Author Description

Plutarch is best known today for his Lives, yet much of his work was devoted not to history, but to the daily work of character. On the Art of Living brings together a carefully curated selection of Plutarch’s moral essays from the Moralia: practical reflections on anger, speech, envy, self-restraint, confidence, flattery, and contentment of mind. These writings were not abstract philosophy, nor rigid moral doctrine. They were composed for people navigating real pressures: reputation, ambition, praise, resentment, fear, and the demands of public and private life. Plutarch writes with unusual clarity and psychological insight. He draws not from theory alone, but from lived examples: statesmen, generals, poets, and ordinary people, showing how character is shaped, tested, and sometimes distorted by success, adversity, and human relationships. His concern is not moral perfection, but proportion: how to preserve judgment without hardness, confidence without arrogance, openness without self-betrayal. The essays in this volume form a deliberate progression: from restraining anger, to mastering speech and silence, to understanding shyness and confidence, to discerning genuine friendship from flattery, to recognizing the quiet harm of envy and hatred, and finally to cultivating a steady and contented mind. This edition presents Plutarch’s reflections in a clear, modernized form while preserving the dignity and cadence of his original voice. Minimalist visual elements and thoughtful structure are designed to support slow reading and reflection. Written nearly two thousand years ago, these essays remain strikingly relevant. The challenges Plutarch addresses are not ancient but human. This is not a book of rules. It is a guide to discernment. This is the art of living.