The drama enjoyed a high reputation in antiquity. Cf. Quint. x. 1, 98, 'Ovidii Medea videtur mihi ostendere, quantum ille vir praestare potuerit, si ingenio suo imperare quam indulgere maluisset.' 4. _Medicamina Faciei Femineae_, an incomplete poem of 100 lines, giving directions for the toilet. Cf. _A.A._ iii. 205, 'Est mihi, quo dixi vestrae medicamina formae, parvus, sed cura grande, libellus, opus.' 5. _Ars Amatoria_, a didactic poem in three Books, on the art of love-intrigue. The title given by the MSS. is doubtless correct: Ovid himself speaks of 'ars amandi,' or simply 'ars' or 'artes.' It was written about B.C. 2, from the allusion, i. 171, to the 'naumachia' in that year, 'Quid, modo cum belli navalis imagine Caesar Persidas induxit Cecropiasque rates?' The _Ars_ must have been in view when he wrote _Am._ ii. 18, 19, 'Quod licet, aut artes teneri profitemur amoris-- ei mihi, praeceptis urgeor ipse meis!' 6. _Remedia Amoris_, written next, while professing to be a recantation of the last-named work, exhibits, if possible, a more immoral tone. Cf. l. 487, 'Quaeris, ubi invenias? artes, i, perlege nostras.' 7. Ovid now produced a work of greater compass, the _Metamorphoses_, in fifteen Books of heroic verse. When it was composed is not known, but he had the idea of it in his mind when he wrote _Am._ iii. 12, 21-40. At the time of his banishment the poem had been written, but not revised. He committed his MS. to the flames, but copies were in the hands of friends; _Tr._ i. 7, 13-16, 'Carmina mutatas hominum dicentia formas, infelix domini quod fuga rupit opus. Haec ego discedens, sicut bene multa meorum, ipse mea posui maestus in igne manu. Quae quoniam non sunt penitus sublata, sed extant, (l. 23) pluribus exemplis scripta fuisse reor. Ablatum mediis opus est incudibus illud, (l. 29) defuit et scriptis ultima lima meis.' The poem consists of a collection of stories of the transformation of human beings into animals. Cf. i. 1, 'In nova fert animus mutatas dicere formas corpora.' The idea, title, and much of the subject-matter was borrowed from the Alexandrians, _e.g._ the Μεταμορφώσεις of Parthenius, the Ἑτεροιούμενα of Nicander. 8. In the _Fasti_, in six Books, Ovid furnishes a poetical calendar of the Roman year. Each month has a Book allotted to it, and he speaks of having written twelve Books; _Tr._ ii. 549, 'Sex ego Fastorum scripsi totidemque libellos, cumque suo finem mense volumen habet. Idque tuo nuper scriptum sub nomine, Caesar, et tibi sacratum sors mea rupit opus.' Probably the second six Books were never completed; but there are references to portions of them, _e.g._ iii. 57, 'Vester honos veniet, cum Larentalia dicam; acceptus Geniis illa December habet.'