The ''Moralia'' ( grc, Ἠθικά ''Ethika''; loosely translated as "Morals" or "Matters relating to customs and mores") is a group of manuscripts dating from the 10th–13th centuries, traditionally ascribed to the 1st-century Greek scholar

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...

Chaeronea Chaeronea (English: or ; el, Χαιρώνεια , ) is a village and a former municipality in Boeotia, Greece, located about 35 kilometers east of Delphi. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Livadeia, of which ...

. The eclectic collection contains 78 essays and transcribed speeches. They provide insights into

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

and

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

life, but often are also timeless observations in their own right. Many generations of Europeans have read or imitated them, including Michel de Montaigne and the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

Humanists Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "humani ...

and Enlightenment philosophers.

General structure

The ''Moralia'' include ''On the Fortune or the Virtue of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

'', an important adjunct to his ''Life'' of the great general; ''On the Worship of

Isis Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...

and

Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wsjr'', cop, ⲟⲩⲥⲓⲣⲉ , ; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎𐤓, romanized: ʾsr) is the god of fertility, agriculture, the afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He wa ...

'', a crucial source of information on Egyptian religious rites; and ''

On the Malice of Herodotus "On the Malice of Herodotus" or "On the Malignity of Herodotus" ( grc-gre, Περὶ τῆς Ἡροδότου κακοηθείας) is an essay by Plutarch criticizing the historian Herodotus for all manner of prejudice and misrepresentation in th ...

'' (which may, like the orations on Alexander's accomplishments, have been a rhetorical exercise), in which Plutarch criticizes what he sees as systematic bias in the '' Histories'' of

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society ...

; along with more philosophical treatises, such as ''On the Decline of the Oracles'', ''On the Delays of the Divine Vengeance'', ''On Peace of Mind'' and lighter fare, such as ''Odysseus and Gryllus'' ("Bruta animalia ratione uti"), a humorous dialog between

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

's Odysseus and one of

Circe Circe (; grc, , ) is an enchantress and a minor goddess in ancient Greek mythology and religion. She is either a daughter of the Titan Helios and the Oceanid nymph Perse or the goddess Hecate and Aeëtes. Circe was renowned for her vas ...

's enchanted pigs. The ''Moralia'' were composed first, while writing the Lives occupied much of the last two decades of Plutarch's own life. Some editions of the ''Moralia'' include several works now known to be

pseudepigrapha Pseudepigrapha (also anglicized as "pseudepigraph" or "pseudepigraphs") are falsely attributed works, texts whose claimed author is not the true author, or a work whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past.Bauckham, Richard; "Pse ...

. Among these are the ''Lives of the Ten Orators'' (biographies of the

Attic orators The ten Attic orators were considered the greatest orators and logographers of the classical era (5th–4th century BC). They are included in the "Canon of Ten", which probably originated in Alexandria. A.E. Douglas has argued, however, that it w ...

based on

Caecilius of Calacte Caecilius of Calacte was a rhetorician and literary critic active in Rome during the reign of Augustus. The main source of information about Caecilius' life is the Suda, which says that he was from Sicily, originally called Archagathus, possi ...

), ''On the Opinions of the Philosophers'', ''On Fate'', and ''On Music''. One "

Pseudo-Plutarch Pseudo-Plutarch is the conventional name given to the actual, but unknown, authors of a number of pseudepigrapha (falsely attributed works) attributed to Plutarch but now known to have not been written by him. Some of these works were included in s ...

" is held responsible for all of these works, though their authorship is unknown. Though the thoughts and opinions recorded are not Plutarch's and come from a slightly later era, they are all classical in origin and have value to the historian.

Books

Since the Stephanus edition of 1572, the ''Moralia'' have traditionally been arranged in 14 books, as in the following list that includes the English, the original Greek, and the Latin title:''Plutarch's Moralia'' in Fifteen Volumes, Volume VI, translated by W. C. Helmbold, Harvard University Press, London, 1962.
/ref> *I. (1a – 86a) **1. On the Education of Children ('' – De liberis educandis'') **2. How the Young Man Should Study Poetry (''Πῶς δεῖ τὸν νέον ποιημάτων ἀκούειν – Quomodo adolescens poetas audire debeat'') **3. On Hearing (''Περὶ τοῦ ἀκούειν – De recta ratione audiendi'') **4. How to Tell a Flatterer from a Friend (''Πῶς ἄν τις διακρίνοιε τὸν κόλακα τοῦ φίλου – Quomodo adulator ab amico internoscatur'') **5. How a Man May Become Aware of his Progress in Virtue (''Πῶς ἄν τις αἴσθοιτο ἑαυτοῦ προκόπτοντος ἐπ᾿ ἀρετῇ - Quomodo quis suos in virtute sentiat profectus'') *II. (86b – 171e) **6. How to Profit by One's Enemies (''Πῶς ἄν τις ὑπ᾿ ἐχθρῶν ὠφελοῖτο – De capienda ex inimicis utilitate'') **7. On Having Many Friends (''Περὶ πολυφιλίας – De amicorum multitudine'') **8. On Chance (''Περὶ τύχης - De fortuna'') **9. On Virtue and Vice (''Περὶ ἀρετῆς καὶ κακίας – De virtute et vitio'') **10. Letter of Condolence to Apollonius (''Παραμυθητικὸς πρὸς Ἀπολλώνιον – Consolatio ad Apollonium'') **11. Advice about Keeping Well (''Ὑγιεινὰ παραγγέλματα – De tuenda sanitate praecepta'') **12. Advice to Bride and Groom (''Γαμικὰ παραγγέλματα – Coniugalia praecepta'') **13. Dinner of the Seven Wise Men (''Ἑπτά σοφῶν συμπόσιον – Septem sapientium convivium'') **14. On Superstition (''Περὶ δεισιδαιμονίας – De superstitione'') *III. (172a – 263c) **15. Sayings of Kings and Commanders (''Βασιλέων ἀποφθέγματα καὶ στρατηγών – regum et imperatorum apophthegmata'') **16. Sayings of the

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

ns (''Ἀποφθέγματα Λακωνικά – apophthegmata Laconica'') **17. Institutions of the Spartans (''Τὰ παλαιὰ τῶν Λακεδαιμονίων ἐπιτηδεύματα – Instituta Laconica'') **18. Sayings of the Spartan Women (''Λακαινῶν ἀποφθέγματα – Lacaenarum apophthegmata'') **19. Virtues of Women (''Γυναικῶν ἀρεταί – Mulierum virtutes'') *IV. (263d – 351b) **20. Roman Questions (''Αἴτια Ῥωμαϊκά – Quaestiones Romanae'') **21. Greek Questions (''Αἴτια Ἑλληνικά – Quaestiones Graecae'') **22. Greek and Roman Parallel Stories (''Συναγωγὴ ἱστοριῶν παραλλήλων Ἑλληνικῶν καὶ Ρωμαϊκῶν – Parallela minora'') (

pseudo-Plutarch Pseudo-Plutarch is the conventional name given to the actual, but unknown, authors of a number of pseudepigrapha (falsely attributed works) attributed to Plutarch but now known to have not been written by him. Some of these works were included in s ...

) **23. On the Fortune of the Romans (''Περὶ τῆς Ῥωμαίων τύχης – De fortuna Romanorum'') **24. On the Fortune or Virtue of

(''Περὶ τῆς Ἀλεξάνδρου τύχης ἢ ἀρετῆς – De Alexandri magni fortuna aut virtute'') **25. On the Glory of the Athenians (''Πότερον Ἀθηναῖοι κατὰ πόλεμον ἢ κατὰ σοφίαν ἐνδοξότεροι – De gloria Atheniensium'') *V. (351c – 438e) **26. On

and

(''Περὶ Ἴσιδος καὶ Ὀσίριδος – De Iside et Osiride'') **27. On the epsilon at Delphi (''Περὶ τοῦ εἶ τοῦ έν Δελφοῖς – De E apud Delphos'', 384e – 394c) **28. Oracles at Delphi no Longer Given in Verse (''Περὶ τοῦ μὴ χρᾶν ἔμμετρα νῦν τὴν Πυθίαν – De Pythiae oraculis'') **29. On the Obsolescence of Oracles (''Περὶ τῶν ἐκλελοιπότων χρηστηρίων – De defectu oraculorum'') *VI. (439a - 523b) **30. Can Virtue be Taught? (''Εἰ διδακτὸν ἡ ἀρετή – An virtus doceri possit'') **31. On Moral Virtue (''Περὶ ἠθικῆς ἀρετῆς – De virtute morali'') **32. On the Control of Anger (''Περὶ ἀοργησίας – De cohibenda ira'') **33. On Tranquility of Mind (''Περὶ εὐθυμίας – De tranquillitate animi'') **34. On Brotherly Love (''Περὶ φιλαδελφίας – De fraterno amore'') **35. On Affection for Offspring (''Περὶ τῆς εἰς τὰ ἔγγονα φιλοστοργίας – De amore prolis'') **36. Whether Vice is Sufficient to Cause Unhappiness (''Εἰ αὐτάρκης ἡ κακία πρὸς κακοδαιμονίαν – An vitiositas ad infelicitatem sufficiat'') **37. Whether Aflictions of the Soul are Worse than Those of the Body (''Περὶ τοῦ πότερον τὰ ψυχῆς ἢ τὰ σώματος πάθη χείρονα – Animine an corporis affectiones sint peiores'') **38. On Talkativeness (''Περὶ ἀδολεσχίας – De garrulitate'') **39. On Being a Busybody (''Περὶ πολυπραγμοσύνης – De curiositate'') *VII. (523c – 612b) **40. On Love of Wealth (''Περὶ φιλοπλουτίας – De cupiditate divitiarum'') **41. On Compliancy (''Περὶ δυσωπίας – De vitioso pudore'') **42. On Envy and Hate (''Περὶ φθόνου καὶ μίσους – De invidia et odio'') **43. On Praising Oneself Inoffensively (''Περὶ τοῦ ἑαυτὸν ἐπαινεῖν ἀνεπιφθόνως – De laude ipsius'') **44. On the Delays of Divine Vengeance (''Περὶ τῶν ὑπὸ τοῦ θείου βραδέως τιμωρουμένων – De sera numinis vindicta'') **45. On Fate (''Περὶ εἰμαρμένης – De fato'') (

) **46. On the Sign of

Socrates Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...

(''Περὶ τοῦ Σωκράτους δαιμονίου –

De genio Socratis ''De genio Socratis'' (Greek: Περί του Σωκράτους δαιμονίου ''Perí tou Sōkrátous daimoníou'') is a work by Plutarch, part of his collection of works entitled ''Moralia''. Title The title refers to the daimon of Socrates ...

'', 575a – 598e) **47. On Exile (''Περὶ φυγῆς – De exilio'') **48. Consolation to his Wife (''Παραμυθητικὸς πρὸς τὴν γυναῖκα – Consolatio ad uxorem'') *VIII. (612c – 748) **49. Table Talk (''Συμποσιακά – Quaestiones convivales'') *IX. (748 – 771) **50. Dialogue on Love (''Ἐρωτικός - Amatorius'') *X. (771e – 854d) **51. Love Stories (''Ἐρωτικαὶ διηγήσεις – Amatoriae narrationes'') **52. A Philosopher Ought to Converse Especially with Men in Power (''Περὶ τοῦ ὅτι μάλιστα τοῖς ἡγεμόσι δεῖ τὸν φιλόσοφον διαλέγεσθαι – Maxime cum principibus philosopho esse disserendum'') **53. To an Uneducated Ruler (''Πρὸς ἡγεμόνα ἀπαίδευτον – Ad principem ineruditum'') **54. Whether an Old Man Should Engage in Public Affairs (''Εἰ πρεσβυτέρῳι πολιτευτέον – An seni respublica gerenda sit'') **55. Precepts of Statecraft (''Πολιτικὰ παραγγέλματα – Praecepta gerendae reipublicae'') **56. On Monarchy, Democracy and Oligarchy (''Περὶ μοναρχίας καὶ δημοκρατίας καὶ ὀλιγαρχίας – De unius in republica dominatione, populari statu, et paucorum imperio'') **57. That we Ought Not to Borrow (''Περὶ τοῦ μὴ δεῖν δανείζεσθαι – De vitando aere alieno'') **58. Lives of the Ten Orators (''Βίοι τῶν δέκα ῥητόρων – Vitae decem oratorum'') (

) **59. Comparison between

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme Kydathenaion ( la, Cydathenaeum), was a comic playwright or comedy-writer of ancient Athens and a poet of Old Attic Comedy. Eleven of his for ...

and Menander (''Συγκρίσεως Ἀριστοφάνους καὶ Μενάνδρου ἐπιτομή – Comparationis Aristophanis et Menandri compendium'') *XI. (854e – 919e) **60.

(''Περὶ τῆς Ἡροδότου κακοηθείας – De malignitate Herodoti'') **61. On the Opinions of the Philosophers (''Περὶ τῶν ἀρεσκόντων φιλοσόφοις φυσικῶν δογμάτων – De placitis philosophorum'') (

) **62. Causes of Natural Phenomena (''Αἴτια φυσικά – Quaestiones naturales'') *XII. (920a – 999b) **63. On the Face Which Appears in the Orb of the Moon ('' – De facie in orbe lunae'') **64. On the Principle of Cold (''Περὶ τοῦ πρώτως ψυχροῦ – De primo frigido'') **65. Whether Fire or Water is More Useful (''Περὶ τοῦ πότερον ὕδωρ ὴ πῦρ χρησιμώτερον – Aquane an ignis sit utilior'') **66. Whether Land or Sea Animals are Cleverer (''Πότερα τῶν ζῴων φρονιμώτερα τὰ χερσαία ἢ τὰ ἔνυδρα – De sollertia animalium'') **67. Beasts are Rational (''Περὶ τοῦ τὰ ἄλογα λόγῳ χρῆσθαι – Bruta animalia ratione uti'') **68. On the Eating of Flesh (''Περὶ σαρκοφαγίας – De esu carnium'') *XIII. (999c - 1086b) **69. Platonic Questions (''Πλατωνικὰ ζητήματα – Platonicae quaestiones'') **70. On the Birth of the Spirit in Timaeus (''Περὶ τῆς ἐν Τιμαίῳ ψυχογονίας – De animae procreatione in Timaeo'') **71. Summary of the Birth of the Spirit (''Ἐπιτομή τοῦ Περὶ τῆς ἐν τῷ Τιμαίῳ ψυχογονίας – Epitome libri de animae procreatione in Timaeo'') **72. On Stoic Self-Contradictions (''Περὶ Στωϊκῶν ἐναντιωμάτων – De Stoicorum repugnantiis'') **73. The Stoics Speak More Paradoxically than the Poets (''Ὅτι παραδοξότερα οἱ Στωϊκοὶ τῶν ποιητῶν λέγουσιν – Stoicos absurdiora poetis dicere'') **74. On Common Conceptions against the Stoics (''Περὶ τῶν κοινῶν ἐννοιῶν πρὸς τοὺς Στωϊκούς – De communibus notitiis adversus Stoicos'') *XIV. (1086c onward) **75. It is Impossible to Live Pleasantly in the Manner of Epicurus (''Ὅτι οὐδὲ ἡδέως ζῆν ἔστιν κατ’ Ἐπίκουρον – Non posse suaviter vivi secundum Epicurum'') **76. Against

Colotes Colotes of Lampsacus ( el, Κολώτης Λαμψακηνός, ''Kolōtēs Lampsakēnos''; c. 320 – after 268 BC) was a pupil of Epicurus, and one of the most famous of his disciples. He wrote a work to prove "That it is impossible even to live a ...

(''Πρὸς Κωλώτην – Adversus Colotem'') **77. Is the Saying " Live in Obscurity" Right? (''Εἰ καλῶς εἴρηται τὸ λάθε βιώσας – An recte dictum sit latenter esse vivendum'') **78. On Music (''Περὶ μουσικῆς – De musica'') (

)

Editions

Early manuscripts

"The catalogue is transmitted by a group of Moralia manuscripts, the oldest of which is the Parisinus gr. 1678 (very damaged in the folia containing the list), a copy from the tenth century, on which a second hand of the twelfth century intervened to add the list; see Irigoin (1987: CCCIII–CCGXVIII for introduction and critical edition of the entire catalogue)." (Oikonomopoulou 174) The only surviving manuscript containing all seventy-eight of the extant treatises included in Plutarch's ''Moralia'' dates to sometime shortly after 1302 AD.

Modern editions

* Plutarch. ''Moralia''. 16 vols. (vol. 13: 13.1 & 13.2, vol. 16: index), transl. by Frank Cole Babbitt (vol. 1–5) et al., series: " Loeb Classical Library" (LCL, vols. 197–499). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press et al., 1927–2004.

Specific ideas contained

Origins dilemma

In his essay "The Symposiacs", Plutarch discusses the famous problem of the

chicken and the egg The chicken or the egg causality dilemma is commonly stated as the question, "which came first: the chicken or the egg (biology), egg?" The dilemma stems from the observation that all chickens hatch from eggs and all chicken eggs are laid by ch ...

. Although Plutarch was not the first person to discuss the problem (

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...

had already discussed it hundreds of years before Plutarch), he was the first person to put the question into its modern form.

On reincarnation

Included in ''Moralia'' is a letter addressed by Plutarch to his wife, bidding her not give way to excessive grief at the death of their two-year-old daughter, who was named Timoxena after her mother.Plutarch of Chaeronea
"Letter of Consolation"
In the letter, Plutarch expresses his belief in

reincarnation Reincarnation, also known as rebirth or transmigration, is the philosophical or religious concept that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical form or body after biological death. Resurrection is ...

On the intellect

Mind or Nous (, ,

: ) is a philosophical term for intellect. In ''Moralia'', Plutarch agrees with

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

that the soul is more divine than the body while ''nous'' is more divine than the soul. The mix of soul and body produces pleasure and pain; the conjunction of mind and soul produces

reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, ...

which is the cause or the source of

virtue Virtue ( la, virtus) is moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. In other words, it is a behavior that shows high moral standards ...

and

vice A vice is a practice, behaviour, or habit generally considered immoral, sinful, criminal, rude, taboo, depraved, degrading, deviant or perverted in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character t ...

LacusCurtius LacusCurtius is a website specializing in ancient Rome, currently hosted on a server at the University of Chicago. It went online on August 26, 1997; in July 2021 it had "3707 webpages, 765 photos, 772 drawings & engravings, 120 plans, 139 maps." T ...

online text: On the Face in the Moo
par. 28
/ref>

References

External links

Plutarch's ''Moralia'' in ToposText
Complete Goodwin translation of 1878 as HTML files tagged with geolocated place names.

(20th-century English translation includes ''On the Fortune or Virtue of Alexander'', ''On the Fortune of the Romans'', ''Roman Questions'', ''Isis and Osiris'', "On Putting One's Enemies to Use", and the so‑called ''Parallela Minora'', which is probably one of those pseudepigrapha.)

Selected translations.
Sentiments concerning nature from ebooks@adelaide.edu.auPlutarch's ''Morals''
an
''Plutarch's Essays'' Volume 3
from

Project Gutenberg Project Gutenberg (PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks." It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the oldest digital libr ...

Volume I
an
Volume II
of 1841 Greek/Latin edition of the entire ''Moralia'' through Google Books. * {{Plutarch Works by Plutarch 2nd-century books Ethics literature Ethnology

Contents