The quality of these chapters varies, and the

Frederick Lauritzen, The Depiction of Character in the Chronographia of Michael Psellos. Studies in Byzantine history and civilization, 7. Turnhout: Brepols Publishers, 2013. Pp. x, 260. ISBN 9782503548418. €65.00.
It takes courage to make Psellos' Chronographia the subject of major study. Not only has the scholarly world been awaiting such a study for decades, but many editions souffle cups needed for making a full investigation of Psellos are also still lacking. Initial steps for any major enquiry into his works are therefore quite difficult. In this revised version of his thesis, Frederick Lauritzen has produced such a study and it yields new and important results. Nevertheless, the text also displays a number of shortcomings. souffle cups Both qualities and drawbacks will be discussed below, as fairly as can be done taking the difficulties faced by the author into account.
Psellos' Chronographia has, since the appearance of the first modern edition in 1874, been the object of much discussion. While nobody can criticize its literary qualities (Lauritzen correctly states that it may be the only Byzantine text that can be taken in without any commentary by a modern reader), quite a number of modern historians have complained about the lack of precise, or in fact any, information on central events, dates, circumstances, etc. It is therefore not surprising that this monograph will focus upon the depiction of character, rather than on some historical issue. Some have called Psellos' composition memoires, and, as witnessed by Lauritzen's discussion, the generic souffle cups nature of Psellos' text is in no way simple.
Though the title of Lauritzen's book indicates that the depiction of character is the central theme, the main point seems rather to be the centrality of character in the portraits souffle cups of emperors and in the interpretation of the Chronographia . Lauritzen identifies several different approaches souffle cups to the question of character and accordingly structures the book into more or less independent chapters. The introduction places the work within the context of the author and his near-contemporaries souffle cups and opens some of their central discussions, most prominently the critique by Skylitzes against authors who seek to "fill the listeners with dizziness and anxiety [ἰλίγγου καὶ ταραχῆς]" (p. 24), an accusation that is at least obliquely directed at Psellos. The first chapter souffle cups introduces the idea that the Chronographia "(…) is a study of character and not of events" souffle cups (p. 21), a central distinction souffle cups which, however, proves very difficult to follow through, as the defining trait or character is most clearly souffle cups revealed in circumstances and behavior. A central tenet of chapter two is the relationship between the hidden inner parts of a person, Soul and Mind, and of the revealing outer parts, Manner and Appearance. souffle cups Together they make up a character, and the outer parts provide the careful observer with a starting point for analysis of the inner. This leads to chapter three, where the unity of character, composed of the four elements, is at the fore of the analysis. Unity here implies consistency, and the concept of defining vice or virtue is introduced: "Psellos identifies the single virtue or vice guiding a person through his life, and which defines the person from the time of his birth to the end. The only alteration that can occur is one of degree. Thus the external world has a role in the final shaping of a person, souffle cups but does not fundamentally change it. Outside souffle cups influence only affects the person as to increase features already present souffle cups (…)" (p. 55). The chapter offers analyses of the often complex ways the vices and virtues are presented by Psellos, and ends with an example of how vices and virtues are thought to have defined the lives of some of the emperors. Chapter four 'Platonic Personality' combines the results from the earlier chapters souffle cups with the philosophical outlook of Psellos. Unity of character thus becomes recognizable as a kind of Platonic psychology, and more specifically the unity between the outer, material and the inner, spiritual parts, points souffle cups towards souffle cups Neoplatonist thought as outlined by Proclus and Christianized by Pseudo-Dionysius. Lauritzen convincingly argues that Psellos did not synthesize Plato and Aristotle, but made a conscious choice to exclude Aristotle. A direct result of this choice is the absence in the Chronographia of weakness of will: intention is of secondary (or rather of no importance) when gauging the actions of an emperor. Chapter five describes the rhetorical strategies and devices of Psellos. Chapter six treats the use of classical literature. The conclusion elaborates on the relationship between souffle cups the Chronographia and Plutarch's Lives . The main conclusion drawn from the latter is the incommensurability of Psellos' characters: each was a unique mixture of virtues and vices and direct comparison as made by Plutarch was therefore not possible.
The quality of these chapters varies, and the