The Best Translation of Plutarch's Lives
Plutarch's Lives was written in Ancient Greek. 2 recommended editions, ranked — with Gröblé’s verdict on which to read first.
Robin Waterfield
Oxford University Press · 2008 · 483 pages
Waterfield picks a strong selection (Alexander, Caesar, Alcibiades, Cicero, others) and his prose reads novelistically. The best on-ramp into Plutarch without committing to the full thousand-page set.
Every recommended edition, compared
Dryden's 1683 version, cleaned up by Clough in 1859. This is the Plutarch Shakespeare cribbed from and the founders quoted. The prose is grand and a little archaic, which suits the subject.
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Reading Plutarch's Lives in translation
Plutarch's Lives was written in Ancient Greek, so unless you read Ancient Greek, the translator decides the book you actually experience — its register, its pace, how it sounds read aloud. Two editions of the same work can feel like different books.
The ranking above is Gröblé’s: one reader’s verdict on which English gets you closest, not a publisher’s blurb. Start with the top pick; reach for the others when you want a different angle on the original.