Plutarch's Lives, Vol. 1

Nonfiction | Biography | Adult | Published in 100

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Themes

The Influence of Character on History

In his Lives, Plutarch surveys many important figures from the past whose distinctive individual natures or characters somehow influenced history. Plutarch is constantly reminding his readers that he is writing biography, not history: His goal is not to describe historical events, but rather to illustrate how individual figures have shaped history.

This approach means that Plutarch does not always prioritize strict chronology or factuality, as sometimes he chooses to tell a story that may not be historical but can effectively shed light upon an individual’s character. Thus, Plutarch describes the legend of Solon’s meeting with Croesus even though such a meeting is historically improbable, writing that,

I cannot reject so famous and well-attested a narrative, and, what is more, so agreeable to Solon’s temper, and so worthy his wisdom and greatness of mind, because, forsooth, it does not agree with some chronological canons, which thousands have endeavoured to regulate, and yet, to this day, could never bring their differing opinions to any agreement (124, emphasis added).

Individual figures can influence history in positive as well as negative ways. Among the figures who influence history in a positive way are Plutarch’s lawgivers, including Lysander, Numa Pompilius, and Solon. The personal characteristics of these figures—such as justice, gentleness, and piety—come through in the laws and institutions that they enact. The virtuous Solon, for instance, strives to give the Athenians “[t]he best [laws] they could receive” (115), while Lycurgus’s constitution is inspired by his realization “that the happiness of a state, as of a private man, consisted chiefly in the exercise of virtue, and in the concord of the inhabitants” (80).

Plutarch is also interested in figures who influence history in a more negative or ambivalent way. Some of Plutarch’s biographies look at individuals whose characters are overly ambitious. His Themistocles, for instance, possesses a mind that “was early imbued with the keenest interest in public affairs, and the most passionate ambition for distinction” (148). Themistocles’s desire for distinction sometimes leads him to behave in treacherous or self-serving ways. Alcibiades, another Athenian statesman and general, also puts his own interests before those of his city, as do the Romans Caius Marius and Sylla. Though such figures often increase the power of their respective cities, they can do just as much harm as good because they are concerned first and foremost with themselves. Thus, Alcibiades defects first to the Spartans, and then the Persians, when it suits his purpose, while the rivalry between Caius Marius and Sylla does major harm to Rome.

As Plutarch shows in his Lives, one effective way to understand the actions of these men—and the influence they had on history—is by dissecting their character, and how their virtues or flaws influenced the course of events they participated in.

The Role of Leadership and Morality in Public Life

Plutarch presents his Lives as a collection of didactic works—that is, works that are meant to teach something valuable to readers. For Plutarch, the major lesson one can learn from biography lies in the role of leadership and morality in public life.

By looking at the lives of important historical figures, one can learn moral lessons and apply those lessons to their own life. As Plutarch writes, “[m]oral good is a practical stimulus; it is no sooner seen, than it inspires an impulse to practice, and influences the mind and character not by a mere imitation which we look at, but by the statement of the fact creates a moral purpose which we form” (202). Plutarch thus hopes that reading his Lives will inspire his readers to put the lessons they learn into practice and improve themselves. Plutarch himself observes that the act of writing his biographies has enabled him to “adjust and adorn [his] own life” (325).

Plutarch is a strong believer that one needs to have a strong understanding of leadership and morality to serve as a positive force in public life. This is, in part, because of the role that public figures have in shaping the morality of their communities. Strong, moral leaders, moreover, can have more of an influence on public life than weak or immoral ones: As Plutarch observes, “moral habits, induced by public practices, are far quicker in making their way into men’s private lives, than the failings and faults of individuals are in infecting the city at large” (595-96). In particular, good leaders need to understand virtue and ethics.

For instance, Plutarch locates the main failing of Pelopidas and Marcellus in their inability to distinguish between courage and recklessness, with both men dying in battle because they needlessly risked their lives. Dying the way Pelopidas and Marcellus died, according to Plutarch, is not true courage, because many others were depending on them. In his life of Timoleon, similarly, Plutarch reflects on the importance of not being too obsessed with one’s reputation: While one needs to make sure to behave justly and morally, being too fixated with how others see them may prevent them from achieving their full potential.

Another important virtue is economics: While greed is problematic, one should still make enough money to support one’s family and dependents, which is why Plutarch takes issue with the famous poverty of “Aristides the Just.” By behaving morally, public figures model essential virtues for people and lead them by example.

The Universality of Human Nature

Part of why Plutarch believes his biographies to be so effective as didactic literature lies in his belief in the universality of human nature. Like other historians (including Thucydides), Plutarch argues that human nature does not change much; he also has a special interest in demonstrating that human nature is largely universal across different cultures.

As a Greek living in the Roman Empire, Plutarch esteemed Greek as well as Roman culture, and liked calling attention to the strong similarities that existed between them. In antiquity, many Greeks viewed the Romans as a backwards civilization with considerable military ability but little culture, and Plutarch often makes a point of countering this view in his Lives. In his Marcellus, for instance, Plutarch observes that up until Marcellus’s time,

Foreign nations had held the Romans to be excellent soldiers and formidable in battle; but they had hitherto given no memorable examples of gentleness, or humanity, or civic virtue; and Marcellus seems first to have shown to the Greeks that his countrymen were most illustrious for their justice. (422)

The most valuable of Rome’s virtues, in Plutarch’s view, is their love of justice. Indeed, virtues such as justice, courage, and piety are shown to be universal throughout Plutarch’s Lives: The parallel structure of Plutarch’s biographies, with each Greek figure paired with a comparable Roman figure, helps drive this point home. Plutarch does not approach morality as relative: The qualities he praises in his Greek subjects are the same qualities he praises in his Roman subjects.

Beyond morality and virtue, Plutarch paints human nature as universal too. Whatever the differences between their cultures, Greeks and Romans are all driven by similar things, whether honor, piety, greed, or ambition. Nor has time changed people’s basic nature: What drives people in Plutarch’s own time is exactly what drove people in the remote or even the mythical past. Indeed, it is this principle of the universality of human nature that enables Plutarch to venture biographies for mythical figures whose lives are overgrown with unbelievable stories. As Plutarch writes in his preface to his Theseus, a biographer or historian can “rationalize” myths and hope “that Fable may […] so submit to the purifying processes of Reason as to take on the exact character of history” (1).

Since human nature is so universal, moreover, Plutarch feels that he is able to draw general lessons from his Lives that apply to people from all cultures. His biographies are thus full of general observations on specific virtues such as justice, courage, leadership, or politics, which he believes any reader could benefit from learning about.