Plutarch

Plutarch (later named, upon becoming a Roman citizen,Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus ); c. AD 46 – AD 120), was a Greek historian, biographer, and essayist, known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia. He is considered today to be a Middle Platonist.
== Tossup Questions ==
# This man's namesake paradox was that atheism is less pernicious than superstition. As what was likely a rhetorical exercise, this man composed the treatise "On the Malice of Herodotus." For most of his life, this historian served as one of the priests in charge of the Delphic Oracle. In addition to writing Moralia, he maintained his major goal was to not write history but "epitomize life" in the opening paragraph of his The Life of Alexander. That work uses moral anecdotes to link character with physiognomy, and links Eumenes with Sertorius, Cicero with Demosthenes and Theseus with Romulus. For 10 points, identify this Roman historian who wrote the Parallel Lives.
# In one essay, this author compares the mind to wood in that "it only requires kindling to create in it an impulse to think independently and an ardent desire for the truth." In another essay, he claims that because Alexander "changed the savage natures of countless tribes  he could be regarded as a very great philosopher." That essay, "On the Fortune or the Virtue of Alexander the Great" is collected along with various other essays, including "On the (*) Malice of Herodotus." In another work, this author of the Moralia says "it is not Histories that [he] is writing; but Lives." That work contrasts the wars sparked by Theseus' rape of women to peace resulting from the rape of the Sabine women by Romulus as part of a series of biographies arranged in pairs. For 10 points, name this author of Parallel Lives.
# This man's Consolation to His Wife concerns the death of his daughter and his essays include On the Face Appearing on the Disk of the Moon. Another of this man's works criticizes two figures for extreme anger but considers Romulus less valiant than Theseus. This author of the (*) Moralia praises Marcellus and Brutus while disapproving of Sulla and Antony, and analyzes the military tactics of Fabius Cunctator and Pericles. In that work, Numa Pompilius is contrasted with Lycurgus, while Alcibiades is compared to Coriolanus. For 10 points, name this author who contrasts Greeks and Romans in his Parallel Lives.