EPIGRAM. The Greek noun from which the word epigram comes was originally used to denote a prose inscription on a temple, tomb, statue, votive-offering to a god or the like. Conciseness and brevity were, therefore, essen tial qualities. To give pleasure to the ear and help the memory, the Greeks next chose some poetic form for them, preferably the elegiac distich. Their use for practical purposes even tually suggested their composition as a form of literature, with subject matter sometimes wholly imaginary. These poems now often embraced several distichs, and appeared in other metres, but continued to be ordinarily of a simple, ex pository or descriptive nature. In the Alexan drine period, however, when poets affected al most exclusively short but highly elaborate poems, epigram lost much in simplicity while at taining its highest popularity among the Greeks. Its composition had become the pastime, and even the serious ambition, of authors of first rank, and its recitation and improvisation one of the favorite entertainments at symposia and other social gatherings. Collections of epi graphical epigrams were made. Meleager of Gadara followed these early in the 1st century ac. with his of literary epigrams, the prototype of our Greek Anthology or (Bouquet of Flowers?' This numbers about 4,500 poems by over 300 writers in two collections, the Pala tine Anthrology of Constantinus Cephalas (early 10th and that which Planudes made four centuries later, supplying important additions. These collections with countless poetical inscriptions found in modern times con stitute for us Greek epigrammatic literature. The Greek Anthology not only throws valuable light on human life from the time of the Per sian wars to the age of the Byzantine collectors, but through widespread translation and imita tion has deeply affected modern languages and thought. For the names of the prominent writ ers and a characterization of their work see the special article As a literary genre imported from the Greeks, epigram enters Latin literature with Ennins, but as an inscriptional poem much earlier. Latin is peculiarly adapted to a lapidary, epigrammatic style, and certain racial characteristics, in particular their devo tion to the practical, made the Romans natu ralize this species of poetry at once. At first they modeled after the Greeks, and we have a few specimens of the erotic epigram as the Alex andrines wrote it. By Cicero's time mostof the literary men of importance were writing epigram, and its value as a political weapon was fully appreciated. Catullus is, however, the only writer from whom we have any consider able collection. Although we find in him lyric qualities as fine as in the poems of the Anthol ogy, it is still clear that the national aptitude for satire has already turned epigram strongly in that direction. It is the Latin satiric epi gram and not the more lyrical Greek that be comes the model for modern writers. In the Augustan Age, Domitius Marsus and Pedo Albi novanus were, according to Martial, the great est epigrammatists, but we have not enough of their work to judge it. Martial himself brought this branch of poetry to its acme. None of the eminent poets who followed in his steps, Petronius, Apuleius, Ausonius and Claudian, have equalled him in epigram. In the 6th cen tury Luxorius maintains the tradition, but at a low level. About this time the Salmasian col lection was made which forms the nucleus of the modern compilations which we call the Latin Anthology. In the time of Charlemagne
epigram enjoyed a veritable renaissance, taking the inscriptional form to describe the material glories of Christianity as well as to sing the praises of the dignitaries of the Church. Then the humanists, to whom Latin was almost a second mother tongue, revived this form once more. But the Latin scholars who have written epigrams are too numerous to name here. One, John Owen of Oxford, should not perhaps be passed by, since he devoted himself wholly to this field and with marked success. In English literature the composition of epigram has long been out of fashion, but for centuries it was popular with literary men. Notable achieve ments in this line are to be found in the works of Herrick, Johnson, Dryden, Swift, Prior, Addison, Jonson, Goldsmith, Congreve, Hood, Hook, Byron and Burns. Pope's poems might be reckoned a conglomeration of epigrams. Some of the best in our language are by Lan dor, who cutting loose from the Latin type, at times becomes a Greek in spirit. Epigram has enjoyed wide favor in other modern tongues. In Italy, it long played an important part in politics, as both the Pasquino and Marforio in Rome would testify, could they speak, but it has gradually given way to the madrigal and sonnet. In France from the time of Clement Marot, who introduced it from the Latin, the satiric sort has enjoyed a wonderful popularity. Boileau, J. B. Rousseau, Piron, Lebrun and Chestier have shown its possibilities in many lines. The poetic Priamel of the 14th century may be said to begin epigrammatic literature in Germany, where indeed it has always inclined more to the moral and didactic than in the Latin countries. Among her more eminent epi grammatists are Opitz, Friedrich von Logau who is the best of all, Wernicke Kastner, Klopstock, Lessing, Herder, Schiller and Goethe, who brought out their (Xenien) to gether in 1797, Haug, and in more recent times Bodenstedt, Vischer and Fulda. We pass from the history to the theory of epigram. Since it is unlimited in its choice of subject, the form and not the contents must determine whether a poem is an epigram or not. Lessing has shown much acumen in tracing the essential ele ments of the epigram in its modern conception to the primitive type, the inscription. Just as a montunent arouses in a spectator a curiosity about the author and purpose of its construc tion, which the inscription then satisfies, so the first part of a literary epigram, whether dealing with some material object, or not, is intended to excite an interest which the close of the poem must duly satisfy. The suspense may be increased by making the prefatory portion of some length. The more remotely separated and apparently contradictory the ideas that are brought together, and the briefer and more un expected the commentary or explanation at the end, the more successful we deem the poem. This point or conclusion becomes in the satiric epi gram a sting. Hence the frequent comparison of an epigram to a bee or wasp. While the above applies to most epigrams as written to day, no definition is quite satisfactory with ref erence to much that the ancients included under the term. Consult Adam, (Book of Epigrams' (London 1890) ; Booth, (Epigrams Ancient and Modern' (2d ed., ib. 1865) - Dodd, (Epigram matists of Medimval and hiodern Times) (2d ed., ib. 1f375) •, Watson, (Epigratns of Art, Life, and Nature' (Liverpool 1M4).