Benjamin Phillips’s Reviews > Plutarch's Lives: Volume I > Status Update
Benjamin Phillips
is on page 92 of 766
Lycurgus and Numa (The Lawgivers)
Both of these lives are buried in myth. This is a great excuse for P to talk about the institutions whose etiologies are the real claims to fame. This is interesting, but not in the way p usually is.
Numa is clearly the more just and pious. Many of his institutions lived on, but his effect on the Roman character was brief. Lycurgus’ constitution is enduring, but unjust.
— Jun 02, 2026 06:35PM
Both of these lives are buried in myth. This is a great excuse for P to talk about the institutions whose etiologies are the real claims to fame. This is interesting, but not in the way p usually is.
Numa is clearly the more just and pious. Many of his institutions lived on, but his effect on the Roman character was brief. Lycurgus’ constitution is enduring, but unjust.
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Benjamin’s Previous Updates
Benjamin Phillips
is on page 52 of 766
Theseus and Romulus ✔️
Two statesmen who finished poorly.
Theseus reads like a hero trying to be a statesmen: full of gallivanting and Kleos, but he couldn’t settle down. The foundation of Athens showed some prudence and politic spirit, but he ended up being a case study of “feared rather than loved.”
Romulus is a consummate man of piety and action. But he let it get to his head. And there were shenanigans
— Mar 11, 2026 07:02PM
Two statesmen who finished poorly.
Theseus reads like a hero trying to be a statesmen: full of gallivanting and Kleos, but he couldn’t settle down. The foundation of Athens showed some prudence and politic spirit, but he ended up being a case study of “feared rather than loved.”
Romulus is a consummate man of piety and action. But he let it get to his head. And there were shenanigans
Benjamin Phillips
is on page 258 of 766
Starting a habit of reading a pair in-between other books.
Pericles and Fabius ✔️
Two prudent and cautious men. Fabius, however, was the more public-spirited of the two and took the reins of the state in more dire circumstances.
— Feb 28, 2026 10:52AM
Pericles and Fabius ✔️
Two prudent and cautious men. Fabius, however, was the more public-spirited of the two and took the reins of the state in more dire circumstances.
