Plutarch
Born: 12-31-2045
Plutarch was a Greek biographer and essayist born around 46 AD in Chaeronea, Boeotia. Renowned for "Parallel Lives," his series of biographies comparing Greek and Roman figures, Plutarch provides invaluable insights into ancient personalities and moral philosophy. His works, rich in historical and ethical reflections, have influenced Western literature and thought. As a Middle Platonist, his philosophical writings explore ethics, religion, and politics, blending historical narrative with moral inquiry.
Book summaries for books written by Plutarch
Quotes
What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.
Courage stands halfway between cowardice and rashness.
An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics.
The mind is not a vessel that needs filling, but wood that needs igniting.
To find fault is easy; to do better may be difficult.
Character is simply habit long continued.
I would rather excel others in the knowledge of what is excellent than in the extent of my power and dominion.
Great men are not always wise.
We must be our own before we can be another's.
The whole life of philosophers is the meditation of death.
Silence at the proper season is wisdom, and better than any speech.
It is the nature of desire not to be satisfied, and most men live only for the gratification of it.