HANDBOOK OF UNIVERSAL LITERATURE ANNE C. LYNCH BOTTA∗ PREFATORY NOTE TO THE REVISED EDITION. Since the first publication of this work in 1860, many new names have appeared in modern literature. Japan, hitherto almost unknown to Europeans, has taken her place among the nations with a literature of her own, and the researches and discoveries of scholars in various parts of the world have thrown much light on the literatures of antiquity. To keep pace with this advance, a new edition of the work has been called for. Prefixed is a very brief summary of an important and exhaustive History of the Alphabet recently published. PREFACE. This work was begun many years ago, as a literary exercise, to meet the personal requirements of the writer, which were such as most persons experience on leaving school and ”completing their education,” as the phrase is. The world of literature lies before them, but where to begin, what course of study to pursue, in order best to comprehend it, are the problems which present themselves to the bewildered questioner, who finds himself in a position not unlike that of a traveler suddenly set down in an unknown country, without guide-book or map. The most natural course under such circumstances would be to begin at the beginning, and take a rapid survey of the entire field of literature, arriving at its details through this general view. But as this could be accomplished only by subjecting each individual to a severe and protracted course of systematic study, the idea was conceived of obviating this necessity to some extent by embodying the results of such a course in the form of the following work, which, after being long laid aside, is now at length completed. In conformity with this design, standard books have been condensed, with no alterations except such as were required to give unity to the whole work; and in some instances a few additions have been made. Where standard works have not been found, the sketches have been made from the best sources of information, and submitted to the criticism of able scholars. The literatures of different nations are so related, and have so influenced each other, that it is only by a survey of all that any single literature, or even any great literary work, can be fully comprehended, as the various groups and figures of a historical picture must be viewed as a ∗PDF created by pdfbooks.co.za 1 whole, before they can assume their true place and proportions. A.C.L.B. CONTENTS. LIST OF AUTHORITIES INTRODUCTION. THE ALPHABET. 1. The Origin of Letters.–2. The Phoenician Alphabet and Inscriptions.– 3. The Greek Alphabet. Its Three Epochs.–4. The Mediaeval Scripts. The Irish. The Anglo-Saxon. The Roman. The Gothic. The Runic. CLASSIFICATION OF LANGUAGES CHINESE LITERATURE. 1. Chinese Literature.–2. The Language.–3. The Writing.–4. The Five Classics and Four Books.–5. Chinese Religion and Philosophy. Lao-ts´e. Confucius. Meng-ts´eor Mencius.–6. Buddhism.–7. Social Constitution of China.–8. Invention of Printing.–9. Science, History, and Geography. Encyclopaedias.–10. Poetry.–11. Dramatic Literature and Fiction.–12. Education in China. JAPANESE LITERATURE. 1. The Language.–2. The Religion.–3. The Literature. Influence of Women.–4. History.–5. The Drama and Poetry.–6. Geography. Newspapers. Novels. Medical Science.–7. Position of Woman. SANSKRIT LITERATURE. 1. The Language.–2. The Social Constitution of India. Brahmanism.–3. Characteristics of the Literature and its Divisions.–4. The Vedas and other Sacred Books.–5. Sanskrit Poetry; Epic; the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Lyric Poetry. Didactic Poetry; the Hitopadesa. Dramatic Poetry.–6. History and Science.–7. Philosophy.–8. Buddhism.–9. Moral Philosophy. The Code of Manu.–10. Modern Literatures of India.–11. Education. The Brahmo Somaj. BABYLONIAN AND ASSYRIAN LITERATURE. 2 1. The Accadians and Babylonians.–2. The Cuneiform Letters.–3. Babylonian and Assyrian Remains. PHOENICIAN LITERATURE. The Language.–The Remains. SYRIAC LITERATURE. The Language.–Influence of the Literature in the Eighth and Ninth Century. PERSIAN LITERATURE. 1. The Persian Language and its Divisions.–2. Zendic Literature; the Zendavesta.–3. Pehlvi and Parsee Literatures.–4. The Ancient Religion of Persia; Zoroaster.–5. Modern Literature.–6. The Sufis.–7. Persian Poetry.–8. Persian Poets; Ferdusi; Eesedi of Tus; Togray, etc.–9. History and Philosophy.–10. Education in Persia. HEBREW LITERATURE. 1. Hebrew Literature; its Divisions.–2. The Language; its Alphabet; its Structure; Peculiarities, Formation, and Phases.–3. The Old Testament.– 4. Hebrew Education.–5. Fundamental Idea of Hebrew Literature.–6. Hebrew Poetry.–7. Lyric Poetry; Songs; the Psalms; the Prophets.–8. Pastoral Poetry and Didactic Poetry; the Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.–9. Epic and Dramatic Poetry; the Book of Job.–10. Hebrew History; the Pentateuch and other Historical Books.–11. Hebrew Philosophy.–12. Restoration of the Sacred Books.–13. Manuscripts and Translations.–14. Rabbinical Literature.–15. The New Revision of the Bible, and the New Biblical Manuscript. EGYPTIAN LITERATURE. 1. The Language.–2. The Writing.–3. The Literature.–4. The Monuments.– 5. The Discovery of Champollion.–6. Literary Remains; Historical; Religious; Epistolary; Fictitious; Scientific; Epic; Satirical and Judicial.–7. The Alexandrian Period.–8. The Literary Condition of Modern Egypt. GREEK LITERATURE. 3 INTRODUCTION.–1. Greek Literature and its Divisions.–2. The Language.– 3. The Religion. PERIOD FIRST.–1. Ante-Homeric Songs and Bards.–2. Poems of Homer; the Iliad; the Odyssey.–3. The Cyclic Poets and the Homeric Hymns.–4. Poems of Hesiod; the Works and Days; the Theogony.–5. Elegy and Epigram; Tyrtaeus; Achilochus; Simanides.–6. Iambic Poetry, the Fable, and Parody; Aesop.–7. Greek Music and Lyric Poetry; Terpander.–8. Aeolic Lyric Poets; Alcaeus; Sappho; Anacreon.–9. Doric, or Choral Lyric Poets; Alcman; Stesichorus; Pindar.–10. The Orphic Doctrines and Poems.–11. Pre-Socratic Philosophy; Ionian, Eleatic, Pythagorean Schools.–12. History; Herodotus. PERIOD SECOND.–1. Literary Predominance of Athens.–2. Greek Drama.– 3. Tragedy.–4. The Tragic Poets; Aeschylus; Sophocles; Euripides.–5. Comedy; Aristophanes; Menander.–6. Oratory, Rhetoric, and History; Pericles; the Sophists; Lysias; Isocrates; Demosthenes; Thucydides; Xenophon.–7. Socrates and the Socratic Schools; Plato; Aristotle. PERIOD THIRD.–1. Origin of the Alexandrian Literature.–2. The Alexandrian Poets; Philetas; Callimachus; Theocritus; Bion; Moschus.–3. The Prose Writers of Alexandria; Zenodotus; Aristophanes; Aristarchus; Eratosthenes; Euclid; Archimedes.–4, Philosophy of Alexandria; Neo- Platonism.–5. Anti-Neo-Platonic Tendencies; Epictetus; Lucian; Longinus. –6. Greek Literature in Rome; Dionysius of Halicarnassus; Flavius Josephus; Polybius; Diodorus; Strabo; Plutarch.–7. Continued Decline of Greek Literature.–8. Last Echoes of the Old Literature; Hypatia; Nonnus; Musaeus; Byzantine Literature.–9. The New Testament and the Greek Fathers. Modern Literature; the Brothers Santsos and Alexander Rangab´e. ROMAN LITERATURE. INTRODUCTION.–1. Roman Literature and its Divisions.–2. The Language; Ethnographical Elements of the Latin Language; the Umbrian; Oscan; Etruscan; the Old Roman Tongue; Saturnian Verse; Peculiarities of the Latin Language.–3. The Roman Religion. PERIOD FIRST.–1. Early Literature of the Romans; the Fescennine Songs; 4 the Fabulae Atellanae.–2. Early Latin Poets; Livius Andronicus, Naevius, and Ennius.–3. Roman Comedy.–4. Comic Poets; Plautus, Terence, and Statius.–5. Roman Tragedy.–6. Tragic Poets; Pacuvius and Attius.–7. Satire; Lucilius.–8. History and Oratory; Fabius Pictor; Cencius Alimentus; Cato; Varro; M. Antonius; Crassus; Hortensius.–9. Roman Jurisprudence.–10. Grammarians. PERIOD SECOND.–1. Development of the Roman Literature.–2. Mimes, Mimographers, Pantomime; Laberius and P. Lyrus.–3. Epic Poetry; Virgil; the Aeneid.–4. Didactic Poetry; the Bucolics; the Georgics; Lucretius. –5. Lyric Poetry; Catullus; Horace.–6. Elegy; Tibullus; Propertius; Ovid.–7. Oratory and Philosophy; Cicero.–8. History; J. Caesar; Sallust; Livy.–9. Other Prose Writers. PERIOD THIRD.–1. Decline of Roman Literature.–2. Fable; Phaedrus.–3. Satire and Epigram; Persius, Juvenal, Martial.–4. Dramatic Literature; the Tragedies of Seneca.–5. Epic Poetry; Lucan; Silius Italicus; Valerius Flaccus; P. Statius.–6. History; Paterculus; Tacitus; Suetonius; Q. Curtius; Valerius Maximus.–7. Rhetoric and Eloquence; Quintilian; Pliny the Younger.–8. Philosophy and Science; Seneca; Pliny the Elder; Celsus; P. Mela; Columella; Frontinus.–9. Roman Literature from Hadrian to Theodoric; Claudian; Eutropius; A. Marcellinus; S. Sulpicius; Gellius; Macrobius; L. Apuleius; Boethius: the Latin Fathers.–10. Roman Jurisprudence. ARABIAN LITERATURE. 1. European Literature in the Dark Ages.–2. The Arabian Language.–3. Arabian Mythology and the Koran.–4. Historical Development of Arabian Literature.–5. Grammar and Rhetoric.–6. Poetry.–7. The Arabian Tales. –8. History and Science.–9. Education. ITALIAN LITERATURE. INTRODUCTION.–1. Italian Literature and its Divisions.–2. The Dialects. –3. The Italian Language. PERIOD FIRST.–1. Latin Influence.–2. Early Italian Poetry and Prose. –3. Dante–4. Petrarch.–5. Boccaccio and other Prose Writers.–6. First Decline of Italian Literature. PERIOD SECOND.–1. The Close of the Fifteenth Century; Lorenzo de’ Medici.–2. The Origin of the Drama and Romantic Epic; Poliziano, Pulci, Boiardo.–3. Romantic Epic Poetry; Ariosto.–4. Heroic Epic Poetry; 5 Tasso.–5. Lyric