Lives
John Dryden (1683)
Plutarch's Parallel Lives, written in Greek in the late 1st and early 2nd centuries CE, pair biographies of eminent Greeks and Romans — Alexander with Caesar, Demosthenes with Cicero, and so on — to illuminate the moral character of each. Plutarch is less interested in political history than in the formation of character through decisive action. The work was Shakespeare's chief source for his Roman plays and a steady companion for statesmen from the Renaissance through the American founding.
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Contents
- Theseus
- Romulus
- Comparison of Romulus with Theseus
- Lycurgus
- Numa Pompilius
- Comparison of Numa with Lycurgus
- Solon
- Poplicola
- Comparison of Poplicola with Solon
- Themistocles
- Camillus
- Pericles
- Fabius
- Comparison of Pericles with Fabius
- Alcibiades
- Coriolanus
- Comparison of Alcibiades with Coriolanus
- Timoleon
- Aemilius Paulus
- Comparison of Timoleon with Aemilius Paulus
- Pelopidas
- Marcellus
- Comparision of Pelopidas with Marcellus
- Aristides
- Marcus Cato
- Philopoemen
- Flamininus
- Comparison of Philopoemen with Flamininus
- Pyrrhus
- Caius Marius
- Lysander
- Sylla
- Comparison of Lysander with Sylla
- Cimon
- Lucullus
- Comparison of Lucullus with Cimon
- Nicias
- Crassus
- Comparison of Crassus with Nicias
- Sertorius
- Eumenes
- Comparison of Sertorius with Eumenes
- Agesilaus
- Pompey
- Comparison of Pompey and Agesilaus
- Alexander
- Caesar
- Phocion
- Cato the Younger
- Agis
- Cleomenes
- Tiberius Gracchus
- Caius Gracchus
- Comparison of Tiberius and Caius Gracchus with Agis and Cleomenes
- Demosthenes
- Cicero
- Comparison of Demosthenes and Cicero
- Demetrius
- Antony
- Comparison of Demetrius and Antony
- Dion
- Marcus Brutus
- Comparison of Dion and Brutus
- Aratus
- Artaxerxes
- Galba
- Otho