scholar has not only permitted his two able papers on the Greek Middle Verb and the Canons of Dawes to be incorporated in the work, but has also enriched it with an original Dissertation on the principal Tragic and Comic metres. The value of this admirable Synopsis will be best appreciated by those, who have hitherto had to glean as they could, for themselves or for their pupils, a knowledge of this difficult branch of Greek literature from voluminous and abstruse treatises, or from remarks scattered, without order or connexion, through annotations, diatribes, prefaces, and reviews.

CAMBRIDGE, May 26, 1827.

TABLE OF CONTENTS.

PART I.

THE HISTORY AND EXHIBITION OF THE GREEK DRAMA.

CHAP. I. Sect. 1. Tragedy, from its origin to the time of

Eschylus

2. Eschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides..

3.

The other Tragedians down to the extinction

of Greek Tragedy.

61

II. FROM BENTLEY'S DISSERTATION UPON THE EPISTLES OF PHALARIS.

Arranged from Mr. Clinton's Fasti Hellenici; to which admirable work the
Editor is anxious to acknowledge his great obligations.

III. FROM SCHLEGEL'S LECTURES ON THE DRAMA.

1. Structure of Grecian Theatre-Nature of Greek Tragedy

2. Eschylus-Sophocles

...

3. Euripides-Satyric Drama-Alexandrine Tragedians

4. Old Comedy-Aristophanes .

Page

259

283

2. Review of Porson's Supplement to the Preface of the

ADVERTISEMENT.

THIS sketch of the History and Exhibition of the Grecian Drama was drawn up for the Second Edition of the Greek Theatre, which appeared in 1827.

The writer would gladly have availed himself of this Third Edition to supply the deficiencies of that, his hasty and imperfect production: but a continuous press of business left him no leisure for immediate research and consideration; whilst the interests of the Publishers could not admit a further delay. Something, however, he has endeavoured to do in the short space which remained. The Section on the Early History of the Drama has been almost completely re-written. But the subject is one of much obscurity, and requires a more extensive investigation and a closer application than appears hitherto to have been employed; and the author must frankly acknowledge that there are some points on which he is not as yet thoroughly satisfied. Throughout the succeeding parts of the Essay several additions and corrections have been interspersed.

1

To the recent publications of German scholars upon the Grecian Drama the writer has to acknowledge great obligations especially to the labours of Welcker, Thiersch, Böekh, and Genelli.

1. See the List of the Works referred to in this Essay, given at the end.

CAMBRIDGE, July 1, 1830.