Classics For Pleasure – Michael Dirda (1)

ca. 66) Parallel Lives of the Greeks and Romans Plutarch’s Lives can make a strong claim to be the most entertaining book in all antiquity. This assemblage-indeed, small library-of forty-six short biographies of the most notable Greeks and Romans offers lively anecdotes, condensed history, reflections on virtue and right conduct, and much of what we half-know about the legendary Theseus and Romulus, the notorious and sexy Alcibiades, and the or­ ators Demosthenes and Cicero.

There are also many pages devoted to such inspiring, if now less familiar, figures as Cato, Lucullus, Aris­ tides, and Themistocles. For centuries Plutarch graced every gentle­ man’s library as a bible of moral lessons and noble examples. The Greek biographer opens his Lives with this leisurely, invit­ ing sentence, promising to resist the siren call of make-believe and myth: As geographers .

. . crowd into the edges of rheir maps parts of the world which rhey do nor know abour, adding nores in the margin ro rhe effect, rhar beyond this lies nothing bur sandy deserrs full of wild beasts, unapproachable bogs, Scythian ice, or a frozen sea, so . . . I might say . . . Beyond rhis [book] there is norhing bur prodigies and fictions, rhe only inhabiranrs are the poers and inventors of fables.

Despite this implicit contract to be faithful to the historical record and refuse the enticements of fanciful speculation, Plutarch lards his biographies with plenty of semi-mythical stories. For in­ stance, in tracing the lineage of Lycurgus, the stern lawgiver of Sparta, he pauses for this little case study in self-control: There goes a story of this king Sous, rhar, being besieged by rhe Clitorians in a dry and stony place so rhar he could come ar no warer, he was ar lasr consrrained to agree with rhem upon rhese rerms, rhar he would restore to rhem all his conquesrs, provided thar himself and all his men should drink of rhe nearesr spring.

Afrer the usual oaths and rarificarions, he called his soldiers to­ gerher, and offered ro him rhar would forbear drinking, his king­ dom for a reward; and when nor a man of rhem was able to forbear, in shon, when they had all drunk rheir fill, ar lasr comes king Sous himself to rhe spring, and, having sprinkled his face only, withour swallowing one drop, marches off in rhe face of his enemies, refusing ro yield up his conquesrs, because himself and all his men had nor, according to rhe arricles, drunk of warer.

“As you read these delighrful mini-essays, rwo-ro-live pages long, mosr of them full of glancing references ro other books besides rheir subjecrs, you may well conclude thar Dirda has indeed read everyrhing worth reading . . . As pleasing as the works they promulgare, rhe essays, themarically grouped, are a rrue smorgasbord for the mind-or rather, hors d’ oeuvres so rasry thar you can’r wair for the oeuvres ..

. The wriring is always plain yer pungenr, somerimes inspired, and wearing irs erudirion as lighdy as a pair of lived-in pajamas.” -John Simon, The kekly Standard “Casually brillianr .. . Indispensable. ” -Publishers kekly (srarred review) “Dirda is a masrer of the lighr rouch-his rone is invariably cordial and mea­ sured . .. His expansiveness, his love of genre licrion like derecrive novels, give his wriring an approachabiliry lacking in so much lirerary criricism. ” -Marthew Price, The Boston Globe “A brillianr new collecrion of essays by the Pulirzer Prize-winning criric Michael Dirda.

In an age of image overload, Dirda inspires people ro read . . . Classics for Pleasure is irself a pleasure ro dip inro any rime. ” -Paul Conrino, America “Dirda’s crysralline prose-ripe with disrincr and ofren exquisire dicrion . . . and his parenr love affair with lirerarure and wrirers, elevates this collection of essays above a mere reference guide . . . As Dirda writes ofJohn Webster’s ‘The Duchess of Malli,’ the same could be said of his book: ‘It’s hard ro stop quoting.

“‘ -Chrisrine Thomas, San Francisco Chronicle “Dirda conveys his passion for some 90 aurhors in brief essays filled wirh al­ luring quorarions, juicy minibiographies, and sharp assessmenrs . . . Dirda is both witry and wise.” -Heller McAJpin, The Christian Science Monitor “A delightful collection of short essays. ” -Bob Minzesheimer, USA Today . ‘One of the most riveting and enlightening books I have ever had the for­ tune to digest . . . Urbane, informed, cheerful, utterly absorbed by great stories and great storytellers in many languages and from many cultures and creeds, Dirda manages not only to salute some 90 wonderful writers who have slipped from the literary spotlight, but to do so with a book that you will keep on your shelf the rest of your life and leave to your favorite grand­ child when your chapter closes.

” -Brian Doyle, The Christian Century “Dirda’s humor and wit are evident throughout .. .

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: 4136891845699038
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 37,414,334 bytes (35.681 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• ISBN: 9780151012510, 9780156033855
• Pages: 357
• Language: English (en)

Reading & Word Statistics

• Estimated Reading Time: 553.49 minutes
• Total Words: 110,697
• Total Characters: 668,428
• Average Words per Page: 310.08
• Average Characters per Page: 1872.35

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