This two-volume critical edition of Seneca's tragedies by Friedrich Leo (1851–1914) was published in Berlin in 1878–1879. Seneca, the first-century Roman philosopher, modelled his tragedies on the work of Greek playwright Euripides. Leo argues that the tragedies were in fact written for recitation only, and were not intended to be performed, although they have been successfully staged in modern times. A classical scholar of some distinction who later became a full member of the Academy of Sciences in Göttingen, Leo's critical edition of Seneca was published early in his career, while he became better known for his later work on Roman poetry. Volume 1 explains his method of textual analysis and provides observations on the various surviving manuscripts of Seneca's plays.
