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Plutarch

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Author

The Resume

    (circa 46-circa 120)
    Born in Chaeronea, Greece
    Historian/biographer/essayist
    Wrote 'Parallel Lives' and 'Moralia' ('Customs and Mores')
    'Parallel Lives' paired the biographies of a famous Greek and a famous Roman to illustrate their common virtues and vices

Why he might be annoying:

    Half to two-thirds of what he wrote is lost.
    One scholar said he was 'fanatically biased in favor of the Greek cities; they can do no wrong.'
    He often ignored the big events in his subjects' lives in favor of trivial anecdotes.
    He sometimes seriously reached to find similarities between two people so he could write their biographies as parallel stories.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He wrote that he focussed on anecdotes because they often revealed more about a person's character than their more famous accomplishments.
    Shakespeare's 'Julius Caesar,' 'Coriolanus' and 'Antony and Cleopatra' quote passages from 'Parallel Lives.'
    Ralph Waldo Emerson called Parallel Lives 'a Bible for heroes.'
    Other admirers of Plutarch included Ben Jonson, Francis Bacon, John Milton, John Dryden and James Boswell.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 19 Votes: 10.53% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 6 Votes: 83.33% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 8 Votes: 62.50% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 10 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 17 Votes: 47.06% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 20 Votes: 55.00% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 27 Votes: 40.74% Annoying