"From the standpoint of poetry, dignity of conception, spiritual elevation and finish and beauty of line, Mr. Rice's 'David' is, perhaps, superior to his 'Yolanda of Cyprus,' but the two can scarcely be compared." _The New York Times (Jessie B. Rittenhouse)._
"Never before has the theme received treatment in a manner so worthy of it." _The St. Louis Globe-Democrat._
"It needs but a word, for it has been passed upon and approved by critics all over the country." _Book News Monthly._ And again: "But few recent writers seem to have found the secret of dramatic blank verse; and of that small number, Mr. Rice is, if not first, at least without superior."
"With instinctive dramatic and poetic power, Mr. Rice combines a knowledge of the exigencies of the stage." _Harper's Weekly._
"It is safe to say that were Mr. Rice an Englishman or a Frenchman, his reputation as his country's most distinguished poetic dramatist would have been assured by a more universal sign of recognition." _The Baltimore News (writing of all Mr. Rice's plays)._
"I take off my hat to Mr. Rice. His play is full of poetry, and the pitch and dignity of the whole are remarkable." _James Lane Allen._
"It is a dramatic poem one reads with a heightened sense of its fine quality throughout. It is sincere, strong, finished and noble, and sustains its distinction of manner to the end.... The character of Helena is not unworthy of any of the great masters of dramatic utterance." _The Chicago Tribune._
"The drama is one of the best of the kind ever written by an American author. Its whole tone is masterful, and it must be classed as one of the really literary works of the season." (1903). _The Milwaukee Sentinel._
"It shows a remarkable sense of dramatic construction as well as poetic power and strong characterization." _James MacArthur, in Harper's Weekly._
"This play has many elements of perfection. Its plot is developed with ease and with a large dramatic force; its characters are drawn with sympathy and decision; and its thoughts rise to a very real beauty. By reason of it the writer has gained an assured place among playwrights who seek to give literary as well as dramatic worth to their plays." _The Richmond (Va.) News-Leader._