epic, long narrative poem recounting heroic deeds, although the term has also been loosely used to describe novels, such as Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace, and motion pictures, such as Sergey Eisenstein’s Ivan the Terrible. In literary usage, the term encompasses both oral and written compositions.

romance: Developing psychological awareness: …and romance, observed in his Epic and Romance (1897), the advent of romance is “something as momentous and as far-reaching as that to which the name Renaissance is generally applied.” The Old French poets who composed the chansons de geste (as the Old French epics are called) had been content…

caesura: An epic caesura is a feminine caesura that follows an extra unstressed syllable that has been inserted in accentual iambic metre. An epic caesura occurs in these lines from Shakespeare’s Macbeth: “but how of Cawdor? / The Thane of Cawdor lives.” The lyric caesura is a…

epic formula, convention of language and theme peculiar to oral epic poetry that is often carried over to the written form. The most obvious epic formulas are the “fixed epithets,” stereotyped descriptive phrases that can be varied in different places in the poetic line to suit the demands of the

Icelandic literature: The Eddaic verse forms: …distinguished in Eddaic poetry: the epic measure, the speech measure, and the song measure. Most narrative poems are in the first measure, which consists of short lines of two beats joined in pairs by alliteration. The number of weakly stressed syllables might vary, but the total number of syllables in…

American Dream: …Adams in his 1931 book The Epic of America. That work defines the past and future of the American Dream, which, according to Adams, is:

Enuma elish, ancient Mesopotamian creation epic that tells the tale of Marduk, the chief god of the city of Babylon. He defeats the elder goddess Tiamat and brings order to chaos and thus becomes the Lord of the Gods of Heaven and Earth. The title of the poem comes from the first line of the work

Herbert Eugene Bolton: …Historical Association in 1932, “The Epic of Greater America,” a critique of the purely national and Anglo-Saxon definitions of American institutions. His chief works are: The Spanish Borderlands (1921); Outpost of Empire (1931); Rim of Christendom: A Biography of Eusebio Francisco Kino (1936); and Coronado on the Turquoise Trail (1949).

Shāh-nāmeh, celebrated work of the epic poet Ferdowsī, in which the Persian national epic found its final and enduring form. Written for Sultan Maḥmūd of Ghazna and completed in 1010, the Shāh-nāmeh is a poem of nearly 60,000 verses, mainly based on the Khvatay-nāmak, a history of the kings of

Frank Norris: …novel of a projected trilogy, The Epic of the Wheat, dealing with the economic and social forces involved in the production, distribution, and consumption of wheat. The Octopus pictures with bold symbolism the raising of wheat in California and the struggle of the wheat growers there against a monopolistic railway…

epic simile, an extended simile often running to several lines, used typically in epic poetry to intensify the heroic stature of the subject and to serve as decoration. An example from the Iliad follows:

epic theatre, form of didactic drama presenting a series of loosely connected scenes that avoid illusion and often interrupt the story line to address the audience directly with analysis, argument, or documentation. Epic theatre is now most often associated with the dramatic theory and practice

epicanthic fold, fold of skin across the inner corner of the eye (canthus). The epicanthic fold produces the eye shape characteristic of persons from central and eastern Asia; it is also seen in some Native American peoples and occasionally in Europeans (e.g., Scandinavians and

epicanthic fold, fold of skin across the inner corner of the eye (canthus). The epicanthic fold produces the eye shape characteristic of persons from central and eastern Asia; it is also seen in some Native American peoples and occasionally in Europeans (e.g., Scandinavians and

human cardiovascular system: Pericardium: …serous layer (visceral pericardium or epicardium).

Martha Graham: Maturity of Martha Graham: …about the Greek legendary figure Jocasta, the whole dance-drama takes place in the instant when Jocasta learns that she has mated with Oedipus, her own son, and has borne him children. The work treats Jocasta rather than Oedipus as the tragic victim, and shows her reliving the events of her…

epicentre, point on the surface of the Earth that is directly above the underground point (called the focus) where fault rupture commences, producing an earthquake. The effects of the earthquake may not be most severe in the vicinity of the epicentre. The epicentre can be located by computing arcs

Epicharmus was a Greek poet who, according to the Suda lexicon of the 10th century ad, was the originator of Sicilian (or Dorian) comedy. He was born in a Dorian colony, either Megara Hybaea or Syracuse, both on Sicily, or Cos, one of the Dodecanese islands. He has been credited with more than 50

Latin literature: Didactic poetry: …essayed didactic poetry in his Epicharmus, a work on the nature of the physical universe. Lucretius’ De rerum natura is an account of Epicurus’ atomic theory of matter, its aim being to free men from superstition and the fear of death. Its combination of moral urgency, intellectual force, and precise…

orchid: Natural history: …the mesochile; and a bucket-shaped epichile. The epichile is partially filled with water during the last few hours before the flower opens and for a short time afterward by two faucetlike organs located at the base of the column, which drip water. Male euglossine bees are attracted by the strong…

sedimentary rock: Epiclastic conglomerates and breccias: …types of epiclastic conglomerates and breccias: intraformational, derived penecontemporaneously by eroding, transporting, and depositing material from within the depositional basin itself; and extraformational, derived from source rocks that lie outside the area in which the deposit occurs. Epiclastic conglomerates and breccias together probably make up no more than 1 or…

sedimentary rock: Epiclastic conglomerates and breccias: There are two principal types of epiclastic conglomerates and breccias: intraformational, derived penecontemporaneously by eroding, transporting, and depositing material from within the depositional basin itself; and extraformational, derived from source rocks that lie outside the area

epiclesis, (Greek: “invocation”), in the Christian eucharistic prayer (anaphora), the special invocation of the Holy Spirit; in most Eastern Christian liturgies it follows the words of institution—the words used, according to the New Testament, by Jesus himself at the Last Supper—“This is my body .

fable, parable, and allegory: Diversity of media: …affect personality: in Jonson’s play Epicoene; or, The Silent Woman (1609), the character Morose is possessed by the demon of ill humour. Comic allegory of this kind evolved into the Restoration comedy of manners and through that channel entered modern drama with Wilde, Shaw, and Pirandello. Ibsen, the master of…

Cretaceous Period: Paleogeography: …the continents, creating relatively shallow epicontinental seas in North America, South America, Europe, Russia, Africa, and Australia. In addition, all continents shrank somewhat as their margins flooded. At its maximum, land covered only about 18 percent of Earth’s surface, compared with approximately 28 percent today. At times, Arctic waters were…

Lepidoptera: Annotated classification: Family Epicopeiidae (epicopeiid moths) 25 species in Arctic and tropical Asia; colorful day-flying moths that often mimic butterflies and other colorful moths such as the Arctiidae; larvae feed on foliage of woody plants. Superfamily Gelechioidea More than 16,000 species worldwide; adults mostly larger and broader winged than…

Lepidoptera: Annotated classification: Family Epicopeiidae (epicopeiid moths) 25 species in Arctic and tropical Asia; colorful day-flying moths that often mimic butterflies and other colorful moths such as the Arctiidae; larvae feed on foliage of woody plants. Superfamily Gelechioidea More than 16,000 species worldwide; adults mostly larger and broader winged than…

tree: Tree height growth: …to light, new buds, called epicormic buds, may be initiated. Epicormic buds may be adventitious in origin or formed from dormant axillary trace buds. In many cases, buds may grow out that were formed by or outside the shoot meristem but became dormant until induced by environmental factors. Rather unique…

angiosperm: Fertilization and embryogenesis: An epicotyl, which extends above the cotyledon(s), is composed of the shoot apex and leaf primordia; a hypocotyl, which is the transition zone between the shoot and root; and the radicle. Angiosperm seed development spans three distinct generations, plus a new entity: the parent sporophyte, the…

boa: The rainbow boa (Epicrates cenchria) of Costa Rica to Argentina is not strongly patterned but is markedly iridescent. Except for the anacondas, most boines are terrestrial to strongly arboreal. The young often move from the trees to the ground as they get older and larger. Most…

Epictetus was a Greek philosopher associated with the Stoics, remembered for the religious tone of his teachings, which commended him to numerous early Christian thinkers. His original name is not known; epiktētos is the Greek word meaning “acquired.” As a boy he was a slave but managed to attend

Epictetus was a Greek potter and painter who worked in Athens. His work is praised for its care, grace, vitality, delicate line, and fine draftsmanship. He signed his works as both maker and decorator. Epictetus is most frequently mentioned in connection with a series of medallions on plates in the

Epicureanism, in a strict sense, the philosophy taught by Epicurus (341–270 bce). In a broad sense, it is a system of ethics embracing every conception or form of life that can be traced to the principles of his philosophy. In ancient polemics, as often since, the term was employed with an even

Epicurus was a Greek philosopher, author of an ethical philosophy of simple pleasure, friendship, and retirement. He founded schools of philosophy that survived directly from the 4th century bc until the 4th century ad. Epicurus was born on the island of Samos of Athenian parents who had gone there

arthropod: The exoskeleton and molting: …thin, outer protein layer, the epicuticle, and a thick, inner, chitin–protein layer, the procuticle. In most terrestrial arthropods, such as insects and spiders, the epicuticle contains waxes that aid in reducing evaporative water loss. The procuticle consists of an outer exocuticle and an inner endocuticle. In the exocuticle there is…

mechanics: History: …emerged of circular orbits, called epicycles, on top of circular orbits. This system of astronomy culminated with the Almagest of Ptolemy, who worked in Alexandria in the 2nd century CE. The Copernican innovation simplified the system somewhat, but Copernicus’s astronomical tables were still based on circular orbits and epicycles. Kepler…

Durrës, primary seaport of Albania. It lies on the Adriatic Sea coast, west of Tirana. Founded as Epidamnus by Greeks from Corcyra and Corinth in the 7th century bce, it was seized by the Illyrian king Glaucias in 312 bce. It later passed to the Romans, who called it Dyrrhachium and made it the

Epidaurus, in ancient Greece, important commercial centre on the eastern coast of the Argolid in the northeastern Peloponnese; it is famed for its 4th-century-bce temple of Asclepius, the god of healing. Excavations of the sacred precinct reveal that it contained temples to Asclepius and Artemis, a

epideictic oratory, according to Aristotle, a type of suasive speech designed primarily for rhetorical effect. Epideictic oratory was panegyrical, declamatory, and demonstrative. Its aim was to condemn or to eulogize an individual, cause, occasion, movement, city, or state. An outstanding example

epidemic, an occurrence of disease that is temporarily of high prevalence. An epidemic occurring over a wide geographical area (e.g., worldwide) is called a pandemic. The rise and decline in epidemic prevalence of an infectious disease is a probability phenomenon dependent upon transfer of an

conjunctivitis: …the conjunctiva and cornea, causing epidemic keratoconjunctivitis. This condition is highly contagious and is rapidly spread through direct and indirect contact with infected individuals. Typically, a person is contagious for at least a week following onset of symptoms. Treatment is mainly supportive, with emphasis on strict hygiene to minimize spread…

meningococcus: …bacterium Neisseria meningitidis, which causes meningococcal meningitis in humans, who are the only natural hosts in which it causes disease. The bacteria are spherical, ranging in diameter from 0.6 to 1.0 μm (micrometre; 1 μm = 10−6 metre); they frequently occur in pairs, with adjacent sides flattened. They are strongly…

MRSA: Mechanisms of resistance: …strains of epidemic MRSA (EMRSA), which first appeared in the early 1990s—their emergence corresponding to the dramatic increase in MRSA infections in the following years. The mechanism of MRSA resistance to glycopeptide antibiotics remains unclear. It is suspected that, in people simultaneously infected with MRSA and vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE),…

pleurodynia, viral (coxsackie B) epidemic disease with an incubation period of two to four days, marked by a brief fever, severe chest and lower back pain aggravated by deep breathing and movement, and a tendency to recur at intervals of a few days. The disease is usually self-limiting, terminating

mumps , acute contagious disease caused by a virus and characterized by inflammatory swelling of the salivary glands. It frequently occurs as an epidemic and most commonly affects young persons who are between 5 and 15 years of age. The incubation period is about 17 to 21 days after contact; danger

pleurodynia, viral (coxsackie B) epidemic disease with an incubation period of two to four days, marked by a brief fever, severe chest and lower back pain aggravated by deep breathing and movement, and a tendency to recur at intervals of a few days. The disease is usually self-limiting, terminating

typhus: Epidemic typhus: Epidemic typhus has also been called camp fever, jail fever, and war fever, names that suggest overcrowding, underwashing, and lowered standards of living. It is caused by the bacterium Rickettsia prowazekii and is conveyed from person to person by the body louse, Pediculus humanus humanus.…

Hippocrates: Life and works: …these attractive works are the Epidemics, which give annual records of weather and associated diseases, along with individual case histories and records of treatment, collected from cities in northern Greece. Diagnosis and prognosis are frequent subjects. Other treatises explain how to set fractures and treat wounds, feed and comfort patients,…

epidemiologic transition, the process by which the pattern of mortality and disease in a population is transformed from one of high mortality among infants and children and episodic famine and epidemics affecting all age groups to one of degenerative and human-made diseases (such as those

epidemiology, branch of medical science that studies the distribution of disease in human populations and the factors determining that distribution, chiefly by the use of statistics. Unlike other medical disciplines, epidemiology concerns itself with groups of people rather than individual patients

Guillaume de Baillou: …and works on epidemiology, especially Epidemiorum, 2 vol. (1640; “Of Epidemics”), may have influenced the great 17th-century Hippocratic physician Thomas Sydenham.

Epidendrum, genus of more than 1,000 species of tropical and semitropical orchids (family Orchidaceae). Epidendrum orchids are distributed from southeastern North America to central South America and are primarily epiphytic, though some grow on rocks or in soil. The only species native to

Epidendrum: …nontropical North America is the greenfly orchid (E. conopseum), which has clusters of small purplish green flowers. Several species have large attractive flowers and are grown as ornamentals.

orchid: Natural history: …as in the case of Epidendrum secundum, birds and butterflies act as copollinators. In such cases, orchid flowers already adapted to butterflies are not greatly changed morphologically. On the other hand, orchids that have adapted directly to hummingbirds from bee-pollinated ancestors have changed fundamentally. The genera Cochlioda, Sophronitis, Elleanthus, Isochilus,…

epidermis, in botany, outermost, protoderm-derived layer of cells covering the stem, root, leaf, flower, fruit, and seed parts of a plant. The epidermis and its waxy cuticle provide a protective barrier against mechanical injury, water loss, and infection. Various modified epidermal cells regulate

Stanley Cohen: Cohen termed this substance epidermal growth factor (EGF), and he went on to purify it and completely analyze its chemistry. He and his coworkers found that EGF influences a great range of developmental events in the body. He also discovered the mechanisms by which EGF is taken into and…

pancreatic cancer: Treatment: …of enzyme) associated with the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), which stimulates unregulated cell division when mutated in cancer cells. When erlotinib is given in combination with the chemotherapeutic agent gemcitabine (Gemzar), an antimetabolite that inhibits the synthesis of genetic material in dividing cells, patient survival is improved, although only…

melanocyte: …structure is known as an epidermal melanocyte unit. The melanin produced by melanocytes is of two kinds: dark brown eumelanin and pale red or yellowish phaeomelanin. Both are formed within the melanocytes by the initial oxidation of the amino acid tyrosine with the aid of the enzyme tyrosinase; subsequently their…

pangolin: …are covered with overlapping brownish scales composed of cemented hairs. The head is short and conical, with small thickly lidded eyes and a long toothless muzzle; the tongue is wormlike and can extend up to 25 cm (10 inches) in length. The legs are short, and the five-toed feet have…

epidermal tooth, any of several hard, horny projections analogous to but not homologous with true teeth (see tooth). Epidermal teeth are found in the jawless fish (e.g., lampreys), on the edges of the jaws of tadpoles (larval frogs and toads), in the mouth of the platypus, where horny plates

epidermis, in zoology, protective outermost portion of the skin. There are two layers of epidermis, the living basal layer, which is next to the dermis, and the external stratum corneum, or horny layer, which is composed of dead, keratin-filled cells that have migrated outward from the basal layer.

epidermis, in botany, outermost, protoderm-derived layer of cells covering the stem, root, leaf, flower, fruit, and seed parts of a plant. The epidermis and its waxy cuticle provide a protective barrier against mechanical injury, water loss, and infection. Various modified epidermal cells regulate

epithelioma: …include basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma (cancerous epitheliomas are known as carcinomas), two types of skin cancer that involve the inner layers and scalelike outer cells of the skin, respectively; and parathyroid adenoma, a benign tumour of glandular tissue in the parathyroid gland that can cause a condition…

skin disease: Distribution: …hereditary blistering disorders collectively called epidermolysis bullosa owe their distributions to local trauma; lesions that show a predilection for the elbows, knees, and lower back are common in psoriasis, and those found in the hands, feet, knees, and mouth of children are indicative of epidermolysis bullosa. A lesion of an…

epididyme, either of a pair of elongated crescent-shaped structures attached to each of the two male reproductive organs, the testes (see testis). Sperm cells produced in the testes are transported to the epididymes, where they mature and are stored. Each epididymis has three regions, called,

epididyme, either of a pair of elongated crescent-shaped structures attached to each of the two male reproductive organs, the testes (see testis). Sperm cells produced in the testes are transported to the epididymes, where they mature and are stored. Each epididymis has three regions, called,

epididymitis, inflammation of the epididymis, the cordlike structure that runs along the posterior of the testis (testicle) and contains spermatozoa. In young men, epididymitis is most often caused by sexually transmitted agents such as Chlamydia and gonococcus, while in older men it is more likely

epidote, any of a group of colourless to green or yellow-green silicate minerals with the general chemical formula A2B3(SiO4)(Si2O7)O(OH), in which A is usually calcium (Ca), though manganese (Mn) or cerium (Ce) is sometimes substituted, and B is generally aluminum (Al), with the main substitution

epidote: Structurally, the epidote group consists of chains of AlO6 and Al4(OH)2 octahedra linked by independent SiO4 and Si2O7 groups. The A atoms are in eightfold coordination between the chains. Members of the epidote group include epidote (A = Ca, B = Al,Fe), clinozoisite (A = Ca, B…

epidote-amphibolite facies, one of the major divisions of the mineral-facies classification of metamorphic rocks, the rocks of which form under moderate temperature and pressure conditions (250°–400° C [500°–750° F] and up to 4 kilobars [1 kilobar equals about 15,000 pounds per square inch]). This

therapeutics: Local drug therapy: Spinal anesthesia and epidural anesthesia, in which a local anesthetic is injected into the subarachnoid or epidural space of the lumbar (lower back) area of the spinal canal, provide pain relief during childbirth or surgery that involves the pelvic area yet lack the problems associated with a general…

epidural hematoma, a type of head injury involving bleeding into the space between the skull and the dura mater, the outermost layer of the protective structures surrounding the brain. It can occur when a traumatic force applied to the head is sufficient to cause a deformity of the skull and damage

epidural hematoma, a type of head injury involving bleeding into the space between the skull and the dura mater, the outermost layer of the protective structures surrounding the brain. It can occur when a traumatic force applied to the head is sufficient to cause a deformity of the skull and damage

meninges: …two sheets separated by the epidural space, which is filled with veins. The outer of these two sheets constitutes the periosteum of the vertebral canal. The inner sheet is separated from the arachnoid by the narrow subdural space, which is filled with fluid. In a few places, the subdural space…

Russian literature: The Second South Slavic Influence: …Radonezh”) by Epifany Premudry (Epiphanius the Wise; d. between 1418 and 1422).

bivalve: Ecology and habitats: …has also been achieved by cementation, as, for example, in oysters.

trailing arbutus, (Epigaea repens), trailing plant of the heath family (Ericaceae), native to sandy or boggy, acid woodlands of eastern North America. It has oblong, hairy evergreen leaves 2–6 cm (0.75–2.5 inches) long. The highly fragrant white, pink, or rosy flowers have a five-lobed corolla (the

ancient Greek civilization: Formal relationships: …nationals of different states was epigamia, an arrangement by which the offspring of marriage were treated as citizens of the wife’s polis if the husband settled there; and so was the husband. Athens, for example, granted epigamia to Euboea as late as the 5th century, a time when Athenian citizenship…

angiosperm: Seedlings: In epigeous germination, the radicle emerges from the seed and the hypocotyl elongates, raising the cotyledons, epicotyl, and remains of the seed coat aboveground. The cotyledons may then expand and function photosynthetically as normal leaves (e.g., castor bean, Ricinus communis). When the cotyledons contain seed-storage products,…

biology: Preformation versus epigenesis: …in the proper environment; the epigenesis school believed that the egg is initially undifferentiated and that development occurs as a series of steps. Prominent supporters of the preformation doctrine, which was widely held until the 18th century, included Malpighi, Swammerdam, and Leeuwenhoek. In the 19th century, as criticism of preformation…

loess: Origin and age.: Epigenesis is an accumulation of a mineral mass without loess properties, perhaps with a high silt and lime content, which under weathering and soil formation acquires loess properties and is transformed into loess. In syngenesis, the accumulation of a mineral mass that is mainly of…

epigenetics: Epigenetic inheritance: It is clear that at least some epigenetic modifications are heritable, passed from parents to offspring in a phenomenon that is generally referred to as epigenetic inheritance, or passed down through multiple generations via transgenerational epigenetic inheritance. The mechanism by which epigenetic information…

epigenetics, the study of the chemical modification of specific genes or gene-associated proteins of an organism. Epigenetic modifications can define how the information in genes is expressed and used by cells. The term epigenetics came into general use in the early 1940s, when British embryologist

epigenetics: Impact of epigenetics on biomedicine: …researchers have recognized that the epigenome—chemical modification at the level of the genome—also influences a wide range of biomedical conditions. This new perception has opened the door to a deeper understanding of normal and abnormal biological processes and has offered the possibility of novel interventions that might prevent or ameliorate…

epigenomics, the study of chemical changes that regulate the expression, or use, of the entire collection of DNA molecules in an organism’s cells. This collection of genetic material is known as the organism’s genome. Genomes serve as dynamic blueprints, directly or indirectly enabling the

angiosperm: Seedlings: In epigeous germination, the radicle emerges from the seed and the hypocotyl elongates, raising the cotyledons, epicotyl, and remains of the seed coat aboveground. The cotyledons may then expand and function photosynthetically as normal leaves (e.g., castor bean, Ricinus communis). When the cotyledons contain seed-storage products,…

childhood disease and disorder: Respiratory disorders: …the larynx (voice box) or epiglottis (the plate of cartilage that shuts off the entrance into the larynx during the process of swallowing), most often caused by viral infection; it is encountered in infants and small children. Inflammation and swelling of the vocal cords lead to respiratory obstruction, particularly in…

croup: Bacterial croup: Bacterial croup, also called epiglottitis, is a more serious condition that historically was caused primarily by Haemophilus influenzae type B. However, a vaccine effective against H. influenzae—known as the Hib vaccine—has significantly reduced the occurrence of epiglottitis caused by this organism. Today epiglottitis is more often caused by Staphylococcus…

religious dress: Eastern Orthodox religious dress: The epigonation, or rhombus-shaped portion of silk hanging to below the right knee, is common both to bishops and archimandrites (head abbots).

Karl Leberecht Immermann: …forerunners in German literary history: Die Epigonen as a novel of the contemporary social scene and Der Oberhof as a realistic story of village life.

Seven Against Thebes: …of the dead Seven, the Epigoni, or second generation, had grown to manhood, Adrastus again attacked the city and occupied it after the Thebans had evacuated it by night. He died at Megara on the homeward journey.

amphioxus: …Amphioxus) and Epigonichthyes (also called Asymmetron)—with about two dozen species. The chordate features—the notochord (or stiffening rod), gill slits, and dorsal nerve cord—appear in the larvae and persist into adulthood.

cephalochordate: Classification: Family Epigonichthyidae Gonads on right side of body only; Epigonichthys. Assorted Referencesmajor reference

perciform: Annotated classification: Family Epigonidae (deepwater cardinal fishes) Marine, oceanic midwaters 1,000–1,200 metres (3,300–4,000 feet) deep. More than 6 infraorbital bones. About 6 genera, about 25 species. Family Moronidae (temperate basses) Eocene to present. 2 dorsal fins connected at their bases. Most species slim-looking basses; well-known food and game

epigram, originally an inscription suitable for carving on a monument, but since the time of the Greek Anthology (q.v.) applied to any brief and pithy verse, particularly if astringent and purporting to point a moral. By extension the term is also applied to any striking sentence in a novel, play,

Ernesto Cardenal: His early poems, collected in Epigramas (1961), denounce the senseless violence of the Somoza regime in Nicaragua, while others are love poems written with a fine sense of irony. La hora 0 (1960; Zero Hour, and Other Documentary Poems), a long documentary poem denouncing the effects of domestic tyranny and…

John Owen: Owen’s Epigrammata are divided into 12 books, of which the first 4 were published in 1606 and the rest at four different times. Owen frequently adapted the lines of his predecessors in Latin verse, and one such borrowing become celebrated as a quotation: “Tempora mutantur, nos…

textual criticism: Books transmitted in manuscript: , Epigrammata Bobiensia a Latin translation of Greek epigrams). (4) A text may be a religious or literary work that was respectfully treated by copyists and protected by an exegetical tradition (e.g., the Bible, the Latin poet Virgil); or a popular book that was exposed to…

Plato: Varia: The Epigrams are elegiac couplets attributed to Plato. Epigrams 1–3 are especially interesting: they may well be authentic, and if so they would give a glimpse into Plato’s personal affections. Correspondence purporting to be from Plato is collected as the Letters or Epistles; their authorship is…

Martial: Life and career: …appeared the 12 books of epigrams on which his renown deservedly rests. In ad 86 Books I and II of the Epigrams were published, and between 86 and 98, when Martial returned to Spain, new books of the Epigrams were issued at more or less yearly intervals. After 34 years…