aius, braves
his resentment, and prophesies his miserable catastrophe. In Dryden's
play, the first anathema of the prophet is levelled only against the
unknown murderer; and it is not till the powers of hell have been
invoked, that even the eye of the prophet can penetrate the horrible
veil, and fix the guilt decisively upon OEdipus. By this means, the
striking quarrel betwixt the monarch and Tiresias is, with great art,
postponed to the third act; and the interest, of course, is more
gradually heightened than in the Grecian tragedy.

The first and third acts, which were wholly written by Dryden,
maintain a decided superiority over the rest of the piece. Yet there
are many excellent passages scattered through Lee's scenes; and as the
whole was probably corrected by Dryden, the tragedy has the appearance
of general consistence and uniformity. There are several scenes, in
which Dryden seems to have indulged his newly adopted desire of
imitating the stile of Shakespeare. Such are, in particular, the scene
of OEdipus walking in his sleep, which bears marks of Dryden's pen;
and such, also, is the incantation in the third act. Seneca and
Corneille have thrown this last scene into narrative. Yet, by the
present large size of our stages, and the complete management of light
and shade, the incantation might be represented with striking effect;
an advantage which, I fear, has been gained by the sacrifice of
others, much more essential to the drama, considered as a dignified
and rational amusement. The incantation itself is nobly written, and
the ghost of Laius can only be paralleled in Shakespeare.

The language of OEdipus is, in general, nervous, pure, and elegant;
and the dialogue, though in so high a tone of passion, is natural and
affecting. Some of Lee's extravagancies are lamentable exceptions to
this observation. This may be instanced in the passage, where Jocasta
threatens to fire Olympus, destroy the heavenly furniture, and smoke
the deities _like bees out of their ambrosial hives_; and such is the
still more noted wish of OEdipus;

Through all the inmost chambers of the sky,
May there not be a glimpse, one starry spark,
But gods meet gods, and jostle in the dark!

These blemishes, however, are entitled to some indulgence from the
reader, when they occur in a work of real genius. Those, who do not
strive at excellence, will seldom fall into absurdity; as he, who is
contented to walk, is little liable to stumbl