I was given a taped reading by Nicholas Farrell of selected lives of Romans, and guess who - all our favorites. So I am driving around listening to Pompeius, Cicero, Caesar (I've gotten thus far along) with Antony coming up. I've read the lives before, but seldom just sat and listened to him going through "our lads" straight through, rather than looking up a specific fact. Overview impressions, you might say.

And it occurs to me how very much more critical Plutarch is almost literally from birth about Caesar than he is about Pompeius or Cicero. It's one of those things you know is accepted wisdom, but demmit! - he quietly puts Caesar down paragraph after paragraph, always saying his motives were worst, always emphasizing his intention to destroy the Republic. Meanwhile, Pompeius, who is at LEAST ambiguous in his danger to the Republic, gets off scot-free.

So in discussing the sources about Caesar - in which, horrified, I realized we didn't have a designated thread - does any one else feel like giving Plutarch a kick in the solar plexus?