HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

A lost work is a document,
literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to includ ...
work, or piece of multimedia produced some time in the past, of which no surviving copies are known to exist. It can only be known through reference. This term most commonly applies to works from the
classical world Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations ...
, although it is increasingly used in relation to modern works. A work may be lost to history through the destruction of an original manuscript and all later copies. Works—or, commonly, small fragments of works—have survived by being found by archaeologists during investigations, or accidentally by anybody, such as, for example, the Nag Hammadi library scrolls. Works also survived when they were reused as bookbinding materials, quoted or included in other works, or as palimpsests, where an original document is imperfectly erased so the substrate on which it was written can be reused. The discovery, in 1822, of
Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
's ''
De re publica ''De re publica'' (''On the Commonwealth''; see below) is a dialogue on Roman politics by Cicero, written in six books between 54 and 51 BC. The work does not survive in a complete state, and large parts are missing. The surviving sections derive ...
'' was one of the first major recoveries of a lost ancient text from a palimpsest. Another famous example is the discovery of the
Archimedes palimpsest The Archimedes Palimpsest is a parchment codex palimpsest, originally a Byzantine Greek copy of a compilation of Archimedes and other authors. It contains two works of Archimedes that were thought to have been lost (the '' Ostomachion'' and ...
, which was used to make a prayer book almost 300 years after the original work was written. A work may be recovered in a library, as a lost or mislabeled codex, or as a part of another book or codex. Well known but not recovered works are described by compilations that did survive, such as the '' Naturalis Historia'' of
Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...
or the '' De Architectura'' of Vitruvius. Sometimes authors will destroy their own works. On other occasions, authors instruct others to destroy their work after their deaths. This should have happened with several pieces, but did not, such as
Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...
's ''
Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of ...
'', which was saved by
Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
, and Kafka's novels, which were saved by Max Brod. Handwritten copies of manuscripts existed in limited numbers before the era of printing. The destruction of ancient libraries, whether by intent, chance or neglect, resulted in the loss of numerous works. Works to which no subsequent reference is preserved remain unknown. Deliberate destruction of works may be termed ''literary crime'' or ''literary vandalism'' (see
book burning Book burning is the deliberate destruction by fire of books or other written materials, usually carried out in a public context. The burning of books represents an element of censorship and usually proceeds from a cultural, religious, or politi ...
).


Lost works


Classical world


Specific titles

* Agatharchides **''Ta kata ten Asian'' (''Affairs in Asia'') in 10 books ** ''Ta kata ten Europen'' (''Affairs in Europe'') in 49 books ** ''Peri ten Erythras thalasses'' (''On the Erythraean Sea'') in 5 books * Agrippina the Younger ** ''Casus suorum'' (''Misfortunes of her Family'', a memoir) * Alexander Polyhistor ** '' Successions of Philosophers'' * Sulpicius Alexander ** ''Historia'' (History) * Anaxagoras ** ''Book of Philosophy''. Only fragments of the first part have survived. * Apollodorus of Athens ** ''Chronicle'' (''Χρονικά''), a Greek history in verse ** ''On the Gods'' (''Περὶ θεῶν''), known through quotes to have included etymologies of the names and epithets of the gods ** A twelve-book essay about Homer's Catalogue of Ships * Archimedes ** '' On Sphere-Making'' ** ''On Polyhedra'' * Aristarchus of Samos ** Astronomy book outlining his heliocentrism ( astronomical model in which the Earth and planets revolve around a relatively stationary Sun) *
Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ...
** second book of '' Poetics'', dealing with comedy ** ''On the Pythagoreans'' ** '' Protrepticus'' (fragments survived) *
Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
** ''Rescript to Brutus Respecting Cato'' ** ''Exhortations to Philosophy'' ** ''History of His Own Life'' ** ''Sicily'' (a work in verse) ** ''Epigrams'' * Berossus ** ''Babyloniaca'' (''History of Babylonia'') * Gaius Julius Caesar ** ''Anticatonis Libri II'' (only fragments survived) ** ''Carmina et prolusiones'' (only fragments survived) ** ''De analogia libri II ad M. Tullium Ciceronem'' ** ''De astris liber'' ** ''Dicta collectanea'' ("collected sayings", also known by the Greek title ''άποφθέγματα'') ** Letters (only fragments survived) *** ''Epistulae ad Ciceronem'' ('Letters to Cicero') *** ''Epistulae ad familiares'' ('Letters to Relatives') ** ''Iter'' ('journey')) (only one fragment survived) ** ''Laudes Herculis'' ** ''Libri auspiciorum'' ("books of auspices", also known as ''Auguralia'') ** ''Oedipus'' ** other works: *** contributions to the ''libri pontificales'' as ''pontifex maximus'' *** possibly some early love poems *
Callinicus Callinicus or Kallinikos ( el, Καλλίνικος) is a surname or male given name; the feminine form is Kalliniki, Callinice or Callinica ( el, Καλλινίκη). It is of Greek origin, meaning "beautiful victor". People named Callinicus Seleu ...
**''Against the Philosophical Sects'' **''On the Renewal of Rome'' **''Prosphonetikon to Gallienus,'' a salute addressed to the emperor **''To Cleopatra, On the History of Alexandria'', most likely dedicated to
Zenobia Septimia Zenobia ( Palmyrene Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; AD 240 – c. 274) was a third-century queen of the Palmyrene Empire in Syria. Many legends surround her ancestry; she was probably not a commoner and she married the ruler of the cit ...
, who claimed descent from Cleopatra **''To Lupus, On Bad Taste on Rhetoric'' * Callisthenes ** An account of Alexander's expedition ** A history of Greece from the Peace of Antalcidas (387) to the
Third Sacred War The Third Sacred War (356–346 BC) was fought between the forces of the Delphic Amphictyonic League, principally represented by Thebes, and latterly by Philip II of Macedon, and the Phocians. The war was caused by a large fine imposed in ...
(357) ** A history of the Phocian war *
Cato the Elder Marcus Porcius Cato (; 234–149 BC), also known as Cato the Censor ( la, Censorius), the Elder and the Wise, was a Roman soldier, senator, and historian known for his conservatism and opposition to Hellenization. He was the first to write hi ...
** ''Origines'', a 7-book history of Rome and the Italian states. ** ''Carmen de moribus'', a book of prayers or incantations for the dead in verse. ** ''Praecepta ad Filium'', a collection of maxims. ** A collection of his speeches. *
Marcus Tullius Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
** '' Hortensius'' a dialogue also known as "On Philosophy". ** '' Consolatio'', written to soothe his own sadness at the death of his daughter Tullia *
Quintus Tullius Cicero Quintus Tullius Cicero ( , ; 102 – 43 BC) was a Roman statesman and military leader, the younger brother of Marcus Tullius Cicero. He was born into a family of the equestrian order, as the son of a wealthy landowner in Arpinum, some south-eas ...
** Four tragedies in the Greek style: ''Troas'', ''Erigones'', ''Electra'', and one other. *
Helvius Cinna Gaius Helvius Cinna (died 20 March 44 BC) was an influential neoteric poet of the late Roman Republic, a little older than the generation of Catullus and Calvus. He was lynched at the funeral of Julius Caesar after being mistaken for an unrelated ...
**''Zmyrna'', a mythological epic poem about the incestuous love of Smyrna (or Myrrha) for her father
Cinyras In Greek mythology, Cinyras (; grc, Κινύρας – ''Kinyras'') was a famous hero and king of Cyprus. Accounts vary significantly as to his genealogy and provide a variety of stories concerning him; in many sources he is associated wit ...
* Claudius ** '' De arte aleae'' ('"The art of playing dice'', a book on dice games) ** an Etruscan dictionary ** an Etruscan history ** a history of Augustus' reign ** eight volumes on Carthaginian history ** a defense of Cicero against the charges of Asinius Gallus * Cleitarchus ** History of Alexander *
Ctesibius Ctesibius or Ktesibios or Tesibius ( grc-gre, Κτησίβιος; fl. 285–222 BC) was a Greek inventor and mathematician in Alexandria, Ptolemaic Egypt. He wrote the first treatises on the science of compressed air and its uses in pumps (a ...
** ''On pneumatics'', a work describing force pumps ** ''Memorabilia'', a compilation of his research works * Ctesias ** ''Persica'', a history of Assyria and Persia in 23 books ** '' Indica'', an account of India * Diodorus Siculus ** ''Bibliotheca historia'' (''Historical Library''). Of 40 books, only books 1–5 and 10–20 are extant. * Eratosthenes ** Περὶ τῆς ἀναμετρήσεως τῆς γῆς (''On the Measurement of the Earth''; lost, summarized by Cleomedes) ** ''Geographica'' (lost, criticized by
Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called " Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could s ...
) ** ''Arsinoe'' (a memoir of queen Arsinoe; lost; quoted by
Athenaeus Athenaeus of Naucratis (; grc, Ἀθήναιος ὁ Nαυκρατίτης or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; la, Athenaeus Naucratita) was a Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourishing about the end of ...
in the '' Deipnosophistae'') *
Euclid Euclid (; grc-gre, Εὐκλείδης; BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician. Considered the "father of geometry", he is chiefly known for the '' Elements'' treatise, which established the foundations of ...
** ''Conics'', a work on
conic section In mathematics, a conic section, quadratic curve or conic is a curve obtained as the intersection of the surface of a cone with a plane. The three types of conic section are the hyperbola, the parabola, and the ellipse; the circle is a ...
s later extended by Apollonius of Perga into his famous work on the subject. ** '' Porisms'', the exact meaning of the title is controversial (probably "corollaries"). ** ''Pseudaria'', or ''Book of Fallacies'', an elementary text about errors in reasoning. ** ''Surface Loci'' concerned either loci (sets of points) on surfaces or loci which were themselves surfaces. * Eudemus ** ''History of Arithmetics'', on the early history of Greek arithmetics (only one short quote survives) ** ''History of Astronomy'', on the early history of Greek astronomy (several quotes survive) ** ''History of Geometry'', on the early history of Greek geometry (several quotes survive) * Verrius Flaccus ** ''De Orthographia: De Obscuris Catonis'', an elucidation of obscurities in the writings of
Cato the Elder Marcus Porcius Cato (; 234–149 BC), also known as Cato the Censor ( la, Censorius), the Elder and the Wise, was a Roman soldier, senator, and historian known for his conservatism and opposition to Hellenization. He was the first to write hi ...
** ''Saturnus'', dealing with questions of Roman ritual ** ''Rerum memoria dignarum libri'', an encyclopaedic work much used by
Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...
** ''Res Etruscae'', probably on augury * Frontinus ** ''De re militari'', a military manual * Gorgias ** ''On Non-Existence'' (or ''On Nature''). Only two sketches of it exist. ** ''Epitaphios''. What exists is thought to be only a small fragment of a significantly longer piece. * The
Hesiod Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet i ...
ic '' Catalogue of Women'' *
Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
** '' Margites'' ** The ''
Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the '' Iliad'', ...
'' mentions the blind singer Demodocus performing a poem recounting the otherwise unknown "Quarrel of Odysseus and
Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Pe ...
", which might have been an actual work that did not survive *
Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...
** 107 of the 142 books of ''
Ab Urbe Condita ''Ab urbe condita'' ( 'from the founding of the City'), or ''anno urbis conditae'' (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is an ex ...
,'' a history of Rome * Longinus **''On The End: by Longinus in answer to Plotinus and Gentilianus Amelius'' (preface survives, quoted by Porphyry) **''On Impulse'' **''On Principles'' **''Lover of Antiquity'' **''On the Natural Life'' **''Difficulties in Homer'' **''Whether Homer is a Philosopher'' **''Homeric Problems and Solutions'' **''Things Contrary to History which the Grammarians Explain as Historical'' **''On Words in Homer with Multiple Senses'' **''Attic Diction'' **''Lexicon of Antimachus and
Heracleon Heracleon was a Gnostic who flourished about AD 175, probably in the south of Italy. He is described by Clement of Alexandria ('' Strom.'' iv. 9) as the most esteemed (δοκιμώτατος) of the school of Valentinus; and, according to Ori ...
'' * Lucan ** ''Catachthonion'' ** ''Iliacon'' from the Trojan cycle ** ''Epigrammata'' ** '' Adlocutio ad Pollam'' ** ''Silvae'' ** ''Saturnalia'' ** ''Medea'' ** ''Salticae Fabulae'' ** ''Laudes Neronis'', a praise of
Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...
** ''Orpheus'' ** ''Prosa oratio in Octavium Sagittam'' ** ''Epistulae ex Campania'' ** ''De Incendio Urbis'' * Gaius Maecenas ** ''Prometheus''; descriptive fragments from some other authors survive. Construct of book is surmised by researchers. * Manetho ** ''Ægyptiaca'' (''History of Egypt'') in three books. Only few fragments survive. *
Memnon of Heraclea Memnon of Heraclea (; grc-gre, Mέμνων, ''gen''.: Μέμνονος; fl. c. 1st century) was a Greek historical writer, probably a native of Heraclea Pontica. He described the history of that city in a large work, known only through the ''Exce ...
** ''History of Heraclea Pontica'' * Minucianus, son of Nicagoras the Athenian sophist ** ''Art of Rhetoric'' ** ''Progymnasmata'' * Nicagoras, Athenian sophist ** ''Lives of Famous People'' ** ''On Cleopatra in Troas'' ** ''Embassy Speech to Philip the Roman Emperor'' * Nicander ** ''Aetolica'', a prose history of
Aetolia Aetolia ( el, Αἰτωλία, Aἰtōlía) is a mountainous region of Greece on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, forming the eastern part of the modern regional unit of Aetolia-Acarnania. Geography The Achelous River separates Aetoli ...
. ** ''Heteroeumena'', a mythological epic. ** ''Georgica'' and ''Melissourgica'', of which considerable fragments are preserved. *
Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom ...
** ''Medea'', of which only two fragments survive. *
Pamphilus of Alexandria Pamphilus of Alexandria ( grc-gre, Πάμφιλος ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς; fl. 1st century AD) was a Greek grammarian, of the school of Aristarchus of Samothrace. He was the author of a comprehensive lexicon, in 95 books, of foreign or obsc ...
** Comprehensive lexicon in 95 books of foreign or obscure words. * Pherecydes of Leros ** A history of
Leros Leros ( el, Λέρος) is a Greek island and municipality in the Dodecanese in the southern Aegean Sea. It lies (171 nautical miles) from Athens's port of Piraeus, from which it can be reached by an 9-hour ferry ride or by a 45-minute flig ...
** ''On Iphigeneia'', an essay ** ''On the Festivals of Dionysus'' * Pherecydes of Athens ** Genealogies of the gods and heroes, originally in ten books; numerous fragments have been preserved. *
Pherecydes of Syros Pherecydes of Syros (; grc-gre, Φερεκύδης ὁ Σύριος; fl. 6th century BCE) was an Ancient Greek mythographer and proto- philosopher from the island of Syros. Little is known about his life and death. Some ancient testimonies c ...
** ''Heptamychia'' * Philo of Byblos ** ''Phoenician History'', a Greek translation of the original Phoenician book attributed to Sanchuniathon. Considerable fragments have been preserved, chiefly by Eusebius in the ''Praeparatio evangelica'' (i.9; iv.16). *
Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...
** ''History of the German Wars'', some quotations survive in Tacitus's '' Annals'' and '' Germania'' ** ''Studiosus'', a detailed work on rhetoric ** ''Dubii sermonis'', in eight books ** ''History of his Times'', in thirty-one books, also quoted by Tacitus. ** ''De jaculatione equestri'', a military handbook on missiles thrown from horseback. *
Gaius Asinius Pollio Gaius Asinius Pollio (75 BC – AD 4) was a Roman soldier, politician, orator, poet, playwright, literary critic, and historian, whose lost contemporary history provided much of the material used by the historians Appian and Plutarch. Poll ...
** ''Historiae'' (''Histories'') ** ''Epitome'' by Gaius Asinius Pollio of Tralles * Praxagoras **''History of Constantine the Great'' (known from a précis by Photius). * Prodicus ** ''On Nature'' ** ''On the Nature of Man'' ** "On Propriety of Language" ** ''On the Choice of Heracles'' * Protagoras ** "On the Gods" (essay) ** ''On the Art of Disputation'' ** ''On the Original State of Things'' ** ''On Truth'' * Pytheas of Massalia ** τὰ περὶ τοῦ Ὠκεανοῦ (''ta peri tou Okeanou'') "On the Ocean" * Gaius Asinius Quadratus **''The Millennium'', a thousand-year history of Rome; thirty fragments remain * Quintilian ** ''De Causis Corruptae Eloquentiae'' (''On the Causes of Corrupted Eloquence'') *
Seneca the Younger Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger (; 65 AD), usually known mononymously as Seneca, was a Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome, a statesman, dramatist, and, in one work, satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature. Seneca was born ...
** Book on signs, 5000 were compiled ** ''Against Superstitions,'' Augustine preserved some passages. ** Book on medicine. Either a planned or lost literary work *
Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary suc ...
** ''Autobiography'' * The '' Hellespontine Sibyl'' ** Sibylline Books *
Socrates Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no t ...
** Verse versions of Aesop's Fables. *
Speusippus Speusippus (; grc-gre, Σπεύσιππος; c. 408 – 339/8 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher. Speusippus was Plato's nephew by his sister Potone. After Plato's death, c. 348 BC, Speusippus inherited the Academy, near age 60, and remaine ...
** ''On Pythagorean Numbers'' *
Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called " Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could s ...
** ''History'' * Suetonius ** ''De Viris Illustribus'' (''On Famous Men'' — in the field of literature), to which belongs: ''De Illustribus Grammaticis'' (''Lives Of The Grammarians''), ''De Claris Rhetoribus'' (''Lives Of The Rhetoricians''), and ''Lives Of The Poets''. Some fragments exist. ** ''Lives of Famous Whores'' ** ''Royal Biographies'' ** ''Roma'' (''On Rome''), in four parts: ''Roman Manners & Customs'', ''The Roman Year'', ''The Roman Festivals'', and ''Roman Dress''. ** ''Greek Games'' ** ''On Public Offices'' ** ''On Cicero’s Republic'' ** ''The Physical Defects of Mankind'' ** ''Methods of Reckoning Time'' ** ''An Essay on Nature'' ** ''Greek Terms of Abuse'' ** ''Grammatical Problems'' ** ''Critical Signs Used in Books'' * Sulla ** ''Memoirs'', referenced by
Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...
*
Thales Thales of Miletus ( ; grc-gre, Θαλῆς; ) was a Greek mathematician, astronomer, statesman, and pre-Socratic philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. He was one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Many, most notably Aristotle, regarded ...
** ''On the Solstice'' (possible lost work) ** ''On the Equinox'' (possible lost work) * Tiberius ** Autobiography ("brief and sketchy", per Suetonius) *
Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...
** '' Dacica'' (or ''De bello dacico'') * Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus ** Memoirs of the civil wars after the death of Caesar, used by Suetonius and Plutarch ** Bucolic poems in Greek * Varro ** ''Saturarum Menippearum libri CL or Menippean Satires in 150 books'' ** ''Antiquitates rerum humanarum et divinarum libri XLI'' ** ''Logistoricon libri LXXVI'' ** ''Hebdomades vel de imaginibus'' ** ''Disciplinarum libri IX'' *
Zenobia Septimia Zenobia ( Palmyrene Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; AD 240 – c. 274) was a third-century queen of the Palmyrene Empire in Syria. Many legends surround her ancestry; she was probably not a commoner and she married the ruler of the cit ...
** Epitome of the history of Alexandria and the Orient (according to the Historia Augusta) * Zoticus ** ''Story of Atlantis,'' a poem mentioned by Porphyry * The work of the Cyclic poets (excluding
Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...
), specifically: ** six epics of the Epic Cycle: '' Cypria'', '' Aethiopis'', the '' Little Iliad'', the ''
Iliupersis The ''Iliupersis'' (Greek: , ''Iliou persis'', "Sack of Ilium"), also known as ''The Sack of Troy'', is a lost epic of ancient Greek literature. It was one of the Epic Cycle, that is, the Trojan cycle, which told the entire history of the Troj ...
'' ("Sack of Troy"), '' Nostoi'' ("Returns"), and '' Telegony''. ** four epics of the Theban Cycle: '' Oedipodea'', ''
Thebaid The Thebaid or Thebais ( grc-gre, Θηβαΐς, ''Thēbaïs'') was a region in ancient Egypt, comprising the 13 southernmost nomes of Upper Egypt, from Abydos to Aswan. Pharaonic history The Thebaid acquired its name from its proximity to ...
'', ''
Epigoni (epic) ''Epigoni'' ( grc-gre, Ἐπίγονοι, ''Epigonoi'', "Progeny") was an early Greek epic, a sequel to the '' Thebaid'' and therefore grouped in the Theban cycle. Some ancient authors seem to have considered it a part of the ''Thebaid'' and no ...
'', and ''
Alcmeonis The ''Alcmeonis'' ( grc, Ἀλκμεωνίς, ''Alkmeonis'', or grc, Ἀλκμαιωνίς, ''Alkmaiōnis'') is a lost early Greek epic which is considered to have formed part of the Theban cycle. There are only seven references to the ''Alcmeo ...
''. ** other early Greek epics: ''
Titanomachy In Greek mythology, the Titanomachy (; grc, , , Titan battle) was a ten-year series of battles fought in Ancient Thessaly, consisting of most of the Titans (the older generation of gods, based on Mount Othrys) fighting against the Olympians ...
'', '' Heracleia'', ''
Capture of Oechalia ''The Capture of Oechalia'' (traditionally ''The Sack of Oechalia'', grc, Οἰχαλίας Ἅλωσις) is a fragmentary Greek epic that was variously attributed in Antiquity to either Homer or Creophylus of Samos; a tradition was reported ...
'', ''
Naupactia The ''Naupactia'' ( Greek: {{lang, grc, Ναυπάκτια, ''Naupaktia'') is a lost epic poem of ancient Greek literature. In antiquity the title was also written ''Naupaktika'' (Latin ''Naupactica''), and it is also in the present day sometime ...
'', '' Phocais'', '' Minyas''


Unnamed works

* Lost plays of
Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Gree ...
. He is believed to have written some 90 plays, of which six plays survive. A seventh play is attributed to him. Fragments of his play ''Achilleis'' were said to have been discovered in the wrappings of a mummy in the 1990s. * Lost plays of Agathon. None of these survive. * Lost poems of
Alcaeus of Mytilene Alcaeus of Mytilene (; grc, Ἀλκαῖος ὁ Μυτιληναῖος, ''Alkaios ho Mutilēnaios''; – BC) was a lyric poet from the Greek island of Lesbos who is credited with inventing the Alcaic stanza. He was included in the canonical ...
. Of a reported ten scrolls, there exist only quotes and numerous fragments. * Lost choral poems of Alcman. Of six books of choral lyrics that were known (ca. 50–60 hymns), only fragmentary quotations in other Greek authors were known until the discovery of a fragment in 1855, containing approximately 100 verses. In the 1960s, many more fragments were discovered and published from a dig at Oxyrhynchus. * Lost poems of
Anacreon Anacreon (; grc-gre, Ἀνακρέων ὁ Τήϊος; BC) was a Greek lyric poet, notable for his drinking songs and erotic poems. Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of Nine Lyric Poets. Anacreon wrote all of his poetry in t ...
. Of the five books of lyrical pieces mentioned in the ''
Suda The ''Suda'' or ''Souda'' (; grc-x-medieval, Σοῦδα, Soûda; la, Suidae Lexicon) is a large 10th-century Byzantine encyclopedia of the ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Soudas (Σούδας) or Souida ...
'' and by
Athenaeus Athenaeus of Naucratis (; grc, Ἀθήναιος ὁ Nαυκρατίτης or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; la, Athenaeus Naucratita) was a Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourishing about the end of ...
, only mere fragments collected from the citations of later writers now exist. * Lost works of Anaximander. There are a few extant fragments of his works. * Lost works of Apuleius in many genres, including a novel, ''Hermagoras'', as well as poetry, dialogues, hymns, and technical treatises on politics, dendrology, agriculture, medicine, natural history, astronomy, music, and arithmetic. * Lost plays of
Aristarchus of Tegea Aristarchus or Aristarch of Tegea ( grc-gre, Ἀρίσταρχος ὁ Τεγεάτης, ''Aristarkhos ho Tegeates'') was a Greek tragic poet and a contemporary of Sophocles and Euripides. He lived to be a centenarian, composed seventy plays, and ...
. Of 70 pieces, only the titles of three of his plays, with a single line of the text, have survived. * Lost plays of
Aristophanes Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme Kydathenaion ( la, Cydathenaeum), was a comic playwright or comedy-writer of ancient Athens and a poet of Old Attic Comedy. Eleven of his ...
. He wrote 40 plays, 11 of which survive. * Lost works of
Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ...
. It is believed that we have about one third of his original works. * Lost work of Aristoxenus. He is said to have written 453 works, dealing with philosophy, ethics and music. His only extant work is ''Elements of Harmony''. * Lost works of the historian Arrian. * Lost works of
Callimachus Callimachus (; ) was an ancient Greek poet, scholar and librarian who was active in Alexandria during the 3rd century BC. A representative of Ancient Greek literature of the Hellenistic period, he wrote over 800 literary works in a wide varie ...
. Of about 800 works, in verse and prose; only six hymns, 64 epigrams and some fragments survive; a considerable fragment of the epic ''
Hecale In Greek mythology, Hecale ( grc-gre, Ἑκάλη ''Hekálē'') was an old woman who offered succor to Theseus on his way to capture the Marathonian Bull. Mythology On the way to Marathon to capture the Bull, Theseus sought shelter from a s ...
'', was discovered in the Rainer papyri. * Lost works of Chrysippus. Of over 700 written works, none survive, except a few fragments embedded in the works of later authors. * Lost works of
Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
. Of his books, six on rhetoric have survived, and parts of seven on philosophy. Books 1–3 of his work ''
De re publica ''De re publica'' (''On the Commonwealth''; see below) is a dialogue on Roman politics by Cicero, written in six books between 54 and 51 BC. The work does not survive in a complete state, and large parts are missing. The surviving sections derive ...
'' have survived mostly intact, as well as a substantial part of book 6. A dialogue on philosophy called '' Hortensius'', which was highly influential on
Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afr ...
, is lost. Part of ''
De Natura Deorum ''De Natura Deorum'' (''On the Nature of the Gods'') is a philosophical dialogue by Roman Academic Skeptic philosopher Cicero written in 45 BC. It is laid out in three books that discuss the theological views of the Hellenistic philosophies o ...
'' is lost. * Lost works of Cleopatra including books on medicine, charms, and cosmetics (according to the historian
Al-Masudi Al-Mas'udi ( ar, أَبُو ٱلْحَسَن عَلِيّ ٱبْن ٱلْحُسَيْن ٱبْن عَلِيّ ٱلْمَسْعُودِيّ, '; –956) was an Arab historian, geographer and traveler. He is sometimes referred to as the " Herodotu ...
). * Lost works of Clitomachus. According to Diogenes Laërtius, he wrote some 400 books, of which none are extant today, although a few titles are known. * Lost plays of Cratinus. Only fragments of his works have been preserved. * Lost works of
Democritus Democritus (; el, Δημόκριτος, ''Dēmókritos'', meaning "chosen of the people"; – ) was an Ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher from Abdera, primarily remembered today for his formulation of an atomic theory of the universe. No ...
. He wrote extensively on natural philosophy and ethics, of which little remains. * Lost works of Diogenes of Sinope He is reported to have written several books, none of which has survived to the present date. Whether or not these books were actually his writings or attributions are in dispute. * Lost works of
Diphilus Diphilus ( Greek: Δίφιλος), of Sinope, was a poet of the new Attic comedy and a contemporary of Menander (342–291 BC). He is frequently listed together with Menander and Philemon, considered the three greatest poets of New Comedy. He w ...
. He is said to have written 100 comedies, the titles of 50 of which are preserved. * Lost works of
Ennius Quintus Ennius (; c. 239 – c. 169 BC) was a writer and poet who lived during the Roman Republic. He is often considered the father of Roman poetry. He was born in the small town of Rudiae, located near modern Lecce, Apulia, (Ancient Calabri ...
. Only fragments of his works survive. * Lost works of Enoch. According to the Second Book of Enoch, the prophet wrote 360 manuscripts. * Lost works of
Empedocles Empedocles (; grc-gre, Ἐμπεδοκλῆς; , 444–443 BC) was a Greek pre-Socratic philosopher and a native citizen of Akragas, a Greek city in Sicily. Empedocles' philosophy is best known for originating the cosmogonic theory of the ...
. Little of what he wrote survives today. * Lost plays of
Epicharmus of Kos Epicharmus of Kos or Epicharmus Comicus or Epicharmus Comicus Syracusanus ( grc-gre, Ἐπίχαρμος ὁ Κῷος), thought to have lived between c. 550 and c. 460 BC, was a Greek dramatist and philosopher who is often credited ...
. He wrote between 35 and 52 comedies, many of which have been lost or exist only in fragments. * Lost plays of
Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars ...
. He is believed to have written over 90 plays, 18 of which have survived. Fragments, some substantial, of most other plays also survive. * Lost plays of Eupolis. Of the 17 plays attributed to him, only fragments remain. * Lost works of
Heraclitus Heraclitus of Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἡράκλειτος , "Glory of Hera"; ) was an ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher from the city of Ephesus, which was then part of the Persian Empire. Little is known of Heraclitus's life. He wrot ...
. His writings only survive in fragments quoted by other authors. * Lost works of Hippasus. Few of his original works now survive. * Lost works of Hippias. He is credited with an excellent work on Homer, collections of Greek and foreign literature, and archaeological treatises, but nothing remains except the barest notes. * Lost orations of Hyperides. Some 79 speeches were transmitted in his name in antiquity. A codex of his speeches was seen at Buda in 1525 in the library of King
Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus, also called Matthias I ( hu, Hunyadi Mátyás, ro, Matia/Matei Corvin, hr, Matija/Matijaš Korvin, sk, Matej Korvín, cz, Matyáš Korvín; ), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. After conducting several m ...
of Hungary, but was destroyed by the Turks in 1526. In 2002, Natalie Tchernetska of
Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...
discovered and identified fragments of two speeches of Hyperides that have been considered lost, ''Against Timandros'' and ''Against Diondas''. Six other orations survive in whole or part. * Lost poems of
Ibycus Ibycus (; grc-gre, Ἴβυκος; ) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet, a citizen of Rhegium in Magna Graecia, probably active at Samos during the reign of the tyrant Polycrates and numbered by the scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria in the cano ...
. According to the ''
Suda The ''Suda'' or ''Souda'' (; grc-x-medieval, Σοῦδα, Soûda; la, Suidae Lexicon) is a large 10th-century Byzantine encyclopedia of the ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Soudas (Σούδας) or Souida ...
'', he wrote seven books of lyrics. * Lost works of
Juba II Juba II or Juba of Mauretania (Latin: ''Gaius Iulius Iuba''; grc, Ἰóβας, Ἰóβα or ;Roller, Duane W. (2003) ''The World of Juba II and Kleopatra Selene'' "Routledge (UK)". pp. 1–3. . c. 48 BC – AD 23) was the son of Juba I and client ...
. He wrote a number of books in Greek and Latin on history, natural history, geography, grammar, painting and theatre. Only fragments of his work survive. * Lost works of Leucippus. No writings exist which we can attribute to him. * Lost works of
Lucius Varius Rufus Lucius Varius Rufus (; 14 BC) was a Roman poet of the early Augustan age. He was a friend of Virgil, after whose death he and Plotius Tucca prepared the ''Aeneid'' for publication, and of Horace, for whom he and Virgil obtained an introduction ...
. The author of the poem ''De morte'' and the tragedy ''Thyestes'' praised by his contemporaries as being on a par with the best Greek poets. Only fragments survive. * Lost works of Melissus of Samos. Only fragments preserved in other writers' works exist. * Lost plays of Menander. He wrote over a hundred comedies of which one survives. Fragments of a number of his plays survive. * Lost poems of
Phanocles Phanocles ( grc, Φανοκλῆς) was a Greek elegiac poet who probably flourished about the time of Alexander the Great. His extant fragments show resemblances in style and language to Philitas of Cos, Callimachus and Hermesianax. He was th ...
. He wrote some poems about homosexual relationships among heroes of the mythical tradition of which only one survives, along with a few short fragments. * Lost works of Philemon. Of his 97 works, 57 are known to us only as titles and fragments. * Lost poetry of
Pindar Pindar (; grc-gre, Πίνδαρος , ; la, Pindarus; ) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar ...
. Of his varied books of poetry, only his victory odes survive in complete form. The rest are known only by quotations in other works or papyrus scraps unearthed in Egypt. * Lost plays of
Plautus Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the g ...
. He wrote approximately 130 plays, of which 21 survive. * Lost poems and orations of Pliny the Younger. * Rhetorical works of Julius Pollux. * There exist
a list
of more than 60 lost works in many genres by the philosopher Porphyry, including ''Against the Christians'' (of which only fragments survive). * Lost works of Posidonius. All of his works are now lost. Some fragments exist, as well as titles and subjects of many of his book

* Lost works of Proclus. A number of his commentaries on
Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
are lost. * Lost works of Pyrrhus. He wrote ''Memoirs'' and several books on the art of war, all now lost. According to Plutarch, Hannibal was influenced by them and they received praise from Cicero. * Lost works of
Pythagoras Pythagoras of Samos ( grc, Πυθαγόρας ὁ Σάμιος, Pythagóras ho Sámios, Pythagoras the Samian, or simply ; in Ionian Greek; ) was an ancient Ionian Greek philosopher and the eponymous founder of Pythagoreanism. His poli ...
. No texts by him survived. * Lost plays of Rhinthon. Of 38 plays, only a few titles and lines have been preserved. * Lost poems of Sappho. Only a few full poems and fragments of others survive. It has been hypothesized that poems 61 and 62 of
Catullus Gaius Valerius Catullus (; 84 - 54 BCE), often referred to simply as Catullus (, ), was a Latin poet of the late Roman Republic who wrote chiefly in the neoteric style of poetry, focusing on personal life rather than classical heroes. His ...
were inspired by lost works of Sappho. * Lost poems of Simonides of Ceos. Of his poetry we possess two or three short elegies, several epigrams and about 90 fragments of lyric poetry. * Lost plays of
Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or c ...
. Of 123 plays, seven survive, with fragments of others. * Lost poems of Sulpicia, who wrote erotic poems of conjugal bliss and was herself the subject of two poems by Martial, who wrote (10.35) that "All girls who desire to please one man should read Sulpicia. All husbands who desire to please one wife should read Sulpicia." * Lost poems of Stesichorus. Of several long works, significant fragments survive. * Lost works of Theodectes. Of his 50 tragedies, we have the names of about 13 and a few unimportant fragments. His treatise on the art of rhetoric and his speeches are lost. * Lost works of Theophrastus. Of his 227 books, only a handful survive, including ''On Plants'' and ''On Stones'', but ''On Mining'' is lost. Fragments of others survive. * Lost works of Timon. None of his works survive except where he is quoted by others, mainly
Sextus Empiricus Sextus Empiricus ( grc-gre, Σέξτος Ἐμπειρικός, ; ) was a Greek Pyrrhonist philosopher and Empiric school physician. His philosophical works are the most complete surviving account of ancient Greek and Roman Pyrrhonism, and ...
. * Lost works of
Tiro Marcus Tullius Tiro (died 4 BC) was first a slave, then a freedman, of Cicero from whom he received his nomen and praenomen. He is frequently mentioned in Cicero's letters. After Cicero's death Tiro published his former master's collected w ...
. A biography of
Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
in at least four books is referenced by Asconius Pedianus in his commentaries on Cicero's speeches. * Lost works of
Xenophanes Xenophanes of Colophon (; grc, Ξενοφάνης ὁ Κολοφώνιος ; c. 570 – c. 478 BC) was a Greek philosopher, theologian, poet, and critic of Homer from Ionia who travelled throughout the Greek-speaking world in early Classica ...
. Fragments of his poetry survive only as quotations by later Greek writers. * Lost works of Zeno of Elea. None of his works survive intact. * Lost works of Zeno of Citium. None of his writings have survived except as fragmentary quotations preserved by later writers.


Amerindian texts and codices

* The original Aztec codices were burned by Tlacaelel after Itzcoatl took power. * Almost all pre-Columbian Aztec and Mayan codices were burnt by Catholic priests. * Many
Inca The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, ( Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts",  "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The adm ...
Quipu ''Quipu'' (also spelled ''khipu'') are recording devices fashioned from strings historically used by a number of cultures in the region of Andean South America. A ''quipu'' usually consisted of cotton or camelid fiber strings. The Inca peop ...
s (which are considered by some a possible writing system) were burned by Spanish priests in 1583 on the orders of the
Third Council of Lima The Third Council of Lima was a council of the Roman Catholic Church in Lima, at the time the capital of the Spanish Viceroyalty of Peru. It was the most important of the three councils celebrated in Lima during the 16th century, since it definitive ...
. Only 751 quipus are known to have survived to the present.


Ancient Chinese texts

* ''
Classic of Music The ''Classic of Music'' () was a Confucian classic text lost by the time of the Han dynasty. It is sometimes referred to as the "Sixth Classic" (for example, by Sima Qian) and is thought to have been important in the traditional interpretations ...
'' attributed to
Confucius Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...
. * Medical treatise of the renowned physician Hua Tuo ( traditional Chinese: 華佗;
simplified Chinese Simplification, Simplify, or Simplified may refer to: Mathematics Simplification is the process of replacing a mathematical expression by an equivalent one, that is simpler (usually shorter), for example * Simplification of algebraic expressions ...
: 华陀;
pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese fo ...
: Huà Tuó) from late Eastern Han. The treatise was traditionally referred to as ''Qing Nang Shu'' ( traditional Chinese 青囊書;
simplified Chinese Simplification, Simplify, or Simplified may refer to: Mathematics Simplification is the process of replacing a mathematical expression by an equivalent one, that is simpler (usually shorter), for example * Simplification of algebraic expressions ...
: 青囊书;
pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese fo ...
: Qīng Náng Shū), literally ''Book in the Cyan Bag''. When Hua Tuo was sentenced to death after incurring the wrath of Cao Cao, who controlled the Imperial Court, the physician tried to entrust the text to his gaoler. However, the gaoler was afraid of potentially implicating himself and in disappointment, Hua Tuo had the text burnt
Records of the Three Kingdoms Chapter 29, Book of Wei – Technology 《三国志卷二十九·魏书·方技传》
* Book of Bai Ze (
simplified Chinese Simplification, Simplify, or Simplified may refer to: Mathematics Simplification is the process of replacing a mathematical expression by an equivalent one, that is simpler (usually shorter), for example * Simplification of algebraic expressions ...
白泽图;
pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese fo ...
: Bái Zé Tú). A guide to the forms and habits of all 11,520 types of supernatural creatures in the world, and how to overcome their hauntings and attacks, as dictated by the mythical creature, Bai Ze to the Yellow Emperor in the 26th century BCE. * Works of the 5th century BCE philosopher Yang Zhu burnt on the orders of the emperor Shi Huangdi, the founder of the
Qin dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin state (modern Gansu and Shaanxi), ...
.


Ancient Indian texts

* ''Jaya'' and ''Bharata'', early versions of the Hindu epic ''
Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the K ...
'' * '' Bārhaspatya-sūtras'', the foundational text of the
Cārvāka Charvaka ( sa, चार्वाक; IAST: ''Cārvāka''), also known as ''Lokāyata'', is an ancient school of Indian materialism. Charvaka holds direct perception, empiricism, and conditional inference as proper sources of knowledge, embra ...
school of philosophy. The text probably dates from the final centuries BC, with only fragmentary quotations of it surviving. * '' Valayapathi'', Tamil epic poem, only fragments survive. * '' Kundalakesi'', Tamil epic poem, only fragments survive.


Ancient Egyptian texts

*The Book of Thoth, a legendary manuscript alluded to in Egyptian literature believed to contain the secrets to comprehend the power of the gods and speech of animals. *Additionally, thousands of other pieces are attributed to the deity
Thoth Thoth (; from grc-koi, Θώθ ''Thṓth'', borrowed from cop, Ⲑⲱⲟⲩⲧ ''Thōout'', Egyptian: ', the reflex of " eis like the Ibis") is an ancient Egyptian deity. In art, he was often depicted as a man with the head of an ibis or ...
. Seleuces noted that the number of his writings was 20,000 while Manetho held it was 36,525.


Avestan texts

* '' Avesta'', the holy book of Zoroaster. After Alexander's conquest, avesta was fragmented and it has been said only third of it survived orally. * ''Avesta'' recollected in 21 volumes, in Sasanian era, only a quarter of which survive.


Gnostic texts

*''The Seventh Universe of the Prophet Hieralias'', an unknown manuscript showing up by name inside the
Gnostic Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized p ...
piece '' On the Origin of the World''.


Pahlavi / Middle-Persian texts

* '' Khwātay-Nāmag'' (Book of Lords) : A chronological history of Iranian kings from the mythical era to the end of Sasanian period. This book was an important reference for post-Sasanian and Islamic historians such as Ibn al-Muqffa
Ibn al-Muqaffa' Abū Muhammad ʿAbd Allāh Rūzbih ibn Dādūya ( ar, ابو محمد عبدالله روزبه ابن دادويه), born Rōzbih pūr-i Dādōē ( fa, روزبه پور دادویه), more commonly known as Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ ( ar, ابن الم� ...
as well as
Ferdowsi , image = Statue of Ferdowsi in Tus, Iran 3 (cropped).jpg , image_size = , caption = Statue of Ferdowsi in Tus by Abolhassan Sadighi , birth_date = 940 , birth_place = Tus, Samanid Empire , death_date = 1019 or 1025 (87 years old) , d ...
in his epic work ''
Shahnameh The ''Shahnameh'' or ''Shahnama'' ( fa, شاهنامه, Šāhnāme, lit=The Book of Kings, ) is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 5 ...
'". * ''Ewen-Nāmag'': Multi-volume book on Iranian ceremonies, entertainment, warfare, politics, precepts, principles and examples in the Sasanian era. * ''Zij-i Shahryār'': An important work of astronomy. * ''Karirak ud Damanak'': A version translated into Pahlavi of the Indian work of fiction ''
Pancatantra The ''Panchatantra'' (IAST: Pañcatantra, ISO: Pañcatantra, sa, पञ्चतन्त्र, "Five Treatises") is an ancient Indian collection of interrelated animal fables in Sanskrit verse and prose, arranged within a frame story.
''. * ''Hazār Afsān'' or ''Thousand Tales'': A Pahlavi compilation of Iranian and Indian tales. This work was translated to Arabic in the Islamic era and became known as '' One Thousand and One Nights''. * ''Mazdak-Nāmag'': Biography of Mazdak, the Zoroastrian reformer and the primate of Mazdakism movement. * ''Kārvand'': A book of rhetoric. * ''Jāvidan Khrad'' (Immortal wisdom): Quotations of the mythical Iranian king and sage Hushang. * ''Scientific Works of Gondishapur Academy'': Works of Greek, Indian, and Persian scholars of the
Academy of Gondishapur The Academy of Gondishapur ( fa, فرهنگستان گندی‌شاپور, Farhangestân-e Gondišâpur), also known as the Gondishapur University (دانشگاه گندی‌شاپور Dânešgâh-e Gondišapur), was one of the three Sasanian ...
on medicine, astrology, and philosophy. A remarkable part of their heritage was translated into Arabic during the Graeco-Arabic translation movement. The Middle-Persian literature had a remarkable diversity based on historical accounts. Only a poor part of mostly religious texts survived by Zoroastrian minorities in Persia and India.


Manichaean texts

* '' Ardahang (Arzhang)'': The holy pictured book of
Manichaeism Manichaeism (; in New Persian ; ) is a former major religionR. van den Broek, Wouter J. Hanegraaff ''Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times''SUNY Press, 1998 p. 37 founded in the 3rd century AD by the Parthian prophet Mani (A ...
. * '' Shabuhragan'': The holy book of Mani dedicated to
Shapur the Great Shapur II ( pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩 ; New Persian: , ''Šāpur'', 309 – 379), also known as Shapur the Great, was the tenth Sasanian Empire, Sasanian King of Kings (Shahanshah) of Iran. The List of longest-reigning monarchs, longest ...
; only fragments survive.


Lost Biblical texts

* '' Hexapla'': a compilation of the Old Testament by
Origen Origen of Alexandria, ''Ōrigénēs''; Origen's Greek name ''Ōrigénēs'' () probably means "child of Horus" (from , "Horus", and , "born"). ( 185 – 253), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an early Christian scholar, ascetic, and the ...
.


Lost texts referenced in the Old Testament

* The book referred to at
Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * E ...
17:14. ''Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of
Joshua Joshua () or Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' lit. 'Yahweh is salvation') ''Yēšūaʿ''; syr, ܝܫܘܥ ܒܪ ܢܘܢ ''Yəšūʿ bar Nōn''; el, Ἰησοῦς, ar , يُوشَعُ ٱبْنُ نُونٍ '' Yūšaʿ ...
...'' * The ''Book of the Covenant'' referred to at Exodus 24:7 * The '' Book of the Wars of the Lord'' ( Numbers 21:14) * '' Book of Jasher'' * '' Manner of the Kingdom'' * ''
Acts of Solomon :''The similarly named Biblical book is located at Song of Solomon.'' The ook of theActs of Solomon is a lost text referred to in , which reads: :''And the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written i ...
'' * '' Chronicles of the Kings of Israel'' * '' Chronicles of the Kings of Judah'' * ''
Book of the Kings of Israel :''The similarly named Biblical books are located at Books of Kings.'' The Book of the Kings of Israel is a non-canonical work referred to in the Hebrew Bible (e.g. ). The King James Version of this passage reads: :''"So all Israel were reckoned ...
'' * ''
Annals of King David The ''Annals of King David'' (alternatively translated as the ''Chronicles of King David'') is a lost work A lost work is a document, literary work, or piece of multimedia produced some time in the past, of which no surviving copies are known to ...
'' * ''
Book of Samuel the Seer The Book of Samuel (, ''Sefer Shmuel'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the narrative history of Ancient Israel called the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books ( Jo ...
'' * ''
Book of Nathan the Prophet The Book of Nathan the Prophet and the History of Nathan the Prophet are among the lost books quoted in the Bible, attributed to the biblical prophet Nathan. They may be the same text, but they are sometimes distinguished from one another. No such ...
'' * ''
Book of Gad the Seer The Book of Gad the Seer () is a presumed lost text, supposed to have been written by the biblical prophet Gad, which is mentioned at 1 Chronicles (). The passage reads: "Now the acts of David the king, first and last, behold, they are written in ...
'' * ''
History of Nathan the Prophet The Book of Nathan the Prophet and the History of Nathan the Prophet are among the lost books quoted in the Bible, attributed to the biblical prophet Nathan. They may be the same text, but they are sometimes distinguished from one another. No such ...
'' * ''
Prophecy of Ahijah The Prophecy of Ahijah is a lost text which may have been written by the biblical prophet Ahijah the Shilonite. The book is referred to in . The passage reads :"Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book o ...
'' * '' Visions of Iddo the Seer'' * ''
Book of Shemaiah the Prophet The Book of Shemaiah the Prophet is one of the non-canonical books referenced in the Bible. It was probably written by the biblical prophet Shemaiah, who lived at the time of Rehoboam. This text is sometimes called ''Shemaiah the Prophet'' or ''T ...
'' * '' Iddo Genealogies'' * ''
Story of the Prophet Iddo The Story of the Prophet Iddo (also called the Midrash of the Prophet Iddo and Visions of Iddo the Seer) is a lost work mentioned in the Bible, attributed to the biblical prophet Iddo who lived at the time of King Rehoboam. Biblical references ...
'' * '' Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel'' * ''
Book of Jehu The Book of Jehu is a lost text that may have been written by the Biblical prophet Jehu ben Hanani, who was one of King Baasha's contemporaries. The book is described in : "Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are ...
'' * ''
Story of the Book of Kings The Story of the Book of Kings, also called the Midrash on the Book of Kings, is a lost work A lost work is a document, literary work, or piece of multimedia produced some time in the past, of which no surviving copies are known to exist. It c ...
'' * '' Acts of Uziah'' * '' Acts of the Kings of Israel'' * ''
Sayings of the Seers The Sayings of the Seers (or Sayings of Hozai, , in the Masoretic Text) is a lost text referred to in . The passage reads: ''"His prayer also, and how God was intreated of him, and all his sin, and his trespass, and the places wherein he built high ...
'' * ''
Laments for Josiah Laments for Josiah is the term used in reference to . The passage reads: "And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah: and all the singing men and the singing women spake of Josiah in their lamentations to this day, and made them an ordinance in Israel: and, ...
'' * '' Chronicles of King Ahasuerus'' * ''
Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia The non-canonical books referenced in the Bible includes non-Biblical cultures, and lost works of known or unknown status. By the "Bible" is meant those books recognised by most Christians and Jews as being part of Old Testament (or Tanakh) as we ...
''


Lost works referenced in Deutero-canonical texts

*The five volume account of the
Maccabean revolt The Maccabean Revolt ( he, מרד החשמונאים) was a Jewish rebellion led by the Maccabees against the Seleucid Empire and against Hellenistic influence on Jewish life. The main phase of the revolt lasted from 167–160 BCE and ende ...
compiled by Jason of Cyrene, abridged by the writer of 2 Maccabees


Lost works referenced in the New Testament

* '' Epistle to Corinth'' * ''
Epistle from Laodicea to the Colossians The non-canonical books referenced in the Bible includes non-Biblical cultures, and lost works of known or unknown status. By the "Bible" is meant those books recognised by most Christians and Jews as being part of Old Testament (or Tanakh) as we ...
''


Lost works pertaining to Jesus

(These works are generally 2nd century and later; some would be considered reflective of proto-orthodox Christianity, and others would be heterodox.) * '' Gospel of Eve'' * ''
Gospel of Mani The ''Living Gospel'' (also ''Great Gospel'', ''Gospel of the Living'' and variants) was a 3rd-century gnostic gospel written by the Manichaean prophet Mani. It was originally written in Syriac and called the ''Evangelion'' ( syc, ܐܘܢܓܠܝ� ...
'' * '' Gospel of Matthias'' * '' Gospel of Perfection'' * '' Gospel of the Four Heavenly Realms'' * '' Gospel of the Hebrews'' * '' Gospel of the Seventy'' * '' Gospel of the Twelve'' * ''
Memoria Apostolorum Memoria Apostolorum, which means ''(in) memory of the apostles'', is one of the lost texts from the New Testament apocrypha. Given the name, it may be one of the texts which are already known, and for which we have some of the content, such as t ...
'' * '' Secret Gospel of Mark''


2nd century

* Hegesippus' ''Hypomnemata'' (''Memoirs'') in five books, and a history of the Christian church. * The '' Gospel of the Lord'' compiled by
Marcion of Sinope Marcion of Sinope (; grc, Μαρκίων ; ) was an early Christian theologian in early Christianity. Marcion preached that God had sent Jesus Christ who was an entirely new, alien god, distinct from the vengeful God of Israel who had created ...
to support his interpretation of Christianity. Marcion's writings were suppressed but a portion of them have been recreated from the works that were used to denounce them. * Papias' ''Exposition of the Oracles of the Lord'' in five books, mentioned by Eusebius of Caesarea.


3rd century

*Edict of
Decius Gaius Messius Quintus Traianus Decius ( 201 ADJune 251 AD), sometimes translated as Trajan Decius or Decius, was the emperor of the Roman Empire from 249 to 251. A distinguished politician during the reign of Philip the Arab, Decius was procl ...
, 250 AD * Various works of
Tertullian Tertullian (; la, Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus; 155 AD – 220 AD) was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of L ...
. Some fifteen works in Latin or Greek are lost, some as recently as the 9th century (''De Paradiso'', ''De superstitione saeculi'', ''De carne et anima'' were all extant in the now damaged Codex Agobardinus in 814 AD).


4th century

* ''Praeparatio Ecclesiastica'', and ''Demonstratio Ecclesiastica'' by Eusebius of Caesarea


5th century

*
Sozomen Salamanes Hermias Sozomenos ( grc-gre, Σαλαμάνης Ἑρμείας Σωζομενός; la, Sozomenus; c. 400 – c. 450 AD), also known as Sozomen, was a Roman lawyer and historian of the Christian Church. Family and home He was born aro ...
's history of the Christian church, from the Ascension of Jesus to the defeat of Licinius in 323, in twelve books.


6th century

*
Cassiodorus Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator (c. 485 – c. 585), commonly known as Cassiodorus (), was a Roman statesman, renowned scholar of antiquity, and writer serving in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. ''Senator'' ...
's ''Gothic History'', which survives only in a much shorter abridgement, the ''
Getica ''De origine actibusque Getarum'' (''The Origin and Deeds of the Getae oths'), commonly abbreviated ''Getica'', written in Late Latin by Jordanes in or shortly after 551 AD, claims to be a summary of a voluminous account by Cassiodorus of th ...
'' of
Jordanes Jordanes (), also written as Jordanis or Jornandes, was a 6th-century Eastern Roman bureaucrat widely believed to be of Gothic descent who became a historian later in life. Late in life he wrote two works, one on Roman history ('' Romana'') an ...


7th century

* The '' Kakinomoto no Ason Hitomaro Kashū'' is lost as a standalone work, although an unknown portion of it was preserved as part of the later '' Man'yōshū''.


Anglo-Saxon works

* '' The Battle of Maldon'', a heroic poem of which only 325 lines in the middle survive. * '' Waldere'', an epic which is now lost apart from two short fragments. * The Finnesburg Fragment, comprising 50 lines from an otherwise lost poem. * Bede's translation of
John's Gospel The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "si ...
, c. 735.


12th century

* Three works by Gerald of Wales: ** ''Vita sancti Karadoci'' ("Life of St Caradoc") ** ''De fidei fructu fideique defectu'' ** ''Cambriae mappa'' * A romance on the subject of
King Mark Mark of Cornwall ( la, Marcus, kw, Margh, cy, March, br, Marc'h) was a sixth-century King of Kernow (Cornwall), possibly identical with King Conomor. He is best known for his appearance in Arthurian legend as the uncle of Tristan and the husb ...
and Iseult by Chrétien de Troyes. * The
Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intel ...
romances '' André de France'' and '' Gui d'Excideuil'' * '' Skjöldunga saga'', a Norse saga on the legendary Danish dynasty of the
Skjöldung Old English Scylding (plural Scyldingas) and Old Norse Skjǫldung (plural Skjǫldungar), meaning in both languages "children of Scyld/Skjǫldr" are the members of a legendary royal family of Danes, especially kings. The name is explained in ma ...
s, composed c. 1180–1200 * '' Gauks saga Trandilssonar'', a lost saga of the Icelanders. *
Life of Despot Stefan Lazarević The ''Life of Despot Stefan Lazarević'' ( sr, Живот деспота Стефана Лазаревића, Житије деспота Стефана Лазаревића) is a biography of Serbian ruler Stefan Lazarević authored by Constanti ...
is a work first written in 1166 but the only surviving chronicle is from 1431 by Constantine of Kostenets who includes a genealogy of the
Nemanjić dynasty The House of Nemanjić ( sr-Cyrl, Немањић, Немањићи; Nemanjić, Nemanjići, ) was the most prominent dynasty of Serbia in the Middle Ages. This princely, royal, and later imperial house produced twelve Serbian monarchs, who rule ...
up until Despot Stefan Lazarević. * William of Tyre's ''Gesta orientalium principum'', a history of the Islamic world


14th century

* '' Inventio Fortunata''. A 14th-century description of the geography of the
North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Ma ...
. * ''Itinerarium''. A geography book by Jacobus Cnoyen of
's-Hertogenbosch s-Hertogenbosch (), colloquially known as Den Bosch (), is a city and municipality in the Netherlands with a population of 157,486. It is the capital of the province of North Brabant and its fourth largest by population. The city is south of ...
, cited by
Gerardus Mercator Gerardus Mercator (; 5 March 1512 – 2 December 1594) was a 16th-century geographer, cosmographer and cartographer from the County of Flanders. He is most renowned for creating the 1569 world map based on a new projection which represented ...
* ''Res gestae Arturi britanni'' (''The Deeds of Arthur of Britain''). A book cited by Jacobus Cnoyen * ''Of the Wreched Engendrynge of Mankynde'', ''Origenes upon the Maudeleyne'', and ''The book of the Leoun''. Three works by Geoffrey Chaucer. * The Coventry Mystery Plays, a cycle of which only two plays survive. * Carostavnik or Rodoslov. Old Serbian biography enters a new—historiographic or even chronographic—phase with the appearance of the so-called ''Vita'', better yet "Lives of Serbian Kings and Archbishops" by Danilo II, Serbian Archbishop formerly Abbot of the Hilandar Monastery and his successors, most of whom remained anonymous. * Vrhobreznica Chronicle originates in 1371 but the work is not transcribed until two and half centuries later by a writer named Gavrilo, a hermit, who collected earlier annals in his redaction composed in 1650 at the Vrhobreznica monastery. Part of a manuscript archived as Prague Museum #29 (together with Vrhobreznica Genealogy). *
Koporin The Koporin Monastery ( sr, Манастир Копорин, Manastir Koporin) is a monastery at the outskirts of the town of Velika Plana, Serbia, just off the road to Smederevska Palanka. The monastery church, dedicated to the St. Stephen, was ...
Chronicle – a 1371 chronicle transcribed in 1453 by Damjan, a deacon, who also wrote the annals on the order of Archbishop of Zeta, Josif, at the Koporin monastery. * Studenica Chronicle – a 14th century chronicle from 1350–1400. Oldest survived copy in a 16th-century manuscript, together with a younger annals. *
Cetinje Cetinje (, ) is a town in Montenegro. It is the former royal capital (''prijestonica'' / приjестоница) of Montenegro and is the location of several national institutions, including the official residence of the president of Montenegro ...
Chronicle covers events from 14th century until the end of 16th century, though the manuscript collection is from the end of the 16th century.


15th century

* '' Yongle Encyclopedia'' (). It was one of the world's earliest, and the then-largest, encyclopaedia commissioned by the
Yongle Emperor The Yongle Emperor (; pronounced ; 2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), personal name Zhu Di (), was the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 1424. Zhu Di was the fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dyn ...
of China's
Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
in 1403, completed about 1408. About 400 volumes (less than 4%) of a 16th-century manuscript set survive today. *
François Villon François Villon ( Modern French: , ; – after 1463) is the best known French poet of the Late Middle Ages. He was involved in criminal behavior and had multiple encounters with law enforcement authorities. Villon wrote about some of these e ...
's poem "The Romance of the Devil's Fart."


16th century

* ''Nigramansir. A Moral Interlude and a Pithy.'' by John Skelton. Printed 1504. A copy seen in 1759 in Chichester has since vanished. * '' Ur-Hamlet''. An earlier version of the
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
play ''
Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
''. Some scholars believe it to be a lost work written by
Thomas Kyd Thomas Kyd (baptised 6 November 1558; buried 15 August 1594) was an English playwright, the author of '' The Spanish Tragedy'', and one of the most important figures in the development of Elizabethan drama. Although well known in his own time, ...
, while others attribute it to Shakespeare, identifying the Ur-Hamlet with the first quarto text. * ''
Love's Labour's Won ''Love's Labour's Won'' is a lost play attributed by contemporaries to William Shakespeare, written before 1598 and published by 1603, though no copies are known to have survived. Scholars dispute whether it is a true lost work, possibly a sequ ...
'', play by
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
. * ''The Ocean to Cynthia''. A poem by Sir
Walter Raleigh Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebelli ...
of which only fragments are known. * Luís de Camões' philosophic work ''The Parnasum of Luís Vaz'' is lost. * '' The Isle of Dogs'' (1597), a play by Thomas Nashe and
Ben Jonson Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...
. * ''
Phaethon Phaethon (; grc, Φαέθων, Phaéthōn, ), also spelled Phaëthon, was the son of the Oceanid Clymene and the sun-god Helios in Greek mythology. According to most authors, Phaethon is the son of Helios, and out of desire to have his paren ...
'', a play by Thomas Dekker, mentioned in Philip Henslowe's diary, 1597. * '' Hot Anger Soon Cold'' a play by
Henry Chettle Henry Chettle (c. 1564 – c. 1606) was an English dramatist and miscellaneous writer of the Elizabethan era, best known for his pamphleteering. Early life The son of Robert Chettle, a London dyer, he was apprenticed in 1577 and became a ...
, Henry Porter and
Ben Jonson Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...
; mentioned in Philip Henslowe's diary, August 1598. * '' The Stepmother's Tragedy'', a play by
Henry Chettle Henry Chettle (c. 1564 – c. 1606) was an English dramatist and miscellaneous writer of the Elizabethan era, best known for his pamphleteering. Early life The son of Robert Chettle, a London dyer, he was apprenticed in 1577 and became a ...
and Thomas Dekker; mentioned in Philip Henslowe's diary, August 1599. * ''Black Bateman of the North, Part II'', a play by
Henry Chettle Henry Chettle (c. 1564 – c. 1606) was an English dramatist and miscellaneous writer of the Elizabethan era, best known for his pamphleteering. Early life The son of Robert Chettle, a London dyer, he was apprenticed in 1577 and became a ...
and Robert Wilson; mentioned in Henslowe's diary in April 1598. * Only four Maya codices survived the Spanish conquest; most were destroyed by conquistadors or the
Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
.


17th century

* ''
The History of Cardenio ''The History of Cardenio'', often referred to as simply ''Cardenio'', is a lost play, known to have been performed by the King's Men, a London theatre company, in 1613. The play is attributed to William Shakespeare and John Fletcher in a Stat ...
'', play by
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
and John Fletcher (1613) * ''
Keep the Widow Waking ''Keep the Widow Waking'' is a lost Jacobean play, significant chiefly for the light it throws on the complexities of collaborative authorship in English Renaissance drama. ''A Late Murder of the Son Upon the Mother, or Keep the Widow Waking'' ...
'', play by
John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...
and John Webster (1624) * Claudio Monteverdi composed at least eighteen operas, but only three (''L'Orfeo'', ''L'incoronazione di Poppea'', and ''Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria'') and the famous aria, Lamento, from his second opera ''L'Arianna'' have survived. * Lost haikus of
Ihara Saikaku was a Japanese poet and creator of the " floating world" genre of Japanese prose (''ukiyo-zōshi''). Born as Hirayama Tōgo (平山藤五), the son of a wealthy merchant in Osaka, he first studied haikai poetry under Matsunaga Teitoku and lat ...
. *
Jean Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditi ...
's first play, ''Amasie'' (1660) is lost. * John Milton wrote nearly two acts of a tragedy called ''Adam Unparadiz'd,'' which was then lost. * Lost works of
Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...
: ** A translation of ''
De Rerum Natura ''De rerum natura'' (; ''On the Nature of Things'') is a first-century BC didactic poem by the Roman poet and philosopher Lucretius ( – c. 55 BC) with the goal of explaining Epicurean philosophy to a Roman audience. The poem, written in some ...
'' by
Lucretius Titus Lucretius Carus ( , ;  – ) was a Roman poet and philosopher. His only known work is the philosophical poem '' De rerum natura'', a didactic work about the tenets and philosophy of Epicureanism, and which usually is translated into E ...
. ** ''Le Docteur amoureux'' (play, 1658) ** ''Gros-René, petit enfant'' (play, 1659) ** ''Le Docteur Pédant'' (play, 1660) ** ''Les Trois Docteurs'' (play, ca. 1660) ** ''Gorgibus dans le sac'' (play, 1661) ** ''Le Fagotier'' (play, 1661) ** ''Le Fin Lourdaut'' (play attributed, 1668) * Lost works of Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh include; ** ''Ughdair Ereann''. Fragments survive * Works by
Buhurizade Mustafa Itri Mustafa Itri, more commonly known as Buhurizade Mustafa Itri, or just simply Itri (1640 - 1712) was an Ottoman- Turkish musician, composer, singer and poet. With over a thousand works to his name, although only about forty of these have survived t ...
, a major Ottoman musician, composer, singer and poet, who is known to have composed more than a thousand works, only forty of which survive to the present.


18th century

* All poems and literary works by
Carlo Gimach Carlo Gimach (2 March 1651 – 31 December 1730) was a Maltese architect, engineer and poet who was active in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Throughout his career, he worked in Malta, Portugal and Rome, and he is mostly known for designi ...
, except for the cantata ''Applauso Genetliaco'', are believed to be lost. * Lady Mary Wortley Montagu's journal was burnt by her daughter on the grounds that it contained much scandal and satire. *
Edward Gibbon Edward Gibbon (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English historian, writer, and member of parliament. His most important work, '' The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788, i ...
burned the manuscript of his ''History of the Liberty of the Swiss''. * Adam Smith had most of his manuscripts destroyed shortly before his death. In his last years he had been working on two major treatises, one on the theory and history of law and one on the sciences and arts. The posthumously published ''
Essays on Philosophical Subjects ''Essays on Philosophical Subjects'', by the Scottish economist Adam Smith, is a history of astronomy until Smith's own era, plus some thoughts on ancient physics and metaphysics. This work was published posthumously (after death), in 1795, usin ...
'' (1795) probably contain parts of what would have been the latter treatise. * ''The Green-Room Squabble or a Battle Royal between the Queen of Babylon and the Daughter of Darius'', a 1756 play by Samuel Foote, is lost. * Numerous works by J. S. Bach, notably at least two large-scale Passions and many cantatas (see List of Bach cantatas) are lost. * Mozart's Cello Concerto in F and Trumpet Concerto are lost. * Beethoven's 1793 'Ode to Joy', which was later incorporated into his ninth Symphony * Haydn's "Double Bass Concerto", of which only the first two measures survive; the rest were burned and destroyed. Supposedly a copy of it may exist somewhere, according to many different speculations. * Personal letters between
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
and his wife Martha Washington; all but three destroyed by Mrs. Washington after his death in 1799.


19th century

* Aaron Burr's farewell address to the senate in 1805 has been lost, though the general outlines are known through contemporaneous comments. * '' Memoirs'' of
Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...
, destroyed by his literary executors led by John Murray on 17 May 1824. The decision to destroy Byron's manuscript journals, which was opposed only by Thomas Moore, was made in order to protect his reputation. The two volumes of memoirs were dismembered and burnt in the fireplace at Murray's office. * ''The Scented Garden'' by Sir
Richard Francis Burton Sir Richard Francis Burton (; 19 March 1821 – 20 October 1890) was a British explorer, writer, orientalist scholar,and soldier. He was famed for his travels and explorations in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, as well as his extraordinary kn ...
, a manuscript of a new translation from Arabic of ''
The Perfumed Garden ''The Perfumed Garden of Sensual Delight'' ( ar, الروض العاطر في نزهة الخاطر ''Al-rawḍ al-ʿāṭir fī nuzhaẗ al-ḫāṭir'') is a fifteenth-century Arabic sex manual and work of erotic literature by Muhammad ibn ...
'', was burned by his widow, Lady Isabel Burton ''née'' Arundel, along with other papers. * A large number of manuscripts and longer poems by William Blake were burnt soon after his death by Mr. Frederick Tatham. * Parts two and three of '' Dead Souls'' by Nikolai Gogol, burned by Gogol at the instigation of the priest Father Matthew Konstantinovskii. * At least four complete volumes and around seven pages of text are missing from
Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are '' Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequ ...
's thirteen diaries, destroyed by his family for reasons frequently debated. * The son of the Marquis de Sade had all of de Sade's unpublished manuscripts burned after de Sade's death in 1814; this included the immense multi-volume work ''Les Journées de Florbelle''. * A large section of the manuscript for Mary Shelley's ''Lodore'' was lost in the mail to the publisher, and Shelley was forced to rewrite it. * Gerard Manley Hopkins burned all his early poetry on entering the priesthood. * In the '' Suspiria de Profundis'' of Thomas De Quincey, 18 of 32 pieces have not survived. * Alexander Ivanovich Galich's completed manuscripts ''Universal Rights'' and ''Philosophy of Human History'' were destroyed in a fire, an event the grieved Galich did not long survive. *
Margaret Fuller Sarah Margaret Fuller (May 23, 1810 – July 19, 1850), sometimes referred to as Margaret Fuller Ossoli, was an American journalist, editor, critic, translator, and women's rights advocate associated with the American transcendentalism movem ...
's manuscript on the history of the 1849 Roman Republic was lost in the 1850 shipwreck in which Fuller herself, her husband and her child perished. In Fuller's own estimation, as well as of others who saw it, this work, based on her first-hand experience in Rome, might have been her most important work. * A schoolmate of Arthur Rimbaud claimed that he lost a notebook of poems by the famous poet, the "Cahier Labarrière", which reportedly contained about 60 poems (if true, and if all were distinct from his known verse poems, this would represent about as much in volume). Paul Verlaine also mentioned a text called "'' La Chasse spirituelle''", claiming it to be Rimbaud's masterpiece, which was never found (although a
fake Fake may refer to: * Deception, an act or a statement intended to deceive ** Charlatan, a person who practices deception to obtain money or other advantages ** Counterfeit, a reproduction of an item, intended to deceive ** Cover-up, an attempt to ...
was published in 1949). * The first draft of
Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian and philosopher. A leading writer of the Victorian era, he exerted a profound influence on 19th-century art, literature and philosophy. Born in Ecclefechan, ...
's '' The French Revolution: A History'' was sent to John Stuart Mill, whose maid mistakenly burned it, forcing Carlyle to rewrite it from scratch. *
Joseph Smith Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, h ...
's translation of the
Book of Lehi The "lost 116 pages" were the original manuscript pages of what Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, said was the translation of the Book of Lehi, the first portion of the golden plates revealed to him by an angel in 1827. Th ...
from the
Mormon Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into se ...
Golden Plates was either hidden, destroyed, or modified by Lucy Harris, the wife of transcriber Martin Harris. Whatever their fate, the pages were not returned to Joseph Smith and declared "lost." Smith did not recreate the translation. * '' Isle of the Cross'',
Herman Melville Herman Melville ( born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works are '' Moby-Dick'' (1851); '' Typee'' (1846), a ...
's followup to the unsuccessful '' Pierre'' was rejected by his publishers and has subsequently been lost. *
Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as '' Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...
burned his first completed draft of '' Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'' after his wife criticized the work. Stevenson wrote and published a revised version. *
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation throu ...
's Lost Speech, given on May 29, 1856, in Bloomington, Illinois. Traditionally regarded as lost because it was so engaging that reporters neglected to take notes, the speech is believed to have been an impassioned condemnation of
slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...
. * L. Frank Baum's theatre in Richburg, New York burned to the ground. Among the manuscripts of Baum's original plays known to have been lost are ''The Mackrummins'', ''Matches'' (which was being performed the night of the fire), ''The Queen of Killarney'', ''Kilmourne, or O'Connor's Dream'', and the complete musical score for '' The Maid of Arran'', which survives only in commercial song sheets, which include six of the eight songs and no instrumental music. *
Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian ...
describes the loss of an unfinished play manuscript (a collaboration with Sokolovsky) in his ''My Life'', end of chapter 6 (sometime between 1896 and 1898). * '' The Poor Man and the Lady''. Thomas Hardy's first novel (1867) was never published. After rejection by several publishers, he destroyed the manuscript. *
George Gissing George Robert Gissing (; 22 November 1857 – 28 December 1903) was an English novelist, who published 23 novels between 1880 and 1903. His best-known works have reappeared in modern editions. They include '' The Nether World'' (1889), ''New Gru ...
abandoned many novels and destroyed the incomplete manuscripts. He also completed at least three novels which went unpublished and have been lost. *
John P. Marquand John Phillips Marquand (November 10, 1893 – July 16, 1960) was an American writer. Originally best known for his Mr. Moto spy stories, he achieved popular success and critical respect for his satirical novels, winning a Pulitzer Prize for '' ...
wrote an early novel called ''Yellow Ivory'' in collaboration with his friend W.A. Macdonald. * During the many years of his career, Mark Twain produced a vast number of pieces, of which a considerable part, especially in his earlier years, was published in obscure newspapers under a great variety of pen names, or not published at all. Joe Goodman, who had been Twain's editor when he worked at the Virginia City, Nevada, "Territorial Enterprise", declared in 1900 that Twain wrote some of the best material of his life during his "Western years" in the late 1860s, but most of it was lost

In addition, many of Twain's speeches and lectures have been lost or were never written down. Researchers continue to seek this material, some of which was rediscovered as recently as 1995. * Although frequently referenced in the
Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a c ...
and traceable in several catalogues of libraries and booksellers, no copy of the 1852 book '' Meanderings of Memory'' by Nightlark could be tracked down. * The Reverend Francis Kilvert's diaries were edited and censored, possibly by his widow, after his death in 1879. In the 1930s, the surviving diaries were passed on to William Plomer, who transcribed them, before returning the originals to Kilvert's closest living relative, a niece, who destroyed most of the manuscripts. Plomer's own transcription was destroyed in the Blitz. He only learned of the originals' destruction when he planned to publish a complete edition in the 1950s. *
Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...
's ''Karelia Music'' was destroyed after its premiere in 1893. What survives today fully are the Karelia Ouverture and the Karelia Suite. Most of the music was reconstructed in 1965 by Kalevi Kuosa, from the original parts that had survived. The parts that hadn't survived were those of the violas, cellos, and double basses. Based on Kuosa's transcription, the Finnish composers Kalevi Aho and Jouni Kaipainen have individually reconstructed the complete music to Karelia Music.


20th century

*
James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the Modernism, modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important ...
's play ''A Brilliant Career'' (which he burned) and the first half of his novel '' Stephen Hero''. His grandson Stephen later burned Nora Joyce's letters to James as well. * J. Meade Falkner left an almost complete fourth and last novel on a train and felt he was too old to start again. * A number of Scott Joplin's compositions have been lost, including his first opera, '' A Guest of Honor''. * Various parts of Daniel Paul Schreber's ''"Memoirs of My Nervous Illness"'' (original German title ''"Denkwürdigkeiten eines Nervenkranken"'') (1903) were destroyed by his wife and doctor Flesching for protecting his reputation, which was mentioned by
Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies explained as originating in conflicts i ...
as highly important in his essay ''"The Schreber Case"'' (1911). * L. Frank Baum wrote four novels for adults that were never published and disappeared: ''Our Married Life'' and ''Johnson'' (1912), ''The Mystery of Bonita'' (1914), and ''Molly Oodle'' (1915). Baum's son claimed that Baum's wife burned these, but this was after being cut out of her will. Evidence that Baum's publisher received these manuscripts survives. Also lost are Baum's 1904 short stories "Mr. Rumple's Chill" and "Bess of the Movies", as well as his early plays ''Kilmourne, or O'Connor's Dream'' (opened April 4, 1883) and ''The Queen of Killarney'' (1883). * In 1907, August Strindberg destroyed a play, ''The Bleeding Hand'', immediately after writing it. He was in a bad mood at the time and commented in a letter that the piece was unusually harsh, even for him. * "Text I" of '' Seven Pillars of Wisdom'', a 250,000-word manuscript by T. E. Lawrence lost at Reading railway station in December 1919. * In 1922, a suitcase with almost all of
Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...
's work to date was stolen from a train compartment at the Gare de Lyon in Paris, from his wife. It included a partial
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
novel. * The novels ''Tobold'' and ''Theodor'' by Robert Walser are lost, possibly destroyed by the author, as is a third, unnamed novel. (1910–1921) * The original version of ''Ultramarine'' by
Malcolm Lowry Clarence Malcolm Lowry (; 28 July 1909 – 26 June 1957) was an English poet and novelist who is best known for his 1947 novel ''Under the Volcano'', which was voted No. 11 in the Modern Library 100 Best Novels list.
was stolen from his publisher's car in 1932, and the author had to reconstruct it. *
Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...
burned his unfinished 8th Symphony and several of his unfinished works in the 1920s * Yogananda's ''Autobiography of a Yogi'' quotes extensively from Richard Wright's travel diaries in 1935/6. Following Wright's death they have become 'lost'. * In 1938
George Orwell Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalit ...
wrote ''Socialism and War'', an "anti-war pamphlet" for which he could not find a publisher. Although many previously unknown letters and other documents relating to Orwell have been discovered in recent years, no trace of this pamphlet has yet come to light. With the beginning of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
Orwell's views on
pacifism Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace camp ...
were to change radically, so he may well have destroyed the manuscript. * Lost papers and a possible unfinished novel by Isaac Babel, confiscated by the NKVD, May 1939. * Manuscript of '' Efebos'', a novel by Karol Szymanowski, destroyed in bombing of Warsaw, 1939. * Five volumes of poetry and a drama, all in manuscript, by Saint-John Perse were destroyed at his house outside Paris soon after he had gone into exile in the summer of 1940. The diplomat Alexis Léger (Perse's real name) was a well-known and uncompromising anti-Nazi and his house was raided by German troops. The works had been written during his diplomat years, but Perse had decided not to publish any new writing until he had retired from diplomacy. * Walter Benjamin had a completed manuscript in his suitcase when he fled France and arrest by the Nazis in the summer of 1940. He committed suicide in
Portbou Portbou () is a town in the Alt Empordà county, in the Province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It has a population of people (). Portbou is located near the French border in the Costa Brava region, and frequently serves as a dropping off point f ...
, Spain on September 26, 1940, and the suitcase and its contents disappeared. * There are reports that Bruno Schulz worked on a novel called ''The Messiah'', but no trace of this manuscript survived his death (1942). * The novel '' In Ballast to the White Sea'' by
Malcolm Lowry Clarence Malcolm Lowry (; 28 July 1909 – 26 June 1957) was an English poet and novelist who is best known for his 1947 novel ''Under the Volcano'', which was voted No. 11 in the Modern Library 100 Best Novels list.
, lost in a fire in 1945. * The novel ''Wanderers of Night'' and poems of Daniil Andreev were destroyed in 1947 as "anti-Soviet literature" by the MGB. * Some pages of William Burroughs's original version of '' Naked Lunch'' were stolen. * Three early, unpublished novels by Philip K. Dick written in the 1950s are no longer extant: ''
A Time for George Stavros ''A Time for George Stavros'' was an early, unpublished, non-science fiction novel by author Philip K. Dick. It was written sometime around 1955, a time when Dick was getting his science fiction published but still dreamed of being a mainstream ...
'', '' Pilgrim on the Hill'', and ''
Nicholas and the Higs ''Nicholas and the Higs'' is one of several early, unpublished novels by American science fiction author Philip K. Dick. It was written somewhere around 1957 during the waning days of his second marriage, was re-written at the behest of his publ ...
''. * In 1958, while working on the last chapter, William H. Gass' novel '' Omensetter's Luck'' was stolen off of his desk, forcing him to begin from scratch. * The manuscript for Sylvia Plath's unfinished second novel, provisionally titled ''Double Exposure'', or ''Double Take'', written 1962–63, disappeared some time before 1970. *
Venedikt Yerofeyev Venedikt Vasilyevich Yerofeyev, also Benedict Erofeev or Erofeyev (russian: Венеди́кт Васи́льевич Ерофе́ев; 24 October 1938 in Niva-3 settlement, suburb of Kandalaksha – 11 May 1990 in Moscow) was a Russian writer a ...
's novel '' Dmitry Shostakovich'' was in a bag with two bottles of fortified wine that was stolen from him in a commuter train in 1972. * Several pages of the original screenplay for Werner Herzog's '' Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes'' were reportedly thrown out of the window of a bus after one of his football teammates threw up on them. * The screenplay for the proposed Dean Stockwell-Herb Berman film ''After the Gold Rush'' is reportedly lost. * ''Diaries'' of Philip Larkin – burnt at his request after his death on 2 December 1985. Other private papers were kept, contrary to his instructions. * The fourth novel of Sasha Sokolov have been lost when the Greek house where it was written burnt down in the second half the 1980s. * Jacob M. Appel's first novel manuscript, ''Paste and Cover'', was in the trunk of an automobile that was stolen in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1998. The vehicle was recovered, but the manuscript was not.


21st century

* Terry Pratchett's unfinished works were destroyed in 2017 after his death, fulfilling his last will; his computer
hard drive A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating platters coated with mag ...
containing his unfinished works was deliberately squished by a steamroller.


Lost literary collections

* Chinese emperor
Qin Shi Huang Qin Shi Huang (, ; 259–210 BC) was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of a unified China. Rather than maintain the title of " king" ( ''wáng'') borne by the previous Shang and Zhou rulers, he ruled as the First Empero ...
(3rd century BCE) had most previously existing books burned when he consolidated his power. See Burning of books and burying of scholars. * The
Library of Alexandria The Great Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, was one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world. The Library was part of a larger research institution called the Mouseion, which was dedicated to the Muses, t ...
, the largest library in existence during antiquity, was destroyed at some point in time between the Roman and Muslim conquests of Alexandria. * Aztec emperor Itzcoatl (ruled 1427/8-1440) ordered the burning of all historical Aztec codices in an effort to develop a state-sanctioned Aztec history and mythology. * During the Dissolution of the Monasteries, many monastic libraries were destroyed. Worcester Abbey had 600 books at the time of the dissolution. Only six of them have survived intact to the present day. At the abbey of the Augustinian Friars at York, a library of 646 volumes was destroyed, leaving only three surviving books. Some books were destroyed for their precious bindings, others were sold off by the cartload, including irreplaceable early English works. It is believed that many of the earliest
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...
manuscripts were lost at this time. :: "A great nombre of them whych purchased those supertycyous mansyons, resrved of those lybrarye bokes, some to serve theyr jakes .e.,_as_toilet_paper.html" ;"title="toilet_paper.html" ;"title=".e., as toilet paper">.e., as toilet paper">toilet_paper.html" ;"title=".e., as toilet paper">.e., as toilet paper some to scoure candelstyckes, and some to rubbe their bootes. Some they solde to the grossers and soapsellers..." — John Bale, 1549 * Many works of Anglo-Saxon literature, mostly unique and unpublished, were burned when a fire broke out in the Cotton library at Ashburnham House on 23 October 1731. Luckily, the only surviving manuscript of ''
Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ang, Bēowulf ) is an Old English epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature. ...
'' survived the fire and was printed for the first time in 1815. * In 1193, the Nalanda University was sacked by
Bakhtiyar Khilji Ikhtiyār al-Dīn Muḥammad Bakhtiyār Khaljī, (Pashto :اختيار الدين محمد بختيار غلزۍ, fa, اختیارالدین محمد بختیار خلجی, bn, ইখতিয়ারউদ্দীন মুহম্মদ � ...
. The burning of the library continued for several months and "smoke from the burning manuscripts hung for days like a dark pall over the low hills." * The sacking of Baghdad by the Mongols. * At least 27 Maya codices were ceremonially destroyed by Diego de Landa (1524–1579), bishop of Yucatán, on 12 July 1562. * The library of the Hanlin Academy, containing irreplaceable ancient Chinese manuscripts, was mostly destroyed in 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion. * The Sikh Reference Library in Amritsar, a collection of rare books, newspapers, manuscripts, and other literary works related to Sikhism and India, was looted and incinerated by Indian troops during the 1984 Operation Blue Star. The missing literature has not been recovered to this day and are presumbed to be lost. The library hosted a vast collection of an estimated 20,000 literary works just before the destruction, including 11,107 books, 2,500 manuscripts, newspaper archives, historical letters, documents/files, and others. * During the
2014 unrest in Bosnia and Herzegovina The 2014 unrest in Bosnia and Herzegovina was a series of demonstrations and riots that began in the northern town of Tuzla on 4 February 2014 but quickly spread to multiple cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, including Sarajevo, Zenica, Mostar, ...
, sections of the National Archives in
Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...
were set on fire. Large numbers of historical documents were lost, many of them dating from the 1878–1918
Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina fell under Austro-Hungarian rule in 1878, when the Congress of Berlin approved the occupation of the Bosnia Vilayet, which officially remained part of the Ottoman Empire. Three decades later, in 1908, Austria-Hungary pr ...
, the interwar period, and the 1941–1945 rule of the
Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist It ...
. About 15,000 files from the 1996–2003 Human Rights Chamber for Bosnia and Herzegovina were also destroyed.


Rediscovered works

* '' Gospel of Judas'', a fragmentary Coptic codex rediscovered and translated, 2006. * W. A. Mozart and Antonio Salieri are known to have composed together a cantata for voice and piano called '' Per la ricuperata salute di Ofelia'' which was celebrating the return to stage of the singer
Nancy Storace Anna (or Ann) Selina Storace (; 27 October 176524 August 1817), known professionally as Nancy Storace, was an English operatic soprano. The role of Susanna in Mozart's ''Le nozze di Figaro'' was written for and first performed by her. Born in L ...
, and which has been lost, although it had been printed by
Artaria Artaria & Co. () was one of the most important music publishing firms of the late 18th and 19th century. Founded in the 18th century in Vienna, the company is associated with many leading names of the classical era. History Artaria & Co. was fou ...
in 1785. The music had been considered lost until November 2015, when German musicologist and composer Timo Jouko Herrmann identified the score while searching for music by one of Salieri's ostensible pupils, Antonio Casimir Cartellieri, in the archives of the Czech Museum of Music in
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
.Muller, R., and Kahn, M.
"Czech musician performs long-lost Mozart score for first time"
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was est ...
, Feb. 16, 2016.
* ''
The 120 Days of Sodom ''The 120 Days of Sodom, or the School of Libertinage'' (french: Les 120 Journées de Sodome ou l'école du libertinage, links=no) is an unfinished novel by the French writer and nobleman Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade, written in ...
'', written by the Marquis de Sade in the Bastille prison in 1785, was considered lost by its author (and was much lamented by him) after the storming and looting of 1789. It was rediscovered in the walls of his cell and published in 1904. * Antonín Dvořák composed his Symphony No. 1 in 1865. It was subsequently lost, which the composer believed to be final and irreversible. It was only found again in 1923, twenty years after Dvořák's death, and performed for the first time in 1936. * '' A Tale of Kitty in Boots'' by Beatrix Potter, the handwritten manuscripts for this story were found in school notebooks, including a few illustrations. She intended to finish the book, but was interrupted by wars and marriage and farming. It was found nearly 100 years later and published for the first time in September 2016. * ''Lesbian Love'', by
Eva Kotchever Eva Kotchever, known also as Eve Adams or Eve Addams, born as Chawa Zloczower (1891 – 19 December 1943) was a Polish-Jewish émigré librarian and writer, who is the author of ''Lesbian Love'' and from 1925 to 1926 ran a popular, openly lesbi ...
, had only 150 copies published "for private circulation only" in 1925. Historian Jonathan Ned Katz searched and found the only known copy, owned by Nina Alvarez, who had found the book in the lobby of her apartment building in 1998 in Albany, New York. Records show that another copy was held in the Sterling Library at Yale University, but it has not been located. * Henri Poincaré's prize-winning submission for the 1889 celestial mechanics contest of king Oscar II was thought to be lost. While this version was being printed, Poincaré himself discovered a serious error. The existing version was recalled and then replaced by a heavily modified and corrected version, now regarded as the seminal description of chaos theory. The original erroneous submission was thought to be lost, but it was found in 2011.


Lost works in popular culture

* Umberto Eco's '' The Name of the Rose'' features a murder mystery whose solution hinges on the contents of Aristotle's lost second book of Poetics (dealing with comedy). * Dan Brown's '' The Da Vinci Code'' builds its central theme around a fictional account of the apocryphal and partially lost Gnostic Gospels. *
Joe Haldeman Joe William Haldeman (born June 9, 1943) is an American science fiction author. He is best known for his novel '' The Forever War'' (1974). That novel and other works, including '' The Hemingway Hoax'' (1991) and '' Forever Peace'' (1997), have ...
's science fiction novel '' The Hemingway Hoax'' centers on a suitcase with writings by
Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...
which was stolen in 1922 at the Gare de Lyon in Paris. * " The Shakespeare Code" is a ''Doctor Who'' episode that explains the fate of ''
Love's Labour's Won ''Love's Labour's Won'' is a lost play attributed by contemporaries to William Shakespeare, written before 1598 and published by 1603, though no copies are known to have survived. Scholars dispute whether it is a true lost work, possibly a sequ ...
''. * H. P. Lovecraft wrote that all the original Arabic copies of ''
The Necronomicon The ', also referred to as the ''Book of the Dead'', or under a purported original Arabic title of ', is a fictional grimoire (textbook of magic) appearing in stories by the horror writer H. P. Lovecraft and his followers. It was first menti ...
'' (''Al Azif'') have been destroyed, as well as the Arabic to Greek translations. Only five Greek to Latin translations are held by libraries, though copies may exist in private collections.


See also

*
Apocrypha Apocrypha are works, usually written, of unknown authorship or of doubtful origin. The word ''apocryphal'' (ἀπόκρυφος) was first applied to writings which were kept secret because they were the vehicles of esoteric knowledge considered ...
* Art theft * Bonfire of the Vanities *
Iconoclasm Iconoclasm (from Greek: grc, εἰκών, lit=figure, icon, translit=eikṓn, label=none + grc, κλάω, lit=to break, translit=kláō, label=none)From grc, εἰκών + κλάω, lit=image-breaking. ''Iconoclasm'' may also be consid ...
* Link rot *
List of comics solicited but never published Comic book stories, issues of comic book limited/ongoing series, or even entire comic book series were written or promoted and solicited for release but, for various reasons, were never published. Some were eventually reprinted elsewhere or publis ...
*
List of destroyed heritage This is a list of cultural heritage sites that have been damaged or destroyed accidentally, deliberately, or by a natural disaster, sorted by continent, then by country. Cultural heritage can be subdivided into two main types—tangible and int ...
* List of lost films * List of missing treasures *
List of unpublished books This is a list of unpublished books by notable people, alphabetized by author. These notable people may be published authors, but not necessarily. Unpublished novels *Sholem Aleichem: '' Motl, Peysi the Cantor's Son'', left unfinished at the tim ...
* Lost artworks *
Lost film A lost film is a feature or short film that no longer exists in any studio archive, private collection, public archive or the U.S. Library of Congress. Conditions During most of the 20th century, U.S. copyright law required at least one copy ...
*
Unfinished creative work An unfinished creative work is a painting, novel, musical composition, or other creative work, that has not been brought to a completed state. Its creator may have chosen not to finish it, or may have been prevented from doing so by circumstances ...
* Lost television broadcast * :hu:Elpusztult nevezetes magyar dokumentumok listája (List of famous Hungarian documents that were destroyed n Hungarian


References


Further reading

* Browne, Thomas. ''
Musaeum Clausum ''Musaeum Clausum'' (Latin for ''Sealed Museum''), also known as ''Bibliotheca abscondita'' (''Secret Library'' in Latin), is a tract written by Sir Thomas Browne which was first published posthumously in 1684. The tract contains short sentence de ...
or Bibliotheca Abscondita'' (published posthumously in 1683) * Deuel, Leo. ''Testaments of Time: The Search for Lost Manuscripts and Records'' (New York: Knopf, 1965) * Dudbridge, Glen. ''Lost Books of Medieval China'' (London: The British Library, 2000) * Kelly, Stuart. ''The Book of Lost Books'' (Viking, 2005) * Peter, Hermann. '' Historicorum Romanorum reliquiae'' (2 vols., B.G. Teubner, Leipzig, 1870, 2nd ed. 1914–16) * Wilson. R. M. ''The Lost Literature of Medieval England'' (London: Methuen, 1952)


External links


List of Lost Literature
article category section on The Lost Media Wiki


Longing for Great Lost Works





Lost Works of W.A. Mozart



Fragmentary Tragedies of Sophocles Project



Hi-tech imaging could reveal lost texts



The Memorial of Unsaved Work
{{Authority control