Plutarch Quotes on Knowledge
Plutarch of Chaeronea (c.46–c.119) — the Greek philosopher and biographer whose Parallel Lives and Moralia constitute one of the principal sources for our knowledge of classical antiquity — gave the Middle Platonic philosophical tradition its most widely read works and shaped the broader humanist literary culture that survives him. The Moralia essays develop a distinctive Middle Platonist treatment of knowledge as the cultivation of philosophical character through close engagement with the entire prior tradition — Pythagorean, Academic, Aristotelian, and Stoic — under the unifying authority of Plato, with the corresponding rejection of dogmatic Stoic epistemology and skeptical suspension alike. The framework shaped the subsequent reception of classical philosophy in Renaissance humanism through Erasmus and Montaigne, and the modern formation of liberal-humanist character ideals through generations of educated readers.
Quotes
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Attributed to Plutarch:
“The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.”
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Attributed to Plutarch:
“It is a thing of no great difficulty to raise objections against another man's oration; nay, it is a very easy matter; but to produce a better in its place is a work extremely troublesome.”
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Attributed to Plutarch:
“To find a fault is easy; to do better may be difficult.”
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Attributed to Plutarch:
“Painting is silent poetry, and poetry is painting that speaks.”
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“ἀρετή τοι δυστυχοῦσι μεγάλην ἔχει μοῖραν αἰδοῦς καὶ παρὰ πολεμίοις, δειλία δὲ Ῥωμαίοις κἂν εὐποτμῇ πάντων ἀτιμότατον.”
Valour, however unfortunate, commands great respect even from enemies: but the Romans despise cowardice, even though it be prosperous. | Aemilius Paulus , 26.12 (tr. Stewart and Long) -
“Valour, however unfortunate, commands great respect even from enemies: but the Romans despise cowardice, even though it be prosperous.”
ἀρετή τοι δυστυχοῦσι μεγάλην ἔχει μοῖραν αἰδοῦς καὶ παρὰ πολεμίοις, δειλία δὲ Ῥωμαίοις κἂν εὐποτμῇ πάντων ἀτιμότατον. -
“Aemilius Paulus , 26.12 (tr. Stewart and Long)”
ἀρετή τοι δυστυχοῦσι μεγάλην ἔχει μοῖραν αἰδοῦς καὶ παρὰ πολεμίοις, δειλία δὲ Ῥωμαίοις κἂν εὐποτμῇ πάντων ἀτιμότατον. -
“ὁρᾶτ᾿" εἶπεν "ἄνδρες σύμμαχοι τὴν ἐπιμονὴν ἀνυσιμωτέραν τῆς βίας οὖσαν καὶ πολλὰ τῶν ἀθρόως ἀλήπτων ἐνδιδόντα τῷ κατὰ μικρόν.”
Perseverance is more prevailing than violence; and many things which cannot be overcome when they are together, yield themselves up when taken little by little. | Sertorius , 16.9 (tr. Dryden and Clough) -
“Perseverance is more prevailing than violence; and many things which cannot be overcome when they are together, yield themselves up when taken little by little.”
ὁρᾶτ᾿" εἶπεν "ἄνδρες σύμμαχοι τὴν ἐπιμονὴν ἀνυσιμωτέραν τῆς βίας οὖσαν καὶ πολλὰ τῶν ἀθρόως ἀλήπτων ἐνδιδόντα τῷ κατὰ μικρόν. -
“Sertorius , 16.9 (tr. Dryden and Clough)”
ὁρᾶτ᾿" εἶπεν "ἄνδρες σύμμαχοι τὴν ἐπιμονὴν ἀνυσιμωτέραν τῆς βίας οὖσαν καὶ πολλὰ τῶν ἀθρόως ἀλήπτων ἐνδιδόντα τῷ κατὰ μικρόν. -
“ὃ δὲ δοκεῖ μάλιστα καὶ λέγεται τρόπον ἀνδρὸς ἐπιδεικνύναι καὶ βασανίζειν, ἐξουσία καὶ ἀρχὴ πᾶν πάθος κινοῦσα καὶ πᾶσαν ἀποκαλύπτουσα κακίαν.”
Authority and place demonstrate and try the tempers of men, by moving every passion and discovering every frailty. | Comparison of Demosthenes and Cicero , 3.2 (tr. Dryden and Clough) -
“Authority and place demonstrate and try the tempers of men, by moving every passion and discovering every frailty.”
ὃ δὲ δοκεῖ μάλιστα καὶ λέγεται τρόπον ἀνδρὸς ἐπιδεικνύναι καὶ βασανίζειν, ἐξουσία καὶ ἀρχὴ πᾶν πάθος κινοῦσα καὶ πᾶσαν ἀποκαλύπτουσα κακίαν. -
“Comparison of Demosthenes and Cicero , 3.2 (tr. Dryden and Clough)”
ὃ δὲ δοκεῖ μάλιστα καὶ λέγεται τρόπον ἀνδρὸς ἐπιδεικνύναι καὶ βασανίζειν, ἐξουσία καὶ ἀρχὴ πᾶν πάθος κινοῦσα καὶ πᾶσαν ἀποκαλύπτουσα κακίαν. -
“τόν γε σοφώτατον οὐχ ἁμαρτήσεται σύμβουλον ἀναμείνας, χρόνον.”
Be ruled by time, the wisest counsellor of all. | Pericles , 18.2 (tr. Dryden and Clough)