The present Edition of the “Theatre of the Greeks” differs from the preceding in several particulars.

It appears from the advertisement to the last edition that the former Editor intended to make some important alterations in his introductory sketch, and I regret that he has been prevented by the pressure of other engagements from continuing and completing what he had so well begun. As I do not concur with him in many of the opinions there expressed, and could not of course venture to reconstruct his materials according to my own views, I have been compelled to substitute for the former Introduction a new Treatise on the same subject. I have, however, retained the description of the Theatre, which is, I believe, a correct abridgment of Genelli. If I have made any other use of my predecessor's labours, I trust I have always acknowledged my obligations to him. The narrow limits imposed upon me by the nature of the work, the demand for a new edition, and my own insufficient leisure in the mean time, have not allowed me to attempt more than a rough outline of the subject, which will, I hope, furnish the young student with a correct general notion of the leading distinctions between the Greek Drama and that of modern Europe: those who wish to prosecute the subject farther will find in the remainder of this collection, and in the works referred to at the end of the Introduction, the sum of nearly all that has been written on the Theatre of the Greeks.