18 h 4 minAudiobook9 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
Can you tell an honest friend from someone who only tells you what you want to hear?
In Plutarch's Morals, everyday choices become questions worth pausing over. How do you master anger, listen well, or judge praise? Plutarch gathers essays, letters and conversations around the work of shaping character. He writes as a patient teacher for friends, pupils and fellow citizens who want practical help, not a closed system of thought.
The collection moves from How to Tell a Flatterer from a Friend to On Controlling Anger, where Sulla and Fundanus discuss learning to govern your temper. How a Young Man Should Hear Poetry explores reading and education. Table-Talk brings you to dinner conversations full of curious questions, while other pieces consider marriage, grief, health and superstition.
What you’ll discover
- Friendship beyond easy praise Learn why flattery can look like friendship, and why honesty offers a better test.
- A calmer response to anger Follow Fundanus as he explains how he learns to master his own temper.
- Reading with a questioning mind Explore how poetry, reading and listening can help shape a young person's character.
- Questions around the dinner table Join guests who turn food, health and everyday puzzles into lively subjects for discussion.
- Good habits before grand theory Find practical advice alongside stories from Greek and Roman history, guided by a humane curiosity.
Who will love it
For readers who love short pieces of practical wisdom, curious stories from the ancient world, and a calm teacher on friendship, anger and character.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A teacher gathers many small guides
- Friends are tested by honesty, not flattery
- Anger and restless minds can be trained
- Reading and listening shape the soul
- Faith should be free of fear
- Curious questions and sharp arguments
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- 15-minute summary
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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Plutarchs Moralia
by Plutarch
Plutarch shows how to tell a flatterer from a friend, master anger and build the habits of a good life.
Challenging10–20 hours to read25 languages
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In short
Plutarch's Morals is a large gathering of essays, letters and conversations by Plutarch, a Greek writer from the town of Chaeronea who died in 119. He wrote them in the late first and early second centuries, when Greece lived under Roman rule.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A teacher gathers many small guides
Plutarch was born in Chaeronea, in the region of Boeotia, and lived most of his life there. He studied philosophy in Athens, travelled to Rome and Alexandria, and served as a priest at Delphi, the sanctuary of Apollo. He held local office and taught young men at home. Many of the essays began as talks or letters to friends, and you can still hear the speaker in them.
The collection holds around eighty pieces, though not all are certainly his. The Education of Children, for example, is doubted by many scholars. The pieces come in many forms. Some are plain advice, some are dialogues with named speakers, and some are lists of questions and answers about customs. The order we have came from later editors, not from Plutarch, so no one has to read it from first page to last.
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What is Plutarch's Morals about?
It is a collection of essays and dialogues on how to live well. Topics include friendship, marriage, anger, education, religion, superstition, health and dinner conversation, always with examples from Greek and Roman history.
What is the difference between the Moralia and the Morals?
They are the same work. Moralia is the Latin name for the collection, while Morals is the English title. The Greek title, Ethika, means matters of character, and the pieces cover far more than ethics.
Is Plutarch's Morals hard to read?
Mostly no. The essays are short and clear, and many give plain advice. Each piece has one job, and the stories from Greek and Roman history keep the reading lively, so you can take them one at a time.
The author
Plutarch
40–120 · Greek biographer and philosopher
Plutarch was a Greek philosopher and historian who lived from about AD 40 to about AD 120. He was born in Chaeronea, in Greece, and lived there for much of his life. He wrote Parallel Lives and essays collected as Moralia. He also served as a priest at Delphi.
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