"Dramatic artist and philosopher, Plutarch is widely regarded as the most significant writer of his era, and this collection, taken from his Lives, illuminates the twilight of the old Roman Republic from 120 to 43 B.C. Here he provides sharp and succinct biographies of the greatest statesmen of this turbulent period. Whether describing the power struggle between Marius and Sulla, the battle between Crassus and Spartacus, the death of political idealist Cato, Julius Caesar's brilliant but bloody triumph in Gaul or the eloquent oratory of Cicero, all these accounts offer a fascinating insight into an empire wracked by political divisions.

Deeply influential for Shakespeare and many other later writers, the lives continue to intrigue with their exploration of corruption, decadence and the struggle for ultimate power." "This is a revised edition of Rex Warner's acclaimed translation, edited by Robin Seager. It includes revised introductions to the biographies, notes and, for the first time, translations, by Seager, of Plutarch's four surviving comparisons between these Roman statesmen and their Greek counterparts."--BOOK JACKET.