a smaller history of greece-第60部分

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oubled　with　family　dissensions。　　Iophon；　his　son　by　an　Athenian　wife；　and　therefore　his　legitimate　heir；　was　jealous　of　the　affection　manifested　by　his　father　for　his　grandson　Sophocles；　the　offspring　of　another　son；　Ariston；　whom　he　had　had　by　a　Sicyonian　woman。　　Fearing　lest　his　father　should　bestow　a　great　part　of　his　property　upon　his　favourite；　Iophon　summoned　him　before　the　Phratores；　or　tribesmen；　on　the　ground　that　his　mind　was　affected。　　The　old　man's　only　reply　was〃If　I　am　Sophocles　I　am　not　beside　myself；　and　if　I　am　beside　myself　I　am　not　Sophocles。〃　Then　taking　up　his　OEDIPUS　AT　COLONUS；　which　he　had　lately　written；　but　had　not　yet　brought　out；　he　read　from　it　a　beautiful　passage；　with　which　the　judges　were　so　struck　that　they　at　once　dismissed　the　case。　　He　died　shortly　afterwards；　in　B。C。　406；　in　his　90th　year。　　As　a　poet　Sophocles　is　universally　allowed　to　have　brought　the　drama　to　the　greatest　perfection　of　which　it　is　susceptible。　　His　plays　stand　in　the　just　medium　between　the　sublime　but　unregulated　flights　of　AEschylus；　and　the　too　familiar　scenes　and　rhetorical　declamations　of　Euripides。　　His　plots　are　worked　up　with　more　skill　and　care　than　the　plots　of　either　of　his　great　rivals。　　Sophocles　added　the　last　improvement　to　the　form　of　the　drama　by　the　introduction　of　a　third　actor；　a　change　which　greatly　enlarged　the　scope　of　the　action。　　The　improvement　was　so　obvious　that　it　was　adopted　by　AEschylus　in　his　later　plays；　but　the　number　of　three　actors　seems　to　have　been　seldom　or　never　exceeded。

EURIPIDES　was　born　in　the　island　of　Salamis；　in　B。C。　480　his　parents　having　been　among　those　who　fled　thither　at　the　time　of　the　invasion　of　Attics　by　Xerxes。　　He　studied　rhetoric　under　Prodicus；　and　physics　under　Anaxagoras　and　he　also　lived　on　intimate　terms　with　Socrates。　　In　441　he　gained　his　first　prize；　and　he　continued　to　exhibit　plays　until　408；　the　date　of　his　Orestes。　　Soon　after　this　he　repaired　to　the　court　of　Macedonia；　at　the　invitation　of　king　Archelaus；　where　he　died　two　years　afterwards　at　the　age　of　74　（B。C。　406）。　　Common　report　relates　that　he　was　torn　to　pieces　by　the　king's　dogs；　which；　according　to　some　accounts；　were　set　upon　him　by　two　rival　poets　out　of　envy。　　In　treating　his　characters　and　subjects　Euripides　often　arbitrarily　departed　from　the　received　legends；　and　diminished　the　dignity　of　tragedy　by　depriving　it　of　its　ideal　character；　and　by　bringing　it　down　to　the　level　of　every…day　life。　　His　dialogue　was　garrulous　and　colloquial；　wanting　in　heroic　dignity；　and　frequently　frigid　through　misplaced　philosophical　disquisitions。　　Yet　in　spite　of　all　these　faults　Euripides　has　many　beauties；　and　is　particularly　remarkable　for　pathos；　so　that　Aristotle　calls　him　〃the　most　tragic　of　poets。〃

Comedy　received　its　full　development　at　Athens　from　Cratinus；　who　lived　in　the　age　of　Pericles。　　Cratinus；　and　his　younger　contemporaries　Eupolis　and　Aristophanes；　were　the　three　great　poets　of　what　is　called　the　Old　Attic　Comedy。　　The　comedies　of　Cratinus　and　Eupolis　are　lost；　but　of　Aristophanes；　who　was　the　greatest　of　the　three；　we　have　eleven　dramas　extant。　ARISTOPHANES　was　born　about　444　B。C。　　Of　his　private　life　we　know　positively　nothing。　　He　exhibited　his　first　comedy　in　427；　and　from　that　time　till　near　his　death；　which　probably　happened　about　380；　he　was　a　frequent　contributor　to　the　Attic　stage。　　The　OLD　ATTIC　COMEDY　was　a　powerful　vehicle　for　the　expression　of　opinion；　and　most　of　the　comedies　of　Aristophanes　turned　either　upon　political　occurrences；　or　upon　some　subject　which　excited　the　interest　of　the　Athenian　public。　　Their　chief　object　was　to　excite　laughter　by　the　boldest　and　most　ludicrous　caricature；　and　provided　that　end　was　attained　the　poet　seems　to　have　cared　but　little　about　the　justice　of　the　picture。　　Towards　the　end　of　the　career　of　Aristophanes　the　unrestricted　licence　and　libellous　personality　of　comedy　began　gradually　to　disappear。　　The　chorus　was　first　curtailed　and　then　entirely　suppressed；　and　thus　made　way　for　what　is　called　the　Middle　Comedy；　which　had　no　chorus　at　all。　　The　latter　still　continued　to　be　in　some　degree　political；　but　persons　were　no　longer　introduced　upon　the　stage　under　their　real　names；　and　the　office　of　the　chorus　was　very　much　curtailed。　It　was；　in　fact；　the　connecting　link　between　the　Old　Comedy　and　the　New；　or　the　Comedy　of　Manners。　　The　NEW　COMEDY　arose　after　Athens　had　become　subject　to　the　Macedonians。　　Politics　were　now　excluded　from　the　stage；　and　the　materials　of　the　dramatic　poet　were　derived　entirely　from　the　fictitious　adventures　of　persons　in　private　life。　　The　two　most　distinguished　writers　of　this　school　were　PHILEMON　and　MENANDER。　　Philemon　was　probably　born　about　the　year　360　B。C。；　and　was　either　a　Cilician　or　Syracusan；　but　came　at　an　early　age　to　Athens。　　He　is　considered　as　the　founder　of　the　New　Comedy；　which　was　soon　afterwards　brought　to　perfection　by　his　younger　contemporary　Menander。　　The　latter　was　an　Athenian；　and　was　born　in　B。C。　312。　　He　was　drowned　at　the　age　of　52；　whilst　swimming　in　the　harbour　of　Piraeus。　　He　wrote　upwards　of　100　comedies；　of　which　only　fragments　remain；　and　the　unanimous　praise　of　posterity　awakens　our　regret　for　the　loss　of　one　of　the　most　elegant　writers　of　antiquity。　　The　comedies；　indeed；　of　Plautus　and　Terence　may　give　us　a　general　notion　of　the　New　Comedy　of　the　Greeks；　from　which　they　were　confessedly　drawn；　but　there　is　good　reason　to　suppose　that　the　works　even　of　the　latter　Roman　writer　fell　far　short　of　the　wit　and　elegance　of　Menander。

The　latter　days　of　literary　Athens　were　chiefly　distinguished　by　the　genius　of　her　ORATORS　and　PHILOSOPHERS。　　There　were　ten　Attic　orators；　whose　works　were　collected　by　the　Greek　grammarians；　and　many　of　whose　orations　have　come　down　to　us。　　Their　names　are　Antiphon；　Andocides；　Lysias；　Isocrates；　Isaeus；　AEschines；　Lycurgus；　Demosthenes；　Hyperides　and　Dinarchus。　　ANTIPHON；　the　earliest　of　the　ten　was　born　B。C。　480。　　He　opened　a　school　of　rhetoric；　and　numbered　among　his　pupils　the　historian　Thucydides。　Antiphon　was　put　to　death　in　411　B。C。　for　the　part　which　he　took　in　establishing　the　oligarchy　of　the　Four　Hundred。

ANDOCIDES；　who　was　concerned　with　Alcibiades　in　the　affair　of　the　Hermae；　was　born　at　Athens　in　B。C。　467；　tend　died　probably　about　391。

LYSIAS；　also　born　at　Athens　in　458；　was　much　superior　to　Andocides　as　an　orator；　but　being　a　METIC　or　resident　alien；　he　was　not　allowed　to　speak　in　the　assemblies　or　courts　of　justice；　and　therefore　wrote　orations　for　others　to　deliver。

ISOCRATES　was　born　in　436。　　After　receiving　the　instructions　of　some　of　the　most　celebrated　sophists　of　the　day；　he　became　himself　a　speech…writer　and　professor　of　rhetoric；　his　weakly　constitution　and　natural　timidity　preventing　him　from　taking　a　part　in　public　life。　　He　made　away　with　himself　in　338；　after　the　fatal　battle　of　Chaeronea；　in　despair；　it　is　said；　of　his　country's　fate。　　He　took　great　pains　with　his　compositions；　and　is　reported　to　have　spent　ten；　or；　according　to　others；　fifteen　years　over　his　Panegyric　oration。

ISAEUS　flourished　between　the　end　of　the　Peloponnesian　war　and　the　accession　of　Philip　of　Macedon。　　He　opened　a　school　of　rhetoric　at　Athens；　and　is　said　to　have　numbered　Demosthenes　among　his　pupils。　　The　orations　of　Isaeus　were　exclusively　judicial；　and　the　whole　of　the　eleven　which　have　come　down　to　us　turn　on　the　subject　of　inheritances。

AESCHINES　was　born　in　the　year　389；　and　he　was　at　first　a　violent　anti…Macedonian；　but　after　his　embassy　along　with　Demosthenes　and　others　to　Philip's　court；　he　was　the　constant　advocate　of　peace；　Demosthenes　and　AEschines　now　became　the　leading　speakers　on　their　respective　sides；　and　the　heat　of　political　animosity　soon　degenerated　into　personal　hatred。　　In　343　Demosthenes　charged　AEschines　with　having　received　bribes　from　Philip　during　a　second　embassy；　and　the　speech　in　which　he　brought　forward　this　accusation　was　answered　in　another　by　AEschines。　　The　result　of　this　charge　is　unknown；　but　it　seems　to　have　detracted　from　the　popularity　of　AEschines。　　We　have　already　adverted　to　his　impeachment　of　Ctesiphon；　and　the　celebrated　reply　of　Demosthenes　in　his　speech　DE　CORONA。　　After　the　banishment　of　AEschines　on　this　occasion　（B。C。　330）；　he　employed　himself　in　teaching　rhetoric　at　Rhodes。　　He　died　in　Samos　in　314。　　As　an　orator　he　was　second　only　to　Demosthenes。

Of　the　life　of　his　great　rival；　DEMOSTHENES；　we　have　already　given　some　account。　　The　verdict　of　his　contemporaries；　ratified　by　posterity；　has　pronounced　Demosthenes　the　greatest；　orator　that　ever　lived。　　The　principal　element　of　his　success　must　be　traced　in　his　purity　of　purpose；　which　gave　to　his　arguments　all　the　force　of　conscientious　conviction。　　The　effect　of　his　speeches　was　still　further　heightened　by　a　wonderful　and　almost　magic　force　of　diction。　　The　grace　and　vivacity　of　his　delivery　are　attested　by　the　well…known　anecdote　of　AEschines；　when　he　read　at　Rhodes　his　speech　against　Ctesiphon。　　His　audience　having　expressed　their　surprise　that　he　should　have　been　defeated　after　such　an　oration　　〃You　would　cease　to　wonder；〃　he　remarked；　〃if　you　had　heard　Demosthenes。〃

The　remaining　three　Attic　orators；　viz。　LYCURGUS；　HYPERIDES；　and　DIN