Plutarch

Gebundenes Buch

Plutarch's Lives

Vol. II - The Translation Called Dryden's Corrected from the Greek and Revised in Five Volumes

Herausgeber: Clough, A H / Übersetzer: Dryden, John

Beschreibung

When the Greek historian PLUTARCH (c. 46 A.D.-120 A.D.) set out to tell the tales of the famous figures from Greek and Roman history, he was more concerned with illuminating their characters than enumerating their deeds, more interested in exploring their moral failings and triumphs than in listing their conquests. The result: Plutarch's Lives. Though Plutarch is known to have taken some liberties with his Lives-his comparisons of certain Greek and Roman figures are often more fanciful than strictly accurate-his words are, in many instances, the only sources of information that have survived for some personages. And in the aggregate, his radical approach to biography exerted a profound influence on the literature to come, particularly throughout the Renaissance and Enlightenment. Shakespeare lifted some passages verbatim from the Lives, and other writers inspired by Plutarch range from James Boswell to Alexander Hamilton to Cotton Mather. Ralph Waldo Emerson called the Lives a "bible for heroes." Across the five volumes, Plutarch explores the stories of such notables as: Romulus ¿ Pericles ¿ Coriolanus ¿ Pyrrhus Lysander ¿ Pompey ¿ Alexander Caesar ¿ Cicero ¿ Antony and others. Cosimo is proud to present these handsome new editions, based on the classic 17th-century translations by English poet and playwright JOHN DRYDEN (1631-1700), and revised and edited in the 19th century by Oxford scholar ARTHUR HUGH CLOUGH (1819-1861).

Autor

Plutarch (c. AD 46 - c. 120), later named, upon becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus, was a Greek biographer and essayist, known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia. Plutarch was born to a prominent family in the small town of Chaeronea, about 80 kilometres (50 mi) east of Delphi, in the Greek region of Boeotia. Plutarch studied mathematics and philosophy at the Academy of Athens under Ammonius. Plutarch lived most of his life at Chaeronea, and was initiated into the mysteries of the Greek god Apollo. For many years Plutarch served as one of the two priests at the temple of Apollo at Delphi, the site of the famous Delphic Oracle, twenty miles from his home. He probably took part in the Eleusinian Mysteries. By his writings and lectures Plutarch became a celebrity in the Roman Empire, yet he continued to reside where he was born, and actively participated in local affairs, even serving as mayor. At his country estate, guests from all over the empire congregated for serious conversation, presided over by Plutarch in his marble chair. Plutarch was also a magistrate at Chaeronea and he represented his home town on various missions to foreign countries during his early adult years. Plutarch held the office of archon in his native municipality, probably only an annual one which he likely served more than once. He busied himself with all the little matters of the town and undertook the humblest of duties.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Cosimo
• Seitenzahl: 444
• Erscheinungstermin: 1. Januar 2013
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 222mm x 145mm x 30mm
• Gewicht: 767g
• ISBN-13: 9781605202679
• ISBN-10: 1605202673
• Artikelnr.: 26195772