[Sidenote: Our debt to the Romans.] Three ancient peoples have impressed themselves strongly upon the nations of Europe and America—the Hebrews, the Greeks, and the Romans. To the first we owe the foundations of our religion, to the second the beginnings of all arts and sciences, to the Romans we are indebted for the adaptation of the arts and sciences, of philosophy, and even of religion to civilized life. The names of our months are Roman, and our calendar is, with slight necessary changes, that established by Julius Cæsar. The laws of continental Europe and, though to a less degree, of England and the United States, are based upon Roman law as finally established under Justinian. The so-called Gothic architecture, which arose in France in the Middle Ages and which is still the prevailing style of our churches, can be traced back step by step to Roman buildings, and though Roman architecture was dependent upon that of Greece, it was through Rome that western Europe learned to use the column, the arch, and the vault. The beautiful architecture of the Renaissance is a conscious imitation of that of Rome. The Romans, too, in the early centuries of the Christian church, did their full share to systematize Christian belief, to reconcile it with philosophy, and to establish a reasonable form of church government. The results of their labors are inherited directly by the Roman Catholic church, and indirectly or partially by Protestants. There is hardly a side of modern life which is not more or less affected by ancient Rome; while the dignity, the sturdy manhood, the stoical disregard of fortune, the patriotism, and the vigorous earnestness expressed in Roman literature have a powerful influence in developing what is best in modern manhood. Roman literature will continue to be an important object of study as long as men still feel their obligations to the past, or are capable of learning from the example and precepts of other ages. APPENDIX I BIBLIOGRAPHY [This is not intended to be an exhaustive bibliography, but is merely an attempt to refer the student to some of the best and most available sources of information. Books in foreign languages, and editions with notes in foreign languages, are mentioned only in exceptional cases and for special reasons. Further bibliographical information is to be found in the larger histories of Roman literature, in Engelmann’s _Bibliotheca Scriptorum Classicorum_, the monthly lists in the _Classical Review_, and the _Guide to the Choice of Classical Books_, by J. B. Mayor, London, 1879, D. Nutt; with its New Supplement, 1896.] GENERAL WORKS +C. T. Cruttwell.+ History of Roman Literature, London, 1877, Griffin. +J. W. Mackail.+ Latin Literature, London, 1895, Murray; New York, Scribner’s. +G. A. Simcox.+ History of Latin Literature, London and New York, 1883, Longmans, 2 vols.