Plutarch's Lives, Volume 4 (of 4)
- Language:
- English
- Status:
- Complete work
- Authorship:
- Written by the author
- Condition of the text:
- Clean text
- Extent:
- ~290,000 words · 1,386 passages
Cite this work
- APAPlutarch. (n.d.). Plutarch's Lives, Volume 4 (of 4). SigPhi. https://sigphiai.com/en/works/plutarch/plutarch-s-lives-volume-4-of-4
- MLAPlutarch. "Plutarch's Lives, Volume 4 (of 4)." SigPhi, https://sigphiai.com/en/works/plutarch/plutarch-s-lives-volume-4-of-4.
- ChicagoPlutarch. Plutarch's Lives, Volume 4 (of 4). SigPhi. https://sigphiai.com/en/works/plutarch/plutarch-s-lives-volume-4-of-4.
What it is about
The fourth and last volume of a four-volume edition of the Parallel Lives.
Context and history
As with the other volumes of this edition: the catalogue holds TWO different presentations of the Lives — this one and another in a single volume — and they are not different works. The division into four is the publisher's. Plutarch wrote independent pairs, each with its closing comparison, which is why the reference that works everywhere is the subject's name and the chapter, not the page or the volume.
Editorial context, not a citable source: unlike the passages of the work itself, these statements cannot be checked against the corpus.
I. Many writers have very naturally conceived that the myth of Ixion, who is fabled to have embraced a cloud instead of Hera, and so to have begotten the centaurs, is really typical of ambitious men; for, although they aim at obtaining glory, and set before themselves a lofty ideal of virtue, yet they never succeed in producing any very distinct result, because all their actions are coloured by various human passions and prejudices, just as the herdsmen with their flocks say in Sophokles's play:--"We needs must serve them, though their lords we be, And to their mute commands obedience pay." These verses really represent the state of those who, in order to obtain the empty title of statesmen and popular leaders, govern a country by following the caprices and impulses of the people. Just as the men stationed in the bows of a ship see what is coming before the steersmen, but yet look up to them as their chiefs and execute their orders; so they who govern with a view solely to their own popularity, although they may be called rulers, are, in truth, nothing more than slaves of the people. II. An absolutely perfect man would not even wish for popularity, except so far as it enabled him to take part in politics, and caused him to be trusted by the people; yet a young and ambitious man must be excused if he feels pride in the glory and reputation which he gains by brilliant exploits. For, as Theophrastus says, the virtue which buds and sprouts in youthful minds is confirmed by praise, and the high spirit thus formed leads it to attempt greater things. On the other hand, an excessive love of praise is dangerous in all cases, but, in statesmen, utterly ruinous; for when it takes hold of men in the possession of great power it drives them to commit acts of sheer madness, because they forget that honourable conduct must increase their popularity, and think that any measure that increases their popularity must necessarily be a
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