Aesop, who lived 572 B.C., was the author of some fables which
have been translated into nearly every language in the world, and
have served as a model for all subsequent writings of the same
kind. In 322 B.C., the centre of learning owing to the conquests
of Alexander the Great, was moved to Egypt in the city that bears
his name. Here the first three Ptolemies founded a magnificent
library where the literary men of the age were supported by
endowments. The second Ptolemy had the native annals of Egypt and
Judea translated into Greek, and he procured from the Sanhedrim
of Jerusalem the first part of the Sacred Scriptures, which was
later completed and published in Greek for the use of the Jews at
Alexandria. This translation was known as the Septuagint, or
version of the Seventy; and is said to have exercised a more
lasting influence on the civilized world than any book that has
ever appeared in a new language. We are indebted to the Ptolemies
for preserving to our times all the best specimens of Greek
literature that have come down to us.


THE NEW TESTAMENT AND THE GREEK FATHERS.

The interdependence of Greek literature includes some reference
to the Greek fathers and their writings.

Many of the books of the Old Testament, regarded as canonical by
the Catholic Church; but known as the Apochrypha among
non-Catholics, were written in Greek. A number of them are
historical, and of great value as illustrating the spirit and
thought of the age to which they refer. The other class of