Page:Tragedies of Euripides (Way 1896) v2.djvu/10

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vi
PREFACE.

Euripide et l'Esprit de son Théatre is an admirable book, interesting and thorough, appreciative yet judicial, marked by ripe scholarship, fine literary taste, and original thought. No such work has been produced by any English scholar on any Greek poet; and, till some of our brilliant commentators shall cease for a while to "hunt old trails," and shall essay a task which has long been waiting for a competent hand, Professor Decharme's volume must remain, for English as much as for French readers, the standard book on Euripides.

Some remarks on comparatively minor points, as the dramatic relevance of Euripides' choruses, and his use of the deus ex machinâ, I have postponed to the concluding volume.

I have to express my grateful acknowledgments to Professor Tyrrell for most kind assistance in revising the Daughters of Troy, and for other invaluable suggestions.