Moralia: Volume XIII

by Plutarch, Harold Cherniss (Translator)

Plutarch (Plutarchus), ca. 45-120 CE, was born at Chaeronea in Boeotia in central Greece, studied philosophy at Athens, and, after coming to Rome as a teacher in philosophy, was given consular rank by the emperor Trajan and a procuratorship in Greece by Hadrian. He was married and the father of one daughter and four sons. He appears as a man of kindly character and independent thought, studious and learned.

Plutarch wrote on many subjects. Most popular have always been the 46 "Parallel Lives," biographies planned to be ethical examples in pairs (in each pair, one Greek figure and one similar Roman), though the last four lives are single. All are invaluable sources of our knowledge of the lives and characters of Greek and Roman statesmen, soldiers and orators. Plutarch's many other varied extant works, about 60 in number, are known as "Moralia" or Moral Essays. They are of high literary value, besides being of great use to people interested in philosophy, ethics and religion.

The Loeb Classical Library edition of the "Moralia" is in fifteen volumes, volume XIII having two parts.

Table of contents

Title Page i

preface vii
traditional order of the moralia xxiii
platonic questions 1
on the generation of the soul in the timaeus 131
epitome of “on the generation of the soul in the timaeus” 347

400 pages, hardback

Published January 1, 1976

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 5 out of 5]

Plutarch is generally known for his Parallel Lives, but he was also a Platonist philosopher who contributed some of the few complete works of Middle Platonism that we still have extant. While Plutarch may not always be the most innovative or consistent, I found this collection of essays incredibly engaging. The first essay simply deals with Platonic problems; and the second explores the Timaeus and it's discussion of psyche.
The editor/translator is not afraid to mention Plutarch's errors and inconsistencies in the running commentary/footnotes. Going back and forth between both is a bit tiresome; so I would probably suggest reading the actual work once through and then reading the editor's footnotes. I think the editor, as many have done, attributes to Plato more consistency than he actually had. Not that I take the Straussian view that Plato never voiced his own views in his dialogues, but I do think he may have voiced disparate views by his various interlocutors. In some cases, Plato may have changed views, and in others, he may have been undecided and simply provided various opinions on a given subject. Later interpreters and expositors probably made choices between these disparate views and accepted them as Plato's.
I do highly recommend this book for those interested in Platonism and it's historical development. Loeb, I do believe, has the only translation of this work of Plutarch's, which includes the Greek with the English. While copies still are available, it might be advisable to procure one for those interested.

[Alexander Rolfe · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is, to me, the least interesting volume of his essays. The ten Platonic Questions were hit or miss, and the rest of the book-- On the Generation of the Soul in the Timaeus-- was mostly abstract, technical, and involved tossing a lot of numbers back and forth. Some of the cosmology was interesting; the best parts reminded me of the Silmarillion.

I guess I'm just not interested enough in Plato's Timaeus. Plutarch suffers from a hostile editor in this volume, who quotes with disgust another scholar's claim that "Plutarch fathomed the thought of Plato better than did Plato's immediate disciples." I don't know enough to judge that, but I will say this: what never made sense to me in Plato before, made much better sense coming from Plutarch. I never knew why Plato seemed to think that studying math was the way to compose your soul and be morally perfect. Plutarch doesn't say it is, but his commentary helps me understand why Plato thought so. (Plutarch was nowhere near the wingnut Plato was.)

[شمس]

This volume contains the following essays:
• Platonic Questions
• On the Generation of the Soul in the Timaeus
• Epitome of “On the Generation of the Soul in the Timaeus"
__________
This will likely only be of interest to anyone with an interest in Ancient Commentaries on Plato.

[John Cairns · Rating 3 out of 5]

I couldn't get into it. The thinking lacks credibility although maths might well describe the material universe of which the soul is the final shape to the mind. There's more scholarly notes than text and the toing and froing from one to the other let meaning fall through the gaps in so far as it was meaningful, not very. I kept thinking of Sextus Empiricus saying Plato was a liar.