Plutarch (Plutarchos)

Plutarch; Plutarchos, from Girona, 50, after 120 years. n. e., Greek philosopher and biographer. Occurred from a wealthy family living in a small town in Boeotia. In Athens, he studied mathematics, rhetoric and philosophy, the latter mainly in Platonist Ammonius, but also a significant influence on him had Peripat and Standing. In philosophical views were eclectic in philosophy, he was interested in its practical application. In his youth, traveled. He visited Greece, Asia Minor, Egypt, was in Rome, where he met with neopifagoreytsami, and struck up friendships with many prominent people, including Lucius Mestre Floro, a close ally of the Emperor Vespasian, who helped R. obtain Roman citizenship. But soon P. returned in Girona. He faithfully served the city, performing public office. He collected in his home youth, and teach his own sons, has created a kind of "private academy", in which he played the role of mentor and lecturer.

In its fiftieth year of his life became a priest of Apollo at Delphi, he tried to return to the sanctuary and oracle of its former value. - P. was not the original writer. Basically he collected and processed the fact that other, more original writers and thinkers, wrote to him. But in the process P. whole tradition, marked his personality, had a new look and in that form, it shall be determined over many centuries, European thought and literature. Wealth interests P. (mostly they revolve around family life, the life of the Greek city-states, religious issues and issues of friendship) corresponded to a significant number of his works, which persisted in less than half. It is extremely difficult to establish their chronology. Thematically, we can divide them into 2 groups: the first, very diverse, covers created in different periods of essays, mostly philosophical and didactic, uniting them under the title Ethics (Moralia); second form biography. (All names are usually quoted in Latin.) In the Ethics we find some 80 works. The earliest of them are those that are rhetorical in nature, such as praise of Athens, the reasoning of Fortune (g. Tihe) and its role in the life of Alexander of Macedonia or in the history of Rome.

A large group are also popular and philosophical treatises, of which perhaps the most characteristic of the P. is a short essay about a state of mind. In educational purposes other works are designed, containing advice on how one should act in order to be happy and overcome the shortcomings (for example, the excessive curiosity about chatter, about excessive shyness). For the same reasons, II. engaged in matters of love and marriage. In all these works reflect educational interests of AP, it is not surprising that it had raised similar questions also in the works How should a young man listening to poets, How to use lectures, etc.. Thematically, approaching him political essays GP, especially those that contain recommendations for governors and state leaders. To the works on the themes of family life Noah applies konsolyatsiya (that is comforting essay after a heavy loss), addressed to his wife P. Timoksene has lost a single daughter. Along with the most popular works in dialogue form, . included in the ethics and others - the approximate nature of a scientific report, . where P., . Without going deeply into theoretical arguments, . nevertheless brings a multitude of valuable information on the history of philosophy,
. They should classify writings about the teachings of Plato, such as Platonic or questions about the creation of the soul in the "Timaeus, as well as polemical works directed against the Epicureans and Stoics.

P. wrote about the human soul, was interested in psychology, perhaps even the psychology of animals, if the works of wit and wisdom of the animals actually came from his pen. Religious Affairs P. devoted numerous works, among them the so-called "PYTHIAN" dialogues concerning the oracle of Apollo at Delphi. Most interesting in this group seems to work about Isis and Osiris, in which P. himself initiated into the mysteries of Dionysus, outlined a variety of hybrids and allegorical interpretation of the mysteries of Osiris. The interest P. Antiquities to show two pieces: the Greek case (Aitia Hellenika; lats. Quaestiones Graecae) and Roman affairs (Aitia Romaika; lats. Ouaestiones Romanae), which reveals the meaning and origin of various customs of the Greco-Roman world (a lot of space devoted to matters of worship). Composition II. On the face of the lunar disk is different theories about this celestial body, at the end of P. appeals to the theory, adopted by the Academy of Plato (Xenocrates), seeing the moon as home of demons. Predilections P., featured so prominently in his biography, reflected also in the collection lakedemonskih proverb (another collection of famous sayings Apoftegmaty, probably for the most part is not true). Variety of topics open in the form of dialogue such works as the Feast of the Seven Sages or interviews at the feast (9 books).

In Ethics P. included and not authentic works of unknown authors. The most important of them belong: Recovery, . represents one of the main sources of our knowledge of ancient music (Aristoxenus, . Pontian Gerakleid), . and the upbringing of children, . work extremely well known and translated in the Renaissance in many languages,
. But his fame P. Ethics must not, and biographies. In the introduction to the biography of Amelia Paula (Aemilius Paulus) itself P. outlines the purported goal: communion with the great men of antiquity brings educators, if not all biographies are attractive, because a negative example can also be intimidating and influence to draw the path of righteous living. In the biographies of P. be teaching peripatetics (cm. Aristotle), which the ethics of decisive importance attributed to human actions, claiming that every action generates a virtue. P. arranges them according to the scheme Peripatetic biographies, describing in turn the birth, youth, character, career, death of the hero and her circumstances. Wanting to describe the deeds of their heroes, P. he used the available historical material, which treated quite freely, as he thought that writing a biography, not history. His first and foremost interested in the portrait of a man, and to visualize him to submit, P. readily attracted jokes.

Thus born colorful, emotional story, which ensured the success of the author's talent of the narrator, his attraction to the whole human soul and uplifting the moral optimism. However, the biography of P. are represented as of great historical value, because he has repeatedly appealed to inaccessible to us today, sources. Write biographies P. began in his youth. Initially, he turned his attention to famous people Boeotia: Hesiod, Pindar. Epaminondas - and later began to write about other areas of Greece: the Leonid, Aristomeneh, Arate Sikionskom, and even about the Persian king Artaxerxes II. During his stay in Rome II. created biography of the Roman emperors, intended for the Greeks. And only in the later period he wrote his most important work of comparative biography (Bioi paralleloi; lats. Vitae parallelae). These were the biographies of prominent historical figures of Greece and Rome, are associated in pairs. Some of these pairs are composed well, such as the mythical founders of Athens and Rome - Theseus and Romulus, the first legislature - Lycurgus and Numa Pompilius, the greatest leaders - Alexander and Caesar. Other mapped more arbitrary: "Children of happiness" - Timoleon and Aemilius Paul, or a couple, showing the vicissitudes of human destiny - Alcibiades and Coriolanus. After the biographies of P. gave a general characterization, comparison of two images (synkrisis). Only a few pairs of this comparison is not, in particular, Alexander and Caesar.

A total of 23 pairs presented in chronological order. Survived 22 pairs (lost biographies Epaminondas and Scipio) and four individual biographies of an earlier period: Arata Sikionskogo, Artaxerxes II, Galba and Otho. Throughout his life, P. dedicated to social and political activities, and above all - pedagogy. Of all the forces he was trying to show the cultural role of Greece. The end of antiquity and the Byzantine P. enjoyed the greatest fame loud educator and philosopher. During the Renaissance (XV cent.) Discovered the works of P., translated into Latin, once again became the basis of European pedagogy. Most read treatise on the education of children, prior to the XIX century. who was considered authentic.