Plutarch's Prism: Classical Reception and Public Humanism in France and England, 1500–1800

· Ideas in Context Book 142 · Cambridge University Press
Ebook
457
Pages
Ratings and reviews aren’t verified  Learn More

About this ebook

Throughout the early modern period, political theorists in France and England drew on the works of Plutarch to offer advice to kings and princes. Elizabeth I herself translated Plutarch in her later years, while Jacques Amyot's famous translations of Plutarch's The Parallel Lives led to the wide distribution of his work and served as a key resource for Shakespeare in the writing of his Roman plays, through Sir Thomas North's English translations. Rebecca Kingston's new study explores how Plutarch was translated into French and English during the Renaissance and how his works were invoked in political argument from the early modern period into the 18th century, contributing to a tradition she calls 'public humanism'. This book then traces the shifting uses of Plutarch in the Enlightenment, leading to the decline of this tradition of 'public humanism'. Throughout, the importance of Plutarch's work is highlighted as a key cultural reference and for its insight into important aspects of public service.

About the author

Rebeca Kingston is Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto. She is the recipient of three Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada grants, and has been awarded research fellowships at Clare Hall, Cambridge, the Bodleian Library Centre for the Study of the Book, and the Jackman Institute for the Humanities at the University of Toronto. She is the author of Montesquieu and the Parlement of Bordeaux (1996), which was awarded the Prix Montesquieu by the Société Montesquieu, and Public Passion: Rethinking the Grounds for Political Justice (2011). She is editing the forthcoming Plutarch: Selected Writings, with the translator Elizabeth Sawyer for the series 'Cambridge Texts in the History of Political Thought'.

Rate this ebook

Tell us what you think.

Reading information

Smartphones and tablets
Install the Google Play Books app for Android and iPad/iPhone. It syncs automatically with your account and allows you to read online or offline wherever you are.
Laptops and computers
You can listen to audiobooks purchased on Google Play using your computer's web browser.
eReaders and other devices
To read on e-ink devices like Kobo eReaders, you'll need to download a file and transfer it to your device. Follow the detailed Help Center instructions to transfer the files to supported eReaders.