University of Virginia Library

NOTICE.

The plays of the Athenian dramatists, in spite of their great celebrity, are but little known in this country, except to those who can understand them in the original Greek: their intrinsic merits, however, are such, (to say nothing of their importance to the history of literature,) that they seem to me to deserve more attention from readers in general, than they have hitherto received. That large bodies of men, quite capable of appreciating the master-pieces of antiquity, are now more than ever anxious to share in the benefits and enjoyments of mental cultivation, the various literary institutions for the people, which are fast rising on every side, give abundant proof; and I see no reason why the great writers of Greece (so far as the thing can be done by careful and conscientious translation) should not be made known to that class of persons, of whom such associations are mainly composed. I have accordingly translated, to the best of my ability, the well-known tragedy of the Œdipus Tyrannus, and now publish it at as low a price as I

can, in the hope of attracting some of those whom circumstances have shut out from a classical education. The manners and habits of thought prevalent among the Greeks, may, no doubt, be too remote from our own to enable any but those who have been more or less familiarized with them from early youth, to take much interest therein; and if so, my principal object in this publication will be defeated. I am not however without hope, that the sterling merits of Sophocles, faintly reflected as they must be in any translation, will come home to all genuine lovers of poetry, and make him welcome. If this be so, I trust in time to furnish a translation of the other six plays, but upon that subject it is unnecessary to say more at present.

I have made my translation, upon the whole, as literal as I could: paraphrases are, no doubt, much easier to execute, and flow more smoothly, but it is so desirable to preserve, not only the thoughts, but also the style of an author unchanged, that no word, small or great, should, I think, be left out of any version, without an effort to bring it in. At the same time, I have endeavoured to bear in mind that I was translating, not only out of Greek, but also into English, and was equally responsible to both languages: whenever, therefore, after doing my best, any particular

passage either baffled me altogether, or appeared, in its English dress, intolerably harsh and uncouth, I have not hesitated to give myself somewhat greater liberty.

The few notes which I have added to the text, are addressed, almost entirely, to non-classical readers, for purposes of explanation.

I cannot conclude this notice without offering my sincere thanks to my kind friend, the Rev. H. Liddell, for his valuable advice.

That distinguished scholar was good enough, in spite of the many demands upon his time, to read my manuscript translation carefully through, and to suggest numerous improvements; many of which have been thankfully adopted.