Note 46 — BOOK X.

Schlegel gives a very different interpretation to this story. He says—"In Æschylus the tragic style is as yet imperfect, and not unfrequently runs into either unmixed epic or lyric. It is often abrupt, irregular, and harsh. To compose more regular and skilful tragedies than those of Æschylus was by no means difficult; but in the more than mortal grandeur which he displayed, it was impossible that he should ever be surpassed, and even Sophocles, his younger and more fortunate rival, did not in this respect equal him. The latter, in speaking of Æschylus, gave a proof that he was himself a thoughtful artist;—'Æschylus does what is right, without knowing it.' These few simple words, exhaust the whole of what we understand by the phrase, powerful working unconsciously." This is the comment of a man of real sense, learning, taste, and judgment.—Dramatic Literature, p. 95. (Bohn's Standard Library.)