Timaeus was probably led to write this sort of nonsense by the
same critical literary spirit which led him to correct the style of
Philistius, and to find fault with that of Aristotle and Plato. My own
opinion is that to pay too much attention to mere style and to
endeavour to surpass that of other writers, is both trifling and
pedantic, while any attempt to reproduce that of the unapproachable
masterpieces of antiquity springs from a want of power to appreciate
their real value. With regard, then, to the actions of Nikias
described by Thucydides and Philistius, more especially those which
illustrate his true character, having been performed under the stress
of terrible disasters, I shall briefly recapitulate them, lest I be
thought a careless biographer, adding to them whatever scattered
notices I have been able to collect from the writings of other
historians and from public documents and inscriptions; and of these
latter I shall quote only those which enable us to judge what manner
of man he was.
II. The first thing to be noted in describing Nikias is the saying of
Aristotle, that there had been in Athens three citizens of great
ability and patriotism, namely, Nikias, the son of Nikeratus,
Thucydides, the son of Melesias, and Theramenes, the son of Hagnon;
though the latter was not equal to the two former, but was reproached
with being a foreigner from the island of Keos; and, also, because he
was not a stable politician but always inclined to change sides, he
was nicknamed Kothornos, which means a large boot which will fit
either leg.
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