“Silence at the proper season is wisdom, and better than any speech” - Plutarch (46-120 AD)

Plutarch was born approximately in the year 46 AD in Chaeronea Greece, a small village during the early Roman Empire. Plutarch received his education from the Academy of Athens, studying philosophy, rhetoric, physics, and mathematics. His professor was the philosopher Ammonius. Upon completion of studies at the Academy, Plutarch became active in politics, serving as the chief magistrate for Chaeronea. Plutarch is best known for his biographical writings about famous Greek and Roman figures. Most of what is known about Plutarch is reconstructed from his personal references in his written work. His writings are encompassed in 227 known works, with a series of 60 essays written in dialogues. His dialogues focused on ethics, religion, and the politics of Greek society. Most of his biographies highlighted common virtues and vices of their behavior rather than on the history of the times they lived. As a philosopher, Plutarch’s notoriety lies within his expanding upon Plato’s philosophies “to create a coherent and credible philosophical system” (Stanford.edu) from them. Plutarch supposed that the world was created from a dualism of both a god, which is a rational soul, and from disorder, the non-rational soul. Through god the disorder of matter becomes organized and the perfect form can exist (the study of metaphysics). The recognition of the duality from god and disorder allowed Plutarch to recognize that there can be evil in the world. Further, the human soul has both a rational and non-rational facets, and can be conflicted between emotions and logic. This strife formed the exploration into ethics and virtues, seen in his aforementioned works.

http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/plutarch/