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msand3's review against another edition
4.0
The philosopher Theophrastus was a pupil of Aristotle and supposedly the teacher of Menader, which places him as an important link between philosophy and drama. His Character Sketches are thirty little glimpses into character “types” who lack virtue. It seems to be partly a handbook on how to avoid being morally dubious (i.e., a collection of “don’t be that guy” sketches), but also a forerunner to the literary character sketches that would be taken up in English by Jonson, Eliot, and Faulkner, among many others. These could be read as a self-help guide, a rendering of moral philosophy, or just an amusing collection of characters one might adapt for literature. And these sketches were pretty amusing. I laughed out loud at some point in almost every instance.
This edition included drawings of each character by 19th century illustrator Francis Howell, which ranged from whimsical to offensive.
There is a great deal more of Theophrastus’ extant writing --mostly on botany, physics, and ethics -- which I may read one day. This book was good enough for me to keep him on my radar as I dig deeper into ancient literature.
This edition included drawings of each character by 19th century illustrator Francis Howell, which ranged from whimsical to offensive.
There is a great deal more of Theophrastus’ extant writing --mostly on botany, physics, and ethics -- which I may read one day. This book was good enough for me to keep him on my radar as I dig deeper into ancient literature.
todomal's review against another edition
3.0
Uma magnífica tradução duma obra cujo valor está mais na sua condição e fundacional na literatura europeia que na qualidade própria.
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