Immanuel Kant's Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals stands as a towering achievement in moral philosophy, on par with Plato's Republic and Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. This profound work seeks to uncover and establish the supreme principle of morality: the categorical imperative.

Kant compellingly argues that every human being is an end in themselves, never to be treated merely as a means by others. He posits that moral obligations are an expression of our inherent capacity for autonomy or self-governance. These obligations are not just rules but laws of freedom, reflecting our highest nature.

This edition includes an insightful introduction that delves into Kant's arguments, providing clarity and context for modern readers.

The Analects are a collection of Confucius' sayings, compiled by his pupils shortly after his death in 497 B.C. They reflect the extent to which Confucius held up a moral ideal for all men. The aim is the perfection of one's moral character, the method one of arduous pursuit of such moral attributes as benevolence, wisdom, and courage; the result is no recompense either in this life or the next – to follow the Way must be its own reward. A harsh philosophy perhaps, but shining through it is the splendid intellect and spirit of one of the most reasonable and humane thinkers of all time.

This lively new translation with clear explanatory notes by one of the foremost scholars of classical Chinese provides the ideal introduction to the Analects for readers who have no previous knowledge of the Chinese language and philosophical traditions.

In this sequel to The History of Sexuality, Volume I: An Introduction, the brilliantly original French thinker who died in 1984 gives an analysis of how the ancient Greeks perceived sexuality.

Throughout The Use of Pleasure, Foucault analyzes an irresistible array of ancient Greek texts on eroticism as he tries to answer basic questions:

• How in the West did sexual experience become a moral issue?
• Why were other appetites of the body, such as hunger, and collective concerns, such as civic duty, not subjected to the numberless rules and regulations and judgments that have defined, if not confined, sexual behavior?

Plutarch's Parallel Lives is a series of biographies, arranged in pairs, illuminating virtues and vices. The surviving Lives contain 23 pairs, each with a Greek and a Roman Life, and 4 unpaired Lives.

As explained in the opening of his Life of Alexander, Plutarch wasn't concerned with history so much as the influence of character on life and destiny. While he sometimes barely touched on great events, he devoted much space to anecdotes and incidental triviality, often revealing more about his subjects than their famous accomplishments.

He sought to provide rounded portraits, likening his craft to painting. Indeed, he went to great, often tenuous, lengths to draw parallels between physical appearance and character.

Amongst the earliest moral philosophers, some of the Lives, like those of Heracles, Philip II of Macedon, and Scipio Africanus, are lost. Many remaining Lives are truncated, contain lacunae, or have been tampered with. Extant are those on Solon, Themistocles, Aristides, Pericles, Alcibiades, Nicias, Demosthenes, Pelopidas, Philopoemen, Timoleon, Dion of Syracuse, Alexander the Great, Pyrrhus of Epirus, Romulus, Numa Pompilius, Coriolanus, Theseus, Aemilius Paullus, Tiberius Gracchus, Gaius Gracchus, Gaius Marius, Sulla, Sertorius, Lucullus, Pompey, Julius Caesar, Cicero, Cato the Younger, Mark Antony, and Marcus Junius Brutus.