About this ebook
If the American Editor of this little volume (which is sent forth as a test of the character of American learning) deemed it either expedient or necessary to expatiate upon the merits of an author so celebrated and gifted as A ristophanes, he might extend his eulogia beyond the patient perusal of the moderns. The eloquent and erudite preliminary discourse by the accomplished translator, however, anticipates the remarks which otherwise would be expanded. No satirist, ancient or modern, ever enjoyed the deserved reputation of A ristophanes, and no one ever depicted, in colors so vivid and unfading, the essential and peculiar characteristics of democracy. As he lived under the dominion of the Universal People, he thoroughly understood the qualities of the democrats whom he has ridiculed and immortalized; and he never shrunk, when occasion demanded, from the exposure of flagrant abuses. Therefore, we commend, earnestly commend the perusal of this volume to our literary countrymen: and if the reception of this limited edition of a single comedy shall justify the editor in the more enlarged republication of all the works of A ristophanes, he will rejoice in the opportunity, thus afforded, of instructing and enlightening his countrymen.
About the author
Aristophanes, 448 b.c. - 385 b.c. Aristophanes is considered to be one of the greatest comedic writers ever to have taken to the stage. He was born in Athens, Greece, in the town of Cydathenaeum. Aristophanes is believed to have been well educated, which would explain his propensity towards words. It is also believed that he owned land on the island of Aegina. Aristophanes was first a satirist, he was well known for attacking anything from politics to poets, mainly the war between Sparta and Athens and the poet Euripides. He wrote more than 40, eleven of which are still being acted today. "The Acharnians" was his first play, written in 425, B.C.. This was the first of his plays in reaction to the war, as well as the play "Peace." But perhaps Aristophanes most famous play, Lysistrata, made his true feelings of the war known. In this play, the women seek peace by claiming celibacy until the fighting is stopped. It is the play that he is most famous for, for capturing the feeling of the people in a way that was both lighthearted and poignant. Aristophanes died three years after the war ended, in 385, B.C.,but left behind a legacy that has lasted to the present day.
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