Plutarch, Quomodo adolescens poetas audire debeat, ed. William W. Goodwin, 10

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[10] These things therefore may be of use to preserve us from the hurt we might get by the study of poems. Now, as on a vine the fruit oftentimes lies shadowed and hidden under its large leaves and luxuriant branches, so in the poet’s phrases and fictions that encompass them there are also many profitable and useful things concealed from the view of young men. This, however, ought not to be suffered; nor should we be led away from things themselves thus, but rather adhere to such of them as tend to the promoting of virtue and the well forming of our manners. It will not be altogether useless therefore, to treat briefly in the next place of passages of that nature. Wherein I intend to touch only at some particulars, leaving all longer discourses, and the brimming up and furnishing them with a multitude of instances, to those who write more for show and ostentation.

First, therefore, let our young man be taught to understand good and bad manners and persons, and from thence apply his mind to the words and deeds which the poet decently assigns to either of them. For example, Achilles, though in some wrath, speaks to Agamemnon thus decently:

Nor, when we take a Trojan town, can I

With thee in spoils and splendid prizes vie;

whereas Thersites to the same person speaks reproachfully in this manner:—

’Tis thine whate’er the warrior’s breast inflames,

The golden spoil, and thine the lovely dances.

With all the wealth our wars and blood bestow,

Thy tents are crowded and thy chests o’erflow.

Again, Achilles thus:—

Whene’er, by Jove’s decree, our conquering powers

Shall humble to the dust Troy’s lofty towers;

but Thersites thus:—

Whom I or some Greek else as captive bring.

Again, Diomedes, when Agamemnon taking a view of the army spoke reproachfully to him,

To his hard words forbore to make reply,

For the respect he bare to majesty;

whereas Sthenelus, a man of small note, replies on him thus:—

Sir, when you know the truth, what need to lie?

For with our fathers we for valor vie.

Now the observation of such difference will teach the young man the decency of a modest and moderate temper, and the unbecoming nauseousness of the contrary vices of boasting and cracking of a man’s own worth. And it is worth while also to take notice of the demeanor of Agamemnon in the same passage. For he passeth by Sthenelus unspoken to; but perceiving Ulysses to be offended, he neglects not him, but applies himself to answer him:—

Struck with his generous wrath, the king replies.²

For to have apologized to every one had been too servile and misbecoming the dignity of his person; whereas equally to have neglected every one had been an act of insolence and imprudence. And very handsome it is that Diomedes, though in the heat of the battle he answers the king only with silence, yet after the battle was over useth more liberty towards him, speaking thus:—

You called me coward, sir, before the Greeks.

It is expedient also to take notice of the different carriage of a wise man and of a soothsayer popularly courting the multitude. For Chalcas very unseasonably makes no scruple to traduce the king before the people, as having been the cause of the pestilence that was befallen them. But Nestor, intending to bring in a discourse concerning the reconciling Achilles to him, that he might not seem to charge Agamemnon before the multitude with the miscarriage his passion had occasioned, only adviseth him thus:—

But thou, O king, to council call the old....

Wise weighty counsels aid a state distress’d,

And such a monarch as can choose the best;

which done, accordingly after supper he sends his ambassadors. Now this speech of Nestor tended to the rectifying of what he had before done amiss; but that of Chalcas, only to accuse and disparage him.

There is likewise consideration to be had of the different manners of nations, such as these. The Trojans enter into battle with loud outcries and great fierceness; but in the army of the Greeks,

Sedate and silent move the numerous bands;

No sound, no whisper, but the chief’s commands;

Those only heard, with awe the rest obey.

For when soldiers are about to engage an enemy, the awe they stand in of their officers is an argument both of courage and obedience. For which purpose Plato teacheth us that we ought to inure ourselves to fear blame and disgrace more than labor and danger. And Cato was wont to say that he liked men that were apt to blush better than those that looked pale.

Moreover, there is a particular character to be noted of the men who undertake for any action. For Dolon thus promiseth:—

I’ll pass through all their lost in a disguise

To their flag-ship, where she at anchor lies.

But Diomedes promiseth nothing, but only tells them he shall fear the less if they send a companion with him; whereby is intimated, that discreet foresight is Grecian and civil, but rash confidence is barbarous and evil; and the former is therefore to be imitated, and the latter to be avoided.

It is a matter too of no unprofitable consideration, how the minds of the Trojans and of Hector too were affected when he and Ajax were about to engage in a single combat. For Aeschylus, when, upon one of the fighters at fisticuffs in the Isthmian games receiving a blow on the face, there was made a great outcry among the people, said: What a thing is practice! See how the lookers-on only cry out, but the man that received the stroke is silent. But when the poet tells us, that the Greeks rejoiced when they saw Ajax in his glistering armor, but

The Trojans’ knees for very fear did quake,

And even Hector’s heart began to ache;

who is there that wonders not at this difference,—when the heart of him that was to run the risk of the combat only beats inwardly, as if he were to undertake a mere wrestling or running match, but the very bodies of the spectators tremble and shake, out of the kindness and fear which they had for their king?

In the same poet also we may observe the difference betwixt the humor of a coward and a valiant man. For Thersites

Against Achilles a great malice had,

And wise Ulysses he did hate as bad;

but Ajax is always represented as friendly to Achilles; and particularly he speaks thus to Hector concerning him:—

Hector! approach my arm, and singly know

What strength thou last, and what the Grecian foe.

Achilles shuns the fight; yet some there are

Not void of soul, and not unskill’d in war:

wherein he insinuates the high commendation of that valiant man. And in what follows, he speaks like handsome things of his fellow-soldiers in general, thus:—

Whole troops of heroes Greece has yet to boast,

And sends thee one, a sample of her host;

wherein he doth not boast himself to be the only or the best champion, but one of those, among many others, who were fit to undertake that combat.

What hath been said is sufficient upon the point of dissimilitudes; except we think fit to add this, that many of the Trojans came into the enemy’s power alive, but none of the Grecians; and that many of the Trojans supplicated to their enemies,—as (for instance) Adrastus, the sons of Antimachus, Lycaon,—and even Hector himself entreats Achilles for a sepulture; but not one of these doth so, as judging it barbarous to supplicate to a foe in the field, and more Greek-like either to conquer or die.

Quomodo adolescens poetas audire debeat. Plutarch. ed. William W. Goodwin. Boston. 1874.

Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.

Funding provided by The National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Perseus

How a Young Man Ought to Hear Poems (English) (Plutarch. Plutarch's Morals, Vol. II. Goodwin, William W., editor; Ford, Simon, translator. Boston: Little, Brown, and Company; Cambridge: Press of John Wilson and Son, 1874.)

Editions (1)

Πῶς δεῖ τὸν νέον ποιημάτων ἀκούειν. Perseus (Plutarch. Plutarchi Chaeronensis Moralia, Vol I. Vernardakēs, Grēgorios N., editor. Leipzig: Teubner, 1888.) — 10 focus

[10] ἐπεὶ δʼ ὥσπερ ἐν ἀμπέλου φύλλοις καὶ κλήμασιν εὐθαλοῦσι πολλάκις ὁ καρπὸς ἀποκρύπτεται καὶ λανθάνει κατασκιαζόμενος, ,οὕτως ἐν, ποιητικῇ λέξει καὶ μυθεύμασι περικεχυμένοις πολλὰ διαφεύγει τὸν νέον ὠφέλιμα καὶ χρήσιμα δεῖ δὲ τοῦτο μὴ πάσχειν ἀποπλανᾶσθαι τῶν πραγμάτων, 5 ἐμφύεσθαι μάλιστα τοῖς πρὸς ἀρετὴν φέρουσι καὶ δυναμένοις πλάττειν τὸ ἦθος, οὐ χεῖρόν ἐστι καὶ περὶ τούτων διελθεῖν ἐν βραχέσιν, ἁψάμενον ὡς ἐν τύπῳ τῶν πραγμάτων, μήκη δὲ καὶ κατασκευὰς καὶ 28f παραδειγμάτων ὄχλον ἐῶντα τοῖς ἐπιδεικτικώτερον 10 γράφουσι πρῶτον μὲν οὖν τὰ χρηστὰ καὶ τὰ φαῦλα γιγνώσκων ὁ νέος καὶ πρόσωπα τοῖς λεγομένοις προσεχέτω καὶ ταῖς πράξεσιν ἃς ὁ ποιητὴς ἑκατέροις προσηκόντως ἀποδίδωσιν οἷον ὁ Ἀχιλλεὺς πρὸς τὸν Ἀγαμέμνονα λέγει, καίπερ λέγων μετʼ 15

οὐ γὰρ σοί ποτε ἶσον ἔχω γέρας, ὁππότʼ Ἀχαιοὶ

Τρώων ἐκπέρσωσʼ εὖ ναιόμενον πτολίεθρον

ὁ δὲ Θερσίτης τῷ αὐτῷ λοιδορούμενος λέγει

πλεῖαί τοι χαλκοῦ κλισίαι, πολλαὶ δὲ γυναῖκες

εἰσὶν ἐνὶ κλισίῃς³ ἐξαίρετοι, ἅς τοι Ἀχαιοὶ 20 29a

πρωτίστῳ δίδομεν, εὖτʼ ἂν πτολίεθρον ἕλωμεν

, καὶ πάλιν ὁ Ἀχιλλεὺς

αἴ κέ ποθι Ζεὺς

⁴

δῷσι πόλιν Τροίην εὐτείχεον ἐξαλαπάξαι

ὁ δὲ Θερσίτης 25

ὅν κεν ἐγὼ δήσας ἀγάγω ἢ ἄλλος Ἀχαιῶν

⁵

πάλιν τοῦ Ἀγαμέμνονος ἐν τῇ ἐπιπωλήσει τὸν Διομήδην λοιδορήσαντος ὁ μὲν οὐδὲν ἀντεῖπεν

αἰδεσθεὶς βασιλῆος ἐνιπὴν αἰδοίοιο

⁶

, ὁ δὲ Σθένελος, οὗ μηδεὶς λόγος,

Ἀτρείδη, φησί, μὴ ψεύδεʼ ἐπιστάμενος σάφα⁷ εἰπεῖν. 5 29b

ἡμεῖς τοι πατέρων μέγʼ ἀμείνονες εὐχόμεθʼ εἶναι

ἡ γὰρ τοιαύτη διαφορὰ μὴ παρορωμένη διδάξει τὸν νέον ἀστεῖον ἡγεῖσθαι τὴν ἀτυφίαν καὶ μετριότητα, τὴν δὲ μεγαλαυχίαν καὶ περιαυτολογίαν ὡς φαῦλον 10 εὐλαβεῖσθαι. χρήσιμον δὲ καὶ τὸ τοῦ Ἀγαμέμνονος κατανοεῖν ἐνταῦθα· τὸν μὲν γὰρ Σθένελον ἀπροσαύδητον παρῆλθε, τοῦ δʼ Ὀδυσσέως οὐκ ἠμέλησεν ἀλλʼ ἠμείψατο καὶ προσηγόρευσεν,

ὡς γνῶ χωομένοιο· πάλιν δʼ ὅ γε λάζετο μῦθον

⁸

15 τὸ μὲν γὰρ πᾶσιν ἀπολογεῖσθαι θεραπευτικὸν καὶ οὐκ 29c ἀξιωματικόν τὸ δὲ πάντων καταφρονεῖν ὑπερήφανον καὶ ἀνόητον. ἄριστα δʼ ὁ Διομήδης ἐν μὲν τῇ μάχῃ σιωπᾷ κακῶς ἀκούων ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως, μετὰ δὲ τὴν μάχην παρρησίᾳ χρῆται πρὸς αὐτὸν 20

ἀλκὴν μέν μοι πρῶτον ὀνείδισας ἐν Δαναοῖσιν

⁹

εὖ δʼ ἔχει καὶ φρονίμου διαφορὰν ἀνδρὸς καὶ μάντεως πανηγυρικοῦ μὴ παραλιπεῖν. ὁ μὲν γὰρ Κάλχας οὐ συνεῖδε τὸν καιρόν, ἀλλʼ ἐν πλήθει παρʼ οὐδὲν ἐποιήσατο κατηγορῆσαι τοῦ βασιλέως ὡς τὸν 25 λοιμὸν αὐτοῖς ἐπαγαγόντος·¹⁰ ὁ δὲ Νέστωρ βουλόμενος ἐμβάλλειν λόγον ὑπὲρ τῶν πρὸς τὸν Ἀχιλλέα 29d διαλλαγῶν, ἵνα μὴ διαβάλλειν δοκῇ τὸν Ἀγαμέμνονα πρὸς τὸ πλῆθος ὡς ἁμαρτόντα καὶ χρησάμενον ὀργῇ,

δαίνυ δαῖτα γέρουσιν· ἔοικέ τοι, οὔ τοι ἀεικὲς

¹¹

πολλῶν δʼ ἀγρομένων τῷ πείσεαι ὅς κεν ἀρίστην 5

βουλὴν βουλεύσῃ.

καὶ μετὰ τὸ δεῖπνον ἐξαποστέλλει τοὺς πρέσβεις· τοῦτο γὰρ ἦν ἐπανόρθωσις ἁμαρτίας, ἐκεῖνο δὲ κατηγορία καὶ προπηλακισμός Ἔτι δὲ καὶ τὰς ἐν τοῖς γένεσι διαφορὰς σκεπτέον, 10 ὧν τοιοῦτός ἐστιν ὁ τρόπος. οἱ μὲν Τρῶες ἐπίασι μετὰ κραυγῆς καὶ θράσους, οἱ δʼ Ἀχαιοὶ

σιγῇ δειδιότες σημάντορας

¹²

29e τὸ γὰρ ἐν χερσὶ τῶν πολεμίων ὄντων φοβεῖσθαι τοὺς ἄρχοντας ἀνδρείας ἅμα καὶ πειθαρχίας σημεῖον. 15 ὅθεν ὁ μὲν Πλάτων ἐθίζει τοὺς ψόγους φοβεῖσθαι καὶ τὰ αἰσχρὰ μᾶλλον τοὺς πόνους καὶ τοὺς κινδύνους, ὁ δὲ Κάτων ἔλεγε φιλεῖν τοὺς ἐρυθριῶντας μᾶλλον ἢ τοὺς ὠχριῶντας. ἔστι δὲ καὶ τῶν 20 ἐπαγγελιῶν ἴδιος χαρακτήρ. ὁ μὲν γὰρ Δόλων ἐπαγγέλλεται

τόφρα γὰρ ἐς στρατὸν εἶμι διαμπερές, ὄφρʼ ἂν ἵκωμαι

¹³

νῆʼ Ἀγαμεμνονέην,

ὁ δὲ Διομήδης ἐπαγγέλλεται μὲν οὐδέν, ἧττον δʼ ἄν 25 29f φησι φοβηθῆναι μεθʼ ἑτέρου πεμπόμενος. Ἑλληνικὸν οὖν καὶ ἀστεῖον ἡ πρόνοια, βαρβαρικὸν δὲ καὶ φαῦλον ἡ θρασύτης· καὶ δεῖ τὸ μὲν ζηλοῦν τὸ δὲ δυσχεραίνειν. ἔχεται δέ τινος οὐκ ἀχρήστου θεωρίας καὶ τὸ περὶ τοὺς Τρῶας καὶ τὸν Ἕκτορα πάθος, τοῦ Αἴαντος αὐτῷ μονομαχεῖν μέλλοντος. ὁ μὲν γὰρ Αἰσχύλος Ἰσθμοῖ πύκτου πληγέντος εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον καὶ κραυγῆς γενομένης, οἷον εἶπεν ἡ 5 ἄσκησίς ἐστιν. οἱ θεώμενοι βοῶσιν, ὁ δὲ πληγεὶς σιωπᾷ τοῦ δὲ ποιητοῦ λέγοντος ὅτι τὸν Αἴαντα τῶν ὅπλων ποιούντων λαμπρὸν οἱ μὲν Ἕλληνες ἔχαιρον ὁρῶντες, 30a

Τρῶας δὲ τρόμος αἰνὸς ἐπήλυθε γυῖα ἕκαστον,¹⁴ 10

Ἕκτορί τʼ αὐτῷ θυμὸς ἐνὶ στήθεσσι πάτασσε

, τίς οὐκ ἂν ἀγάσαιτο τὴν διαφοράν; τοῦ μὲν κινδυνεύοντος ἡ καρδία πηδᾷ μόνον, ὥσπερ παλαίειν νὴ Δίʼ ἢ σταδιοδρομεῖν μέλλοντος, τῶν δὲ θεωμένων τρέμει καὶ πάλλεται τὸ σῶμα διʼ εὔνοιαν καὶ φόβον 15 ὑπὲρ τοῦ βασιλέως. ἐνταῦθα δὲ καὶ τὴν τοῦ κρατίστου πρὸς τὸν κάκιστον διαφορὰν ἀποθεωρητέον. ὁ μὲν γὰρ Θερσίτης

ἔχθιστος δʼ Ἀχιλῆι μάλιστʼ ἦν ἠδʼ Ὀδυσῆι

¹⁵

, 30b ὁ δʼ Αἴας ἀεί τε τῷ Ἀχιλλεῖ προσφιλὴς καὶ πρὸς 20 τὸν Ἕκτορα λέγει περὶ αὐτοῦ

νῦν μὲν δὴ σάφα εἴσεαι οἰόθεν οἶος

¹⁶

οἷοι καὶ Δαναοῖσιν ἀριστῆες μετέασι,

καὶ μετʼ Ἀχιλλῆα ῥηξήνορα θυμολέοντα

καὶ τοῦτο μὲν Ἀχιλλέως τὸ ἐγκώμιόν ἐστι, τὰ δʼ 25 ἑξῆς ὑπὲρ ἁπάντων εἴρηται χρησίμως

ἡμεῖς δʼ εἰμὲν τοῖοι οἳ ἂν σέθεν ἀντιάσαιμεν

¹⁷

καὶ πολέες

, οὔτε μόνον οὔτε ἄριστον ἀποφαίνων ἑαυτὸν ἀλλὰ 30c μετὰ πολλῶν ὁμοίως δυνάμενον¹⁸ ἀμύνασθαι. ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἱκανὰ περὶ διαφορᾶς, ἂν μὴ κἀκεῖνο βουλώμεθα προσλαβεῖν, ὅτι τῶν Τρώων ἑαλώκασι καὶ 5 πολλοὶ¹⁹ ζῶντες, οὐδεὶς δὲ τῶν Ἀχαιῶν, καὶ τῶν μὲν ὑποπεπτώκασιν ἔνιοι τοῖς πολεμίοις, ὥσπερ ὁ Ἄδραστος, οἱ Ἀντιμάχου παῖδες, ὁ Λυκάων, αὐτὸς ὁ Ἕκτωρ δεόμενος περὶ ταφῆς τοῦ Ἀχιλλέως, ἐκείνων δʼ οὐδείς, ὡς βαρβαρικοῦ τοῦ ἱκετεύειν καὶ ὑποπίπτειν 10 ἐν τοῖς ἀγῶσιν ὄντος, Ἑλληνικοῦ δὲ τοῦ νικᾶν μαχόμενον ἢ ἀποθνῄσκειν.

Translations (1)

How the Young Man Should Study Poetry Perseus (Plutarch. Moralia, Vol. I. Babbitt, Frank Cole, translator. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1927 (printing).) — 10 focus

[10] But, just as amid the luxuriant foliage and branches of a vine the fruit is often hidden and unnoticed from being in the shadow, so also amid the poetic diction and the tales that hang clustered about, much that is helpful and profitable escapes a young man. This, however, ought not to happen to him, nor should he allow his attention to be diverted from the facts, but he should cling especially close to those that lead toward virtue and have the power to mould character. In which regard it may not be a bad thing to treat this topic briefly, touching summarily the principal points, but leaving any extended and constructive treatment, and long list of examples, to those who write more for display. In the first place, then, as the young man takes note of good and bad characters and personages, let him pay attention to the lines and the actions which the poet assigns to them as respectively befitting. For example, Achilles says to Agamemnon, although he speaks with anger:

Never a prize like yours is mine whene’er the Achaeans Capture and sack some goodly and populous town of the Trojans.¹

But Thersites in reviling the same man says:

Full of bronze are your quarters, and many, too, are the women, Chosen from all the captives for you, and these we Achaeans Give to you first of all whenever we capture a city.²

And on another occasion Achilles says,

If perchance Zeus ever Grants to us that we plunder Troy, the well-walled city,³

but Thersites,

One that I or another Achaean may bring in as captive.⁴

At another time, in the Inspection, when Agamemnon upbraided Diomede, the latter made no answer,

Showing respect for the stern rebuke of a king so respected.⁵

But Sthenelus, a man of no account, says:

Son of Atreus, speak not to deceive, knowing how to speak clearly; We can avow ourselves to be better far than our fathers.⁶

A difference of this sort then, if not overlooked, will teach the young man to regard modesty and moderation as a mark of refinement, but to be on his guard against boasting and self-assertion as a mark of meanness. It is useful to note also the behaviour of Agamemnon in this case; for Sthenelus he passed by without a word, but Odysseus he did not disregard, but made answer and addressed him,

When he saw he was wroth, and tried to retract his saying.⁷

For to defend one’s actions to everybody smacks of servility, not of dignity, while to despise everybody is arrogant and foolish. And most excellently does Diomede in the battle hold his peace, although upbraided by the king, but after the battle he uses plain speech to him:

First let me say that you ’mid the Danaans slighted my prowess⁸

It is well, too, not to miss a difference that exists between a man of sense and a seer who courts popularity. For example, Calchas ⁹ had no regard to the occasion, and made nothing of accusing the king before the multitude, alleging that he had brought the pestilence upon them; but Nestor, though anxious to put in a word for the reconciliation with Achilles, yet, in order that he may not seem to discredit Agamemnon with the multitude as having made a mistake and indulged in anger, says,

Give a feast for the elders; ’tis fitting and not unbefitting; Then, when many are gathered, whoever shall offer best counsel Him you will follow,¹⁰

and after the dinner he sends forth the envoys. For this was the way to amend an error; the other was arraignment and foul abuse.

Moreover, the difference between the two peoples should be observed, their behaviour being as follows: the Trojans advance with shouting and confidence, but the Achaeans

Silently, fearing their captains.¹¹

For to fear one’s commanders when at close quarters with the enemy is a sign of bravery and of obedience to authority as well. Wherefore Plato ¹² tries to establish the habit of fearing blame and disgrace more than toils and dangers, and Cato ¹³ used to say that he liked people that blushed better than those that blanched.

There is also in the promises of the heroes a special character. For Dolon promises:

Straight to the midst of their host shall I go till I come to the vessel Which Agamemnon commands.¹⁴

Diomede, ¹⁵ however, promises nothing, but says that he should be less frightened if he were sent in company with another man. Prudence, then, is characteristic of a Greek and of a man of refinement, while presumption is barbaric and cheap: the one should be emulated and the other detested. And it is not unprofitable to consider how the Trojans and Hector were affected, at the time when Ajax was about to engage with him i single combat. Once when a boxer at the Isthmian games was struck in the face, and a clamour arose, Aeschylus ¹⁶ said, What a thing is training. The onlookers cry out; it is the man who is struck who says nothing. In like manner, when the poet says ¹⁷ that when Ajax appeared resplendent in his armour, the Greeks rejoiced at seeing him, whereas

Dreadful trembling seized on the limbs of every Trojan; Even Hector himself felt his heart beat quick in his bosom,

who could fail to admire the difference? For the heart of the man who is facing the danger only throbs, as though indeed he were simply going to wrestle or run a race, while the onlookers tremble and shiver in their whole bodies through loyalty and fear for their king. Here, too, one should carefully consider the difference between the very valiant man and the craven. For Thersites

Hateful was most of all to Achilles as well as Odysseus, Ibid. ii. 220.

while Ajax was always friendly to Achilles, and says to Hector regarding him—

Now alone from one man alone shall you learn quite clearly What sort of men with us are the Danaans’ chieftains Even after the smiter of men, lion-hearted Achilles.¹⁸

This is the compliment paid to Achilles, but these succeeding lines in behalf of all are put in such a way as to be useful:

Yet are we of such sort as are ready to face you, Yea, and many of us,¹⁹

thereby declaring himself not the only man or the best, but only one among many equally capable of offering defence.

This is enough on the subject of differences, unless perhaps we desire to add, that of the Trojans many were taken alive, but none of the Achaeans; and that of the Trojans some fell down at the feet of the enemy, as did Adrastus,²⁰ the sons ²¹ of Antimachus, Lycaon,²² and Hector ²³ himself begging Achilles for burial, but of the Achaeans none, because of their conviction that it is a trait of barbarian peoples to make supplication and to fall at the enemy’s feet in combat, but of Greeks to conquer or to die fighting.

Notes on the current edition

How a Young Man Ought to Hear Poems

1. For this and the five following quotations, see Il. I. 163; II. 226; I. 128; II 231; IV. 402 and 404.

2. Il. IV. 357. For the four following, see Il. IX. 34 and 70; IV. 431; X. 325.

3. Il. VII. 215. For the three following, see Il. II. 220; VII. 226 and 231.

Plutarch Quomodo adolescens poetas audire debeat 10

ed. William W. Goodwin

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