HOUGH it be dangerous to raise too great an Expectation, especially in Works of this Nature, where we are to please an unfatiable Audience, yet'tis reasonable to prepoffefs them in Favour of an Author, and therefore both the Prologue and Epilogue inform'd you, That OEdipus was the most celebrated Piece of all Antiquity: That Sophocles, not only the greatest Wit, but one of the greatest Men in Athens, made it for the Stage at the Publick Coft, and that it had the Reputation of being his Mafter-piece, not only amongst the Seven of his which are ftill remaining, but of the greater Number which are perifh'd. Ariftotle has more than once admir'd it in his Book of Poetry, Horace has mention'd it: Lucullus, Julius Cafar, and other Noble Romans, have written on the fame Subject, though their Poems are wholly loft, but Seneca's is ftill preferv'd. In our own Age, Corneille has attempted it, and, it appears by his Preface, with great Succefs: But a judicious Reader will eafily obferve, how much the Copy is inferior to the Original. He tells you himself, that he owes a great part of his Success to the happy Episode of Thefeus and Dirce; which is the fame Thing, as if we fhould acknowledge, that we were indebted for our good Fortune, to the Underplot of Adraftus, Eurydice, and Creon. The Truth is, he miferably fail'd in the Character of his Hero: If he defir'd that OEdipus fhould be pitied, he should have made. him a better Man. He forgot that Sephocles had taken care to fhew him in his firft Entrance, a Juft, a Merciful, a Successful, a Religious Prince, and in fhort, a lather of his Country: Inftead of thefe, he has drawn him fufpicious, defigning, more anxious of keeping the Theban Crown, than folicitous for the Safety of his Pecple: Hector'd by Thefeus, contemn'd by Dirce, and fcarce. maintaining a fecond Part in his own Tragedy. This was an Error in the firft Concoction; and therefore no ver to be mended in the second, or the third: He irtroduc'd a greater Heroe than OEdipus himself; for when Thefeus was once there, that Companion of Hercu les muft yield to none: The Poet was oblig'd to furnish him with Business, to make him an Equipage fuitable, A 2 to |