플루타르크의 선별된 에세이 제1집. Selected Essays of Plutarch, Vol. I., by Plutarch
The essays here rendered into English have not been selected as the very best
pieces in Plutarch’s Moralia, but, first, as typical examples of his writing in that
kind, and, second, as covering between them a tolerably large field of interesting
matter. The Moralia offer us perhaps the best of all extant material for judging the
civilization of the middle classes of society just before and after the year 100 of
our era. From them and from Pliny’s Letters we are able to form a fairly complete
picture of a large part of that sounder social element which lay between the froth
and the dregs.
In the Introduction some remarks are offered concerning Plutarch’s literary style.
Here it will suffice to say that the English version does not seek to be either more
formal or more vivacious, either more imposing or more humorous, than the
original. An attempt has been made to preserve the tone as faithfully as the
substance. In making Plutarch write as he does in the following pages the
translator hopes that il ne luy a au moins rien prest？ qui le desmente ou qui le
desdie. It is fair to add that no modern version of the Moralia has been consulted
for the purposes of this rendering. In the Introduction, however, one cannot fail
to owe much suggestion to Gr？ard and Volkmann.