Book Description
Plutarch's Lives, written at the beginning of the second century A.D., is a brilliant social history of the ancient world by one of the greatest biographers and moralists of all time. In what is by far his most famous and influential work, Plutarch reveals the character and personality of his subjects and how they led ultimately to tragedy or victory. Richly anecdotal and full of detail, Volume I contains profiles and comparisons of Romulus and Theseus, Numa and Lycurgus, Fabius and Pericles, and many more powerful figures of ancient Greece and Rome.
The present translation, originally published in 1683 in conjunction with a life of Plutarch by John Dryden, was revised in 1864 by the poet and scholar Arthur Hugh Clough, whose notes and preface are also included in this edition.
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Plutarch's ""Parallel Lives"," written at the beginning of the second century A.D., form a brilliant social history of the ancient world. They were originally presented in a series of books that gave an account of one Greek and one Roman life, followed by a comparison of the two: Theseus and Romulus, Alicbiades and Coriolanus, Demosthenes and Cicero, Demetrius and Antony. Plutarch was interested in the personalities of his subjects and on the way their characters molded their actions, leading them to tragedy or victory.
Customer Reviews:
For the ages' tooth.......2006-03-04
Twain's pejorative definition of `classic' need not apply. I define classic as that (text) which speaks to the heart over an extended duration - perhaps for several generations, as in `classic rock', or several millennia, as in Plutarch's "Lives". I probably never would have read Plutarch, were it not for a glorious discovery of Montaigne in mid-life. Having acquired enough distaste for the copious demands required to master classical languages after five years of Latin in secondary school, I made an arbitrary and direly misguided vow to eschew all Classics courses at the university level. And thus again is revealed the fateful difference between post-modern (post-1945), and the modern (c. 1500 - August 5, 1945) pedagogy, of which I unwittingly, if serendipitously, caught the tail end. The modern cannon required thorough immersion in the classics, and, for many years, Plutarch was required reading in the best schools, and should be even now. The author of the Shakespearian plays came to Plutarch by way of Montaigne (and likely read the Amyot translation, and only later the North, if at all), and the English schools came to Plutarch by way of Shakespeare. We might say that the revival of Plutarch was one of the most far reaching achievements of the Northern Renaissance.
At one point in his celebrated chronicle of the self, Montaigne (as a shaper and bona fide member of that cannon, guardian of some of what is best in our cultural inheritance) amusedly reveals that, when his critics believe they are attacking his work, they are actually attacking Plutarch and/or Seneca, so profound is their presence in his writing, and, in his "Defense of Plutarch and Seneca", he declares that . . . "my book [is] built up purely from their spoils".
And what a book it is! But Plutarch's magnum (see the 14 volumes of the Loeb Classical Library for his other works), is the greater. Montaigne is one of the great students of the self. Plutarch is the first (and may yet still be the definitive) historian of virtue. Montaigne, in scrutiny of his own nature, seeks to recognize the limitations and potentials of the self, and thereby sketch our general spiritual contours. Plutarch, in an unparalleled series of real life, historically and culturally pivotal, examples, shows us what they are.
The book records in the most remarkably intimate style (Plutarch has few peers as a master of narrative and an uncanny ability to ferret out of detail the significance of individual actions as a unified whole), the major events in the lives of the most impacting figures of the ancient world. Therefore, like the best novels, the book forms a world in itself, a lost world, the world of our ancestors, through a landscape drawn of actions and consequences. The structure of the book is such that an account of the seminal moments in the life of a noble Greek and then of a noble Roman are brought forth in pairs, followed by a comparison. In some sections of the work these comparisons are absent. They appear at some point in antiquity to have either been lost to or removed from the text, which would seem to explain why, for instance, there is no comparison of Alexander and Caesar. But the comparisons are brilliant, and eminently instructive.
Of course, from the details alone, we may draw our own inferences. Alexander, as a mere teen, leading his troops in hand-to-hand combat, won his first battle fighting uphill at night. Caesar, a heavy drinker, was wont to ride horseback at full tilt with his hands clenched behind his back. He had a life-long passion for Cato's sister and it is said that from their relationship, which continued through their respective marriages, Brutus was born. Et tu? Of course, one cannot fail to mention, even in this briefest review of the abundantly rich description in the nearly 1,300 pages which comprise the book, the death of Cato the Younger - one of the most exquisitely drawn figures in the book. Hunted down with the remnants of his troops into the wastelands of Carthage by the army of Octavius Ceasar in an effort to snuff out the last vestiges of republican resistance and opposition to Empire, realizing that the last realistic hope for freedom is lost, Cato attempts ritual suicide (a Stoic custom common to Roman nobility) by disembowelment. As Plutarch describes the scene, ". . . he did not immediately die of the wound; but struggling, fell off the bed, and throwing down a little mathematical table that stood by, made such a noise that the servants, hearing it, cried out. And immediately his son and all his friends came into the chamber, where, seeing him lie weltering in his own blood, great part of his bowels out of his body, but himself still alive and able to look at them, they all stood in horror. The physician went to him, and would have put in his bowels, which were not pierced, and sewed up the wound; but Cato, recovering himself, and understanding the intention, thrust away the physician, plucked out his own bowels, and tearing open the wound, immediately expired." In Seneca's words: "For Cato could not outlive freedom, nor would freedom outlive Cato."
However, the life most appropriate for the contemporary reader, I feel (and wish that every member of the shadowy corporate/military junta that seems to be ruling us these days would read and take to heart) is the life of Crassus. Crassus was the most successful businessman in the history of the Roman Empire. Plutarch relates that at one time he owned virtually one-third of the real estate in Rome. However, such mind-boggling success was not enough for him. His yen, and later, obsession, was to be revered as a great military leader, a world conqueror, expand the domain of the already burgeoning Empire, and the object of his fantasies was the area of the world at that time known as Mesopotamia and Persia, today as Iraq and Iran. We follow as he makes extensive preparations, investing his own fortune and a great deal of the nation's wealth into outfitting an army for the venture. And at first, the invasion of Mesopotamia seems to go well. But the centers of population are spread out over great stretches of desert, and the occupation never really succeeds, because a central authority cannot be solidly established. Crassus, however, remains undaunted, even though the troops are becoming mutinous as supplies begin to run thin. Led on by treacherous advisors, he enters Parthia (somewhere in the vicinity of modern day Syria). Plutarch describes the grueling denouement with his usual detachment, aplomb, and gifted eye for pertinent detail. Having lost the greatest fortune in the world, he proceeds to lose his troops, then his sons, and finally his life. These lessons are never too late for the learning, and my apologies to Twain, but a classic is a text which retains its urgency to be read, and read now.
I read the Dryden/Clough translation. Dryden was never my favorite writer of his period, the late 17th century - hardly a match for Burton or Milton, in my opinion, but he was poet laureate, and this work I love - his English is fine, and resonates with classic dignity. Clough, the mid-nineteenth century British scholar who revised the translation, befriended Emerson when he traveled to England, and became a sort of mentor to the New England Transcendentalists in general. We can be grateful for such a wonderful rendering for one of the very greatest and edifying masterpieces.
A must read for lovers of ancient History.......2005-08-24
A most concise volume of all the most important people of the Roman Empire.
A classic of character contrast .......2005-01-24
Plutarch's parallel lives, parallels the life of a great Greek with a great Roman. Theseus and Romulus, Demosthenes and Cicero, Alexander and Ceasar. There are forty- six such pairs which tell not only the story of the individuals but of their society . Plutarch brings to bear his tremendous learning from a wide variety of sources . Plutarch's first interest is in the character of the people he writes about, and the moral lessons he can draw from comparison of the lives. His work has had great influence and provided inspiration and material to Shakespeare, Montaigne, Browning and others. The reading of the work is not always easy, and there are strange and questionably credible tales and details but the work is humanly alive. The reading and studying of it was once considered a basic part of true humanistic education, and not the confine of a few scholars in the classic departments of universities. It once had broad reader appeal and anyone with a keen interest in biography, and the subject of how lives have been lived in worlds far from our own, would do well if not to read this work cover- to- cover than at very least have a good read in it.
essential reference.......2003-05-26
I have now plowed through the second and final volume of this series, and though my energy began to flag, I still think this is one of the great classics of all time. Though not exactly chronological, the stories in this volume tend to occur later than in the first volume and are often longer, which is understandable given that Julius Caesar and Alex the Great are covered in this volume. THe stories are also more intricately interwoven - you get lives that overlap, such as those of Brutus and Caesar, with slightly different takes and details in each one. The upshot of all this is that the serious reader will need to keep this around as a reference, going over the text again when some question of detail comes up or to refresh one's point of view. Plutarch's take on things is very different from that of many authors: he is a pro-aristocrat conservative and admiring of martial prowess, yet pro-Republican. Once again, the reader really needs to know the historical context before undertaking this. It is not at all introductory.
Warmly recommended. Though it takes real effort at times to continue, it is well worth the slog.
very interesting book, but............2001-08-14
Although it's a very good translation, I prefer to read the books of Plutarchos in the original Greek texts because the version of Dryden is now somewhat obsolete. And if you don't understand the ancient Greek language well, I recommend you to read several volumes of Plutarch in THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY.
Product Description
Each volume contains three full page, black & white illustrations.
Product Description
Plutarch's ""Parallel Lives"," written at the beginning of the second century A.D., form a brilliant social history of the ancient world. They were originally presented in a series of books that gave an account of one Greek and one Roman life, followed by a comparison of the two: Theseus and Romulus, Alicbiades and Coriolanus, Demosthenes and Cicero, Demetrius and Antony. Plutarch was interested in the personalities of his subjects and on the way their characters molded their actions, leading them to tragedy or victory.
Plutarch's Lives, written at the beginning of the second century A.D., is a brilliant social history of the ancient world by one of the greatest biographers and moralists of all time. In what is by far his most famous and influential work, Plutarch reveals the character and personality of his subjects and how they led ultimately to tragedy or victory. Richly anecdotal and full of detail.
This Edition was issued in very limited number with stunning illustrations and a very comprehensive translation. Wonderful library, presentation edition.
Book Description
September 11, 2001, did not represent the first aerial assault against the American mainland. The first came on July 17,1996, with the downing of TWA Flight 800. This book looks in detail at what people saw and heard on this fateful night.
First Strike explains how a determined corps of ordinary citizens worked to reveal the compromise and corruption that tainted the federal investigation. With an impressive array of facts, Jack Cashill and James Sanders show the relationship between events in July 1996 and September 2001 and proclaim how and why the American government has attempted to cover up the truth.
Customer Reviews:
plausibility.......2007-01-29
sanders and cashill present a quite plausible hypothesis to the downing of twa 800. this book is an easy read and pulls in the reader. the text builds up to the conclusion / hypothesis presented in the final pages. the fact that the military had so many resources within a few miles of the incident at that moment is unusual; but, given the, then, recent bombings, international threats, and the new york based court hearing of the wtc bombing #1 leader, the elevation of the nation's security risk to the highest it had been since the cuban missile crisis made sense. the brisk departure from the area by the navy would make sense given the downing, regardless of whether a missile had been fired or not. if, indeed, there was an unidentified boat, it, more likely than a u.s. navy resource, would, without constitutional restriction, have fired a missile within our airspace and, perhaps accidentally, brought down twa 800. this hypothesized scenario re-plays itself, in a fashion, on 9/11/01 with regard to who has the authority to fire at a civilian aircraft during a terrorist attack? the authors' question about why boeing and twa might accept responsibility should have been followed up with actual information on subsequent liabilities and offsetting government contracts. i wonder to what degree the nation's dependence on oil, both political parties' appreciation for / benefit from middle-eastern campaign contributions and favors, the 1996 election, and the White House's "explore and discuss" approach all may have contributed to the subjective need to develop a plausible cover / smokescreen in this case and not overtly recognize the situation or deal head on with the underlying political, economic, and military issues. if our military and intelligence agencies might have had knowledge of a terrorist in a small plane, it would have been nice if the investigative journalists who wrote this book would have followed up on those possible leads - who? where from? why? the credibility of international acceptance of blame from terrorist networks ... sanders, understandably, wrote with great passion about his trial for conspiracy to obtain materials from an accident scene ... i didn't see what happened in the end, but, i surmise, he survived if he is writing this book ... were the u.s. attorneys who prosecuted sanders ever "rewarded"? briefly, how did this event relate to the other events occurring internationally? while, frankly, this was an interesting conspiracy theory book, it identified interesting flaws in the official stories and it proposed an intriguing explanation for what may have happened to twa 800, few new facts were presented that haven't been discussed already on the internet. for those readers interested in conspiracy theories, this is a very good book.
First Strike: TWA Flight 800 and the Attack on America.......2007-01-13
This is a very intriguing book. It is a book that is very hard to put down. I read it in two settings, albeit, almost two months ago.
If the events described in this book really took place, and they seem to be very well documented, and the theory presented here is correct, then shame on the NTSB for falsifying it's reports, shame on the airline industry for not speaking up, shame on Boeing for accepting the blame (and probably the liability) for the tragedy; shame, shame, shame, on the Clinton administration for yet another lie and cover-up, shame on the Navy for their sloppy interdiction, and shame on the media for their crappy investigative reporting.
Having handled a lot of JP-4 jet fuel in the military, and because and because I know commercial jet fuel, known as Jet-A, is pure kerosene and has a flashpoint of 120 degrees F, plus the fact that Boeing never made any meaningful modifications to it's 747 aircraft as a result of the crash of Flight 800, I never did buy the spark induced exploding middle fuel tank explanation for the cause of the crash. But, the idea that our very own United States Navy took this plane down, while unsuccessfully trying to defend it from a terrorist attack, never occurred to me at the time, much less was it mentioned by the liberal media who hung on every word from the corrupt; "I did not have sex with that woman", Clinton administration.
This book brings into question, the need for investigations by the NTSB; the public would be better served by a private agency (without political baggage) investigating aviation accidents and providing objective non-bias reports. It also brings into question, once again, the integrity of all of our political military and industrial leaders, many of whom profess to have the best interests of America at heart. Lastly, after reading this book one must wonder who is in charge in matters involving national security such as we have here, the military, the FBI, CIA, the white house? Who decides who is in charge, and which of these agencies can bungle things the worst?
This is a good book for conspiracy theorists as well as those who have faith in and trust our leaders. It's a grippingly interesting and recommended read.
Yes, but..........2006-05-26
This book takes you through the whodunit, gathering evidence, etc. and arriving at a plausible explanation at the end. The other major story here is the coverup. The Navy, the NTSB, the FBI, the CIA all were involved in the coverup, so the order had to come from the White House. No one else had the authority to order all those different branches of government.
The question is one of motive. If it was terrorists, their real objective was undoubtedly economic. Who cares about one commercial airplane? But with airports all over the nation, if any flight was vulnerable to the kinds of missles used against Russian helicopters in Afghanistan, no flight would be safe. If it had gotten out that TWA 800 was brought down by a terrorist missle, there would have been an immediate catastrophic drop in airline passengers. This would have been an economic disaster for the airline industry and for the USA.
A responsible press would not have allowed itself to be coopted into such a terrorist scheme, and the government would have tried to thwart it. Hence, the news blackout and the cover-up. This is the most parsimonious explanation for the coverup. There is no need to posit evil Presidents or a corrupt press. Of course, there was a little more to it than that.
However, indicting James Sanders AND HIS WIFE! (who had nothing to do with the investigation) is another matter. Sanders was only doing his job as an investigative reporter. What is worse is that the jury found them both guilty! In that chapter, Sanders presents all the evidence and testimony presented by both prosecutor and defense, so you can judge for yourself. That twelve jurors found them guilty in this case is shocking (and this can't be blamed on the President).
By the way, the explanations presented in the reviews here are only half-truths. Read the book and you'll know what happened.
THE US NAVY DID IT .......2006-03-13
THE UNITED STATES NAVY DID IN FACT SHOOT DOWN TWA FLIGHT 800 BY NAVY SHIP AND FIRED 2 MISSILES AND THEN FLEED THE SCENE AT 30 KNOTS AND RADAR CAPTURED IT AND THAT SHIP WAS NEVER FOUND AND WHEN PIERRE SALINGER CAME FORWARD HE HAD INFO FROM A FATHER WHO HAD A SON IN THE NAVY HE SAID TO THIS FATHER WE SHOT IT DOWN MEANING ABOUT TWA FLIGHT 800 CRASH...
Another JFK type Cover-up?.......2005-12-01
As a person that worked as a mechanic for TWA for almost 35 years, I can say that the US Government's explanation of the cause for TWA 800 to fall from the sky is highly suspect. I worked on the aircraft in question; 17119, 100's of times and many times on the systems that the government claims to have malfunctioned. It did not happen the way the government claims.
How it did happen is spread before you like a fictional mystery novel by the author in "First Strike". It is tragic that it is not fiction, because once again, our elected government has seen fit to lie to the electorate.
If the truth had been released about TWA 800, maybe 911 could have been averted. We will never know. I do know some things: More than a hundred people saw the missiles headed for TWA 800 and airplanes do not gain altitude after being blown up. The government's case relies on saying that all those people had simultaneous illusions of rising streaks of light and then asks you to suspend physics in order to make their case plausible.
The authors of "First Strike" tell you what really happened.
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Buitres (Birds)
Lynn M. Stone
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ASIN: 0865931933 |
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De Buitres Y Lobos / Of Vultures and Wolves (Algaida Historica)
Francisco Galvan
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El buitre en invierno (Visio Tundali/Contemporaneos)
Marcelo Cohen
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El festin de los buitres (Tres de cuatro soles)
Gregorio Gallego
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Los buitres esperan: Novela (Autores espanoles e hispanoamericanos)
Juan Estevez
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Los Buitres/Vultures (Animales Carroneros/Animal Scavengers)
Sandra Markle
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ASIN: 0822577313 |
Books:
- Princess Sultana's Daughters
- Princesses: The Six Daughters of George III
- Realities of Foreign Service Life
- Red Legs and Black Sox: Edd Roush and the Untold Story of the 1919 World Series
- Rembrandt's Eyes
- Running to the Mountain: A Midlife Adventure
- Saucerful of Secrets: The Pink Floyd Odyssey
- Scribbling the Cat : Travels with an African Soldier
- Secrets Of A Gay Marine Porn Star
- Shadowplay: The Hidden Beliefs and Coded Politics of William Shakespeare
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