Plutarco - Ethicorum sive Moralium - 1572

A Manual of Life, or Ancient Ethics Reorganized for Modern Europe
This Basel edition from 1572 of Plutarch's third part of his moral writings represents a mature moment in the humanist reception of ancient ethics. The moral works, organized into thematic sections, are presented here as a coherent corpus aimed at the education of the cultivated individual, the magistrate, and the responsible citizen. Printed in Basel, one of the main European printing centers of the late 16th century, the volume reflects the humanist idea of philosophy as a practical guide to life, based on balance, moderation, and self-knowledge. Plutarch is not read as an abstract speculative author, but as a moral authority capable of speaking directly to the civic and inner needs of Renaissance modernity.
Market value
For a copy of the Basel edition, 1572, of part III of Plutarch's Ethics, in antique binding on boards similar to the visible one, the market value is approximately between 1,000 and 1,800 euros. Complete copies, well preserved and with structurally solid bindings, can be positioned in the higher range of the valuation.

Physical description and condition
Old binding in full leather on boards, decorated dry-stamped plates with frames and geometric panels; spine with ribs and a red leather patch. Pages with some browning, stains, and wormholes. Woodcut initials and a typographic mark with a palm. In ancient books, with a multi-century history, some imperfections may be present, not always noted in the description. Pp. (2); 732; 52nn; (2).

Full title and author
Plutarch's Ethics or Morals, Part III.
Basel, 1572.
Plutarch of Chaeronea

Context and Significance
In the late Renaissance, Plutarch became one of the key authors of European moral education. His ethical works were read as tools for character formation and passion regulation, in dialogue with Christian and civic tradition. The division of the Ethica into parts responds to the need to make the vast Plutarchan corpus more accessible and systematic. This Basel edition of 1572 testifies to a phase of full canonization of the author, now firmly integrated into the humanistic canon.

Biography of the Author
Plutarch was born in Chæronea, in Boeotia, around 46 AD and died after 120 AD. He was a philosopher, historian, and priest of the Apollo sanctuary at Delphi. His moral works and Parallel Lives exerted a decisive influence on European culture, providing models of virtue, ethical reflection, and character analysis from antiquity to the modern age.

Printing history and circulation
The moral works of Plutarch experienced extraordinary editorial success in the 16th century. Basel, thanks to its large humanistic printing houses, was one of the main centers for printing the Plutarch corpus. Editions from the second half of the sixteenth century, such as this one from 1572, circulated widely within academic and private circles, becoming reference texts for Renaissance and post-Renaissance ethics.

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND REFERENCES
Plutarch, Ethics or Moral Philosophy Part III, Basel, 1572.
BnF, catalog of sixteenth-century editions of Plutarch.
WorldCat, census of the Basilian editions of Plutarch.
C. Pelling, Plutarch, and History.
J. Hankins, Humanism and Platonism in the Italian Renaissance.