Plutarch’s Lives by Plutarch

Description

Parallel Lives is a book by Plutarch, first published in the early 2nd century AD. A cornerstone of classical literature, it presents paired biographies of notable Greeks and Romans, exploring their characters, virtues, and failings through comparative storytelling. By aligning figures such as Alexander the Great with Julius Caesar, or Lycurgus with Numa Pompilius, Plutarch sought not merely to recount historical facts, but to delve into the moral fibre and personal choices that shaped the ancient world. The structure reveals the continuities and contrasts between Greek and Roman ideals of leadership, courage, wisdom, and civic duty. Widely read throughout the Renaissance and beyond, Parallel Lives has had a lasting influence on Western thought, literature, and historiography. Its moral lens and narrative style inspired later biographers and thinkers, including Shakespeare, who drew heavily from Plutarch’s accounts for his Roman plays. The work remains a rich source of insight into classical antiquity, as well as a meditation on human character and public life. Though rooted in antiquity, its reflections on power, ambition, and integrity continue to resonate across time. This edition, edited by Arthur H. Clough, was first published in 1859.

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