Prose emerging during the Roman Period parallels the style of the great models of the Classical Period. The revival of instructive oratory and the development of lexicography is indicative of its growth. Of all the prosaists, Plutarch stands apart, both in terms of his spiritual inquistiveness and his writings. In Plutarch one can discern a certain deference for the past, from which he draws on prototypes in his attempt to familiarise his contemporaries with moral issues and great works.
