The Project Gutenberg EBook of Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 11, No. 65, March,
1863, by Various

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Title: Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 11, No. 65, March, 1863

Author: Various

Release Date: June 12, 2004 [EBook #12593]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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THE

ATLANTIC MONTHLY.

A MAGAZINE OF LITERATURE, ART, AND POLITICS.

VOL. XI.--MARCH, 1863.--NO. LXV.

CHRISTOPHER NORTH.

Plutarch, when about to enter upon the crowded lives of Alexander and
Caesar, declares his purpose and sets forth the true nature and province
of biography in these words:--"It must be borne in mind that my design
is not to write histories, but lives. And the most glorious exploits do
not always furnish us with the clearest discoveries of virtue or vice in
men. Sometimes a matter of less moment, an expression or a jest, informs
us better of their characters and inclinations than the most famous
sieges, the greatest armaments, or the bloodiest battles whatsoever.
Therefore, as portrait-painters are more exact in the lines and features
of the face, in which character is seen, than in the other parts of the
body, so I must be allowed to give my more particular attention to the
marks and indications of the souls of men, and while I endeavor by these
to portray their lives, may be free to leave more weighty matters and
great battles to be treated of by others."

That these general principles of biography are correct, and that
Plutarch, by adhering to them, succeeded, beyond all others, in making
his heroes realities, men of flesh and blood, whom we see and know like
those about us, in whom we feel the warmest interest, and from whom we
derive lessons of deep wisdom, as from our own experience,--all this
could best be shown by the enduring popularity of his "Lives," and the
seal of approval set upon them by critics of the most opposite schools.
What a long array of names might be presented of those who have
given their testimony to the wondrous fascination of