Plutarch’s Lives

by Plutarch
Plutarch’s Lives cover
Good Books rating 3.5
Technical
  • ID: 95
  • Added: 2025-09-02
  • Updated: 2025-09-02
  • Reviews: 4
Reviews
goodreads.com · Unknown · 2025-09-17
frustrating 1.00

The reviewer found Plutarch's Lives to be incredibly challenging, feeling as though they had forgotten how to read. They struggled with the dense and archaic language, making it difficult to engage with the content.

The reviewer had a tough time with Plutarch's Lives, describing it as a book that made them feel like they had forgotten how to read. The language was dense and archaic, which made it hard to follow and enjoy. They mentioned that the book was not what they expected, and the writing style was a significant barrier to their understanding and appreciation. Overall, the reviewer found the experience frustrating and difficult, highlighting the challenges of reading classical texts without modern translations or annotations.

Quick quotes

    This book made me thought I forgot how to read.

    I struggled with the dense and archaic language.

    The writing style was a significant barrier to my understanding and appreciation.

reddit.com · Unknown · 2025-09-17
insightful 4.50

The reviewer finds Plutarch's Lives to be a valuable resource for understanding ancient leaders, appreciating Plutarch's pragmatic approach and moral insights. They note the influence of Plutarch on later writers and plan to explore different translations.

The reviewer highlights Plutarch's Lives as a significant work that provides deep insights into the lives of ancient Greek and Roman leaders. They appreciate Plutarch's pragmatic and moralistic approach, which offers a unique perspective on history. The reviewer also notes the influence of Plutarch's work on later writers such as Montaigne, Shakespeare, and others. They plan to compare different translations of the text to determine which they prefer. Overall, the reviewer finds the book to be a valuable resource for understanding the virtues and failings of historical figures.

Quick quotes

    Plutarch, one of the great early biographers summarizes the lives of Greek and Roman military and political leaders and compares them to illuminate the virtues and failings of their leadership.

    Most of these characters, leaders, politicians, thinkers in Vol 1 of 'Lives' I've come across in other classical writings, but Plutarch possessed a lot of information that current historians no longer possess, plus his approach is fairly no nonsense and pragmatic.

    I personally need to figure out if I prefer the Dryden translation or the North translation better.

goodreads.com · Unknown · 2025-01-01
valuable 4.50

The reviewer appreciates Plutarch's Lives for its accessible collection of classical literature and its moral lessons, despite some flaws. They find the book valuable for understanding historical figures' complexities and the price of leadership, leaving a melancholy impression.

The reviewer received Plutarch's Lives as a gift and found it a valuable collection of classical literature, particularly for its moral lessons and insights into historical figures. They appreciate the balance between Greek and Roman lives and the focus on character rather than just notable deeds. The book left them with a sense of melancholy about the challenges and costs of leadership. The reviewer also notes that Plutarch's writing, while not always detailed, offers important lessons for current and aspiring leaders, making it relevant even today.

Quick quotes

    Plutarch’s writing looms larger than it would have at the time, when his work was part of a larger context of writings.

    Even though this particular book is aimed at presenting historical heroes in their humanity and complexity, it left this reader at least with a great deal of melancholy feelings about the relationship between challenging times and capable men and the price that is paid for leading others.

    The lessons these figures can help teach are of great interest for present and potential leaders, and it is little wonder that these works in their original and translation were sought after for centuries and why they remain relevant for readers today.

edgeinducedcohesion.blog · Unknown · 2018-12-06
informative 4.00

The reviewer highlights the importance of parallelism in Plutarch's Lives, emphasizing that modern collections often fail to present them as paired biographies. The book under review, Plutarch's Lives: Parallelism and Purpose, is a collection of essays that explore the significance of parallelism in Plutarch's work, offering a variety of perspectives and analyses.

The reviewer notes that most modern readers of Plutarch's Lives are unaware of the importance of parallelism in his biographical purpose. English collections typically organize the Lives by historical era rather than as paired biographies, which diminishes their original intent. The book Plutarch's Lives: Parallelism and Purpose, edited by Noreen Humble, is a collection of papers presented at a conference in 2005. The essays cover a wide range of topics related to parallelism in Plutarch's Lives, from detailed examinations of specific biographies to broader discussions of the theme. The reviewer praises the book's organization and the variety of essays, which include analyses of formal comparisons, internal syncriseis, and the portrayal of historical figures. The book concludes with an essay on the publication of the Lives in Italian Humanist translations, providing a fitting coda to the compilation.

Quick quotes

    The contemporary scholar cannot adequately examine the purpose of even a single Life of Plutarch’s biographies without engaging with the vital role of parallelism.

    Jeffrey Tatum tackles these comparisons as a whole, noting how scholars have traditionally found them perturbing, distracting, and rife with inconsistencies.

    The deficiencies displayed by Rome are particularly ominous.

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