Sketch of the Religious Sects of the Hindus c1.14

c1.14

The influence of these collections on later literature is immense. Chaucer, Boccaccio, Shakespeare, and many other writers drew upon them for their plots and characters. The *Gesta Romanorum*, for example, contains the germs of stories that appear in *The Merchant of Venice*, *King Lear*, and *Pericles*. The *Seven Wise Masters* also provided material for many later works, including some of the tales in the *Decameron*.