Sophia [Sprightly], a young lady of high spirits and up to fun. Tukely loves her sincerely, and knowing her partiality for the Hon. Mr. Daffodil, exposes him as a “male coquette,” of mean spirit and without manly courage; after which she rejects him with scorn, and gives her hand and heart to Tukely. —Garrick: The Male Coquette (1758).

Sophocles, the Greek tragedian. Complete English translations by Potter, 1788; by Dale, 1824; and by Plumptre, 1865. (Professor d’Arcy Thompson translated the Ajax, and Dr. Donaldson the Antigone, 4 syl)

Sophocles wrote 120 tragedies, of which only seven are extant, viz. Ajax, Antigone , Electra, Œdipus at Colonus, Œdipus Tyrannus (his masterpiece), Philoctetes , and Trachiniæ, or The Death of Hercules.

N.B.—Euripidês has also tragedies on Electra and Hercules Furens.

Sophonisba, daughter of Asdrubal, and reared to detest Rome. She was affianced to Masinissa king of the Numidians, but was given by her father in marriage to Syphax. Scipio insisted that this marriage should be annulled, but the Numidian sent her a bowl of poison, which she drank without hesitation.

(This subject and that of Cleopatra have furnished more dramas than any other whatsoever. For example, we have in French: J. Mairet, Sophonisbe (1630); Pierre Corneille; Lagrange-Chancel; and Voltaire. In Italian: Trissino (1514); Alfieri (1749–1803). In English: John Marston, The Wonder of Women or The Tragedy of Sophonisba (1605); Thomson, Sophonisba, 1729.)

In Thomson’s tragedy occurs the line, “Oh Sophonisba! Sophonisba oh!” which was parodied by “Oh Jemmy Thomson! Jemmy Thomson oh!”

There is a striking resemblance between Sophonisba and Cleopatra: both were beautiful and fascinating; both had married young; both held their conquerors in the bonds of love; both killed themselves to prevent being made Roman captives.

Sophronia, a young lady who was taught Greek, and to hate men who were not scholars. Her wisdom taught her to gauge the wisdom of her suitors, and to discover their shortcomings. She never found one up to the mark, and now she is wrinkled with age, and talks about the “beauties of the mind.”—Goldsmith: A Citizen of the World, xxviii. (1759).

Sophronia. (See Sofronia, p. 1024.)

Sophrosyne , one of Logistilla’s handmaids, noted for her purity. Sophrosynê was sent with Andronica to conduct Astolpho safely from India to Arabia.—Ariosto: Orlando Furioso (1516).

Sophy, the eldest of a large family. She is engaged to Traddles, and is always spoken of by him as “the dearest girl in the world.”—Dickens; David Copperfield (1849).

Sops of [or in] Wine. Deptford pinks are so called.

Sorano, a Neapolitan noble, brother of Evanthe “the wife for a month,” and the infamous instrument of Frederick the licentious brother of Alphonso king of Naples.—Beaumont and Fletcher: A Wife for a Month (1624).

(Beaumont died 1616.)

Sordello, a Provençal poet, whom Dantê meets in purgatory, sitting apart. On seeing Virgil, Sordello springs forward to embrace him.

(R. Browning has a poem called Sordello, and makes Sordello typical of liberty and human perfectibility.)


  By PanEris using Melati.

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