The received order in which Lucian's works stand is admitted to be entirely haphazard. The following arrangement in groups is roughly chronological, though it is quite possible that they overlap each other. It is M. Croiset's, put into tabular form. Many details in it are open to question; but to read in this order would at least be more satisfactory to any one who wishes to study Lucian seriously than to take the pieces as they come. The table will also serve as a rough guide to the first-class and the inferior pieces. The names italicized are those of pieces rejected as spurious by M. Croiset, and therefore not placed by him; we have inserted them where they seem to belong; as to their genuineness, it is our opinion that the objections made (not by M. Croiset, who does not discuss authenticity) to the _Demosthenes_ and _The Cynic_ at least are, in view of the merits of these, unconvincing. (i) About 145 to 160 A.D. Lucian a rhetorician in Ionia, Greece, Italy, and Gaul. The Tyrannicide, a rhetorical exercise. The Disinherited. Phalaris I & II. _Demosthenes_, a panegyric. Patriotism, an essay. The Fly, an essay. Swans and Amber, an introductory lecture. Dipsas, an introductory lecture. The Hall, an introductory lecture. Nigrinus, a dialogue on philosophy, 150 A.D. (ii) About 160 to 164 A.D. After Lucian's return to Asia. The Portrait-study, a panegyric in dialogue, 162 A.D. Defence of The Portrait-study, in dialogue. A Trial in the Court of Vowels, a _jeu d'esprit_. Hesiod, a short dialogue. The Vision, an autobiographical address. (iii) About 165 A.D. At Athens. Pantomime, art criticism in dialogue. Anacharsis, a dialogue on physical training. Toxaris, stories of friendship in dialogue. Slander, a moral essay. The Way to write History, an essay in literary criticism. The next eight groups, iv-xi, belong to the years from about 165 A.D. to about 175 A.D., when Lucian was at his best and busiest; iv-ix are to be regarded roughly as succeeding each other in time; x and xi being independent in this respect. Pieces are assigned to groups mainly according to their subjects; but some are placed in groups that do not seem at first sight the most appropriate, owing to specialties in their treatment; e.g. _The Ship_ might seem more in place with vii than with ix; but M. Croiset finds in it a maturity that induces him to put it later. (iv) About 165 A.D. Hermotimus, a philosophic dialogue. The Parasite, a parody of a philosophic dialogue. (v) Influence of the New Comedy writers. The Liar, a dialogue satirizing superstition. A Feast of Lapithae, a dialogue satirizing the manners of philosophers. Dialogues of the Hetaerae, a series of short dialogues. (vi) Influence of the Menippean satire. Dialogues of the Dead, a series of short dialogues. Dialogues of the Gods, a series of short dialogues. Dialogues of the Sea-Gods, a series of short dialogues. Menippus, a dialogue satirizing philosophy.