INTRODUCTORY NOTE
The author of the following pages met with his death in Switzerland on July 16th, 1895, in his twenty-sixth year. Had he lived to complete the whole work of which they form part, he might have recast it throughout; and some apology is, perhaps, needed for its appearance in the present form. Several scholars have, however, expressed their opinion that the material contained in the extant fragments might be useful to those engaged in similar studies, and they are accordingly published, in the hope that this may prove to be the case.
From the author’s papers it appears that his work was, if completed, to have been entitled “Women in Greek Poetry: being an Enquiry into the Origin of the Romantic Element in Literature.” It was to have contained three divisions, dealing respectively with (1) the position occupied by women in the Greek lyric and tragic poets, (2) the part played by women in Greek comedy, (3) the Alexandrian ideal of woman. The former of the two essays contained in this volume (“Women in Greek Poetry”) no doubt includes much that would have been incorporated in the first of these three divisions. At the same time, as it was, in all probability, written before the whole scheme was arranged, and was intended to be complete in itself, it contains allusions to certain subjects which would more naturally have fallen into the third, and would have received fuller treatment there, while several points which belong properly to the first division have not been treated on the scale which would finally have belonged to them. The second essay (“Women in Greek Comedy”) corresponds more nearly in subject to the author’s matured plan, but had still less than the first essay the benefit of his final correction and revision. This much is said, not in order to deprecate criticism (a result which the author would have been the last to desire), but merely in explanation of the occasional repetitions, and possibly also inconsistencies, which are to be found in this volume.
In preparing the work for the Press as few alterations as possible have been introduced, and the essays appear substantially in the form given them by the author. Thus the second essay is divided into nine chief sections, while the first has no such sub-divisions. Again, Excursus F (which was originally written for the first essay) contains much material which is elaborated in the second essay. In several places also, especially towards the close of the volume, reference is made to parts of the work which seem never to have been written. It is believed that the reader will be anxious to possess the author’s own words so far as possible, and, accordingly, the changes which have been adopted are only such as the author would probably have made himself when revising his work.
In references to the Greek lyric poets, the numbers are those of Bergk’s Poetae Lyrici Graeci (4th edition, 1878-82). The fragments of the tragedians are cited from Nauck’s Tragicorum Graecorum Fragmenta (2nd edition, 1889). For the comic fragments the author used Meineke’s Fragmenta Comicorum Graecorum (five vols. 1839-57). Meineke’s numbering has been kept in the text, but a list will be found on [page 253], giving the corresponding references to Kock’s Comicorum Atticorum Fragmenta (three vols. 1880-88) in all cases where the two editions differ seriously. The references to Theocritus, Plautus, and Terence have been verified from the editions of Ziegler, Ritschl, and Dziatzko, respectively; but where the text is doubtful, the author appears to have adopted what seemed to him the most probable reading, without following any editor exclusively.
Additions by the editor of this volume are enclosed in square brackets. He has to acknowledge most gratefully his indebtedness to several friends for advice and assistance on various points.