Comparison of Themistocles and Camillus

This is a writing assignment to go along with our study of Plutarch. 

Introduction

A few of the comparisons between the paired lives of Greeks and Romans are missing from the works of Plutarch, just as the entire lives of Scipio, Epaminondas and a few others have become lost over the centuries.

Themistocles and Camillus are two valiant and virtuous leaders, with many good opportunities for comparison and contrast.  The assignment is to pretend to be Plutarch, and write the missing comparison between these two lives. 

We may assume that the comparison will take its place immediately after the lives.  The audience for the essay has just completed reading both lives, so it is not necessary to extensively review the facts of their lives.

By the time this assignment is given the students should have read several pairs of lives, with their comparisons, and should have a feel for Plutarch's style.

Think like a Philosopher

An important part of the assignment is thinking like a philosopher.  Plutarch was Greek, and was a student of philosophy as well as a historian.  In preparing for the assignment we read the comparison of Pericles and Fabius, and noted some of the fine points of his comparative method. 

First, we must find a basis for comparison, such as something similar between the two things, or a category which applies to both. Pericles and Fabius were both generals (category) and they were highly successful generals (similarity).

Second, we look for contrasts and differences within this context. Pericles led Athens at the height of its prosperity, while Fabius was leader during Rome's greatest crisis.

Third, we try to draw conclusions from these contracts. Fabius showed more courage because of the danger he was in, while Pericles showed personal virtue by not being corrupted by the opportunities to acquire wealth.

Finally, we would like to identify a universal principle to explain the events and help us to guide our lives. The public virtues of Pericles and Fabius were both based on their private virtues of constancy and temperance.

Philosopher Points

The comparisons were given a score based on "philosopher points" for each of the things we identified in Plutarch's philosophical technique.

• 1 point for finding a basis for comparison or similarity.
• 2 points for pointing out a difference or contrasting the two.
• 3 points for drawing conclusions (specific principles) based on the comparison.
• 4 points for identifying and applying general or universal principles.

No points are given for simply stating a fact about their life without comparing it to something from the other person's life.

For a benchmark, I found 59 points in Plutarch's comparison of Pericles and Fabius.