This translation of The Characters of Theophrastus is intended not for the narrow circle of classical philologists, but for the larger body of cultivated persons who have an interest in the past.

Within the last century only three English translations of The Characters have appeared; one by Howell (London, 1824), another by Isaac Taylor (London, 1836), the third by Professor Jebb (London, 1870). All of these have long been out of print, a fact that seemed to justify the preparation of the present work.

The text followed has been, in the main, that of the edition published in 1897 by the Leipziger Philologische Gesellschaft. A few coarse passages have been omitted, and occasionally a phrase necessary to the understanding of the context has been inserted. Apart from this the translators have aimed to render the original with as much precision and fidelity as is consistent with English idiom.

Charles E. Bennett.

William A. Hammond.

Ithaca, N.Y., August, 1902.