lecture by Bible scholar Luke Timothy Johnson. I was bowled over by the storylines and the clarity of writing. Although these are histories, they really are much more about what the title says, lives. Plutarch is writing about the moral decisions of well known figures and the very public decisions that they made in the face of historic events. Plutarch more than simply reporting the choices of these people comments and critics their actions. Demosthenes and Cicero's lives tended to drag a bit for me. However, they were necessary and interesting preludes to Alexander and Caesar, who's lives are better known to us but also physically changed the map of the world where Demosthenes and Cicero tried to change the compass of their nations. Great reading, even in summer.
5 people found this helpful
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Dimostenis Yagcioglu
5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing Lives, Great Biographies
Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2001
Plutarch (or Ploutarchos in Greek), shows in this book that he is one of the best biographers of all time.
He uses written and oral sources to construct the life stories of four important historical figures, Demosthenes, Cicero, Alexander, and Caesar. These are all great personalities, with virtues and vices, wtih strengths and weaknesses, and Plutarch shows both the negative and the postive sides of their character and actions.
Plutarch is both a historian and a storyteller. In this sense he is no different than the popular biographers and historians of today. In addition, he does not detach himself form the events and people he writes about; he frequently makes moral judgements. He praises them when they do something praiseworthy, and he criticizes them when they do something deplorable. That is also not different from the way the current popular historians and biographers approach their topics. Don't Stephen Ambrose or David McCullough also make moral judgements about the people they write about? Don't they also emotionally attach themselves to the people and events they examine? Isn't that what makes their books such a pleasure to read?
Plutarch's books are a pleasure to read, too. That's why they have been popular for more than eighteen hundred years.
A parallel recounting of the stories of persons whose lives had some striking similarities (thus leading to comparison and contrast) is a clever method, and it is difficult to understand why it is hardly ever used today.
The Greek used by Plutarch is relatively easy to understand; the translation is good and, albeit more than eighty years' old, is appealing to today's reader.
So, if you want to improve, or work on, your Ancient Greek, this book is for you.
If you are interested in the history of 4th-Century B.C. Ancient Greece, and the conflicts, intrigues, interpersonal clashes, political systems, and cultural values of that period, this book is for you.
And, finally, if you enjoy reading intriguing life stories, well told, this book is definitely for you.
7 people found this helpful
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