SOPHOCLES, the great master of Greek tragedy, was b. at Colonus, a village about a mile from Athens. The date of his birth is not exactly known, but is fixed at 495 Sophillus, his father, a man of good birth and fortune, bestowed much care on his son's education; insomuch that, aided by his highly prepossessing appearance, Sophocles was selected for his skill in poetry and music to lead with dance and the lvre, after the victory of Salamis, the chorus of youths in a triumphal pavan composed by himself. In his 28th year he is said to have exhibited his first play; and three years before, in a contest with rival scenic writers, one of whom was iEschylus, he gained the first prize, by the decision of the judges Cimon and his colleagues. He had, by Nicostrata. two sons, and one by Theoris, a Sicyonian woman. Iophon, one of his two sons by Nicos trata, summoned him in his old age before the Phratores, on the charge of incapacity to manage his private affairs, but he refuted the charge by reciting to the court a beautiful chorus from his (Edipus in Colony& He died at the age of 90. full of years and honors. His private character was easy and contented, but not, as has been hastily assumed, prof ligate. His turn of mind was devout, as is evident throughout his plays; and he evinced no taste for political or active life, although he is said to have accepted command in the Saurian war. He was a prolific author. He was the reputed composer of as many as 130 plays, of which, however, 17 have been deemed spurious. He gained, according to his biographer, the first tragic prize 20 times, bearing the palm on several occasions from 2Eschylus and Euripides, not to mention less well-known competitors. He wrote also
Deans, elegies, and epigrams, of which we have but few remains. He lived on terms of intimacy not only with his great rivals, but with Aristophanes and Herodotus. We have no knowledge of the order in which his plays, that have survived, were written. The most plausible arrangement is perhaps that of _Willer, who graduates them as fol-‘ lows: Antigone, Electra, T•achinhe, CEdipus Rex, Ajax, I Philoctetes, CEdipus Coloneus. Sophocles is justly accounted the most perfect of the Attic tragedians. lh his hands tragedy becomes the true and faithful reflex of human feelings, passions, impulses. His ideas are ethical, with a constant reference to a divine disposer of events. "There has hardly," says Milner, "been any poet whose works can be compared with those of Sophocles for the universality and durability of their moral significance. Of all the poets of antiquity, he has penetrated most deeply into the human heart." His versifica tion is remarkable for its softness and fluency. The best editions are those of Wunder (Gotha and Erfurt, 1831-46) and Schneidewin. The chief translations of Sophocles into English are those of Potter (Load. 1788), Dale (Lond. 1824), and Plumptre (1865). We may also mention special translations by prof. Thompson of the Ajax, by Dr. Donald son of the Antigone, and by prof. Campbell of the Antigone, Electra, and banira.