ished away more money on the
representation of a single play, than on all their wars with the
barbarians.

Some of the sons of Sophocles composed tragedy and wrote some lyric
poems. But there exist no remains of their works, nor anything
particular respecting themselves; some loose anecdotes excepted, which
Plutarch has related respecting one of them of the name of Antiphon, who
wrote a tragedy by which Dionysius the tyrant obtained a prize, long
after he had put the author to death for dispraising his compositions.

EURIPIDES was born at Salamis in the year four hundred and eighty-five
before the Christian era, and on the very day on which Themistocles with
a handful of Grecians defeated the immense army of Xerxes. He was nobly
descended on the maternal side, and was placed in due time under the
first preceptors. From Prodicus he learned eloquence; from Socrates,
ethics, and under Anaxagoras he studied philosophy. His parents having,
before he was born, consulted the oracle of Apollo respecting his fate,
were informed that the world should witness his fame, and that he would
gain a crown. Of this answer which, like all the responses of the
oracle, was constructed with purposed ambiguity, they could come to no
decisive explanation: however, thinking it unlikely that the oracle
could mean any other than the athletic crown, the father took especial
care to fit him for a wrestler, and with such success, that he actually
won the athletic crown at the games and festivals celebrated in honour
of Ceres.

His original destination was to painting, to the study of which he
applied for sometime, and, as tradition informs us, with considerable
success. But nature, and the impulse of a vigorous genius, pointed out
another road to him. He abandoned the pencil, and devoted his whole
labours to the study of morality, philosophy and poetry. The drama being
most congenial to his mind, greatly engrossed his attention: he lamented
that the tragedies of even Aeschylus and Sophocles themselves, contained
very little philosophy, and he diligently applied himself to the
effecting of a more intimate union between moral philosophy and dramatic
representation.

As he possessed the powers for accomplishing this valuable purpose in an
eminent degree, his writings became the subject of universal applause
and admiration with his countrymen. Indeed the effects that are related
to have been produced by his compositions, are so prodigious as almost