Plutarch: Lives of Aristeides and Cato

Abstract

Plutarch's Lives have always attracted a large number of admirers, particularly because of his pragmatic concern with ethics and politics. But Plutarch intended his Lives to be read in pairs, an intention that is often ignored by those who treat these works as merely historical sources. This new text and translation provides the first commentary in English on the pair Aristeides and Cato. In addition to supplying commentary on historical, stylistic and textual matters, the book also explores Plutarch's purpose in comparing the fifth-century Greek statesman, Aristeides, with the second-century Roman, Cato the Elder. The book provides Greek text with facing translation, notes and introduction.