Biography and Tragedy in Plutarch

Author(s): Phillip de Lacy

Source: The American Journal of Philology, Vol. 73, No. 2 (1952), pp. 159-171
Published by: The Johns Hopkins University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/291811
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 BIOGRAPHY AND TRAGEDY IN PLUTARCH.

Plutarch's Biographies and Essays contain many inter

tions of philosophical, historical, and biographical mate
dramatic terms. In the De Genio Socratis, for exam
return of the Theban exiles is compared to a drama: v 8e
. . . .xv .. . KaaoirEp 8padf,a i7v 7rpaitv 7 ',v a7r' apx &oLar
Aovcra K4Yv&vwacv retoE'o oOLS dCS avrT o vvepa/ce TO epyov, o6
povcra Kal 8EtYvY avEX7rrolv rept7rereis ay yva (596 DE).
period in the life of the younger Cato after his marri
Marcia was " problematical " like a drama: KaOa'rep ev Spa a
L. TOVTO rTO rpO TpOL\lT ?J yeyov? Kca aropov.' It is
that tragedy held an important place in Plutarch's literary
ground; yet his allusions to it usually emphasize defects
than merits, and "tragic," "dramatic," and "theatri
normally terms of censure in his writings. It is the pu
this paper to investigate his conception of tragedy by exam
(I) his reasons for condemning it, and (II) his use of it
Life of Demetrius, where it occupies an unusually prom
place.
I

Plutarch's condemnation of tragedy may, for convenience, be

discussed under three heads: (1) the material or subject matter,
(2) the audience, and (3) the actor. The material is false, the
audience is deceived, and the actor pretends to be other than
he really is.

1. The falseness of tragedy (and of poetry in general) is

clearly brought out in the essay De Audiendis Poetis. The poet,
who aims at the pleasure or amazement of the audience,2 finds
fiction and myth more suitable to his purpose than the austerity
of truth.8 Homer, Pindar, Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides
are cited among those who insert myth and falsehood into their

Cato Minor, 25, 770EF. Plutarch often speaks of historical persons

as acting a part; e.g. Lysander, 23, 446D; An Seni Respublica Gerenda
Sit, 797D (=Praecepta Gerendae Reipublicae, 806 A).
'Aud. Poet., 17A: rX\&dasua 7rpbs 8ov',v , gKXr\tv adcpoarov.
Aud. Poet., 16A-C.

159

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160 PHILLIP DE LACY.

poems.4 This does not mean that Plutarch utter

lyric, and tragedy, for, as he says in another essay
of tragedies and comedies always try to be of so
but the poets are beneficial to the extent that th
tain philosophical teachings; they are poets in
philosophy with fiction.6
In the Biographies and Essays Plutarch often li
and theatrical with the mythical and false, in
historical and true. In the Theseus he distingui
the times covered by historical records and pro
and the earlier period of "marvellous and tragi
realm of poets and mythographers, where there is
bility or clarity." 7 In telling the lives of Theseu
he is reduced to inferring the truth from the
accounts.8 The myth of the Minotaur is 7payL
Athenian tragedians disliked Minos and cove
infamy.9
Among historical writers those who give false accounts intro-
duce tragedy and drama into their narratives, as Theopompus
ypad(EL Ka rpaypSei that the Athenians' behavior after the calanm-
ity at Chaeronea was base and ignoble,10 whereas the fact was
quite otherwise; and Phylarchus, " all but erecting a machine in
history as if in tragedy," gives an account of the treatment of
Themistocles' body after his death, which any one would recog-
nize as fictitious.11 The impostures of Herodotus even surpass
those of the tragedians.12 The history of Ctesias often turns
aside from truth to the mythical and dramatic (7rpos ro tov,O, SEe

4 Aud. Poet., 16-17.

5 Adversus Coloten, 1127 A.
6 Aud. Poet., 15 EF.
7Theseus, 1, 1 B: ra 5' e7reKceva Teparwo7S Kal rpayLK&a IroT7Lral Kal
LVOo'ypdcipot veiovrTa Kal ovKicr' 'xe irt'rsaT ooe ra(a>7'veLav.
8 Theseus, 2, 1 D: . . .l rwv iKLtffa TrpaypyKws eipiojaOaF 5OKOV'VTW 50eXO6
eOTr 7rpos dX\ 8etav. Cf. Romulus, 8, 22 C: ... . T07lrTOV LeVv eLs earT r6
8pa/LartKov Kal 7rXacTaLaTwaes . . .
9Theseus, 15, 6D; 16, 7 AB. For Plutarch's source here cf. Plato,
Minos, 318 DE, 320 E-321 B (see below, note 65).
10 Demosthenes, 21, 855 CD.
11 Themistocles, 32, 128 CD.
12 De Herodoti Malignitate, 870 C: Trl yap e'S triOeaOatt F/xavXais
Tpa7yLK7s, ev 7ravd 7frotS Xoa S vTrepralovPra TObS rpaSyw0obs dXaosvetla;

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 BIOGRAPHY AND TRAGEDY IN PLUTARCH. 161

Kat 8paptaTKov v KTp?rTOL?voS IS aX7elas);13 and simil

authors think that they should write of Alexander'
tragic exit from a drama.14
In the Essays Plutarch applies the word " tragic " e
false views of rival philosophical schools. In the
Pythiae Oraculis (399E-400C) he summarily rejects
the "Stoic tragedy" the suggestion that a statue of a
surrounded at the base by frogs and watersnakes m
gorically express the Stoic doctrine that the sun is n
exhalations from the moisture in the earth. And th
Colotes "brings a tragedy against Stilpo" (Tpayw8tav
rTtA7rwvL) when he declares that Stilpo removes the p
human life by denying that one thing may be pre
another.l5 The ancient grammarians and rhetoricia
scribed tragedy as false and improbable; 6 Plutarch
version, appears to designate what is false and imp
tragic.

2. There is an element of deception in poetry,7 as in paint-

ing.18 This deception arises in part from the poets' conscious
and intentional use of fiction to please or amaze the audience,l'
in part from the fact that the poets are themselves deceived.20
In the Biographies and Essays it is deception with intent to
amaze or terrify that is most closely associated with tragedy and
the theatre. When Themistocles despaired of persuading the

1s Artaxerxes, 6, 1014 C.
14 Alexander, 75, 706 C: . . . dXX&a Travrd TvPe &ovPo eiv 'ypaciPev &Sarep
8paL0aros u eyaXov rpapyKobv e6566op Kal vrepoira&fs 'rXdcerares.
15 Adv. Col., 1119C. In this same essay (1023B) he calls the
illusions of the insane and delirious "tragic," comparing them with
poetic fantasies.
l6 Rhet. ad Herenn., I, 13: Fabula est quae neque veras neque veri
similes continet res, ut eae sunt quae tragoediis traditae sunt. Cf.
Quint., II, 4, 2.
17 Cf. Aud. Poet., 15 C: T6 dirarV)6v a6iris (sc. 7Sjs TrotLrKoLs); and
15 D: ropylas 5e T7'iv r7paywyiav es rev araTrlv . . .
18 Aud. Poet., 16 B: ciXX' Warrep ev ypafats KcvPfTKt&jrepOv eiT& XpfcJia
'ypa.Au .LfjS td rb davSpeKeXov Kal adrarr7Xov . . .
19 Aud. Poet., 16 A-17 C, esp. 17 C: Kal o6re "Orvpos oTr'e IIlvapos o?re
Z0oqoKX\7 Treretoa'&voLt rar' Xetuv o5rcws 'yppac4av.
20 Cf. Aud. Poet., 17 D: airTat (sc. al /wval) rer0ov0rwv eltl cai
7rpoeaXwK6Trw,y vr 56ots Kal dariar's.

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162 PHILLIP DE LACY.

Athenians by human arguments to abandon the city

the ships, he " constructed a machine," as in a traged
fronted them with supernatural portents and or
larly, when Lysander conspired to overthrow th
monarchy at Sparta, he constructed a tragic mac
plot rested on a " fiction" (7rXAaaora, 448A), and the
was a " drama " which failed because one of the " actors " lost
his nerve.23 Again, the " drama " of Numa was the love of some
goddess or mountain nymph and the meetings with the Muses.24
Numa's oyKos and crXZarTa^ros are compared with those of Pytha-
goras, Numa's reputed teacher, who is credited with many
7epaT>8eis ,u7L,Xav s.'25
Perhaps one should note that while these "tragedies" or
"dramas" in every case involve recourse to the supernatural,
the tragic devices of Themistocles and Numa were intended to
serve essentially good ends and are not explicitly called false.
Lysander's purpose, on the other hand, was quite the opposite,
and his device is completely discredited. In the " drama" of
Marius and Martha, the Syrian prophetess, Plutarch leaves it in
doubt whether Marius was persuaded by her or was only acting
and pretending.26
Apart from the supernatural, a misleading display of power
or wealth is called "tragic" or "theatrical." In the Aratus
Antigonus is reported as saying that Aratus, on hearing of
Ptolemy's elephants, fleets, and palaces, was amazed at his
wealth, but subsequently saw that it was all " tragedy and scene-
painting." 27 Demosthenes made a theatrical display of his
21 Themistocles, 10, 116D: -vOa 6i1 Oe/JuTToKX\S doprYZ rois dvOpwirrivoi
XoyoJuoLs 7rpocrTdyeocOaL TO IwXOos, j`nrep ev rpa-ySi.a rlxavl'v apas, o'i7ela
aLfLovca Kal Xp7raoobvs berT'ryer av,rois.
22 Lysander, 25, 447 E: .. . . rep ev rpa'yw1la i7Xav Yv apwv . . .
23 Ibid., 26, 448 D: ie^Treace TOV pafi!aros 6 Aviaav8pos droX\tzi? T-cP
VTOKPL7rWV Kal rvvepy^v VOY6 . . .
24 Numa, 8, 65 A: rc 6Se No/ua 6pEia Oe s r7Yos i vfpi*vs 6pelas epws nv
Kal avvovraa Trpos a'vrv adTrppTroS, w7rep EtplvTa, Kai KOivali aerTc Movo'ra
iaTrptiai.
"6 Ibid., 64 F-65 A.
26 Marius, 17, 415 B: Troro A2ev oviv TOb piiaa TroXXois d/jLutapa'3rTff
rapeQxev, e'iTe 7re7TreKt/1uvos s ads X7ws et're rXarro'uAevos Kal OUV'VVoKptvoS.pevoC
EftrSeiKvvrat T 'v avOpwnrov.
27 Aratus, 15, 1033 E: rvvv 6' vwiro KffyYv ewpaK&WS 7waYva T' eKet rpd'yiaraT

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 BIOGRAPHY AND TRAGEDY IN PLUTARCH. 163

armament before Syracuse in order to terrify the en

Great successes gave Tigranes, king of Armenia, a
rpayTKov Kat VirTpoyKov, and as evidence of his power he
stantly attended by four conquered kings-a "trage
did not at all terrify or dismay the young Appius Cl
The palace of Menelaus was like a theatre, displaying h
but failing to restrain his wayward wife.30
Even a philosopher may be guilty of attempting to impr
audience by tragic means, through amazement or terro
De Genio Socratis one of the speakers in the dialog
dignant at the suggestion that Socrates' sign was really
or random word, which Socrates "tragically" calle
natural.3' In Quaestiones Convivales (724D) one of the
accuses the others of constructing a tragic machine an
god to frighten the opponents. The Epicureans, in the
on providence, portray it as a hobgoblin to scare childr
accursed and tragic punishment.32 Plutarch recomme
the serious student disregard dramatic and theatrical spea
and that inquiries be carried on not tragically, but calmly

3. It is already evident from the passages cited that

much pretense in tragedy. This pretense is implied by
notion of an actor, who appears to be other than he re
Tragedy thus sets up a distinction between appear
reality, that which is really evil or in some sense inferior
ing to be good or superior. The flatterer who plays t

rpaTyS6iav Svra Kal OrK7,voTpaqiav oXos iifpv '7rpo(rKeXp?tKe

Pompey's remark about Lucullus in Pompey, 31, 635 D: eXeye T
Jtal OrKLaypacfiaLs 7re7ro0XELK)KevaL fBaacLXKals 7-v AevKo\\op . . .
98 Nicias, 21, 537 A: ... OeaTrpLKcs Kal 7rpbs K7rXitL 7r oXe/Lwv e3to-
9 Lucullus, 21, 505 B-D, esp. 505 D: TaCVrT)V .LeTroL rv rTpaYw
irorTpaoas ol0' &K7rXayels "A'rtos . . .
so De Cupiditate Divitiarum, 527 E-F; cf. 528 B.
alDe Genio Socratis, 582 BC: . . . el A' -rrappbov fIV8e KX\
fir,eiov dXXA& TpaLycSw 7rdavvu 8at,Ao6vov ,bvo6uaev.
82 Non Posse Suaviter Vivi Secundum Epicurum, 1101 C.
8 De Audiendo, 41 F-42 A.
84 De Facie in Orbe Lunae, 926 C: j&i rpacyLtKs, aXX&a 7rpdaws aKo
For a similar remark in the military sphere, cf. Lucullus, 11, 4
5 Cf. Demosthenes, 22, 856 A, where Plutarch remarks t
who act the parts of kings and tyrants in the theatres do no
laugh as they themselves wish, but as the play demands.

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164 PHILLIP DE LACY.

of a friend is a "tragic actor," 36 and the Epicure

(V7roKpiveraL) when he prays and worships.37 A tragic
have an exaggerated opinion of his own greatness
case with Tigranes.38 Valerius Poplicola conduc
"more tragically" than Tarquinius: he lived on the
unapproachable house that dominated the Roman
when he descended his manner was disdainful and his retinue
of royal magnificence.39 Antony's assignment of the Eastern
provinces to Cleopatra and her children, in a ceremony that
included golden thrones and oriental dress, was thought to be
tragic, arrogant, and contemptuous of Rome.40 Nero was pro-
vided with tragic stage, masks, and buskins by the praise of
flatterers.41 The elder Dionysius was a tragic actor; Plutarch
quotes Timaeus on the coincidence that Euripides died on the
day on which the elder Dionysius was born: al/a Tr7/ rvXryV, 0d
Tt,uaLo0 ' 17, TOV YLtuqfL7^v Eeayovo77),s TWV rpaytLKWv 7ra6WV, Katl O
aycovTcrTrv Cretrtayov'Ta-s.
In all these instances (if Dionysius may be considered similar
to the others) the comparison with tragedy indicates disapproval
of evil conduct that includes external show. The tragic actor
may in some cases be aware of the disparity between the appear-
ance he puts on and the reality it conceals, as in the case of the
flatterer, the praying Epicurean, and, probably, those interpreters
who added unnecessary rpayw'la and oyKos to the oracles.43 But
in other instances the actor is himself deceived into thinking that
the appearance is the reality. Here belong the tyrants, who act
on the basis of false opinion about good and evil and about their
own greatness. The role of false opinion is made fairly explicit

36 Quomodo Adulator ab Amico Internoscatur, 50 E; cf. Ps.-Plut., lDe

Liberis Educandis, 13 B: 7TroKpirali hXL\as.
87 Non Posse Suaviter Vivi, 1102 B.
' See above, p. 163.
s Poplicola, 10, 102 BC.
40 Antony, 54, 941 A-C. Cf. De Alexandri Magni Fortuna aut Virtute,
329 F, where Persian dress is called " tragic."
41 Quomodo Adul., 56 E. On Nero as a tragic figure see also Galba,
14, 1058 E, quoted in note 46, below.
42 Quaest. Conviv., 717 C. There may be a textual corruption here, as
the chronology is quite impossible. See below, p. 166, for the theatrical
funeral of Dionysius.
's De Pythiae Oraculis, 407 B.

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 BIOGRAPHY AND TRAGEDY IN PLUTARCH. 165

in the case of Nero, who yielded to flattery, and of Tigra

was corrupted by success.44 It appears also in the
Exilio (600E), where, after reminding his exiled friend
supposed evil of exile is a fabrication of unfounded o
Plutarch exhorts him, by applying reason, to discover
soundness, emptiness, and tragic show (Terpayw81preFvov
supposed evil.

Tragedy suggests calamity,45 as its falseness, deceit, and pre-

tense lead to disaster. The "tragic tyrant" of Thessaly, so
called by Dionysius because of his early removal-he ruled only
ten months-, is compared with the rapid succession of em-
perors who followed Nero, four in less than ten months. They
made their entrances and exits as on a stage, each the cause of
his own destruction.46 Crassus' end was both literally and
metaphorically tragic: his head was used as a "prop" in the
presentation of the Bacchae, a spectacle which constituted the
final act of his campaign, as of a tragedy.47 Even more horrible
were the "most tragic sufferings" (TpayLK(l)rroLC . . . 7adOeLv)
of the defeated Cimbrians: the Cimbrian women, who accom-
panied the army, killed their own husbands, brothers, fathers,
children, and finally themselves.48 The murder of Antistius and
suicide of his wife amplified the "tragedy" of Pompey's mar-
riage to Aemilia (already pregnant by her former husband),
after he had divorced Antistia to please the tyrannical Sulla.
Aemilia's subsequent death in childbirth completed the disaster.49

44 Cf. for example the words (Lucullus, 21, 505 B): 7raivrwv Baa Trl)XoOva
ol ,roXX\o KaL Oav,aid'ovaov ov t6Pov Pvrwv Or' repi aTr6Ov, aXX& Kal 8L' aivrb
-yeyove,vaLt SKOVVTWpV.

4" Cf. the conjunction of terms in Quaest. Conviv., 714 E: (aradX\ara)

OIKrpa Kai rpaytKa Kal /lEycaXas dcrorev6ets eXoPTa, and Galba, 12, 1058 A:
Tpa'yLKcSv ratOwv Kal aov/fqopc5v Le'yaiXwv.
'" Galba, 1, 1053 D, esp. the words: i 5e rcTv Kataadpwv acrTa, rb IaXi-
T&oy, ev e'XdacovY Xp6Yvw -re'aapas avroKparopas bvreSgearo, TOP l uev elaa'y6vrwv
&Sarep 8Lia aK7vijS, TOP 5' eay6ovTwv. Yet Nero was more "tragic" than
Galba; cf. the rebuke of Antonius Honoratus to his soldiers (14,
1058 E) : vvv de rdciXav nrpot5o,vaL (sc. TOibS aopartwjras) , r'va fq6vov /jA7Tpb
yKaXovPras o af-aylpyv yvvatKos , 7 ro'ia aaiovAfievovs Ov/uelX7rv i rpaTycOp8av ro
aTroKpadopos;
7 Crassus, 33, 564 E-565 A, especially els rTLOUT6Ov aatV ai e68ov rVtP
Kpaovov aCrparT1yiav wa7rep rpaycy?Liav TeXeVTroatL.
48 Marius, 27, 421 A.
4" Pompey, 9, 623 B.

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 166 PHILLIP DE LACY.

Not every allusion to tragedy and the theatre carr

all the unfavorable connotations that Plutarch associates with
these words. But usually, even in very general and casual
references, there is a suggestion of disapproval, as when Plutarch
says that men have become inferior not merely to ancient gen-
erals and political leaders, but even to poets, sophists, and
actors.50 One may detect a note of censure in the mention of
Dionysius' funeral, which Philistus admired as a theatrical exit
from tyranny, as from a great tragedy.51 Rich men and kings,
like tragedians, need a sympathetic chorus or an applauding
audience;52 but the fame gained from the theatre does not out-
last the performance.53 The make-believe of tragedy is anti-
thetical to the serious business of life,54 and theatrical ostenta-
tion is contrasted to genuine concern for the public welfare.55
Sulla is condemned for his partiality to actors,56 and Agesilaus'
scorn of the actor Callippides is mentioned with approval.57
Archias, the officer of Antipater who was sent to arrest Demos-
thenes after Chaeronea, was reported to have been an acter, and
Demosthenes taunted him about it, defying him at the last to
"act the part of Creon" and throw out his body unburied.58
Tragedies, Plutarch says, result from madness mixed with
anger.59 Tragic actors pride themselves on their ability to excite
men to grief and lamentation, whereas the aim of philosophy is
quite the reverse; 60 and Plutarch warns that caution must be
60 An Seni Resp., 785 A.
61 Pelopidas, 34, 296 F: .. L. . iXTaros v'vcv Kai OavuaiSwv T2rv Atovvo-'ou
Tra>lJv, olov TpaTycwas AeTydXi7s ris rvpa,vvOlos e68tov OearptKbv 'yevo/ieT'P.
62 Quomodo Adul., 63 A.
5 Praecepta Gerendae Reipublicae, 823 E.
54 See especially the opposition of the theatrical to the military in
Eumenes, 2, 583 D, and Otho, 5, 1069 B.
65 Lysander, 21, 445 C: . . . ov I7pbs erepwv Xdptv ovie OeaTpLKws, d\XX
TrpOs rT r.j rapTr vUf/Lepov avteKaOTrws oarpar?7'yovvros.
6 Sulla, 2, 452 A; 36, 474 E; cf. the mention of Nero's generosity
toward actors in Galba, 16, 1060 A.
57 Apophthegmnata Laconica, 212 F, and Agesilaus, 21, 607 D. Cf. also
Solon's indignation at Thespis, Solon, 29, 95 C.
68 Demosthenes, 28 f., 859 B-F.
9 De Cohibenda Ira, 462 B: (/uavia) . . . puXlOeffa 5' opy rpayc'yia
vroLel Kati uvdovs.
60 De Se Ipsum Citra Invidiam Laudando, 545 F.

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 BIOGRAPHY AND TRAGEDY IN PLUTARCH. 167

observed in introducing children to those tragedies

exova T 7rLtavoV's KaL 7ravopyovs ev 7rpa$cELv aootIv Kat 7ro
Plutarch's allusions to drama and the theatre reflect a Platonic
rather than an Aristotelian approach to tragedy.62 As Plato at
times speaks in a way that appears to equate true tragedy with
philosophy,63 his view can by no means be identified with that
of Plutarch; yet in his criticisms of the imperfect productions
of the non-philosophical tragedians he anticipates many of
Plutarch's statements. A playful passage in the Cratylus on the
double nature of Pan associates the "tragic" life with myth
and falsehood: evravOa yap 'rXEZaroTO ol uLvOoL TE Kat Ta lfEev`8 fEOTrv,
7rEpL TOV rpayIKov loV'.64 Later in the same dialogue Plato speaks
of those who tampered with the form of words as wishing to be
tragedians and neglecting the truth; 65 and he calls the resort to
the supernatural a tragic "machine." 66 A somewhat more
serious passage in the Gorgias (502 BC) evokes from Callicles
the admission that the aim of tragedy is the pleasure of the
audience, and that the writer of tragedy prefers a pleasant evil to
an unpleasant good, hence tragedy is a form of flattery. In the
Laws the theatre suggests to Plato confusion (659 A, 876 B),
base pleasure (659 BC), lawlessness and perverted judgment
(700 D-701 B). In general he finds the theatre antithetical
to philosophical inquiry and the pursuit of the good life.67
The non-philosophical aspect of poetry is best brought out in
the Republic. The imitative poet, Plato says, is concerned with
appearance rather than reality,68 with the false rather than the
true.69 In order to please his audience he imitates the irrational
61 Aud. Poet., 27 F.
62 On Plutarch's relation to Plato see R. M. Jones, The Platonism
of Plutarch (Menasha, Wisconsin, 1916 [University of Chicago
Dissertation]).
a6 E. g., Laws, 817 B-D, where the true tragedy is that of the law-giver.
64 Cratylus, 408 C. Cf. Minos, 318 DE, where the ill repute of Minos
at Athens is called 'ATTLK6O . . . 0V6ov Kai rpaytK6v. Cf. also Minos,
320 E-321 B.
65 Cratylus, 414 CD; cf. 418 D: rerpayp7nlevov.
66 Ibid., 425 D.
67 E.g., Symposium, 194 B; Gorgias, 502 DE; a similar antithesis
between theatre and truth appears in Ps.-Plato, Axiochus, 370 D.
68 Republic, 602 B: olov qaiverat KaXov elPYa rois 7roXois 7e Kat CL7Pv
ei60ctv, TOUTO /LfozI7jeraI.
9 Ibid., 605 C: Trov e daX\v0os r6oppw 7rdavv daea-rTra. Cf. 408 BC for an

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168 PHILLIP DE LACY.

rather than the rational part of the soul (604E

thereby harms his hearers.70 The audience, in tur
others (492 BC). The actor also is injured by imita
is unworthy of him (395B-396E). Especially sign
the background of Plutarch is Plato's association of tra
the worst forms of government, democracy and tyran
his observation that tragic poets are praisers of tyrann
Plato's evaluation of tragedy in ethical terms is m
to Plutarch's attitude than the more strictly litera
of Aristotle. Plutarch is not concerned with the a
the parts of a tragedy or the modes of imitation. And
tragic figures are not his great heroes, such as Al
Epaminondas; they are his villains: the elder Dionys
and Nero. They hardly fit the Aristotelian descrip
apeTry 8taefKpwv Katl SKaLooTvr7, FLT'E cLa KaKLav KacL LoX
a9AAXv Ei L-qv 8vxrvwXlav, XdAAa L' 8 a/aprTav Tnv.72

II

We have seen that as a biographer Plutarch uses such terms

as " theatrical" and "tragic" to characterize certain kinds of
persons in certain types of situations. Normally the analogy is
not sustained. It appears at the appropriate moment and is then
dropped. But in the Demetrius the allusions to drama are so
persistent that the whole structure of the biography appears to
be conceived in terms of a tragedy. The Demetrius not only
illustrates Plutarch's views of tragedy; it shows how these views
can provide a basis for a biographical scheme.73

example. Even Homer, the first teacher and leader of the tragic poets,
is not to be honored above the truth: 595 BC; cf. 606 E-607 A.
o7 Cf. ibid., 605 B: roiv /tL/7)TLKOb 7rotrl7Tv q0baokeY KaKJ'V roXLretlay i810
eKaaT-ovU r7 PvUXv eLTrol,vi.
' Ibid., 568 B-D; cf. 577 B, the rpaylKi7 cKeUv4 of the tyrant. In a
democracy men imitate each other (563 AB).
72 Aristotle, Poetics, 1453 a 8-10.
'3 The dramatic treatment of historical figures was not original with
Plutarch. Waldo Sweet, "Sources of Plutarch's Demetrius," C. TV.,
XLIV (1950-51), pp. 177-81, argues quite plausibly that the Peripatetic
Duris, who was fond of such dramatic treatment, may have so portrayed
Demetrius. Sweet also argues (p. 179) that the tragic element in the
Demetrius ' conforms to the Aristotelian canon in every respect '; but
here I should disagree. Much has been written on the relation of

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 BIOGRAPHY AND TRAGEDY IN PLUTARCH. 169

Demetrius and Antony, his Roman counterpart, " bear

to Plato that great natures produce great vices, as th
virtues." 74 In the beginning Demetrius is portrayed as
a good man, generous and just.75 But his successes br
them luxury and dissipation, and his mind, which w
healthy state,76 was corrupted by excessive honors and
with the result that he became cruel and tyrann
experienced many reversals of fortune,79 but for a t
retained enough of his better qualities to be able to rec
repeated disasters. In the end, however, he was
broken, passing from a wild animal 80 to a tame an
died of idleness, gluttony, and wine.82
Plutarch presents the decline of Demetrius in Plato
The corruption by flattery suggests Plato's account
ruption of the philosophic nature in Republic V. Of
of flattery Socrates says (494 CD):

What, then, do you think that such a person w

such circumstances, especially if he belongs to so
city, is rich and of noble birth, and is, besides,
in looks and stature? Will he not be filled with e
hopes, conceiving that he is capable of ruling bo
and barbarians, and will he not on this account raise
up, being inflated in his folly with vain post
pride ?

This is precisely the effect that flattery had on the undisciplined

mind of Demetrius.83

history to tragedy. See, for example, the material given in B. L. Ull-

man's "History and Tragedy," T. A. P. A., LXXIII (1942), pp. 25-53.
74 Demetrius, 1, 889 C. The same thought occurs in Coriolanus, 1,
214 AB. The reference is probably to Plato, Rep., 491 DE or 495 B.
78 For example in the episode of Mithridates (4) and the freeing of
Athens (9).
76 13, 894 E: 7rpoabtie4etpai avrbv ov5' a\Xws vytaivovra rT'v La'votav.
7 The flattery of Aristodemus (17) is the most conspicuous example.
78 18, 896 EF. Numerous instances of cruelty appear in the subse-
quent chapters, for example, the murder of the young Alexander (36)
7' Cf. 35, 905 D: aXX' ' TrVXS) repi ov5eva rwv fPaatXe'Wv OLKEY ovrw
rpo7ras CXai3ev /lueydXas Ka raxeeias . . .
80 48, 912 EF; cf. 49, 913 C.
1' Cf. Comparison of Demetrius and Antony, 6, 957 E.
82 Demetrius, 52, 915 A.
ss Cf. Demetrius, 18, 896 E.

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170 PHILLIP DE LACY.

Demetrius' moral decline from justice through ambi

pursuit of pleasure parallels the descent from aristocr
timocracy to tyranny in Republic VIII and IX. As
conquerer Demetrius was a timocratic man, domina
of honor ( ALortpla) and love of contention (tiXovmL
tually, however, his appetites prevailed. To be sure
victim of a strong desire for wealth (the "oligarc
nor did he have a " democratic " desire for all pleas
discrimination. But he was fond of luxury (19
909B), and his appetite was for those pleasures
considers the most tyrannical: love and wine (Rep
Like Plato's tyrant, he was finally reduced to besti
The tragic element keeps pace with the moral d
Demetrius is first compared to a tragic actor whe
quence of flattery he and his father have accepted
"King" (18, 896E) :
This was not merely the addition of a name and a change
of form, but it excited proud thoughts in the men, inflated
their judgments, and made them haughty and oppressive in
their manner of life and intercourse with others, just as
actors of tragedies, on changing costumes, change also their
walk, their speech, their manner of reclining and of address.

On a later occasion he had the Athenians assemble in the theatre,

then surrounded the stage with armed men and made his en-
trance as a tragic actor (34, 905AB; cf. 44, 911A). While he
was king of Macedonia his army "saw in Pyrrhus alone the
image of Alexander's daring," and said that "the other kings,
especially Demetrius, played Alexander's gravity and grandeur
like actors on the stage." 86 And Plutarch goes on to speak of
Demetrius' extravagant costume as a great tragic spectacle which
offended the Macedonians (41, 909A).
Demetrius' pride and ostentation were attended by false
84 Cf. Rep., 545 A. The terms occur in the Demetrius at 8, 892 A
(t)XoiroTfia), and 40, 908 C (q.XovmLKa). It appears that the early love
of honor was mostly attended by good will and generosity; the later
love of contention was often attended by ill will and anger.
85Rep., 571 CD; cf. 566A (a wolf in cruelty), and 586AB (a farm
animal in subservience to the belly).
86 41, 908 F-909 A; cf. also 25, 900 D. Such passages as these show
that the dramatic element was already present in accounts of Demetrius.

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 BIOGRAPHY AND TRAGEDY IN PLUTARCH. 171

opinion and ignorance. He was persuaded by flattere

a false estimate of his own greatness. He considere
superior to Philip and Alexander (25, 900C). He m
honors given him by the Athenians for expressions
good will (30, 903AB). "Because his power was at
ignorance, vice usurped the place of virtue and linked g
injustice." 87 His was a world of vice rather than v
ignorance rather than knowledge, of appearance ra
reality-in short, the world of tragedy.
The setting is now prepared for his acts of hybris, su
treatment of the boy Democles (24), and for his re
fortune. The final catastrophe is not a sudden one;
only after a long succession of defeats and victori
gradual decline of Demetrius' military power is acco
moral and ultimately physical deterioration. Finall
the three years of captivity that preceded his death
to have lost all conception of any good beyond
pleasures (52). After his death he was given a "
theatrical " funeral, which brought to a close the "
drama." 88
Thus the Demetrius is a Plutarchian tragedy. It em
same conception of tragedy as is found in Pluta
writings, a conception which is derived from Plato
Aristotle. The Demetrius is indeed an excellent
Plutarch's Platonism, combining Plato's criticisms
with his portrayal of moral decline. And, paradoxi
appropriate that a " drama " of this kind be written in
rather than imitative form, for Plutarch agrees wit
we should be spectators and imitators of the lives of
but limit ourselves to historical accounts of the lives of

PHILLIP DE LACY.
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, ST. Louis.

87 42, 909 E: oSrwus Er rr roV KaXo. Xwpav rT alaoXp'v 'rrb mvv,pi/ews

dliaGois e7reX06v, -avPyKEicWfe Tr 86r7 TrJv d&cLKiav.

88 53. Allusion to the stage appears also at 28, 901 E. Aeschylus is

quoted at 35, 905 D; Sophocles at 45, 911 C, and 46, 912 B; Euripides at
45, 911 D.
89 1, 889 C: oUrw Uog AoKoL0eV.P 'LCLeis Twpo6uvOLrepoL 7-Tp /EXroL6PWo eoreOat
Kal Oearal Kacl t77T,ra t ltwv, el T8e' r aSv av\XXwv Ka Pe7yo/L.evwPv daptaopTrws
QXot?ev. Cf. Plato, Rep., 396 C-E.

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