Excerpt from Critical, Poetical, and Dramatic Works, Vol. 1 The invention of the drama appears generally, as well as justly, attributed to Æschylus. For, though what was called Tragedy and Comedy both existed before his time, yet to him we are indebted for dialogue, which is the chief distinction of those species of composition, according to our conception, for an immoveable stage, and for that connection of music with dramatic action, which its prevalence since, in every age and country, seems to recommend. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.