Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers

LIVES AND OPINIONS OF THE EMINENT PHILOSOPHERS (Diogenes Laërtius, Greek, fl. 3rd century CE)

Diogenes Laërtius is not to be confused with the Athenian Diogenes the Cynic (c. 412-323 BCE). It doesn't matter much, though, as little is known of the later Diogenes--ironic, as his subject is biography. His dates are uncertain, and even his name has taken several forms--this is just the one we have settled on in modern times--and the meaning of Laërtius--whether name, nickname, or place of origin--is unknown. The Lives is a work of uneven value: Diogenes seldom assessed his sources, accepting whatever he was told. On the other hand, his is the only surviving version of some of those sources, making his work invaluable. The Lives as we have it covers around 80 Greek philosophers, starting with the legendary "Seven Sages." Six other philosophers are also mentioned incidentally, and a table of contents shows that Book VII in our incomplete manuscripts once included 20 more.

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The Buddhacharita

THE BUDDHACHARITA (Sanskrit, early 2nd century CE)

The Buddhist monk Ashvaghosha (c. 80-150 CE) was born in northern India, and is believed to have been the first Sanskrit dramatist; but today he is best remembered for the Buddhacharita or "Acts of the Buddha," an epic poem written in Sanskrit (previous Buddhist works had largely used Pali or another vernacular of Sanskrit) in the early second century CE on the life of Gautama Buddha. Only the first half survives complete in Sanskrit (fragments of the latter half remain), but Chinese and Tibetan translations were made early on. Dealing with the "miracles" in a restrained style (for the time at least) he tells of the Buddha's birth and youth, his flight, austerities and training, enlightenment, life with his followers, and death.

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The Twelve Caesars

THE TWELVE CAESARS (Roman, 121 CE)

De vita Caesarum (Latin, "About the Life of the Caesars") comprises 12 biographies of Julius Caesar and his 11 successors written by the Roman historian Suetonius (Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, c. 69 to after 122 CE) in 121 CE, during the reign of the emperor Hadrian. It was Suetonius's best-seller (being Hadrian's personal secretary probably helped boost his sales). Considered significant in antiquity, it remains a primary source on Roman history, being often compared to the work of Tacitus. Suetonius also wrote other works, on the daily life of Rome, politics, and the lives of famous writers; most of these have been lost, but a few survive in fragments.

• Suetonius's subjects, in order, were Julius Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, and Titus.

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Plutarch's Parallel Lives

PARALLEL LIVES (Plutarch, Greco-Roman, c. 100 CE)

Plutarch's Parallel Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans comprises 23 pairs of biographies. Each one pairs a leading Greek with a similar Roman, such as Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar. After each pair he usually appends an essay comparing the two (or in one case, a grouping of four). In addition to the pairs, two more unpaired names are usually added, plus two from a previous set of biographies, making 50 in all.

• Plutarch himself was a Greek philosopher, historian, biographer, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi, born in the Roman era (c. 46-after 119 CE).
• The average reader would recognize many of these names, like Theseus, Romulus, Solon, Pericles, Pompey, Cicero, Mark Anthony, Brutus, and others.
• The Lives are Plutarch's second biographical work; only fragments survive of the first, Lives of the Roman Emperors.
• Plutarch wrote another well-known work, the Moralia, a collection of essays and speeches.

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