Plutarch - Greek & Roman Lives / Essays (12 books)

PLUTARCH of Chaeronea (ca. 45 - 120 CE) was a classical Greek historian, biographer, philosopher, and essayist.

Plutarch's works divide into historical-biographical and philosophical. The former, the so-called LIVES (Bioi) of distinguished Greek and Roman statesmen and military leaders, demonstrate Plutarch's historical and rhetorical abilities, and show his interest in character formation and politics. Plutarch was not concerned with history so much as the influence of character, good or bad, on the lives and destinies of men, and the Lives are arranged in pairs to illuminate their common moral virtues and vices. He sought to provide rounded portraits, likening his craft to that of a painter, and went to tremendous lengths (often leading to tenuous comparisons) to draw parallels between physical appearance and moral character.

Plutarch's philosophical works, many of them dialogues, cover half of his literary output. In modern times they have been published under the collective term "Moralia", or "Ethical Essays", mostly in dialogue format. Despite the name, many of these essays are not limited to ethical subjects but devoted to a broad range of philosophical topics, including metaphysics, psychology, natural philosophy, theology, logic, and the philosophy of art.


The following books are in ePUB + MOBI format unless otherwise noted:

* ADVICE TO THE BRIDE & GROOM / A CONSOLATION TO HIS WIFE: English Translations, Commentary, Interpretive Essays and Bibliography (Oxford University Press, 1999). Edited by Sarah B. Pomeroy. -- PDF

* THE AGE OF ALEXANDER (Penguin Classics, 2012). Revised edition. Translated by Ian Scott-Kilvert and Timothy E. Duff, with Introductions and Notes by Timothy E. Duff.

* ESSAYS (Penguin Classics, 1992). Translated by Robin Waterfield.

* FALL OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC (Penguin Classics, 2005). Revised edition. Translated with Introduction and Notes by Rex Warner; revised with translations of Comparisons and a Preface by Robin Seager.

* GREEK LIVES (Oxford World's Classics, 1998). Translated by Robin Waterfield with Introductions and Notes by Philip A. Stadter.

* THE LIVES OF THE NOBLE GRECIANS AND ROMANS: The Dryden Translation (Modern Library, 1992). 2 volumes. Edited and revised by Arthur Hugh Clough.

* THE MAKERS OF ROME: Nine Lives (Penguin Classics, 1965). Translated with an Introduction by Ian Scott-Kilvert.

* ON SPARTA (Penguin Classics, 2005). Revised edition. Translated with Introduction and Notes by Richard J. A. Talbert, with "Life of Agesilaus" translated by Ian Scott-Kilvert and Richard J. A. Talbert.

* THE RISE AND FALL OF ATHENS: Nine Greek Lives (Penguin Classics, 1960). Translated with an Introduction by Ian Scott-Kilvert.

* ROMAN LIVES: A Selection of Eight Roman Lives (Oxford World's Classics, 1998). Translated by Robin Waterfield with Introductions and Notes by Philip A. Stadter.

* ROME IN CRISIS: Nine Lives (Penguin Classics, 2010). Translated by Ian Scott-Kilvert and Christopher Pelling, with Introduction and Notes by Christopher Pelling.