The Revolt of the Women. A Free Translation of the
Lysistrata of Aristophanes. By Benjamin Bickley Rogers, M.A. (Bell and Sono.) —We regret that Mr. Rogers is compelled to relinquish his scheme- of publishing the complete editions of Aristophanes' plays, but the bare translations" which he promises to print are so good that lovers of the great comedian will feel no little consolation. The "Lysistrata " is a play little read. Very few people in England read any classical author except for academical purposes, and for academical purposes this is obviously ill suited. It might have been acted on the Restoration stage ; things just as bad are acted now; but its coarseness is of a kind which banishes it anyhow from the class-room. As Mr. Rogers has "freely translated" it, it may be read without offence, though even now scarcely to be recommended rirginibus puerisque. The plot of the piece is the story how the women of Athens and Sparta combine to force the- men into making peace by separating from them. And it is worked out with at least an average amount of the Aristophanic humour.
Previous page
