EPI 



EPI 



have had an opportunity of seeing them 

 in America and the East Indies, their na- 

 tive places of growth. 



EPIDERMIS, in anatomy, the same 

 with the cuticle. See CUTIS. 



EPIGJEA, in botany, a genus of the 

 Decandria Monogynia class and order. 

 Natural order of Bicornes. Ericx, Jus- 

 sieu. Essential character: calyx outer 

 three-leaved ; inner five-parted ; corolla 

 salver-form ; capsule five-celled. There 

 are but two species, liz. E. repens, creep- 

 ing epigsea, or trailing arbutus, and E. 

 cordifolia, heart-leaved epigxa : the form- 

 er, remarkable for its fine odour, is a na- 

 tive of Virginia and Canada, and the latter 

 of Guadaloupe. 



EPIGLOTTIS, one of the cartilages 

 of the larynx or wind-pipe. See ANA- 

 TOMY. 



EPIGRAM, in poetry, in short poem or 

 composition in verse, treating only of one 

 thing, and ending with some lively, inge- 

 nious, and natural thought or point. 



EPILEPSY, in medicine, the same 

 with what is otherwise called the falling 

 sickness, from the patient's falling sud- 

 denly to the ground. 



EPILOBIUM, in botany, a genus of 

 the Octandria Monogynia class and or- 

 der. Natural order of Calycanth erase. 

 Onagrse, Jussieu. Essential character : 

 calyx four-cleft; petals four; capsule 

 oblong, inferior ; seeds downy. There 

 are fourteen species. These plants are 

 hardy perennials, not void of beauty ; 

 they are, however, commonly considered 

 only as weeds, and are rarely cultivated 

 in gardens. The American species are, 

 1. E. estoratum; 2. E. spicatum; 3. E. 

 strictum ; 4. E. linerate. 



EPILOGUE, in dramatic poetry, a 

 speech addressed to^he audience after 

 the play is over, by one of the principal 

 actors therein, usually containing some 

 reflections on certain incidents in the 

 play, especially those in the part of the 

 person that speaks it. 



EPIMEDIUM, in botany, English bar- 

 remvort, a genus of the Tetrandria Mono- 

 gynia class and order. Natural order of 

 Corydales. Berberides, Jussieu. Essen- 

 tial character : nectary four, cup-form, 

 leaning on the petals ; corolla four petal- 

 led ; calyx very caducous ; fruit a silique. 

 There is but one species, viz. E. alpinum, 

 alpine barrenwort. 



EPIPHANY, a Christian festival, other- 

 wise called the manifestation of Christ to 

 the Gentiles, observed on the sixth of Ja- 

 nuary, in honour of the appearance of 

 our Saviour to the three magi, or wise 



men, who came to adore him, and bring 

 him presents. The feast of Epiphany 

 was not originally a distinct festival, but 

 made a part of that of the nativity of 

 Christ, which being celebrated twelve 

 days, the first and last of which were 

 high or chief days of solemnity, either of 

 these might properly be called Epiphany, 

 as that word signifies the appearance of 

 Christ in the woi'ld. 



The kings of England and Spain offer 

 gold, frankincense, and myrrh, on Epiph- 

 any, or twelfth day, in memory of the 

 offerings of the wise men to the infant 

 Jesus. 



The festival of Epiphany is called by 

 the Greeks the feast of lights, because 

 our Saviour is said to have been baptised 

 on this day ; and baptism is by them call- 

 ed illumination. 



EPISCOPALIANS, in the modern ac- 

 ceptation of the term, belong more espe- 

 cially to members of the Church of Eng- 

 land, and derive this title from episcopus, 

 the Latin word for bishop ; or, if it be re- 

 ferred to its Greek origin, implying the 

 care and diligence with which bishops 

 are expected to preside over those com- 

 mitted to their guidance and direction. 

 They insist on the divine origin of their 

 bishops, and other church officers, and 

 on the alliance between church and 

 state. Respecting these subjects, how- 

 ever, Warburton and Hoadley, together 

 with others of the learned amongst them, 

 have different opinions, as they have also 

 on the thirty-nine articles, which were 

 established in the reign of Queen Eliza- 

 beth. These are to be found in most 

 Common Prayer-Books ; and the Episco- 

 pal Church in America has reduced their 

 number to twenty. By some the articles 

 are made to speak the language of Calvi- 

 nism, and by others they have been in- 

 terpreted in favour of Arminianism. 



The Church of England is governed by 

 the King, who is the supreme head : by 

 two archbishops, and twenty -four bishops. 

 The benefices of the bishops were con- 

 verted by William the Conqueror into 

 temporal baronies ; so that every prelate 

 has a seat and vote in the House of Peers. 

 Dr. Benjamin Hoadley, however, in a ser- 

 mon preached from this text, " My king- 

 dom is not of this world," insisted that 

 the clergy had no pretensions to tempo- 

 ral jurisdiction, which gave rise to vari- 

 ous publications, termed, by way of emi- 

 nence, the Bangorian Controversy, Hoad- 

 ley being then bishop of Bangor. There 

 is a bishop of Sodor and Man, who has 

 no seat in the House of Peers. 



