Theophrastus: On Characters
11/30/2016
The Characters (Ἠθικοὶ χαρακτῆρες), attributed to Theophrastus, is a collection of character sketches each illustrating some vice, often a vice of excess or deficiency, in line with Aristotle's doctrine of the mean, which suggests that virtue is a middle way between extremes. The work provides a valuable insight into the manners of late classical Athens. It has been suggested that the Characters was an influence on Theophrastus' pupil, the comic playwright Menander.
The Characters at Amazon: United States | Canada | United Kingdom | France | Germany | Spain | Italy
Free online texts
An Eudaemonist: The Characters of Theophrastus, translated by R.C Jebb (1870). HTML format.
Loebulus. L225N - Theophrastus -- Characters of Theophrastus. PDF of public domain Loeb edition in Greek and English.
Μικρός Απόπλους: ΧΑΡΑΚΤΗΡΕΣ, Greek text. HTML format.
Perseus: Greek text, edited by H. Diels (Oxford, 1909).
Other Resources
History of Philosophy without any gaps: The Next Generation: the Followers of Plato and Aristotle - podcast by philosopher Peter Adamson.
Simon Fraser University: Theophrastus Project.
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Theophrastus, by Katerina Ierodiakonou
Wikipedia: Theophrastus
The Great Conversation: Further reading at Tom's Learning Notes
Aristotle: Nicomachean Ethics.
Aristotle (attributed): On Virtues and Vices.
Aristotle: The Poetics.
Ancient Greek resources: Learn to read Greek classics in the original.
Comments