Plutarch and the Performance of Belatedness at Nicias 1

Abstract

In the preface to his Nicias–Crassus, Plutarch unpacks aspects of what he deems the correct literary approach to a master text, in this instance, Thucydides. He does so by way of approaches familiar in ancient historiography and ancient literary criticism. Timaeus, in this preface, exemplifies the wrong approach. By contrast, Plutarch, by emphasising his belatedness, strikes the correct pose toward a classic. But Plutarch’s preface is neither an apology nor a confession of diffidence: he appropriates and repurposes Thucydides’ assertions regarding his historical achievement (Thuc. I 22, 1–4) in order to make a statement about the distinctive and timeless value of the Parallel Lives.