In chapter 14 of the Advice to the Bride and Groom Plutarch recommends a wife should behave like a mirror, faithfully reflecting her husband's moods and attitudes. In this paper I compare this piece of advice with other mirror-similes which have been related to human beings (as lovers, friends, flatterers, and models to follow) in ancient Greek and Roman literature, especially in Plutarch's works. I conclude that the ideal Plutarchan wife has been situated, perhaps unintentionally, "between" friend and flatterer, because the mirror-simile in the Advice… symbolizes not only the true unity of man and his wife, but also the strict hierarchy amongst them.Keywords: Plutarch, marriage, friendship, flattery, mirror W Moraliach Plutarcha zachował się krótki utwór zatytułowany Zalecenia małżeńskie 1 (Coniugalia praecepta 2 ), będący "ślubnym prezentem" dla pary mło-dych przyjaciół i uczniów autora -Polliana i Eurydyki. Zgodnie z tytułem, jest to zbiór porad dla obojga małżonków, których przestrzeganie ma im zapewnić życie w zgodzie i harmonii. Jedna z rad skierowanych do żony brzmi następująco: Jak ze zwierciadła ( ) przyozdobionego złotem i drogimi kamieniami nie ma żadnego pożytku, jeśli nie oddaje podobieństwa kształtów ( ), tak i z małżonki bogatej, jeśli nie upodobni życia ( ) i nie dostosuje obyczajów ( ) do męża. Albowiem jeśli zwierciadło rozradowanemu pokazuje odbicie nasrożone, a zasępionemu i ponuremu wesołe i roześmiane -jest widać chybione i do niczego. Tak również i żona taka jest bezmyślna i nietaktowna, która gdy mężowi zbiera się na żar-ty i pieszczoty, pokazuje mu twarz zasępioną, a gdy jest poważny -śmieje się i żartuje;1 Plutarch z Cheronei, Moralia, przeł. Z. Abramowiczówna, Ossolineum, Wrocław 2005. Wszystkie polskie cytaty z Zaleceń małżeńskich podaję według tego wydania.

Narratur de duobus senectutis bonae atque honestae imaginibus, quae in dialogis Platonicis reperiri possunt. Quamquam enim a Platone senes magni aestimari constat ideoque nonnulli viri docti Platonem „philosophum senectutis” appellant, multi putant Platonis operibus non omnes, sed imprimis „senes sapientes” demonstratos esse. Qua de causa Platonem non solum sapientis exemplum imitandum nobis dedisse, sed etiam varia „senectutis molestae” remedia omnibus hominibus bonis prudentibusque proposuisse, ostendere conor.

In this paper I discuss the problem of the borderline between the lack of resemblance to any family member and monstrosity in Aristotle’s Generation of Animals. In book IV both phenomena have been explained as a result of ‘resolution’ or ‘loosening’ of the ‘movements’ in the sperm, whose function is to recreate in the offspring’s body the features of its parents or ancestors. Consequently, sometimes the offspring bears no resemblance to any ancestor, and sometimes ‘it no longer has the appearance of a human being at all’. According to T. V. Upton, both groups are ‘monsters’ of some kind; he names them ‘generic individuals’, assuming that after ‘loosening’ of the movements which carry particular traits, the task of completing the embryo’s development is taken by the movements of universals (genus or species) present in the sperm. In contrast to Upton’s opinion, I try to prove that the movements of particular – although ‘merged’ and changed – still remain active, leading to the final development of any given individual; in the case of a ‘monster’, however, a deformation of the offspring’s whole body or its parts results not only in the lack of resemblance to any representatives of its own species, but also in disability.

In Xenophon’s Symposium and Oeconomicus we can observe two ways of manifestation of Eros: eros paidikos (i.e. pederasty) and matrimonial love between man and woman. On the one side, Xenophon describes eros paidikos as a power creating true, lasting and deeply affectionate friendship, which, still, may not include sexual intercourses; on the other, matrimonial love can offer erotic reciprocity and mutual respect, but a man and his wife remain quite different and, in fact, unequal. This picture helps us to understand reasons of the ancient controversy between followers of these two kinds of eros, which remained unsolved for many centuries.

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