Parallel Lives - Biographies

Biographies

Plutarch structured his Lives by alternating lives of famous Greeks ("Grecians") with those of famous Romans. After such a set of two (and one set of four) lives he generally writes out a comparison of the preceding biographies.

The table below links to several on-line English translations of Plutarch's Lives; see also "Other links" section below. The LacusCurtius site has the complete set; the others are incomplete to varying extents. There are also four paperbacks published by Penguin Books, two with Greek lives, two Roman, rearranged in chronological order, and containing a total of 36 of the lives.

Read more about this topic:  Parallel Lives

Famous quotes containing the word biographies:

    Why I love the ancients so much? Aside from everything else, when I read them, the entire past between them and me unfolds at the same time. The hearts of how many heroes and poets may have been set on fire by Plutarch’s biographies which now inspire me with their own and with borrowed flames!
    Franz Grillparzer (1791–1872)

    ‘Tis the gift to be simple ‘tis the gift to be free
    ‘Tis the gift to come down where you ought to be
    And when we find ourselves in the place just right
    ‘Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
    —Unknown. ‘Tis the Gift to Be Simple.

    AH. American Hymns Old and New, Vols. I–II. Vol. I, with music; Vol. II, notes on the hymns and biographies of the authors and composers. Albert Christ-Janer, Charles W. Hughes, and Carleton Sprague Smith, eds. (1980)