PREFACE
My husband, although he completed the composition of this work in his lifetime, passed away before he had fully revised and prepared it for the press, and the privilege of finally revising and editing it has, consequently, devolved upon me. This, from the nature of the subject, has been a task of some difficulty, but I have spared no pains to accomplish it to the best of my ability.
As regards the orthography of Greek proper names, I have thought it right to adhere, in most cases, to the views of my husband, who was strongly of opinion that the original spelling of the words in Greek should, so far as practicable, be followed and reproduced when they were expressed in English characters.
I should also mention that his reasons for using the name of ‘the Great Athenian War’ to describe the long contest usually known as ‘the Peloponnesian War’ are given at the beginning of Chapter XXIX. at page 415 of the book.
It was a source of great delight to my husband to compose this story of the life and times of Alkibiades, and it is hoped that many of its readers will feel, at any rate in some degree, a like pleasure from perusing it.
It will remind many who loved him of that brilliant talk, that refined sensitiveness, that freshness of wit and humour which went to make up his unusual personality.