Plutarchus

, a native of Chærone a, descended of a respectable family. His father, whose name is unknown, was distinguished for his learning and virtue, and his grandfather, called Lamprias, was also as conspicuous for his eloquence and the fecundity of his genius. Under Ammonius, a reputable teacher at Delphi, Plutarch was made acquainted with philosophy and mathematics, and so well established was his character, that he was appointed by his countrymen, while yet very young, to go to the Roman proconsul, in their name, upon an affair of the most important nature. This commi ion he executed with honour to himself, and with succe for his country. He afterwards travelled in quest of knowledge, and after he had visited, like a philosopher and an historian, the territories of Egypt and Greece, he retired to Rome, where he opened a school. His reputation made his school frequented. The emperor Trajan admired his abilities, and honoured him with the office of consul, and appointed him governor of Illyricum. After the death of his imperial benefactor, Plutarch removed from Rome to Chærone a, where he lived in the greatest tranquillity, respected by his fellow-citizens, and raised to all the honours which his native town could bestow. In this peaceful and solitary retreat, Plutarch closely applied himself to study, and wrote the greatest part of his works, and particularly his Lives. He died in an advanced age at Chærone a, about the 140th year of the christian era. Plutarch had five children by his wife, called Timoxena, four sons and one daughter. Two of the sons and the daughter died when young, and those that survived were called Plutarch and Lamprias, and the latter did honour to his father’s memory, by giving to the world an ♦ accurate catalogue of his writings. In his private and public character, the historian of Chærone a was the friend of discipline. He boldly a erted the natural right of mankind, liberty; but he recommended obedience and submi ive deference to magistrates, as nece ary to preserve the peace of society. He supported that the most violent and dangerous public factions arose too often from private disputes and from misunderstanding. To render himself more intelligent, he always carried a commonplace book with him, and he preserved with the greatest care whatever judicious observations fell in the course of conversation. The most esteemed of his works are his lives of illustrious men, of whom he examines and delineates the different characters with wonderful skill and impartiality. He neither misrepresents the virtues, nor hides the foibles of his heroes. He writes with precision and with fidelity, and though his diction is neither pure nor elegant, yet there is energy and animation, and in many descriptions he is inferior to no historian. In some of his narrations, however, he is often too circumstantial, his remarks are often injudicious; and when he compares the heroes of Greece with those of Rome, the candid reader can easily remember which side of the Adriatic gave the historian birth. Some have accused him of not knowing the genealogy of his heroes, and have censured him for his superstition; yet for all this, he is the most entertaining, the most instructive, and interesting of all the writers of ancient history; and were a man of true taste and judgment asked what book he wished to save from destruction, of all the profane compositions of antiquity, he would perhaps without hesitation reply, the Lives of Plutarch. In his moral treatises, Plutarch appears in a different character, and his misguided philosophy and erroneous doctrines render some of these inferior compositions puerile and disgusting. They, however, contain many useful le ons and curious facts, and though they are composed without connection, compiled without judgment, and often abound with improbable stories and false reasonings, yet they contain much information and many useful reflections. The best editions of Plutarch are that of Franc fort, 2  vols. , folio, 1599; that of Stephens, 6  vols. , 8vo, 1572; the Lives by Reiske, 12  vols. , 8vo, Lipscomb. 1775; and the Moralia, . , by Wyttenbach. Plutarch. ――A native of Eretria, during the Peloponnesian war. He was defeated by the Maced on i ans. Plutarch , Phocion . ♦ ‘a curate’ replaced with ‘accurate’