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Two thinkers, side by side

Life

Plutarch

c. 46 CE – c. 120 CE

PlatonistEclectic

Born Chaeronea

He believed character is destiny, and proved it by writing the lives of famous men side by side.

Montaigne

1533 CE – 1592 CE

SkepticEarly Modern

Born Bordeaux

He invented the essay to ask a single question of everything: what do I know? His honest answer was, almost nothing for certain.

Connection

Plutarch favorite source Montaigne — Montaigne quarried Plutarch endlessly; the Essays are steeped in his Lives and his morals.

Ideas

Virtue Moderation On Anger

Skepticism Methodical Doubt

Words

“The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.”
— Plutarch

“What do I know?”
— Montaigne

Key Moments

c. 46 CE

Born in Chaeronea

c. 90 CE

The Moralia

c. 95 CE

Priest at Delphi

c. 100 CE

The Parallel Lives

1533 CE

Born near Bordeaux

1571 CE

Retreat to the Tower

c. 1580 CE

What Do I Know?

1592 CE

Death at Montaigne

Works

Parallel Lives

Moralia

Essays