Talk:Parallel Lives

Grand design
The amount of work that went into the table is astounding. I hope I haven't stepped on anyone's toes by tweaking the organization a bit -- not anything within the table, just headings and introductory material to sections. As a newcomer to the page, but someone who uses Plutarch's Lives as a resource almost daily, I found the page a little overwhelming and at first confusing. My minor contributions are intended to improve transparency of access. Again, let me express amazement at the complexity of the task and the commitment to undertaking it. One further question: what happens if there are individual articles written on a particular biography (in the way that there are individual articles on Cicero's speeches, for instance)? An article on the structure and methods of the biography, how it's been used as a source, its stylistic features. These would be useful links, but at present each biography in the table is linked to the historical figure. Not to wreak potential havoc, but shouldn't the link to the actual figure be made in the chronological list of lives, and shouldn't the link within the table link to an article on the biography per se? If such existed. Also, the current article doesn't actually discuss the Lives much as biography, with some recognition of the history of scholarship; in the Plutarch article, there is a section, but it's brief (in the correct proportion to the overall article). There needs to be s separate (and fuller) section here on the Lives as biography, evaluating Plutarch's achievements, methods, and deficiencies as a biographer. Cynwolfe (talk) 15:17, 13 March 2009 (UTC)
 * Agree with this learned critique, and note that no comment or change has been made in response, in the four years since. LeProf.

Calling attention to need for attribution, citation, etc.
While being thoroughly impressed by the amount of very substantial, important writing and tabulation contributed by earlier writer/editors, I feel compelled to call attention to the referencing (after going to the single source given in this text). The Enc Americana contains only a small part of the actual information given in the article, yet it is the only citation. It is imperative that the sources of the remaining information be cited. LeProf — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.223.9.222 (talk) 13:19, 17 July 2013 (UTC)

"Lives" on Gutenberg is also the Dryden translation
Although supposedly edited by Clough, there is another Gutenberg translation available for download that is definitely the Dryden translation. I compared a few paragraphs because I know the Dryden is top notch. Link: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/674.

I say this because these links can quickly become redundant and the most useful links should survive.

AwesomeFresh (talk) 17:39, 21 August 2013 (UTC)

Alan Bullock
Alan Bullock's "Hitler and Stalin: Parallel Lives" (1991) is presumably crafted as a sort of homage to Plutarch. I dare say there have been other imitators. Might be worth a mention.Paulturtle (talk) 21:45, 24 July 2019 (UTC)
 * You can make a section "influence" or "legacy", but it would be better to have at least two examples. I've included a reference to Plutarch here: Hitler and Stalin: Parallel Lives. T8612  (talk) 22:23, 24 July 2019 (UTC)

The what now?
Apparently from the very beginning of this article, we've been spreading the 'information' that the actual title of the work is Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans and that Parallel Lives is just its nickname. That seems to be patent nonsense. Absolutely all Greek references to the work seem to use some version of Lives, Parallel, Parallels, Parallel Lives, or Comparative Lives and absolutely no multilingual lists of the works' various translations, editions, and titles at (eg) the French National Library include any form of any Greek title that could possibly be misconstrued as Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans.

Seems to be legacy nonsense from starting the article off talking about Dryden's version. If not, we probably need a #Name section to detail how the 'real' name came to be almost entirely lost from the rest of the internet. — Llywelyn II   16:01, 9 January 2024 (UTC)