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Plutarch's Lives Volume 1 (Modern Library Classics) (Paperback)

~ (Author), (Editor), John Dryden (Translator), James Atlas (Introduction) "As geographers, Sosius, crowd into the edges of their maps parts of the world which they do not know about, adding notes in the margin..." (more)
Key Phrases: chosen consul, ten furlongs, hundred galleys, Fabius Maximus, Scipio Africanus, Caius Marius (more...)
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  • This item: Plutarch's Lives Volume 1 (Modern Library Classics) by Arthur Hugh Clough

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Product Details

  • Paperback: 816 pages
  • Publisher: Modern Library; Modern Library Paperback edition (April 10, 2001)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0375756760
  • ISBN-13: 978-0375756764
  • Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.1 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #57,093 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Arthur Hugh Clough
Arthur Hugh Clough
Plutarch
Plutarch

Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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First Sentence:
As geographers, Sosius, crowd into the edges of their maps parts of the world which they do not know about, adding notes in the margin to the effect, that beyond this lies nothing but sandy deserts full of wild beasts, unapproachable bogs, Scythian ice, or a frozen sea, so in this work of mine, in which I have compared the lives of the greatest men with another, after passing through those periods which probable reasoning can reach to and real history find a footing in, I might very well say of those that are farther off: "Beyond this there is nothing but prodigies and fictions, the only inhabitants are the poets and inventors of fables; there is no credit, or certainty any farther." Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
chosen consul, ten furlongs, hundred galleys, first consulship, hundred drachmas, following occasion, other consul
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Fabius Maximus, Scipio Africanus, Caius Marius, Heraclides Ponticus, Numa Pompilius, Jupiter Feretrius, Goat's Marsh, King of Numidia, Manius Curius, Social War, Valerius Flaccus, Circus Maximus, Demetrius the Phalerian, Jupiter Olympius, King of Armenia, Lucius Lucullus, Scipio the Great, Titus Flaminius, Adriatic Sea, Alexander the Great, Ancus Marcius, Antiochus the Great, Appius Claudius, Atlantic Island, Aventine Mount
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Plutarch's Lives Volume 1 (Modern Library Classics)
86% buy the item featured on this page:
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Plutarch's Lives, Volume 2 (Modern Library Classics) 4.7 out of 5 stars (9)
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Livy: The Early History of Rome, Books I-V (Penguin Classics) (Bks. 1-5)
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Livy: The Early History of Rome, Books I-V (Penguin Classics) (Bks. 1-5) 4.4 out of 5 stars (37)
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54 of 56 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Timeless Classic By One Of The Best Biographers In History, August 9, 2005
Plutarch in his "Lives Of The Noble Grecians And Romans" written around 100 C.E., sheds new light on Greek and Roman history from their Bronze Age beginnings, shrouded in myth, down through Alexander and late Republican Rome. Plutarch is the lens that we use today to view the Greco-Roman past; his work has shaped our perceptions of that world for 2,000 years. Plutarch writes of the rise of Roman Empire while Gibbon uses his scholarship to advance the story to write about its decline. He was a proud Greek that was equally effected by Roman culture, a Delphic priest, a leading Platonist, a moralist, educator and philosopher with a deep commitment as a first rate writer. Being a Roman citizen, Plutarch was afforded the opportunity to become an intimate friend to prominent Roman citizens and a member of the literary elite in the court of Emperor Trajan.

Plutarch's influence and enormous popularity during and after the Renaissance is legendary among classicist. Plutarch's "Lives", served as the sourcebook for Shakespeare's Roman Plays "Julius Caesar", "Antony and Cleopatra" and "Coriolanus". By the way Plutarch is even the only contemporary source of all the biographical information on Cleopatra, whom he writes about in his biographies of Julius Caesar, Mark Antony and Octavian. Thomas Jefferson wrote to his nephew that there were three books every gentleman had to have familiarity with; Plutarch's "Lives", Livy's "History of Rome" and Virgil's Aeneid. In fact all the founding fathers of note had read Plutarch and learned much from his fifty biographies of noble men of Greece and Rome. When Hamilton, Jay and Madison write "The Federalist Papers" they use many examples of good and bad leadership traits that they read in Plutarch's work. His biographies are a great study in human character and what motivates leaders to decide and act the way they do, this masterpiece has proven to be still prescient today.

If you are truly interested in a classical education, put this book on the top of your list! I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in political philosophy, and history.
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67 of 71 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Get this edition., September 28, 2002
By A Customer
Plutarch's history isn't always the most accurate -- he clashes with Arrian and Quintus Curtius on Alexander, for example -- but it sure is a lot of fun...Plutarch weaves in lots of interesting little anecdotes and his narrative arcs are always complete without being too long. It's also great for leisurely reading; there are so many Lives, you can pick one up on any rainy afternoon, long car drive, or what have you, and don't even need to know a whole lot of context to get the gist of what's going on. For fans of history and biography, or just stories in general, this is as good as it gets.

I recommend the Modern Library edition because it's complete (with the two volumes, that is) and because the Dryden translation is very colorful even though it's old-school -- you're bound to pick up a lot of cool vocabulary. Also, don't quite know how to put it, but his translation just seems more...classic. It fits, get it.

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53 of 58 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Invaluable source and historical document., May 6, 2003
By Robert J. Crawford (Balmette Talloires, France) - See all my reviews
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After having read McCullogh's splendid series on Rome, I turned to this fat, dense book with great expectations. I was not disappointed: the stories are endlessly fascinating, from their basic details on ancient history to the bizarre asides that reveal the pre-Christianised mind-set of the author.

Like all great books, this one can be read on innumerable levels. First, there is the moralising philosophy that is perhaps the principal purpose of the author to advance - each life holds lessons on proper conduct of great and notorious leaders alike. You get Caesar, Perikles, and Alcibiades, and scores of others who are compared and contrasted. Second, there is the content. Plutarch is an invaluable source of data for historians and the curious. Third, there is the reflection of religious and other beliefs of the 1C AD: oracles and omens are respected as are the classical gods. For example, while in Greece, Sulla is reported as having found a satyr, which he attempted unsuccesfully to question for its auguring abilities during his miltary campaign in Greece! It is a wonderful window into the mystery of life and human belief systems. That being said, Plutarch is skeptical of these occurances and both questions their relevance and shows how some shrewd leaders, like Sertorious with his white fawn in Spain, used them to great advantage.

Finally, this is a document that was used for nearly 2000 years in schools as a vital part of classical education - the well-bred person knew all these personalities and stories, which intimately informed their vocabulary and literary references until the beginning of the 20C. That in itself is a wonderful view into what was on people's minds and how they conceived things over the ages. As is well known, Plutarch is the principal source of many of Shakespeare's plays, such as Coriolanus and Julius Caesar. But it was also the source of the now obscure fascination with the rivalry of Marius and Sulla, as depicted in paintings and poetry that we still easily encounter if we are at all interested in art. Thus, this is essential reading for aspiring pedants (like me).

Of course, there are plenty of flaws in the work. It assumes an understanding of much historical detail, and the cases in which I lacked it hugely lessened my enjoyment. At over 320 years old, the translation is also dated and the prose somewhat stilted, and so it took me 300 pages to get used to it. Moreover, strictly speaking, there are many inaccuracies, of which the reader must beware.

Warmly recommended as a great and frequently entertaining historical document.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Some suggestions about reading one of the treasures of Western Civilization.
Plutarch's Parallel Lives of the Noble Greek and Romans is one of the central works in the Western literary and philosophical tradition. Read more
Published 2 months ago by greg taylor

4.0 out of 5 stars great collection of lives
This is a great collection of ancient biographies, written by Plutarch, who was really artist in the field of the literature. Read more
Published 4 months ago by mjare

5.0 out of 5 stars history
I am a great fan of ancient history studies, and found this presentation of a classic to be quite satisfying. Read more
Published 4 months ago by John Anthony Mosby

4.0 out of 5 stars Dryden, Clough and Others
First off, let me clarify that what follows is a review of a particular edition of Plutarch's Lives, the current (2001) edition from Modern Library Classics. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Mark D. Dietz

5.0 out of 5 stars An Overlooked Classic
This is one of the most incredible pieces of literature in human history, yet is one of the most often overlooked. Read more
Published on March 9, 2005 by Hutch

5.0 out of 5 stars A book every man should read
Plutarchs historic portrayals of the lives of the gretest men in BCE western history, is truly inspiring. Read more
Published on November 12, 2003 by Wyatt Watkins

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