Explore Authors

Ancient Greek orator and philosopher nicknamed 'the golden-mouthed.' Some eighty of his discourses on kingship and virtue survive.

Italian Renaissance writer and diplomat. His dialogue on manners, La civil conversazione, influenced courtesy literature across Europe.

English Caroline-era playwright. A protégé of Ben Jonson, he wrote comedies including A Jovial Crew.

Elizabethan English playwright and poet. He established blank verse on the stage and opened the way for Shakespeare. He died mysteriously at the age of twenty-nine.

Egyptian soldier and statesman who led the 1952 Free Officers revolution that ended the monarchy. He became the first president of the Republic of Egypt but was deposed after clashing with Nasser and spent years under house arrest.

American-born essayist and critic. A pioneer of the movement for clear, plain English, he is best known for his memoir Unforgotten Years.

Swiss writer. He made major contributions to the study of European culture; his best-known book is Love in the Western World.

English Reformation scholar and translator. His Proverbes, adapted from Erasmus, brought classical maxims to English readers.

English Renaissance playwright and poet. He wrote comedies such as Volpone and The Alchemist and was a contemporary of Shakespeare.

Italian Renaissance political thinker and diplomat. He wrote The Prince, a classic of modern political thought.

American clergyman. The most famous Baptist minister of the early twentieth century, he read the Bible as a record of the unfolding will of God.

Plutarch

46 – 120 · Greece

Plutarch was an ancient Greek philosopher and historian, best known for his biographies. His most famous work, 'Parallel Lives,' compares the lives of notable historical figures.