326 



THE POPULAB EDUCATOR 



A, viz., a, b, c, d,'eio., are again set off on the PP, and the points 

 h, i, k, etc., are repeated on the Jine of contact from a to o in 

 Yig. B, the former for cutting off the perspective distances on 

 the base of the retiring plane from a to VP 1 , and the latter for 

 determining the perspective heights upon the same plane, their 

 retiring lines being ruled towards the vanishing point of the 

 plane. Thus will be reconstructed in its perspective proportions 

 the working lines forming the square a g p o, and the square 

 opening in the centre of the board. The circle representing 

 the board must be drawn by hand through the points in the 

 retiring plane B, which are found to correspond with the points 

 in the plan A. To determine the extent of the shadow, lines are 

 drawn to the vanishing point of the sun's inclination (VPSI) 

 from all the points in the base of the retiring square a g p o, 

 which contains the perspective view of the circular board. The 

 rays of the sun's elevation are drawn from the intersections of 

 the circle with the diagonals, and the sides of the square a g p o 

 in ksr d. Through the points on the ground where the lines or 

 rays for the sun's elevation intersect those which represent the 

 sun's inclination drawn from the base of the square to VPSI, 

 the extent and form of the shadow must be drawn ; the same 

 method of proceeding must be observed with regard to the 

 square opening in the circular board. 



PROBLEM LI. (Fig. 82). To show how a shadow of a perpen- 

 dicular object is to be projected on an inclined plane. Our 

 example is the shadow of a chimney upon a roof. After the 

 perspective view of the roof and chimney is drawn, and the 

 vanishing-points for the sun's inclination and elevation are 

 found, draw a line from VP 2 through VP 3 (the VP for the incli- 

 nation of the roof) to the perpendicular line from VPSI ; this 

 gives the VP for the shadow of the chimney on the roof, viz., 

 VP 4 , to which the lines from the base of the chimney must be 

 drawn. For the VP of the shadow of the retiring side, a b, of 

 the chimney, rule a line from VPSE through VP 1 to VP 5 , the 

 vanishing point required. We trust the figure will explain 

 the rest. 



READINGS IN GREEK. V. 



^SCHYLUS. 



WE come now to the earliest of the three great tragic poets of 

 Greece 2Eschylus. Of his relation in point of time to the other 

 two masters of dramatic poetry, Sophocles and Euripides, we 

 have already spoken, and it only remains to say a few words 

 upon his individual characteristics as a poet. Both in his 

 choice of subjects and his method of treating them, JEschylus 

 approaches more nearly to the heroic. To use the words of Mr. 

 Grote, " The passions appealed to are the masculine and violent, 

 to the exclusion of Aphrodite and her inspirations ; the figures 

 are vast and majestic, but exhibited only in half-light and 

 shadowy outline ; the speech is replete with bold metaphor 

 and abrupt transition ' grandiloquent even to a fault,' as 

 Quintilian expresses it, and often approaching nearer to 

 Oriental vagueness than Grecian perspicuity." For these 

 reasons the plays of ^Eschylus are more difficult for the student 

 to understand than those of Euripides and Sophocles ; and in 

 addition to this, it has happened that there are gaps and imper- 

 fections in many of the MSS. which greatly increase this 

 .difficulty. In selecting a few extracts from his poems, we 

 shall, however, endeavour to choose such pieces as may not 

 altogether baffle the powers of the reader, but- may serve at 

 the same time to give a tolerably fail idea of the style of the 

 author. 



The most important of the plays of JEschylus are the three 

 which are generally known as the Orestean trilogy the 

 "Agamemnon," " Choephoras," and "Eumenides." The three 

 together form a continuous story. In the " Agamemnon " we find 

 Olytsemnestra, his wife, during the absence of her lord at Troy, 

 living in a guilty union with ^Egisthus. Agamemnon suddenly 

 returns, and is murdered by his wife and her paramour. Orestes, 

 by the aid of Electra, escapes the sword of his mother, and in 

 the " Choephorae" he returns, and avenges the death of his father 

 by slaying ^gisthus, and Clytsemnestra, who comes to the aid of 

 the latter, is also dispatched. In the " Eumenides," which is the 

 last of the series, Orestes appears at the temple of Apollo at 

 Delphi, pursued by the avenging Furies (Eumenides), to seek 

 expiation for the murders from the deity. Apollo promises him 

 ipvotection, and the scene shifts to the court of Areopagus at 



Athens, where Orestes is tried and finally acquitted. Our first 

 extract is the speech of Clytsemnestra when she appears upon 

 the stage directly after murdering her husband, and defiantly 

 describes the deed : 



AESCHYLUS. "AGAMEMNON," 1372 1394. 



noAA.au/ Tra.poi.6fv Katpicas elprffj-fviav, 

 TO.VO.VTI enre?j/ OVK fTraiO")(yvQ'i}o"ofj.a.i. 

 ir<as yap ns fxBpois e'xfya iropavvuv, (pi\ois 

 8oKovffii> flvai, Tnj/jiovris apKvo-Tar' av 1375 



tpdp^eiev, in|/os Kpti<T<rov (KTrr)o'T]/j.aTOs ; 

 efj.ol 8' aywf '65' OVK a.<ppovrio~Tos irciAai 

 vf'iKt}s TraAams r)\6f, ffvv "%p6v<p ye ft.4\v 

 (TT7j/ca 8' tv6' f-rraiff*, sir' tttpya<r/j.ei>ois. 

 OVTU 8' eirpa|a, Kal Tab" OVK apv^ffof^ai, 1380 



a>5 /U7JT6 <psvyfiv /urj-r' a/j.vvaffOai. /j.6pov. 

 airfipov afj.(p(0\r]ffTpoi/, uiffirep ixOvcav, 

 T?epio~Tix'ifa, TT\OVTOI> f'1/j.aros KO.KOV. 

 Trai'co 8e viv Sis' KO.V Svo7v oif*tay/Aao~i 



fjLfGrJKfv avrov K<a\a' Kal TtfirToiKOTi 1385 



rpiTt}v errfi/SiSco/xi, rov Kara xOovbs 

 "AiSov vfKptav ffWT-rjpos eu/cTaiac ^apii/. 

 ovTia TOV ainov Qvfjibv bpfj.a.(vei irt<r<!iv 

 Ka.K(pvo~i(ai> 6|e?a' a'lftaros o~(payf)v, 



/SaAAei /x" tptfjLvfj i//a/caSi (pou/ias SpoVou, 1390 



Xaipovo~av oi/Sfv i)o~o~ov, fy SioffSoTy 

 yavfi (nropTfrbs KaAu/cos ev Ko^evp-acriv. 

 ws a>S' t^6vTwv, Trpefffios 'Apyficav roSe, 

 Xaipoir' av, ei ^aipotr', eyu 8' fTCfvx.oiJ.at. 



1372. Katpiwr, suitable to tlie occasion, xaipor. Having spoken many words 

 preoiouflij merely to gain my purpose (alluding to the affectionate terms 

 in which she had welcomed Agamemnon), I shall not now be ashamed to 

 assert the very contrary. 



1375. 'ApKwffTaT 1 civ. The Hv goes with ^dpfaei/ ctpKiicrTara is a Space 



enclosed by a net (SpKur) and the passage may be rendered, " How could 

 any one erect a fence of destruction (like a hunting net, where wild beasts 

 are snared) , too high for them to leap over 1 "Y^or is either in apposition 

 with upKvffTOLTa, or follows 0pfeiei/, erect it to a height to be high ; like 

 didcio-KeiK TIVU ao<j>o\>, to teach a man to be wise. 



1378. Ne/Ktir, of an old feud; aitv XP v y, etc., but it has come at last, with 

 tlie lapse of time. r /LUJV serves to emphasise aw xpovy. 



1379. 'En-i, with dat., signifies on the top of, and so after after the deed 

 was done. 



1381. The accusative before (peu^em may be either e'/u > or better, aUrov 

 (so. Agamemnon). 



1382. "Airetpov. Out of which there was no escape made into a " c.ul de 

 sac." Paley. 



1383. nXouroi/, etc., lit., an evil wealth of robe a rich fatal robe. 



1385. MetiriKev. He relaxed his limbs, O.VTOV, on the spot. 



1386. Ipirnv x t 'P" / - A third as a votive offering to Hades baneath. The 

 number three was mystical, arid there is an allusion to the usual custom 

 of pouring out a third libation to Zeus 2u>rnp (the preserver). "Ai&ov 

 is genitive of the object after xP"'. 



1388. 'Op/uai'vei. He frets out pants out. 



1391. \aipoutrav (sc. M i n previous line), rejoicing no less than the corn- 

 field does in the heaven-sent blessing at the bursting of the bud. (hoxevia is to 

 bring fortli, akin to Xt'xoc.) 



1393. 'Us <o5' xo\nu>v (sc. -rouTiav, genitive absolute), where/ore, since 17ics 

 things are so. T63e, etc., elders of the Argives here. 



1394. Xaipocr' tii/, optative with av, is equivalent to imperative, rejoice 

 if you will. 



The following lines are from the chorus sung by the Eume- 

 nides, when Orestes is awaiting his trial before the Areo- 

 pagus - 



.AESCHYLUS. " EUMENIDES," 307 333. 



"Aye STJ Kal xP v a\l/a}(j.ev, eirei 

 fj.ovo"av ffrvyepav 



re Aa%r; ra /car' a.vQp<Iiirovs 

 dis 67rii/co/xa araffts apd, 

 fWvSlitMOi 6' oio/j.f.6' flvai. 

 Ltv Ka9apas x f ^P as Trpoi'ffji.ovT' 



atp' 7)IJ.WV /J.TJVIS <$>tpTTf.l, 



affivris S' aliava Sici^fe? 

 S 8' a.\iTtov, wffirfp '65' 'avf]p, 

 Xftpas <povias tTriKpinrrei, 

 vpes opdal rolffi Qavovffiv 





315 



