EPIGRAPHY 



wits in elegance and beauty, while 

 Martial stands supreme in wit and 

 fecundity, in brevity, smartness, 

 and variety. His greatest fault is 

 his licentiousness. As used by 

 Martial, and in the modern sense, 

 the verse epigram has been defined 

 as a short poem, generally of a 

 personal character, meant to vex 

 somebody, to pay off an old score, 

 or to be smart at someone else's 

 expense. In the best examples the 

 point is made unexpectedly in the 

 last word, wherefore the epigram 

 has been compared to the scorpion 

 because " as the sting of the 

 scorpion lyeth in the tail, so the 

 force and virtue of the epigram is 

 in the conclusion." 



Of modern literatures the Italian 

 contains the nearest approxima- 

 tions to the Greek epigram in 

 respect of feeling, though not of 

 simplicity, in the softly melodious, 

 elegant, and pathetic songs of 

 Metastasio and the amatory verse 

 of Guarini, Tasso, and others, while 

 Pananti, in the early 19th century, 

 wrote many epigrams notable for 

 their causticity, political allusion, 

 and boldness. The French madrigal 

 is sometimes written in the spirit 

 of ancient Greece, and is often 

 unequalled in condensation of 

 thought, happiness of epithet, and 

 delicacy of turn. Voltaire, how- 

 ever, is the supreme French epi- 

 grammatist, the author of an im- 

 mense number of epigrams on 

 every conceivable subject and of 

 every degree of merit. 



English literature is deficient in 

 the serious and tender style of 

 epigram, but singularly rich in the 

 witty and satirical. The 18th cen- 

 tury was the flowering time of the 

 English verse epigram, which was 

 admirably suited to the malicious 

 wit of Pope, the whole of whose 

 poetry, indeed, is a string of epi- 

 grams. As epigrammatist, he 

 stands head and shoulders above 

 all other English poets. While, 

 owing to their vagueness and in- 

 appropriateness, his epitaphs are 

 notoriously bad, his epigrams are 

 of the highest polish and point. 

 His epigram on epitaphs, addressed 

 to Dr. Robert Freind, headmaster 

 of Westminster School, may fitly 

 be adduced : 



Ereind, for your epitaphs I'm grieved ; 



Where still BO much Is s id, 

 Oneh If will never be believed. 



The other never read. 



Epigraphy (Gr. epi, on; gra- 

 phein, to write). Study of inscrip- 

 tions. In practice it concentrates 

 upon inscriptions on durable mater- 

 ials such as stone, metal, and wood, 

 including coins, gems, ornaments, 

 seals, vases, and weapons, whereas 

 palaeography studies the forms of 

 writing upon papyrus, parchment, 

 and paper. When concerned with 



2950 



form it is a branch of 

 graphy, but in addition it deals 

 with subject-matter. Important 

 departments are Chinese, Greek, 

 Hittite, Latin, Indian, Runic, and 

 Semitic epigraphy. See Inscrip- 

 tions ; Palaeography. 



Epilepsy OR FALLING SICKNESS 

 (Gr. epilepsis, seizure). Disease of 

 the nervous system characterised 

 by periods of unconsciousness. Two 

 forms are recognized : petit mal, or 

 minor epilepsy, in which convul- 

 sions do not occur ; and grand mal, 

 or major epilepsy, marked by the 

 occurrence of convulsions or fits. 

 Epilepsy most commonly begins in 

 childhood, before the fifth year, and 

 the first indication of the disease 

 after thirty is very exceptional. The 

 fundamental cause of the disease 

 is unknown, though fright, injury, 

 alcoholism, and an attack of illness 

 sometimes appear to be exciting 

 causes. Hereditary influences play 

 a part, the offspring of those who 

 suffer from insanity or neurasthenia 

 being rather more prone to ex- 

 hibit epilepsy than other children. 

 In petit mal the attacks of un- 

 consciousness often last no longer 

 than a few seconds. The individual 

 may suddenly stop talking and his 

 eyes stare fixedly ; after a few 

 moments he resumes his conversa- 

 tion as if nothing had happened. 



Symptoms of Grand Mal 

 Grand mal is characterised by 

 the occurrence of convulsive fits. 

 In many cases the subject has a 

 preliminary sensation or aura, 

 which warns him of what is going to 

 happen. This may take the form 

 of tingling or sensation of heat or 

 cold in the limbs or face, flashes of 

 light before the eyes, noises or 

 voices in the ears, or uneasy sen- 

 sations in the stomach. After an 

 interval of varying duration the 

 patient suddenly loses conscious- 

 ness, and may fall to the ground 

 without making any effort to save 

 himself. Sometimes the beginning 

 of the fit is marked by a loud cry. 

 At first the muscles are rigid ; the 

 jaws are clenched, the limbs ex- 

 tended, and suspension of respira- 

 tion causes blueness of the face. 

 After a few seconds, violent con- 

 vulsions occur ; the limbs are 

 jerked about, the muscles of the 

 face twitch, and the tongue may 

 be severely bitten. After one or two 

 minutes the patient passes into a 

 state of somnolence which may be 

 succeeded by prolonged sleep. In 

 severe cases fits may rapidly follow 

 each other, and consciousness may 

 not be regained in the intervals. 



Masked epilepsy is a form in 

 which the fits are replaced by 

 attacks of delirium or outbursts 

 of maniacal fury, during which the 

 sufferer may commit crimes of 



EPILOGUE 



brutal violence or destroy himself. 

 In another form there is loss of 

 memory. A person may leave his 

 home and wander about the 

 country, behaving as a normal 

 being, but having forgotten his 

 previous life or even his name. 

 After an interval his old self returns 

 and he has no knowledge -of what 

 has happened in the interval. 



Jacksonian epilepsy is a con- 

 dition in which consciousness is 

 not lost, and the spasms affect only 

 part of the body. The condition is 

 probably quite distinct from true 

 epilepsy, and is the result of some 

 irritation of the brain. 



TREATMENT OF EPILEPSY. Dur- 

 ing an actual fit all that can be 

 done is to prevent the patient from 

 hurting himself. He should be 

 allowed to remain in the recum- 

 bent posture, the clothes should be 

 loosened round the neck, and a 

 roll of cloth should be introduced 

 between the teeth to prevent the 

 tongue from being bitten. The 

 most useful drugs in the treat- 

 ment of epilepsy are the bromides 

 of sodium and potassium. These 

 should be given for a long period, 

 possibly two years, the amount and 

 frequency of the dose depending 

 upon the severity of the condition, 

 the age of the patient, and the 

 manner in which he reacts to the 

 treatment. 



An epileptic should lead a 

 quiet life. Alcohol should not be 

 taken; meals should be light and 

 moderate in quantity ; and meat 

 should not be eaten more than once 

 a day. It is better for the patient 

 to be at work or occupied, pro- 

 vided the occupation is not one 

 which subjects him to danger if a 

 fit occurs. When epilepsy de- 

 velops in childhood, a thorough 

 examination should be made of the 

 child in order to eliminate any 

 possible sources of reflex irritation 

 such as adenoids, worms in the 

 intestine, etc. 



Epilogue (Gr. epilogos, conclu- 

 sion, peroration). Short address in 

 prose or verse frequently employed 

 to round off a dramatic perform- 

 ance ; sometimes in the form of an 

 appeal to public favour for the play 

 it followed, sometimes explanatory 

 or even apologetic. Many of the 

 plays of Shakespeare and other 

 great dramatists were provided 

 with epilogues. In the 17th and 

 18th centuries the epilogue was fre- 

 quently written by a friend or pat- 

 ron of the playwright. The use of 

 the epilogue, as of the prologue, 

 went out of fashion before the close 

 of the 19th century, except on 

 special occasions. See A Study of 

 the Prologue and Epilogue in Eng- 

 lish Literature from Shakespeare 

 to Dryden, G. S. B., 1884. 



