S6 XENOPHON ON HORSEMANSHIP. 



resent branches of art which had reached 

 near to perfection before the Greeks really 

 began to develop painting. But here again, 

 as I have said, we lack complete examples of 

 works illustrating the horse by the greatest 

 masters, except perhaps by the best design- 

 ers for the coinage. On the whole, it seems 

 impossible, from a comparison of the works 

 of art alone, to determine what shape of 

 horse was generally approved by the Greek 

 connoisseur. It remains to inquire whether 

 the literature helps us in this direction. 



The oldest known description in Greek of 

 a good horse was contained in Simon's trea- 

 tise on Horsemanship, of which we have only 

 fragments. One, however, is of considerable 

 length, and this happens to contain his advice 

 on the choice of a horse. Then comes 

 Xenophon ; but after him we find nothing 

 professing exactness until the Roman period. 

 Varro, writing in 37 B. C, and Vergil, who 

 published his ** Georgics " a little later, are 

 the only others before the Christian era. 

 Then come in the first century Calpurnius 

 and Columella, in the third Oppian and 

 Nemesian, and in the fourth Apsyrtus, Pela- 



