Plutarch on the Face Which Appears on the Orb of the Moon

by Plutarch, A.O. Prickard (Translation)

From the INTRODUCTORY NOTE.
The opening chapters of the Dialogue being lost, we have no clue to the place where it is supposed to take place, nor to the time - unless one is given by the Eclipse of the Sun mentioned by Lucius in c. 19 - and some points in the actual course of the discussion require a word of explanation. This can be most readily supplied by an enumeration of the speakers, in the order of their appearance, followed by a short analysis of the argument. Where the names are those of real persons living in Plutarch's lifetime, or of those who appear in other dialogues, I assume identity.
PERSONS OF THE DIALOGUE.
1. Sextius Sylla, the Carthaginian, mentioned in the Life of Romulus (c. 15) as "a man wanting neither learning nor ingenuity," who had supplied Plutarch with a piece of archaeological "information. Elsewhere (De cohib. ira. c. 1) he is addressed as
"O most eager Sylla! " In another dialogue he declines to be led into a discussion on all cosmology by answering the question "whether the egg or the bird comes first?" (Quaest conv. ii, 3). He has a story, or myth, to tell about the Moon, which he is impatient to begin. This story, which he had heard from a friend in Carthage, is mainly geographical in interest. The details remind us of those quoted from Pytheas about his journeys to Britain and the Northern Seas. The whole conception of the globe is clearly earlier than that of Ptolemy (see especially as to the Caspian Sea, c. 26). The myth also introduces us to the worship of Cronus as practiced at Carthage, and connects it with the wonders of the Moon, and her place in the heavenly system.
In c. 17 Sylla raises a good point, about the half-moon, which was being passed over.
2. Lamprias, a brother, probably an elder brother, of Plutarch, who directs the course of the conversation, and himself expounds the Academic view, referring to Lucius for his recollections of a recent discussion at which both had been present, when the Stoic doctrines on physics had been criticized.
In some of the Symposiacs and other dialogues Lamprias takes a similar place; in others both brothers take part. Lamprias probably died early, see p. 15.
"Evidently a character, a good trencherman, as became a Boeotian, one who on occasion could dance the Pyrrhic war-dance, who loved well a scoff and a jest .... and who, if he thrust himself somewhat brusquely into discussions which are going forward, was quite able to justify the intrusion." - Archbishop Trench.

Genres: Philosophy

80 pages, Paperback

Published August 23, 2016

About the author

Plutarch (later named, upon becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus; AD 46–AD 120) was a Greek historian, biographer, and essayist, known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia. He is classified as a Middle Platonist. Plutarch's surviving works were written in Greek, but intended for both Greek and Roman readers.

Reviews

[Erick · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting dialogue. It includes both Plutarch's physics and metaphysics relating to the moon. The last section of this dialogue was the most interesting, and was also the metaphysical portion of the work. The similarities of Plutarch's myth of Chronus' island to Bacon's New Atlantis is something that is worth investigating further.
This book also includes Cicero's Dream Of Scipio, which I skipped here since I already read it recently. It is a notable philosophical work that originally was a part of his Republic. I plan on reading it again as part of Macrobius' commentary.

[Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

The eclipse described by Plutarch seems to me to be the one which occurred near Carthage in the year 75 CE. In addition, the account of the man from Quisqueya is absolutely fascinating, and has affected my entire view of world history.