LITERATURE. 95 



Biog'raphy (Gr. hios, life, and grapho, I write). — The history 

 of the life and character of a particular person. 



Chrestom'athy (Gr. chrtstos, useful, and manthano, I learn). 

 — A book introductory to the learning of languages, con- 

 taining selected passages, with notes, explanations, etc. 



Chronicle, — A histoiical register of events, in the order of 

 time. 



Cid. — The name of an epic poem of the Spaniards. 



Clas'sic. — A book written by an author of the first class. 



Collecta'nea. — Notes, observations, or any matter collected 

 from a variety of works. 



Com'meiltary. — A book of annotations, comments and remarks. 



Compendium. — A brief compilation or composition, containing 

 the principal heads, or general principles, of a larger work 

 or system. 



Concord' ance. — A dictionary of the Bible in which all the 

 leading terms used in Scripture are arranged alphabetically, 

 and reference is made to the various places in which they 

 occur. 



Crit'ieism. — The art of judging with propriety of the beauties 

 and faults of a literary performance or of any production 

 in the fine arts. 



Critique'. — The science of criticism ; a critical essay. 



Cyclopae'dia. — A book, or series of volumes, containing a view 

 of the arts, sciences, and literature, arranged in alphabetical 

 order. 



Decam'eron. — A volume consisting of ten books ; applied par- 

 ticularly to the celebrated collection of tales by Boccaccio. 



Dissertation. — A written essay, treatise, or disquisition. 



Ed'da. — A book containing a system of Runic or Scandinavian 

 mythology, with some account of the theology and phi- 

 losophy of the northern nations of Europe. 



Ephem'eris, — A book or collection of notices indicating events 

 that have occurred on the same day in diS'erent years. 



Epigraph. — A citation from some author, or a sentence framed 

 lor the purpose, placed at the commencement of a work 

 or at its separate divisions. 



Ep'isode. — An incidental narrative, or digression, separable 

 from the main subject, but naturally arising from it. 



Epit'ome. — A brief summary or abstract of any book or writ- 



Es'say. — A composition intended to prove or illustrate a par- 



