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93-508: The Moorish Orthodox Church of America is a syncretic , non-exclusive , and religious anarchist movement originally founded in New York City in 1965 and part of the burgeoning psychedelic church movement of the mid to late 1960s in the United States. The Moorish Orthodox Church of America incorporates a vast array of liturgical and devotional traditions ranging from Moorish Science ,

186-418: A betrayal of their pure truth. By this reasoning, adding an incompatible belief corrupts the original religion, rendering it no longer true. Indeed, critics of a syncretistic trend may use the word or its variants as a disparaging epithet, as a charge implying that those who seek to incorporate a new view, belief, or practice into a religious system pervert the original faith. Non-exclusivist systems of belief, on

279-558: A culture is conquered, and the conquerors bring their religious beliefs with them, but do not succeed in entirely eradicating the old beliefs or (especially) practices. Religions may have syncretic elements to their beliefs or history, but adherents of so-labeled systems often frown on applying the label, especially adherents who belong to "revealed" religious systems, such as the Abrahamic religions , or any system that exhibits an exclusivist approach. Such adherents sometimes see syncretism as

372-442: A factor that has recommended it to rulers of multiethnic realms . Conversely, the rejection of syncretism, usually in the name of " piety " and " orthodoxy ", may help to generate, bolster or authenticate a sense of uncompromised cultural unity in a well-defined minority or majority. All major religious conversions of populations have had elements from prior religious traditions incorporated into legends or doctrine that endure with

465-482: A man, for instance, was Acilius, who, in the sea-fight at Massalia, boarded a hostile ship and had his right hand cut off with a sword, but clung with the other hand to his shield, and dashing it into the faces of his foes, routed them all and got possession of the vessel. Such a man, again, was Cassius Scaeva, who, in the battle at Dyrrhachium, had his eye struck out with an arrow, his shoulder transfixed with one javelin and his thigh with another, and received on his shield

558-513: A migration of ideas is generally successful only when there is a resonance between both traditions. While, as Bentley has argued, there are numerous cases where expansive traditions have won popular support in foreign lands, this is not always so. In the 16th century, the Mughal emperor Akbar proposed a new religion called the Din-i Ilahi ("Divine Faith"). Sources disagree with respect to whether it

651-709: A modern reader who is not well acquainted with Greek is, that being but a moderate stylist, Plutarch is almost as good in a translation as in the original." Jacques Amyot 's translations brought Plutarch's works to Western Europe. He went to Italy and studied the Vatican text of Plutarch, from which he published a French translation of the Lives in 1559 and Moralia in 1572, which were widely read by educated Europe. Amyot's translations had as deep an impression in England as France, because Thomas North later published his English translation of

744-511: A moral-ethical approach, possibly even by Plutarch himself. Plutarch's best-known work is the Parallel Lives , a series of biographies of illustrious Greeks and Romans, arranged in pairs to illuminate their common moral virtues and vices, thus it being more of an insight into human nature than a historical account. The surviving Lives contain 23 pairs, each with one Greek life and one Roman life, as well as four unpaired single lives. As

837-466: A movement of spiritual exploration beyond its intended purpose, though it maintains Moorish Science as its core. After a long period of quiescence, the Moorish Orthodox Church of America experienced a small renaissance in the mid-1980s owing to the involvement of former members of the beat / beatnik movement, the counter-cultural hippie community, and the gay liberation movement, along with

930-443: A painter; indeed, he went to tremendous lengths (often leading to tenuous comparisons) to draw parallels between physical appearance and moral character . In many ways, he must be counted amongst the earliest moral philosophers . Some of the Lives , such as those of Heracles , Philip II of Macedon , Epaminondas , Scipio Africanus , Scipio Aemilianus and possibly Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus no longer exist; many of

1023-454: A passage from Plutarch in support of his position against eating meat: " 'You ask me', said Plutarch, 'why Pythagoras abstained from eating the flesh of beasts... ' " Ralph Waldo Emerson and the transcendentalists were greatly influenced by the Moralia and in his glowing introduction to the five-volume, 19th-century edition, he called the Lives "a bible for heroes". He also opined that it

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1116-550: A priest of the Delphic temple , Plutarch was also a magistrate at Chaeronea and he represented his home town on various missions to foreign countries during his early adult years. Plutarch held the office of archon in his native municipality, probably only an annual one which he likely served more than once. Plutarch was epimeletes (manager) of the Amphictyonic League for at least five terms, from 107 to 127, in which role he

1209-411: A pure idea of God that was more in accordance with Plato . He adopted a second principle ( Dyad ) in order to explain the phenomenal world. This principle he sought, however, not in any indeterminate matter but in the evil world-soul which has from the beginning been bound up with matter, but in the creation was filled with reason and arranged by it. Thus it was transformed into the divine soul of

1302-453: A series of biographies of illustrious Greeks and Romans, and Moralia , a collection of essays and speeches. Upon becoming a Roman citizen , he was possibly named Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus ( Λούκιος Μέστριος Πλούταρχος ). Plutarch was born to a prominent family in the small town of Chaeronea , about 30 kilometres (19 mi) east of Delphi , in the Greek region of Boeotia . His family

1395-469: A series of translations by various scholars in 1958 with The Fall of the Roman Republic , which contained six Lives and was translated by Rex Warner. Penguin continues to revise the volumes. Note that only the main translations from the second half of 15th century are given. There are multiple translations of Parallel Lives into Latin, most notably the one titled "Pour le Dauphin" (French for "for

1488-533: A single Greco-Roman pantheon , and then identifying members of that pantheon with the local deities of various Roman provinces. Some religious movements have embraced overt syncretism, such as the case of melding Shintō beliefs into Buddhism or the amalgamation of Germanic and Celtic pagan views into Christianity during its spread into Gaul, Ireland, Britain, Germany and Scandinavia. In later times, Christian missionaries in North America identified Manitou ,

1581-505: A watery marsh, a soldier, while Caesar in person was watching the battle, dashed into the midst of the fight, displayed many conspicuous deeds of daring, and rescued the centurions, after the Barbarians had been routed. Then he himself, making his way with difficulty after all the rest, plunged into the muddy current, and at last, without his shield, partly swimming and partly wading, got across. Caesar and his company were amazed and came to meet

1674-411: Is a later interpolation. Plutarch's treatise on marriage questions, addressed to Eurydice and Pollianus, seems to speak of the former as having recently lived in his house, but without any clear evidence on whether she was his daughter or not. Plutarch was either the uncle or grandfather of Sextus of Chaeronea who was one of the teachers of Marcus Aurelius , and who may have been the same person as

1767-679: Is a spurious etymology from the naive idea in Plutarch 's 1st-century AD essay on "Fraternal Love (Peri Philadelphias)" in his collection Moralia . He cites the example of the Cretans , who compromised and reconciled their differences and came together in alliance when faced with external dangers. "And that is their so-called Syncretism [Union of Cretans]". More likely as an etymology is sun- ("with") plus kerannumi ("mix") and its related noun, "krasis", "mixture". Overt syncretism in folk belief may show cultural acceptance of an alien or previous tradition, but

1860-580: Is also accepted that the policy of sulh-i-kul , which formed the essence of the Dīn-i Ilāhī, was adopted by Akbar as a part of general imperial administrative policy. Sulh-i-kul means "universal peace". The syncretic deism of Matthew Tindal undermined Christianity's claim to uniqueness. The modern, rational, non-pejorative connotations of syncretism arguably date from Denis Diderot 's Encyclopédie articles Eclecticisme and Syncrétistes, Hénotiques, ou Conciliateurs . Diderot portrayed syncretism as

1953-450: Is also probable that it was merely a rhetorical exercise, in which Plutarch plays devil's advocate to see what could be said against so favourite and well-known a writer. According to Barrow (1967), Herodotus' real failing in Plutarch's eyes was to advance any criticism at all of the city-states that saved Greece from Persia. Barrow concluded that "Plutarch is fanatically biased in favor of

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2046-562: Is dedicated to them. It is likely that a third son, named Soklaros after Plutarch's confidant Soklaros of Tithora, survived to adulthood as well, although he is not mentioned in Plutarch's later works; a Lucius Mestrius Soclarus, who shares Plutarch's Latin family name, appears in an inscription in Boeotia from the time of Trajan . Traditionally, the surviving catalog of Plutarch's works is ascribed to another son, named Lamprias after Plutarch's grandfather; most modern scholars believe this tradition

2139-461: Is depicted at a relatively young age: His hair and beard are rendered in coarse volumes and thin incisions. The gaze is deep, due to the heavy eyelids and the incised pupils. A fragmentary hermaic stele next to the portrait probably did once bear a portrait of Plutarch, since it is inscribed, "The Delphians, along with the Chaeroneans, dedicated this (image of) Plutarch, following the precepts of

2232-494: Is explained in the opening paragraph of his Life of Alexander , Plutarch was not concerned with history so much as the influence of character, good or bad, on the lives and destinies of men. Whereas sometimes he barely touched on epoch-making events, he devoted much space to charming anecdote and incidental triviality, reasoning that this often said far more for his subjects than even their most famous accomplishments. He sought to provide rounded portraits, likening his craft to that of

2325-518: Is fragments of 7th-century lyrics – Plutarch's five Spartan lives and "Sayings of Spartans" and "Sayings of Spartan Women", rooted in sources that have since disappeared, are some of the richest sources for historians of Lacedaemonia . While they are important, they are also controversial. Plutarch lived centuries after the Sparta he writes about (and a full millennium separates him from the earliest events he records); and even though he visited Sparta, many of

2418-488: Is its close connection with religion. However pure Plutarch's idea of God is, and however vivid his description of the vice and corruption which superstition causes, his warm religious feelings and his distrust of human powers of knowledge led him to believe that God comes to our aid by direct revelations, which we perceive the more clearly the more completely that we refrain in "enthusiasm" from all action; this made it possible for him to justify popular belief in divination in

2511-438: Is not always an indication of virtue or vice, indeed a small thing like a phrase or a jest often makes a greater revelation of a character than battles where thousands die." Life of Alexander The remainder of Plutarch's surviving work is collected under the title of the Moralia (loosely translated as Customs and Mores ). It is an eclectic collection of seventy-eight essays and transcribed speeches, including "Concerning

2604-441: Is often used to describe the product of the large-scale imposition of one alien culture, religion, or body of practices over another that is already present." Others such as Jerry H. Bentley , however, have argued that syncretism has also helped to create cultural compromise. It provides an opportunity to bring beliefs, values, and customs from one cultural tradition into contact with, and to engage different cultural traditions. Such

2697-556: Is unique on the early Roman calendar . Plutarch devotes a great deal of space to Alexander's drive and desire, and strives to determine how much of it was presaged in his youth. He also draws extensively on the work of Lysippos , Alexander's favourite sculptor , to provide what is probably the fullest and most accurate description of the conqueror's physical appearance. When it comes to his character, Plutarch emphasizes his unusual degree of self-control and scorn for luxury: "He desired not pleasure or wealth, but only excellence and glory." As

2790-650: The Five Percenters , the Episcopi vagantes movement, Nizari Islam , Sufism (particularly from the Sufi Order Ināyati , Shadhili , Alevi - Bektashi and Uwaisi traditions), varying degrees of Theosophical mysticism , Hermeticism , Oriental Orthodoxy , the League for Spiritual Discovery , Western esotericism , Neoplatonism , Tantra , Zoroastrianism , Taoism , and Vedanta . These influences have been brought into

2883-678: The Flavian dynasty or during the reign of Nerva (AD 96–98). There is reason to believe that the two Lives still extant, those of Galba and Otho, "ought to be considered as a single work." Therefore, they do not form a part of the Plutarchian canon of single biographies – as represented by the Life of Aratus of Sicyon and the Life of Artaxerxes II (the biographies of Hesiod , Pindar , Crates and Daiphantus were lost). Unlike in these biographies, in Galba-Otho

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2976-631: The Industrial Workers of the World , and John Henry Mackay . Combined influences also include Brethren of the Free Spirit , English Dissenters , William Blake , and Ivan Ilich . A lineage group of the Moorish Science Temple of America , the Moorish Orthodox Church was founded in New York City in 1962 primarily by Warren Tartaglia , beatniks , spiritual seekers, anarchists and members of

3069-422: The Lives in 1579 based on Amyot's French translation instead of the original Greek. Plutarch's Lives were translated into English, from Amyot's version, by Sir Thomas North in 1579. The complete Moralia was first translated into English from the original Greek by Philemon Holland in 1603. In 1683, John Dryden began a life of Plutarch and oversaw a translation of the Lives by several hands and based on

3162-413: The Lives . Enough copies were written out over the centuries so that a copy of most of the lives has survived to the present day, but there are traces of twelve more Lives that are now lost. Plutarch's general procedure for the Lives was to write the life of a prominent Greek, then cast about for a suitable Roman parallel, and end with a brief comparison of the Greek and Roman lives. Currently, only 19 of

3255-614: The Moralia include "Whether One Who Suspends Judgment on Everything Is Condemned to Inaction", "On Pyrrho 's Ten Modes", and "On the Difference between the Pyrrhonians and the Academics ". "The soul , being eternal, after death is like a caged bird that has been released. If it has been a long time in the body, and has become tame by many affairs and long habit, the soul will immediately take another body and once again become involved in

3348-756: The Twenty-fifth Dynasty in Manetho's Aegyptiaca , developed a syncretic worship identifying their own god Dedun with the Egyptian Osiris . They maintained that worship even after they had been driven out of Egypt. A temple dedicated to this syncretic god, built by the Kushite ruler Atlanersa , was unearthed at Jebel Barkal . Syncretism was common during the Hellenistic period, with rulers regularly identifying local deities in various parts of their domains with

3441-463: The "other" cult may survive or infiltrate without authorized syncresis . For example, some conversos developed a sort of cult for martyr-victims of the Spanish Inquisition , thus incorporating elements of Catholicism while resisting it. The Kushite kings who ruled Upper Egypt for approximately a century and the whole of Egypt for approximately 57 years, from 721 to 664 BCE, constituting

3534-754: The 1920s and the 1940s, a complete translation was published in three volumes by the Bialik Institute in 1954, 1971 and 1973. The first volume, Roman Lives , first published in 1954, presents the translations of Joseph G. Liebes to the biographies of Coriolanus , Fabius Maximus , Tiberius Gracchus and Gaius Gracchus , Cato the Elder and Cato the Younger , Gaius Marius , Sulla , Sertorius , Lucullus , Pompey , Crassus , Cicero , Julius Caesar , Brutus , and Mark Anthony . The second volume, Greek Lives , first published in 1971 presents A. A. Halevy's translations of

3627-865: The Amphictyony" ( "Δελφοὶ Χαιρωνεῦσιν ὁμοῦ Πλούταρχον ἔθηκαν | τοῖς Ἀμφικτυόνων δόγμασι πειθόμενοι "). Plutarch's surviving works were intended for Greek speakers throughout the Roman Empire, not just Greeks. Plutarch's first biographical works were the Lives of the Roman Emperors from Augustus to Vitellius . Of these, only the Lives of Galba and Otho survive. The Lives of Tiberius and Nero are extant only as fragments, provided by Damascius (Life of Tiberius, cf. his Life of Isidore), as well as Plutarch himself (Life of Nero, cf. Galba 2.1), respectively. These early emperors' biographies were probably published under

3720-552: The Church by early founding members, and have been added to over the last 40 years. Thus the list of spiritual influences grows as the Church has aged. The Church has historically exhibited strong anarchist , socialist , and utopian political orientations. These include the works of Charles Fourier , Abdullah Ocalan , Noel Ignatiev , Hakim Bey , Friederich Nietszche , Murray Bookchin , Mikhail Bakhtin , Karl Marx , Pierre-Joseph Prudhon , Max Stirner , Marcus Garvey , Malcolm X ,

3813-709: The Decline of the Oracles", "On the Delays of the Divine Vengeance", and "On Peace of Mind"; and lighter fare, such as " Odysseus and Gryllus", a humorous dialogue between Homer 's Odysseus and one of Circe 's enchanted pigs. The Moralia was composed first, while writing the Lives occupied much of the last two decades of Plutarch's life. Since Spartans wrote no history prior to the Hellenistic period – their only extant literature

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3906-520: The Delphic maxims actually originated from only five genuine wise men. There was a portrait bust dedicated to Plutarch for his efforts in helping to revive the Delphic shrines. The portrait of a philosopher exhibited at the exit of the Archaeological Museum of Delphi , dates to the 2nd century; due to its inscription, in the past it had been identified with Plutarch. The man, although bearded,

3999-510: The Elder , Mark Antony , and Marcus Junius Brutus . Plutarch's Life of Alexander , written as a parallel to that of Julius Caesar, is one of five extant tertiary sources on the Macedonian conqueror Alexander the Great . It includes anecdotes and descriptions of events that appear in no other source, just as Plutarch's portrait of Numa Pompilius , the putative second king of Rome, holds much that

4092-803: The Face Which Appears in the Orb of the Moon" (a dialogue on the possible causes for such an appearance and a source for Galileo's own work), "On Fraternal Affection" (a discourse on honour and affection of siblings toward each other), "On the Fortune or the Virtue of Alexander the Great " (an important adjunct to his Life of the great king), and "On the Worship of Isis and Osiris " (a crucial source of information on ancient Egyptian religion ); more philosophical treatises, such as "On

4185-408: The Greek cities; they can do no wrong." The lost works of Plutarch are determined by references in his own texts to them and from other authors' references over time. Parts of the Lives and what would be considered parts of the Moralia have been lost. The 'Catalogue of Lamprias', an ancient list of works attributed to Plutarch, lists 227 works, of which 78 have come down to us. The Romans loved

4278-673: The Noble Order of Moorish Sufis (a group that grew out of the Moorish Science Temple #13 in Baltimore on July 7, 1957). The Moorish Orthodox Church of America published a journal entitled the Moorish Science Monitor from 1965–1967, which has been revived at times over the next few decades. Moorish Orthodoxy was founded to explore the more esoteric dimensions of Noble Drew Ali's Moorish Science teachings, but quickly developed into

4371-666: The Prince") written by a scribe in the court of Louis XV of France and a 1470 Ulrich Han translation. In 1519, Hieronymus Emser translated De capienda ex inimicis utilitate ( wie ym eyner seinen veyndt nutz machen kan , Leipzig). The biographies were translated by Gottlob Benedict von Schirach (1743–1804) and printed in Vienna by Franz Haas (1776–1780). Plutarch's Lives and Moralia were translated into German by Johann Friedrich Salomon Kaltwasser : Following some Hebrew translations of selections from Plutarch's Parallel Lives published in

4464-469: The Pythian oracle at Delphia: one of his most important works is the "Why Pythia does not give oracles in verse" ( "Περὶ τοῦ μὴ χρᾶν ἔμμετρα νῦν τὴν Πυθίαν" ). Even more important is the dialogue "On the 'E' at Delphi" ( "Περὶ τοῦ Εἶ τοῦ ἐν Δελφοῖς" ), which features Ammonius , a Platonic philosopher and teacher of Plutarch, and Lambrias, Plutarch's brother. According to Ammonius, the letter E written on

4557-673: The Spartan egalitarianism and superhuman immunity to pain that have seized the popular imagination are likely myths, and their main architect is Plutarch. While flawed, Plutarch is nonetheless indispensable as one of the only ancient sources of information on Spartan life. Pomeroy et al. conclude that Plutarch's works on Sparta, while they must be treated with skepticism, remain valuable for their "large quantities of information" and these historians concede that "Plutarch's writings on Sparta, more than those of any other ancient author, have shaped later views of Sparta", despite their potential to misinform. He

4650-759: The added benefit or aim of reducing inter-religious discord. Such chapters often have a side-effect of arousing jealousy and suspicion among authorities and ardent adherents of the pre-existing religion. Such religions tend to inherently appeal to an inclusive, diverse audience. Sometimes the state itself sponsored such new movements, such as the Living Church founded in Soviet Russia and the German Evangelical Church in Nazi Germany , chiefly to stem all outside influences. According to some authors, "Syncretism

4743-667: The ancient customs he reports had been long abandoned, so he never actually saw what he wrote about. Plutarch's sources themselves can be problematic. As the historians Sarah Pomeroy , Stanley Burstein , Walter Donlan, and Jennifer Tolbert Roberts have written, "Plutarch was influenced by histories written after the decline of Sparta and marked by nostalgia for a happier past, real or imagined." Turning to Plutarch himself, they write, "the admiration writers like Plutarch and Xenophon felt for Spartan society led them to exaggerate its monolithic nature, minimizing departures from ideals of equality and obscuring patterns of historical change." Thus,

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4836-447: The audacity of Caesar and his refusal to dismiss Cinna's daughter, Cornelia . Other important parts are those containing his military deeds, accounts of battles and Caesar's capacity of inspiring the soldiers. His soldiers showed such good will and zeal in his service that those who in their previous campaigns had been in no way superior to others were invincible and irresistible in confronting every danger to enhance Caesar's fame. Such

4929-408: The biographies of Lycurgus , Aristides , Cimon , Pericles , Nicias , Lysander , Agesilaus , Pelopidas , Dion , Timoleon , Demosthenes , Alexander the Great , Eumenes , and Phocion . Three more biographies presented in this volume, those of Solon , Themistocles , and Alcibiades were translated by M. H. Ben-Shamai. The third volume, Greek and Roman Lives , published in 1973, presented

5022-460: The blows of one hundred and thirty missiles. In this plight, he called the enemy to him as though he would surrender. Two of them, accordingly, coming up, he lopped off the shoulder of one with his sword, smote the other in the face and put him to flight, and came off safely himself with the aid of his comrades. Again, in Britain, when the enemy had fallen upon the foremost centurions, who had plunged into

5115-832: The concordance of eclectic sources. Scientific or legalistic approaches of subjecting all claims to critical thinking prompted at this time much literature in Europe and the Americas studying non-European religions such as Edward Moor's The Hindu Pantheon of 1810, much of which was almost evangelistically appreciative by embracing spirituality and creating the space and tolerance in particular disestablishment of religion (or its stronger form, official secularisation as in France) whereby believers of spiritualism , agnosticism , atheists and in many cases more innovative or pre-Abrahimic based religions could promote and spread their belief system, whether in

5208-586: The constitutional principles of the Principate in the time of the civil war after Nero's death. While morally questioning the behavior of the autocrats, he also gives an impression of their tragic destinies, ruthlessly competing for the throne and finally destroying each other. "The Caesars' house in Rome, the Palatium, received in a shorter space of time no less than four Emperors", Plutarch writes, "passing, as it were, across

5301-550: The consulars Quintus Sosius Senecio , Titus Avidius Quietus , and Arulenus Rusticus , all of whom appear in his works. He lived most of his life at Chaeronea, and was initiated into the mysteries of the Greek god Apollo . He probably took part in the Eleusinian Mysteries . During his visit to Rome, he may have been part of a municipal embassy for Delphi : around the same time, Vespasian granted Delphi various municipal rights and privileges. In addition to his duties as

5394-487: The continued involvement of Sultan Rafi Sharif Bey (who founded the Moorish League) and the prolific writings of Hakim Bey . Syncretism The English word is first attested in the early 17th century It is from Modern Latin syncretismus , drawing on the [[[:wikt:συγκρητισμός|συγκρητισμός]]] Error: {{Langx}}: invalid parameter: |labels= ( help ) , supposedly meaning "Cretan federation"; however, this

5487-413: The destiny of his murderers, just after a detailed account of the scene when a phantom appeared to Brutus at night. Plutarch's Life of Pyrrhus is a key text because it is the main historical account on Roman history for the period from 293 to 264 BCE, for which both Dionysius ' and Livy 's texts are lost. "It is not histories I am writing, but lives ; and in the most glorious deeds there

5580-505: The family or beyond. Plutarch Plutarch ( / ˈ p l uː t ɑːr k / ; Ancient Greek : Πλούταρχος , Ploútarchos ; Koinē Greek : [ˈplúːtarkʰos] ; c.  AD 46 – 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 his Parallel Lives ,

5673-437: The games of Delphi where the emperor Nero competed and possibly met prominent Romans, including future emperor Vespasian . Plutarch and Timoxena had at least four sons and one daughter, although two died in childhood. The loss of his daughter and a young son, Chaeron, are mentioned in his letter to Timoxena. Two sons, named Autoboulos and Plutarch, appear in a number of Plutarch's works; Plutarch's treatise on Plato's Timaeus

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5766-442: The historian Herodotus for all manner of prejudice and misrepresentation. It has been called the "first instance in literature of the slashing review". The 19th century English historian George Grote considered this essay a serious attack upon the works of Herodotus, and speaks of the "honourable frankness which Plutarch calls his malignity". Plutarch makes some palpable hits, catching Herodotus out in various errors, but it

5859-492: The individual characters of the persons portrayed are not depicted for their own sake but instead serve as an illustration of an abstract principle; namely the adherence or non-adherence to Plutarch's morally founded ideal of governing as a Princeps (cf. Galba 1.3; Moralia 328D–E). Arguing from the perspective of Platonic political philosophy (cf. Republic 375E, 410D-E, 411E-412A, 442B-C), in Galba-Otho Plutarch reveals

5952-399: The introduction to his own Life of Samuel Johnson . Other admirers included Ben Jonson , John Dryden , Alexander Hamilton , John Milton , Edmund Burke , Joseph De Maistre , Mark Twain , Louis L'amour , and Francis Bacon , as well as such disparate figures as Cotton Mather and Robert Browning . Plutarch's influence declined in the 19th and 20th centuries, but it remains embedded in

6045-594: The most affectionate terms. Rualdus , in his 1624 work Life of Plutarchus , recovered the name of Plutarch's wife, Timoxena, from internal evidence afforded by his writings. A letter is still extant, addressed by Plutarch to his wife, bidding her not to grieve too much at the death of their two-year-old daughter, who was named Timoxena after her mother. He hinted at a belief in reincarnation in that letter of consolation. Plutarch studied mathematics and philosophy in Athens under Ammonius from AD 66 to 67. He attended

6138-587: The narrative progresses, the subject incurs less admiration from his biographer and the deeds that it recounts become less savoury. The murder of Cleitus the Black , which Alexander instantly and deeply regretted, is commonly cited to this end. Together with Suetonius 's The Twelve Caesars , and Caesar 's own works de Bello Gallico and de Bello Civili , the Life of Caesar is the main account of Julius Caesar 's feats by ancient historians. Plutarch starts by telling of

6231-403: The newly converted laity . Religious syncretism is the blending of two or more religious belief systems into a new system, or the incorporation into a religious tradition of beliefs from unrelated traditions. This can occur for many reasons, and the latter scenario happens quite commonly in areas where multiple religious traditions exist in proximity and function actively in a culture, or when

6324-616: The original Greek, with notes critical and historical, and a new life of Plutarch" in 6 volumes and dedicated to Lord Folkestone. Their translation was re-edited by Archdeacon Wrangham in the year 1813. From 1901 to 1912, an American classicist, Bernadotte Perrin , produced a new translation of the Lives for the Loeb Classical Library . The Moralia is also included in the Loeb series, translated by various authors. Penguin Classics began

6417-601: The original Greek. This translation has been reworked and revised several times, most recently in the 19th century by the English poet and classicist Arthur Hugh Clough (first published in 1859). One contemporary publisher of this version is Modern Library . Another is Encyclopædia Britannica in association with the University of Chicago, ISBN   0-85229-163-9 , 1952, LCCN   55-10323 . In 1770, English brothers John and William Langhorne published "Plutarch's Lives from

6510-545: The other hand, may feel quite free to incorporate other traditions into their own. Keith Ferdinando notes that the term "syncretism" is an elusive one, and can refer to substitution or modification of the central elements of a religion by beliefs or practices introduced from elsewhere. The consequence under such a definition, according to Ferdinando, can lead to a fatal "compromise" of the original religion's "integrity". In modern secular society, religious innovators sometimes construct new faiths or key tenets syncretically, with

6603-466: The parallel lives end with a comparison, while possibly they all did at one time. Also missing are many of his Lives which appear in a list of his writings: those of Hercules, the first pair of Parallel Lives , Scipio Africanus and Epaminondas , and the companions to the four solo biographies. Even the lives of such important figures as Augustus , Claudius and Nero have not been found and may be lost forever. Lost works that would have been part of

6696-547: The philosopher Sextus Empiricus . His family remained in Greece down to at least the fourth century, producing a number of philosophers and authors. Apuleius , the author of The Golden Ass , made his fictional protagonist a descendant of Plutarch. Plutarch was a vegetarian , although how long and how strictly he adhered to this diet is unclear. He wrote about the ethics of meat-eating in two discourses in Moralia . At some point, Plutarch received Roman citizenship . His sponsor

6789-456: The popular ideas of Greek and Roman history. One of his most famous quotes was one that he included in one of his earliest works. "The world of man is best captured through the lives of the men who created history." There are translations, from the original Greek , in Latin , English , French , German , Italian , Polish and Hebrew . British classical scholar H. J. Rose writes "One advantage to

6882-570: The relevant god or goddess of the Greek Pantheon as a means of increasing the cohesion of their kingdom. This practice was accepted in most locations but vehemently rejected by the Jews , who considered the identification of Yahweh with the Greek Zeus as the worst of blasphemy. The Roman Empire continued the practice, first by the identification of traditional Roman deities with Greek ones, producing

6975-565: The remaining Lives are truncated, contain obvious lacunae or have been tampered with by later writers. Extant Lives include those on Solon , Themistocles , Aristides , Agesilaus II , Pericles , Alcibiades , Nicias , Demosthenes , Pelopidas , Philopoemen , Timoleon , Dion of Syracuse , Eumenes , Alexander the Great , Pyrrhus of Epirus , Romulus , Numa Pompilius , Coriolanus , Theseus , Aemilius Paullus , Tiberius Gracchus , Gaius Gracchus , Gaius Marius , Sulla , Sertorius , Lucullus , Pompey , Julius Caesar , Cicero , Cato

7068-409: The remaining biographies and parallels as translated by Halevy. Included are the biographies of Demetrius , Pyrrhus , Agis and Cleomenes , Aratus and Artaxerxes , Philopoemen , Camillus , Marcellus , Flamininus , Aemilius Paulus , Galba and Otho , Theseus , Romulus , Numa Pompilius , and Poplicola . It completes the translation of the known remaining biographies. In the introduction to

7161-468: The soldier with cries of joy; but he, in great dejection, and with a burst of tears, cast himself at Caesar's feet, begging pardon for the loss of his shield. Again, in Africa, Scipio captured a ship of Caesar's in which Granius Petro, who had been appointed quaestor, was sailing. Of the rest of the passengers Scipio made booty, but told the quaestor that he offered him his life. Granius, however, remarking that it

7254-869: The spiritual and fundamental life force in the traditional beliefs of the Algonquian groups , with the God of Christianity . Similar identifications were made by missionaries at other locations in the Americas and Africa who encountered a local belief in a Supreme God or Supreme Spirit of some kind. Indian influences are seen in the practice of Shi'i Islam in Trinidad . Others have strongly rejected it as devaluing and compromising precious and genuine distinctions; examples include post- Exile Second Temple Judaism , Islam , and most of Protestant Christianity. Syncretism tends to facilitate coexistence and unity between otherwise different cultures and world views ( intercultural competence ),

7347-494: The stage, and one making room for another to enter" (Galba 1). Galba-Otho was handed down through different channels. It can be found in the appendix to Plutarch's Parallel Lives as well as in various Moralia manuscripts, most prominently in Maximus Planudes ' edition where Galba and Otho appear as Opera XXV and XXVI. Thus it seems reasonable to maintain that Galba-Otho was from early on considered as an illustration of

7440-545: The temple of Apollo in Delphi originated from the Seven Sages of Greece , whose maxims were also written on the walls of the vestibule of the temple and were not seven but actually five: Chilon , Solon , Thales , Bias , and Pittakos . The tyrants Cleobulos and Periandros used their political power to be incorporated in the list. Thus, the E , which was used to represent the number  5, constituted an acknowledgement that

7533-470: The troubles of the world. The worst thing about old age is that the soul's memory of the other world grows dim, while at the same time its attachment to things of this world becomes so strong that the soul tends to retain the form that it had in the body. But that soul which remains only a short time within a body, until liberated by the higher powers, quickly recovers its fire and goes on to higher things." Plutarch ("The Consolation", Moralia ) Plutarch

7626-424: The vestments and ornaments of a consul. Some time c.  AD 95 , Plutarch was made one of the two sanctuary priests for the temple of Apollo at Delphi; the site had declined considerably since the classical Greek period. Around the same time in the 90s, Delphi experienced a construction boom, financed by Greek patrons and possible imperial support. His priestly duties connected part of his literary work with

7719-498: The way which had long been usual among the Stoics. His attitude to popular religion was similar. The gods of different peoples are merely different names for one and the same divine Being and the powers that serve it. The myths contain philosophical truths which can be interpreted allegorically. Thus, Plutarch sought to combine the philosophical and religious conception of things and to remain as close as possible to tradition. Plutarch

7812-422: The world, but continued to operate as the source of all evil. He elevated God above the finite world, and thus daemons became for him agents of God's influence on the world. He strongly defends freedom of the will, and the immortality of the soul. Platonic-Peripatetic ethics were upheld by Plutarch against the opposing theories of the Stoics and Epicureans. The most characteristic feature of Plutarch's ethics

7905-411: Was Lucius Mestrius Florus , who was an associate of the new emperor Vespasian, as evidenced by his new name, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus. As a Roman citizen, Plutarch would have been of the equestrian order, he visited Rome some time c.  AD 70 with Florus, who served also as a historical source for his Life of Otho . Plutarch was on familiar terms with a number of Roman nobles, particularly

7998-489: Was a Platonist , but was open to the influence of the Peripatetics , and in some details even to Stoicism despite his criticism of their principles. He rejected only Epicureanism absolutely. He attached little importance to theoretical questions and doubted the possibility of ever solving them. He was more interested in moral and religious questions. In opposition to Stoic materialism and Epicurean atheism he cherished

8091-588: Was also referenced in saying unto Sparta, "The beast will feed again." Book IV of the Moralia contains the Roman and Greek Questions (Αἰτίαι Ῥωμαϊκαί and Αἰτίαι Ἑλλήνων). The customs of Romans and Greeks are illuminated in little essays that pose questions such as "Why were patricians not permitted to live on the Capitoline?" (no. 91), and then suggests answers to them. In " On the Malice of Herodotus ", Plutarch criticizes

8184-663: Was impossible to "read Plutarch without a tingling of the blood; and I accept the saying of the Chinese Mencius : 'A sage is the instructor of a hundred ages. When the manners of Loo are heard of, the stupid become intelligent, and the wavering, determined. ' " Montaigne 's Essays draw extensively on Plutarch's Moralia and are consciously modelled on the Greek's easygoing and discursive inquiries into science, manners, customs and beliefs. Essays contains more than 400 references to Plutarch and his works. James Boswell quoted Plutarch on writing lives, rather than biographies, in

8277-462: Was long established in the town; his father was named Autobulus and his grandfather was named Lamprias . His name is a compound of the Greek words πλοῦτος , ( ' wealth ' ) and ἀρχός , ( ' ruler, leader ' ). In the traditional aspirational Greek naming convention the whole name means something like "prosperous leader". His brothers, Timon and Lamprias, are frequently mentioned in his essays and dialogues, which speak of Timon in particular in

8370-400: Was one of many Sufi orders or merged some of the elements of the various religions of his empire. Din-i Ilahi drew elements primarily from Islam and Hinduism but also from Christianity , Jainism , and Zoroastrianism . More resembling a personality cult than a religion, it had no sacred scriptures, no priestly hierarchy, and fewer than 20 disciples, all hand-picked by Akbar himself. It

8463-662: Was responsible for organising the Pythian Games . He mentions this service in his work, Whether an Old Man Should Engage in Public Affairs (17 = Moralia 792f). The Suda , a medieval Greek encyclopedia, states that Trajan made Plutarch procurator of Illyria ; most historians consider this unlikely, since Illyria was not a procuratorial province. According to the 8th/9th-century historian George Syncellus , late in Plutarch's life, Emperor Hadrian appointed him nominal procurator of Achaea – which entitled him to wear

8556-546: Was the custom with Caesar's soldiers not to receive but to offer mercy, killed himself with a blow of his sword. Plutarch's life shows few differences from Suetonius' work and Caesar's own works (see De Bello Gallico and De Bello Civili ). Sometimes, Plutarch quotes directly from the De Bello Gallico and even tells us of the moments when Caesar was dictating his works. In the final part of this life, Plutarch recounts details of Caesar's assassination . It ends by telling

8649-433: Was the teacher of Favorinus . Plutarch's writings had an enormous influence on English and French literature . Shakespeare paraphrased parts of Thomas North 's translation of selected Lives in his plays , and occasionally quoted from them verbatim. Jean-Jacques Rousseau quotes from Plutarch in the 1762 Emile, or On Education , a treatise on the education of the whole person for citizenship. Rousseau introduces

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