From Plutarch's 'Life of Cato the Elder,' quote, 'A slave of his was expected to either be busy about the house or to be asleep, and he was very partial to the sleepy ones.'.
The best things said about it
Um i think biographies have had a very large impact on me um you know plutarch's greek and roman lives after i read plato i started reading a bunch of stuff greek stuff.
Um the line that stands out to me and I think to a lot of us uh is from Plutarch in his work lives where he says the first messenger that gave notice of Lucilles's coming was so far from pleasing Ty Grains that he had his head caught off were his pains and no man dared to bring further.
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Why people recommend it
Lives by Plutarch is a classic collection of parallel biographies of famous Greek and Roman leaders, offering enduring moral and historical lessons from antiquity. On Stuff They Don't Want You To Know, Matt Frederick quoted a memorable passage from the work concerning ancient diplomatic immunity and the harsh fate of messengers who brought bad news. On Behind the Bastards, Robert Evans drew from the specific life of Cato the Elder to highlight historical attitudes toward slavery, noting the harsh expectations placed on household slaves. On the Lex Fridman Podcast, Sergey Nazarov discussed the profound impact that reading Plutarch's Greek and Roman Lives had on his intellectual development after studying Plato, emphasizing the timeless value of classical philosophical ideas. Although briefly mentioned in passing on other shows alongside mixed martial arts instructional guides, the core discussions surrounding Plutarch's text consistently focus on its rich historical anecdotes, ancient governance practices, and the deep psychological insights it provides into the behavior of historical figures whose legacies continue to influence modern political thought and philosophy.
Every mention
Craig Jones I mean, we — I'm trying to remember what books I had; man, I had like, uh, BJ Penn's book, Eddie Bravo's bo… 1
“I mean, we — I'm trying to remember what books I had; man, I had like, uh, BJ Penn's book, Eddie Bravo's book, like the actual textbooks, and then I started buying the instruction. I was like, I had Kiro Pan's Judo for MMA, I had Ryan Hughes; he was one — he really changed the game with instructionals in”
Matt Frederick Um the line that stands out to me and I think to a lot of us uh is from Plutarch in his work lives where he… 1
“Um the line that stands out to me and I think to a lot of us uh is from Plutarch in his work lives where he says the first messenger that gave notice of Lucilles's coming was so far from pleasing Ty Grains that he had his head caught off were his pains and no man dared to bring further”
Robert Evans From Plutarch's 'Life of Cato the Elder,' quote, 'A slave of his was expected to either be busy about the h… 1
“From Plutarch's 'Life of Cato the Elder,' quote, 'A slave of his was expected to either be busy about the house or to be asleep, and he was very partial to the sleepy ones.'”
Sergey Nazarov um i think biographies have had a very large impact on me um you know plutarch's greek and roman lives afte… 1
“um i think biographies have had a very large impact on me um you know plutarch's greek and roman lives after i read plato i started reading a bunch of stuff greek stuff”
