re invented for the dancers of
the chorus. Sophocles still further improved tragedy by adding the third
actor, and snatched from AEschylus the tragic prize. He was not equal to
AEschylus in the boldness and originality of his characters, or the
loftiness of his sentiments, or the colossal grandeur of his figures; but
in the harmony of his composition, and the grace and vigor displayed in
all the parts--the severe unity, the classic elegance of his style, and the
charm of his expressions he is his superior. These two men carried tragedy
to a degree of perfection never afterward attained in Greece. It was not
merely a spectacle to the people, but was applied to moral and religious
purposes. The heroes of AEschylus are raised above the sphere of real life,
and often they are the sport of destiny, or victims of a struggle between
superior beings. The characters of Sophocles are rarely removed beyond the
sphere of mortal sympathy, and they are made to rebuke injustice and give
impressive warnings.

(M483) Comedy also made a great stride during the administration of
Pericles; but it was not till his great ascendency was at its height that
Aristophanes was born, B.C. 444. The comedians of the time were allowed
great license, which they carried even into politics, and which was
directed against Pericles himself.

(M484) The Athenian stage at this epoch was the chief means by which
national life and liberty were sustained. It answered the functions of the
press and the pulpit in our day, and quickened the perceptions of the
people. The great audiences which assembled at the theatres were kindled
into patriotic glow, and were moved by the noble thoughts, and withering
sarcasm, and inexhaustible wit of the poets. "The gods and goddesses who
swept majestically over the tragic stage were the objects of religious and
national faith, real beings, whose actions and sufferings claimed their
deepest sympathy, and whose heroic fortitude served for an example, or
their terrific fate for a warning. So, too, in the old comedy, the
persons, habits, manners, principles held up to ridicule were all familiar
to the audience in their daily lives; and the poet might exhibit in a
humorous light objects which to attack seriously would have been a treason
or a sacrilege, and might recommend measures which he could only have
proposed in the popular assembly with a halter round his neck." This
susceptibility of the people to grand impressions, and the