Plutarch's Advice to the Bride and Groom & A Consolation to His Wife: English Translations, Commentary, Interpretive Essays & Bibliography

by Plutarch, Sarah B. Pomeroy

While perhaps best known for his Lives, Plutarch also wrote philosophical dialogues that constitute a major intellectual legacy from the first century A.D. This collection presents two important short works from his writings in moral philosophy. They reveal Plutarch at his best--informative, sympathetic, rich in narrative--and are accompanied by an extensive commentary that situates Plutarch and his views on marriage in their historical context.

Genres: Philosophy

240 pages, hardback

First published June 3, 1999

About the author

Plutarch (later named, upon becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus; AD 46–AD 120) was a Greek historian, biographer, and essayist, known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia. He is classified as a Middle Platonist. Plutarch's surviving works were written in Greek, but intended for both Greek and Roman readers.

Reviews

[Valdemar Lenschow]

"Similarly, a wife should have no feelings of her own, but share her husband's seriousness and
sport, his anxiety and his laughter." - Plutarch

Det er måske lidt skidt, at det netop kvindernes kampdag, jeg har læst den her på, men det må simpelthen være min underviser, der skal have æren for det.

[Silvio Curtis]

Includes original Greek text and translations of the Marriage Advice and A Consolation to His Wife, which is even shorter piece. It's a letter written by Plutarch to his wife after their daughter had died at only a few years of age, congratulating her on her restraint in avoiding unseemly grief and saying that they should be happy for her life rather than sad for her death. The essays do a good job of contextualizing Plutarch in the history of ancient Greek and Roman family and gender norms, though I suppose you could want more attention to archaeological evidence to complement the textual stuff, and show how Plutarch's attitudes related to his philosophy. It seems there's a lot more theoretical underpinnings than was obvious on reading at least the Marriage Advice by itself. I think some essays would be accessible to people without much background in Classics, others probably less so. Pretty helpful as an introduction to ancient Greek and Roman families.

[Tyler-Tae]

Interesting. Very interesting