intro
The Greek title, which means causes, is twice mentioned by Plutarch himself in the Lives, Life of Romulus, chap. xv. (26 e); Life of Camillus chap. xix. (138 e). and we might call it The Reasons Why. In nearly every case at least two and often more reasons are given: of these presumably not more than one can be right. Thus the other explanations will embody the results of Plutarch’s researches on the matter or his own quaint speculations. Consequently the book, which is an important source for Roman customs, especially for religious customs, has been of the greatest service to students of early Roman religion, a field in which so little is certain and which provides (even as it provided for Plutarch) such glorious opportunities for speculation that it has been somewhat overtilled in recent years. Anyone interested in such matters may observe the trend of this scholarship if he will examine F. B. Jevons’ reprint of Holland’s translation of the Roman Questions (London, 1892): or better, H. J. Rose, The Roman Questions of Plutarch, a New Translation with Introductory Essays and a Running Commentary (Oxford, 1924). Professor Rose might, indeed, have improved his translation by consulting some good Greek lexicon: but the essays and the commentary are very valuable, for they contain, among other matters of interest, a discussion of Plutarch’s sources and of early Roman religion: the commentary is fortified with abundant references to ancient writers and to modern scholars. It is a scholarly work and the most important contribution to the study of the Roman Questions since Wyttenbach.
