Plutarch, Comparison of Theseus and Romulus, ed. Bernadotte Perrin, 2

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

← Previous Next →

[1] ἀμφοτέρων τοίνυν τῇ φύσει πολιτικῶν γεγονότων, οὐδέτερος διεφύλαξε τὸν βασιλικὸν τρόπον ἐξέστη δὲ καὶ μετέβαλε μεταβολὴν ὁ μὲν δημοτικήν, ὁ δὲ τυραννικήν, ταὐτὸν ἀπʼ ἐναντίων παθῶν ἁμαρτόντες. δεῖ γὰρ τὸν ἄρχοντα σῴζειν πρῶτον αὐτὴν τὴν ἀρχήν σῴζεται δʼ οὐχ ἧττον ἀπεχομένη τοῦ μὴ προσήκοντος ἢ περιεχομένη τοῦ προσήκοντος.

[2] ὁ δʼ ἐνδιδοὺς ἢ ἐπιτείνων οὐ μένει βασιλεὺς οὐδὲ ἄρχων, ἀλλʼ ἢ δημαγωγὸς ἢ δεσπότης γιγνόμενος, ἐμποιεῖ τὸ μισεῖν ἢ καταφρονεῖν τοῖς ἀρχομένοις. οὐ μὴν ἀλλʼ ἐκεῖνο μὲν ἐπιεικείας δοκεῖ καὶ φιλανθρωπίας εἶναι, τοῦτο δὲ φιλαυτίας ἁμάρτημα καὶ χαλεπότητος.

Comparison of Theseus and Romulus. Plutarch. ed. Bernadotte Perrin. Cambridge, MA. 1914.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Perseus

Θησέως καὶ Ῥωμύλου σύγκρισις (Greek) (Plutarch. Plutarch's Lives, Vol. I. Perrin, Bernadotte, editor. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1914.)

Translations (1)

Comparison of Theseus and Romulus Perseus (Plutarch. Plutarch's Lives, Vol. I. Perrin, Bernadotte, translator. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1914.) — 2 focus

[1] Although Theseus and Romulus were both statesmen by nature, neither maintained to the end the true character of a king, but both deviated from it and underwent a change, the former in the direction of democracy, the latter in the direction of tyranny, making thus the same mistake through opposite affections. For the ruler must preserve first of all the realm itself, and this is preserved no less by refraining from what is unbecoming than by cleaving to what is becoming.

[2] But he who remits or extends his authority is no longer a king or a ruler; he becomes either a demagogue or a despot, and implants hatred or contempt in the hearts of his subjects. However, the first error seems to arise from kindliness and humanity; the second from selfishness and severity.

Plutarch Comparison of Theseus and Romulus 2

ed. Bernadotte Perrin

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Current edition Perseus

Stable identifiers