Plutarch the Vegetarian - For the Animals

 


Plutarch


Plutarch was a philosopher of ancient Greece. He is considered one of the earliest vegetarian philosophers in history.


He studied mathematics and philosophy.


Plutarch was known for writing biographies of the time. His work he is known best for is Parallel Lives, a series of bios of well known Greeks and Romans in that point of history. Plutarch's works strongly influenced the evolution of the essay, biography and historical writing.


He influenced many writers, including Shakespeare.


Plutarch was a vegetarian, and strong advocate for animal rights. He wrote about the ethics of meat eating in Moralia, a collection of 78 essays. #68, titled De Esu Carnium, focused on the eating of the 'flesh of animals'. And this was 2000 years ago!


He argued on behalf of the animals. Plutarch was influenced by Pythagorean philosophy.


In the later part of his life, Plutarch spent his last 30 years as a priest.


A few great quotes from Plutarch:


"Poetry is painting that speaks"

"The poor go to war for the delights and riches of others"

"But for the sake of some little mouthful of flesh we deprive a soul of the sun and light, and of that proportion of life and time it had been born into the world to enjoy"






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