The first full in-depth analysis and interpretation of Plutarch's Regum et imperatorum apophthegmata in its entirety as a literary piece of art.
Plutarch's Regum et imperatorum apophthegmata (Sayings of Kings and Commanders) holds a peculiar position in his oeuvre. This collection of almost 500 anecdotes of barbarian, Greek, and Roman rulers and generals is introduced by a dedicatory letter to Trajan as a summary of the author's well-known and widely read Parallel Lives. The work is therefore Plutarch's only text that explicitly addresses a Roman emperor and is likely to shed light on his biographical technique. Yet the collection has been understudied, because its authenticity has been generally rejected since the nineteenth century. Recent scholarship defends Plutarch's authorship of the text, but some remain sceptical. This book restores its reputation and provides a first full literary analysis of the letter and collection as a genuine work of Plutarch, wherein he attempts to educate his ruler by means of great role models of the past. Plutarch's thinking about the function of role models (exempla) is not only relevant for Plutarchan research, but also for our knowledge of exemplarity, a key feature both in Greek and Latin literature in the early imperial period in general. Therefore An Opaque Mirror for Trajan is also of interest for literary and historical scholars who study the broader context of ancient literature of the first centuries CE.
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Rezensionen / Stimmen
Van der Wiel's thoughtful, detailed, and meticulous study breaks new ground, and greatly enhances our understanding of the relationship between Plutarch's dedication letter to Trajan and the 'Regum et imperatorum apophthegmata' collection. He forcefully and persuasively argues for the authenticity of both the letter and the collection. This is unquestionably the most important interpretation of this somewhat neglected aspect of Plutarch's oeuvre yet published.
Mark A. Beck, University of South Carolina Superbly thorough and in many ways groundbreaking reading of an understudied work by Plutarch. The ethical programme and historical scope of 'Sayings of Kings and Commanders' are vigorously reappraised.
Alexei V Zadorojnyi, University of Liverpool Van der Wiel provides an immensely valuable study of the Reg. et Imp. Apoph. While it presumes a familiarity with the collection, clear programmatic introductions to each part and many of the subsections as well as regular summarising conclusions make the volume approachable and accessible even for those unfamiliar with the text. The breadth of parallel and comparative material from the Plutarchan corpus-especially the Lives-ensures the book will be informative and engaging for senior students and scholars interested in Plutarch's conceptualisation of moral education. Ultimately, van der Wiel offers a guide for how we can, and perhaps ought, to read Plutarch-in the Reg. et Imp. Apoph. itself, to be sure, but also in the broader Plutarchan corpus. - Colin Bailey, Histos 19 (May):i-vi. https://doi.org/10.29173/histos707
Reihe
Sprache
Verlagsort
Zielgruppe
Für höhere Schule und Studium
US School Grade: College Graduate Student and over
Maße
Höhe: 234 mm
Breite: 156 mm
Gewicht
ISBN-13
978-94-6270-390-2 (9789462703902)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
Laurens van der Wiel is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Warsaw. He is part of the project "Thinking of Thinking. Conceptual Metaphors of Cognition in the Plutarchan Corpus".
Acknowledgements
Text Editions, Translations, and Abbreviations
Introduction
Part I. Preliminaries
1 Authenticity
1.1 The Dedicatory Letter
1.1.1 Writing Style and Content
1.1.2 Plutarch and Trajan
1.1.3 Conclusion
1.2 The Collection
1.2.1 Hiatus
1.2.2 The Origins of the Apophthegms
1.3 Conclusion
2 Dating
2.1 Absolute Dating
2.2 Relative Dating: The Collection and the Parallel Lives
2.2.1 The Connection Between the Works
2.2.2 Romans Absent From the Collection
2.2.3 The Relative Chronology
2.3 Conclusion
3 Early Imperial Anecdote Collections
3.1 Plutarch's View on Collections of Sayings and Anecdotes
3.1.1 Gnome, apophthegma, apomnemoneuma, and chreia
3.1.2 Anecdote Collections
3.2 Plutarch and Valerius Maximus
3.2.1 The Prefaces
3.2.2 The Structure of the Collections
3.3 Conclusion
Part II. A Literary Analysis
Introduction
1 The Dedicatory Letter (172B-E)
1.1 The Dedication (172BC)
1.2 The Apologetic Part (172C-E)
1.3 A Clash between the Two Parts
1.4 Conclusion
2 The Letter and the Structure of the Collection
2.1 Apophthegms
2.2 Sections on Historical Figures
2.3 Sections on Peoples and Types of Government
2.4 A World History
2.5 Overview
3 The Monarchical Sections (172E-184F)
3.1 Persian Despotism (172E-174B)
3.1.1 Cyrus (172EF)
3.1.2 Darius (172F-173B)
3.1.3 Xerxes (173BC)
3.1.4 Four Sections on Artaxerxes Mnemon (173D-174B)
3.1.5 Memnon (174B)
3.2 The Egyptian Kings (174C)
3.3 Barbarian Disarray (174C-F)
3.4 Sicilian Tyranny (175A-177A)
3.4.1 Gelon and Hiero (175A-C)
3.4.2 The Dionysii (175C-176E)
3.4.3 Dion and Agathocles (176E-177A)
3.5 Macedonian Monarchy (177A-184F)
3.5.1 Archelaus (177AB)
3.5.2 Philippus (177C-179C)
3.5.3 Alexander (179D-181F)
3.5.4 The Diadochi (181F-184F)
4 The Greeks of the Core Mainland (184F-194E)
4.1 The Athenians (184F-189D)
4.1.1 Love of Honour and Justice (184F-186F)
4.1.2 Four Generals, Two Orators (186F-187E)
4.1.3 Phocion (187E-189B)
4.1.4 Peisistratus and Demetrius of Phalerum (189B-D)
4.2 The Spartans (189D-192C)
4.2.1 Early Sparta (189D-190A)
4.2.2 A Period of Wars (190A-D)
4.2.3 Lysander (190D-F)
4.2.4 Agesilaus (190F-191D)
4.2.5 Nine Short Sections (191D-192C)
4.3 The Thebans (192C-194E)
4.3.1 Epameinondas (192C-194C)
4.3.2 Pelopidas (194C-E)
5 The Roman Sections (194E-208A)
5.1 The Conquerors of the Roman Republic (194E-202E)
5.1.1 Manius Curius and Gaius Fabricius (194E-195C)
5.1.2 Fabius Maximus and Scipio Maior (195C-197A)
5.1.3 Titus Quintius Flamininus (197A-D)
5.1.4 A General's Experience: Three Sections (197D-198D)
5.1.5 Cato Maior (198D-199E)
5.1.6 Scipio Minor (199F-201F)
5.1.7 Caecilius Metellus (201F-202A)
5.1.8 Marius, Sulla, and the Civil War (202A-E)
5.2 Gaius Popillius (202E-203A)
5.3 The End of the Roman Republic (203A-206F)
5.3.1 Lucullus and Pompeius (203A-204E)
5.3.2 Cicero (204E-205E)
5.3.3 Caesar (205E-206F)
5.4 The Roman Principate: Augustus (206F-208A)
Concluding Remarks
Part III. A Guide for the Emperor
Introduction
1 The Individual Characters
1.1 Moralism and Characterization
1.1.1 Moralism
1.1.2 Characterization
1.1.3 Conclusion: A Collection of Problematic Heroes?
1.2 Negative Exempla
1.2.1 The Prologue to Demetrius-Antonius
1.2.2 Negative Exempla in Regum et imperatorum apophthegmata
1.3 'Perfect' Exempla
1.3.1 The Comparison of Aristeides and Cato Maior
1.3.2 Perfect Exempla in Regum et imperatorum apophthegmata
1.4 Positive Exempla
1.4.1 The Prologue to Pericles-Fabius Maximus
1.4.2 The Prologue to Aemilius-Timoleon
1.4.3 De profectibus in virtute 84B-85C
1.4.4 Positive Exempla in Regum et imperatorum apophthegmata
1.5 Conclusion
2 Peoples and Their Rulers
2.1 Three Types of Barbarians
2.2 Sicilian Tyranny
2.3 True Monarchy
2.4 Other Types of Government
2.5 Conclusion
3 A World History
3.1 Plutarch's 'End of History'
3.2 World History in Regum et imperatorum apophthegmata
3.2.1 Two Paralleled Chronologies
3.2.2 The Driving Force Behind History: ?????????
3.3 Conclusion: A Warning for the Emperor
Concluding Remarks
General Conclusion
Appendices
Appendix I: A Restructuring of the Collection
Appendix II: The Collection and the Plutarchan Oeuvre
1 List of Parallel Passages
2 Regum et imperatorum apophthegmata and the Parallel Lives
3 Apophthegms Occurring in Two Other Plutarchan Works
Appendix III: The Relative Chronology of the Parallel Lives
1 Methodology
2 The Cross-References: Jones (1966) Revisited
3 Content-Related Criteria
4 Conclusion
Bibliography
Primary Literature
Secondary Literature
Index locorum
