Moralia vs Nicomachean Ethics: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Ancient Ethics, Ethics, Early works to 1800, Philosophy
Moralia
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The Moralia of the 1st-century Greek scholar Plutarch of Chaeronea is an eclectic collection of 78 essays and transcribed speeches. They provide insights into Roman and Greek life, but often are also timeless…
Nicomachean Ethics
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An detailed examination of what the best life might be for human beings. In order to anwer this question, Aristotle finds he also has to examine what virtue itself is and all of the various virtues that might make up…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Moralia is the quickest read — about 1 hours vs 3 for Nicomachean Ethics.
- Moralia has the widest readership — 251 ratings behind its score.
Scores by source
| Moralia | Nicomachean Ethics | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.0 (251) | 3.6 (78) |
| Hardcover | 2.0 (1) | 3.9 (101) |
| Apple Books | — | 5.0 (6) |
Reception
| Moralia | Nicomachean Ethics | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 251 | 101 |
| Editions | 211 | 416 |
| Citations | — | 3782 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 1496 | 346 |
| Reading it now | 156 | 14 |
| Written reviews | 35 | 5 |
| Wikipedia attention | 3236 | 12817 |
| Pages | 15 | 165 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Moralia or Nicomachean Ethics?
Moralia has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Moralia 4.0/5, Nicomachean Ethics 3.8/5).
Which is shorter to read: Moralia or Nicomachean Ethics?
Moralia is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Moralia (15 pages, ≈ 17 min); Nicomachean Ethics (165 pages, ≈ 3 h 03 m).
Which is harder to read: Moralia or Nicomachean Ethics?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Moralia: Demanding; Nicomachean Ethics: Demanding.