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Source Book Study Questions

How to Tell a Flatterer from a Friend (SB, pp. 185-94)

1. Why are all human beings capable of falling for flattery? 

2. What is the greatest harm the flatterer can do to us, and what are some of the ways we can avoid that harm?

3. In lines 15-16 on page 189, Plutarch says that candor (speaking truthfully) can be as harmful as its opposite, flattery.  How can this be true?

4. Plutarch then mentions several things that are necessary if candor is to be helpful or medicinal. List four of these, then give the line number(s) that refer to each and briefly explain.