The Mirror of Taste, and Dramatic Censor, Vol. I, No. 3, March 1810

œ (“oe” ligature) μισογυνης (Greek word)
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Typographical errors are marked with mouse-hover popups . Spellings were changed only when there was an unambiguous error, or the word occurred elsewhere with the expected spelling. Lower-case titles such as “lady Macbeth” or “captain Barclay” are standard.
No attempt was made to regularize the use of quotation marks, except to supply those that were clearly missing. Nested double quotes are standard. A few missing or incorrect punctuation marks in the Index were silently regularized. In the play, forms such as “twas” or “tis” are consistently written without initial apostrophe.

Æschylus and Shakspeare have each been styled the father of the drama of his country: yet their claims to this distinction stand on very different grounds. Æschylus laid the plan and foundation of the Grecian tragedy and built upon it; but to his successor belongs the glory of improving upon his invention. Shakspeare raised the drama of his country at once to the utmost degree of perfection: succeeding poets have been able to do nothing more than walk in the path trod by him, at an immense distance, and endeavour to copy but without equalling his perfections.
The general admiration in which Æschylus was held, gave birth to a herd of imitators, among whom were sons and nephews of his own; but as, like most imitators, they could do little more than mimic his defects without reaching his excellencies, they served only as a foil to set off the lustre of his great successor Sophocles, who, while yet his scholar, aspired to be his competitor, and gained the preeminence at the age of twenty-five.