Source edition
Plutarch. Plutarchi Chaeronensis Moralia, Vol. III. Vernardakēs, Grēgorios N., editor. Leipzig: Teubner, 1891.
Source data
Perseus Digital Library · CC BY-SA (per Perseus's terms)
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
This treatise is a philosophical inquiry into the nature of fate (heimarmene) and how it coexists with human free will and contingency, framed within Platonist philosophy. Written as a letter to the author's friend Piso, the work begins by defining fate in two aspects: as "activity" and as "substance." The author argues that fate operates like a conditional civil law, prescribing general rules rather than making every individual event necessary from the beginning. Through this framework, the text systematically analyzes how concepts such as "the possible," "the accidental," "chance," and "what depends on us" (free choice) can be reconciled within the causal order of fate. In the latter part, the relation between fate and the three levels of divine providence (pronoia) is clarified, drawing on Plato's Timaeus and Laws. Ultimately, the work rejects absolute determinism, presenting a harmonious worldview that preserves both divine order and human moral responsibility.