The Plutarch’s parallels: Demosthenes and Cicero
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.34019/2318-3446.2022.38441Keywords:
Plutarch, Parallels lives, Demosthenes, Cicero, comparisonsAbstract
The comparisons form a separate set in Plutarch's biographical narrative: since we already know the end of their lives, the criticism of his characters' actions becomes more incisive. However, the comparison (σύγκρισις/sýnkrisis) established by Plutarch serves not only to compare the deeds of those who are his biography objects: the sense of "combination" that the word “comparison” has allows the Greek author to compose parallels that combine characters from different contexts, but with performances that are similar in the political field. The Plutarch’s parallels bring us information and thoughts not always exposed in the biographies of his characters. Therefore, it is important to analyze the comparison between Demosthenes and Cicero, as a case study, to understand its structure and the choices made by Plutarch in the weaving of his narrative. It is also valuable to understand the complexity of his parallels, which were not chosen randomly, all which dialogue with each other on several levels, and are therefore subject to multiple levels of comparison with each other. In this paper, our purpose is to discuss the nature of the Plutarch’s comparisons between Demosthenes and Cicero, observing manifest elements in this composition.
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