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EPISTLE , in its See also:primary sense any See also:letter addressed to an absent See also:person; from the See also:Greek word brurroXil, a thing sent on a particular occasion. Strictly speaking, any such communication is an epistle, but at the See also:present See also:day the See also:term has become archaic, and is used only for letters of an See also:ancient See also:- TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
- TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
- TIME, STANDARD
time, or for elaborate See also:literary productions which take an epistolary See also:form, that is to say, are, or affect to be, written to a person at a distance.
1. Epistles and Letters.—The student of literary See also:history soon discovers that a broad distinction exists between the letter and the epistle. The letter is essentially a spontaneous, non-literary See also:production, ephemeral, intimate, See also:personal and private, a substitute for a spoken conversation. The epistle, on the other See also:hand, rather takes the See also:place of a public speech, it is written with an See also:audience in view, it is a literary form, a distinctly See also:artistic effort aiming at permanence; and it bears much the same relation to a letter as a Platonic See also:dialogue does to a private talk between two See also:friends. The See also:posthumous value placed on a See also:great See also:man's letters would naturally See also:lead to the production of epistles, which might be written to set forth the views of a person or a school, either genuinely or as forgeries under some eminent name. Pseudonymous epistles were especially numerous under the See also:early See also:Roman See also:empire, and mainly attached themselves to the names of See also:Plato, See also:Demosthenes, See also:Aristotle and See also:Cicero.
Both letters and epistles have come down to us in considerable variety and extent from the ancient See also:world. Babylonia and See also:Assyria, See also:Egypt, See also:Greece and See also:Rome alike contribute to our See also:inheritance of letters. Those, of Aristotle are of questionable genuineness, but we can rely, at any See also:rate in See also:part, on those of Isocrates and See also:Epicurus. Some of the letters of Cicero are rather epistles, since they were meant ultimately for the See also:general See also:eye. The See also:papyrus discoveries in Egypt have a See also:peculiar See also:interest, for they are mainly the letters of See also:people unknown to fame, and having no thought of publicity. It is less to be wondered at that we have a large collection of ancient epistles, especially in the See also:realm of magic and See also:religion, for epistles were meant to live, were published in several copies, and were not a difficult form of literary effort. The Tell el-Amarna tablets found in Upper Egypt in 1887 are a See also:series of despatches in See also:cuneiform script from Babylonian See also:kings and Phoenician and Palestinian See also:governors to the Pharaohs (c. 1400 B.C.). The epistles of See also:Dionysius of See also:Halicarnassus, See also:Plutarch, See also:Seneca and the Younger See also:Pliny claim mention at this point. In the later Roman See also:period and into the See also:middle ages, formal epistles were almost a distinct See also:branch of literature. The ten books of See also:Symmachus' Epistolae, so highly esteemed in the cultured circles of the 4th See also:century, may be contrasted with the less elegant but more forceful epistles of See also:Jerome.
The distinction between letters and epistles has particular interest for the student of early See also:Christian literature. G. A. Deissmann (See also:Bible Studies) assigns to the See also:category of letters all the Pauline writings as well as 2 and 3 See also:John. The books bearing the names of See also:- JAMES
- JAMES (Gr. 'IlrKw,l3or, the Heb. Ya`akob or Jacob)
- JAMES (JAMES FRANCIS EDWARD STUART) (1688-1766)
- JAMES, 2ND EARL OF DOUGLAS AND MAR(c. 1358–1388)
- JAMES, DAVID (1839-1893)
- JAMES, EPISTLE OF
- JAMES, GEORGE PAYNE RAINSFOP
- JAMES, HENRY (1843— )
- JAMES, JOHN ANGELL (1785-1859)
- JAMES, THOMAS (c. 1573–1629)
- JAMES, WILLIAM (1842–1910)
- JAMES, WILLIAM (d. 1827)
James, See also:- PETER
- PETER (Lat. Petrus from Gr. irfpos, a rock, Ital. Pietro, Piero, Pier, Fr. Pierre, Span. Pedro, Ger. Peter, Russ. Petr)
- PETER (PEDRO)
- PETER, EPISTLES OF
- PETER, ST
Peter and See also:Jude, together with the Pastorals (though these may contain fragments of genuine Pauline letters) and the See also:Apocalypse, he regards as epistles. The first epistle of John he calls less a letter or an epistle than a religious See also:tract. It is doubtful, however, whether we can thus reduce all the letters of the New Testament to one or other of these categories; and W. M. See also:Ramsay (See also:Hastings' Dict. Bib. Extra vol. p. 401) has pointed out with some force that " in the new conditions a new category had been developed—the general letter addressed to a whole class of persons or to the entire See also:- CHURCH
- CHURCH (according to most authorities derived from the Gr. Kvpcaxov [&wµa], " the Lord's [house]," and common to many Teutonic, Slavonic and other languages under various forms—Scottish kirk, Ger. Kirche, Swed. kirka, Dan. kirke, Russ. tserkov, Buig. cerk
- CHURCH, FREDERICK EDWIN (1826-1900)
- CHURCH, GEORGE EARL (1835–1910)
- CHURCH, RICHARD WILLIAM (1815–189o)
- CHURCH, SIR RICHARD (1784–1873)
Church of See also:Christ." Such writings have See also:affinities with both the letter and the epistle, and they may further be compared with the " edicts and rescripts by which Roman See also:law See also:grew, documents arising out of See also:special circumstances but treating them on general principles." Most of the literature of the sub-apostolic See also:age is epistolary, and we have a particularly interesting form of epistle in the communications between churches (as distinct from individuals) known as the First Epistle of See also:Clement (Rome to See also:Corinth), the Martyrdom of See also:Polycarp (See also:Smyrna to Philomelium), and the Letters of the Churches of See also:Vienne and See also:Lyons (to the congregations of See also:Asia See also:Minor and See also:Phrygia) describing the Gallican martyrdoms of A.D. 177. In the following centuries we have the valuable epistles of See also:Cyprian, of See also:- GREGORY
- GREGORY (Gregorius)
- GREGORY (Grigorii) GRIGORIEVICH ORLOV, COUNT (1734-1783)
- GREGORY, EDWARD JOHN (1850-19o9)
- GREGORY, OLINTHUS GILBERT (1774—1841)
- GREGORY, ST (c. 213-C. 270)
- GREGORY, ST, OF NAZIANZUS (329–389)
- GREGORY, ST, OF NYSSA (c.331—c. 396)
- GREGORY, ST, OF TOURS (538-594)
Gregory Nazianzen (to Cledonius on the Apollinarian controversy), of See also:Basil (to be classed rather as letters), of See also:Ambrose, See also:Chrysostom, See also:Augustine and Jerome. The encyclical letters of the Roman See also:Catholic Church are epistles, even more so than bulls, which are usually more special in their destination. In the See also:Renaissance one of the most See also:common forms of literary production was that modelled upon Cicero's letters. From See also:Petrarch to the Epistolaeobscurorum virorum there is a whole epistolary literature.
The Epistolae obscurorum virorum have to some extent a See also:counter-part in the Epistles of See also:- MARTIN (Martinus)
- MARTIN, BON LOUIS HENRI (1810-1883)
- MARTIN, CLAUD (1735-1800)
- MARTIN, FRANCOIS XAVIER (1762-1846)
- MARTIN, HOMER DODGE (1836-1897)
- MARTIN, JOHN (1789-1854)
- MARTIN, LUTHER (1748-1826)
- MARTIN, SIR THEODORE (1816-1909)
- MARTIN, SIR WILLIAM FANSHAWE (1801–1895)
- MARTIN, ST (c. 316-400)
- MARTIN, WILLIAM (1767-1810)
Martin Marprelate. Later satires in an epistolary form are See also:Pascal's Provincial Letters, See also:Swift's Drapier Letters, and the Letters of See also:Junius. The " open letter " of See also:modern journalism is really an epistle. (A. J. G.)
2. Epistles in See also:Poetry.—A branch of poetry bears the name of the Epistle, and is modelled on those pieces of See also:Horace which are almost essays (sermones) on moral or philosophical subjects, and are chiefly distinguished from other poems by being addressed to particular patrons or friends. The epistle of Horace to his See also:agent (or villicus) is of a more See also:familiar See also:- ORDER
- ORDER (through Fr. ordre, for earlier ordene, from Lat. ordo, ordinis, rank, service, arrangement; the ultimate source is generally taken to be the root seen in Lat. oriri, rise, arise, begin; cf. " origin ")
- ORDER, HOLY
order, and is at once a masterpiece and a See also:model of what an epistle should be. Examples of the See also:work in this direction of See also:Ovid, Claudian, See also:Ausonius and other See also:late Latin poets have been preserved, but it is particularly those of Horace which have given this See also:character to the epistles in See also:verse which form so very characteristic a See also:section of See also:French poetry. The graceful precision and dignified familiarity of the epistle are particularly attractive to the temperament of See also:France. Clement See also:Marot, in the 16th century, first made the epistle popular in France, with 'his brief and spirited specimens. We pass the witty epistles of See also:Scarron and Voiture, to reach those of Boileau, whose epistles, twelve in number, are the classic examples of this form of verse in French literature; they were composed at different See also:dates between 1668 and 1695. In the 18th century See also:Voltaire enjoyed a supremacy in this graceful and sparkling See also:species of See also:writing; the L+`pitre a Uranie is perhaps the most famous of his verse-letters. ' See also:Gresset, See also:Bernis, See also:Sedaine, See also:Dorat, Gentil - See also:Bernard, all excelled in the epistle. The curious " Epittes "'of J. P. G. Viennet (1777–1868) were not easy and mundane like their predecessors, but violently polemical. Viennet, a hot defender of lost causes, may be considered the latest of the epistolary poets of France.
In See also:England the verse-epistle was first prominently employed by See also:Samuel See also:Daniel in his " Letter from See also:Octavia to See also:Marcus See also:Antonius " (1599), and later on, more legitimately, in his " Certain Epistles " (1601–1603). His letter, in terza See also:lima, to See also:Lucy, Countess of See also:Bristol, is one of the finest examples of this form in See also:English literature. It was Daniel's deliberate intention to introduce the Epistle into English poetry, " after the manner of Horace." He was supported by See also:Ben See also:Jonson, who has some See also:fine Horatian epistles in his Forests (1616) and his Underwoods. Letters to Several Persons of See also:Honour form an important section in the poetry of John See also:Donne. See also:Habington's Epistle to a Friend is one of his most finished pieces. See also:- HENRY
- HENRY (1129-1195)
- HENRY (c. 1108-1139)
- HENRY (c. 1174–1216)
- HENRY (Fr. Henri; Span. Enrique; Ger. Heinrich; Mid. H. Ger. Heinrich and Heimrich; O.H.G. Haimi- or Heimirih, i.e. " prince, or chief of the house," from O.H.G. heim, the Eng. home, and rih, Goth. reiks; compare Lat. rex " king "—" rich," therefore " mig
- HENRY, EDWARD LAMSON (1841– )
- HENRY, JAMES (1798-1876)
- HENRY, JOSEPH (1797-1878)
- HENRY, MATTHEW (1662-1714)
- HENRY, PATRICK (1736–1799)
- HENRY, PRINCE OF BATTENBERG (1858-1896)
- HENRY, ROBERT (1718-1790)
- HENRY, VICTOR (1850– )
- HENRY, WILLIAM (1795-1836)
Henry See also:Vaughan (1622-1695) addressed a fine epistle in verse to the French See also:romance-writer Gombauld (1570–1666). Such " letters " were not unfrequent down to the Restoration, but they did not create a See also:department of literature such as Daniel had proposed. At the See also:close of the 17th century See also:Dryden greatly excelled in this class of poetry, and his epistles to See also:Congreve (1694) and to the duchess of See also:Ormond (1700) are among the most graceful and eloquent that we possess. During the age of See also:Anne various Augustan poets in whom the lyrical See also:faculty was slight, from Congreve and See also:Richard See also:Duke down to Ambrose See also:Philips and See also:- WILLIAM
- WILLIAM (1143-1214)
- WILLIAM (1227-1256)
- WILLIAM (1J33-1584)
- WILLIAM (A.S. Wilhelm, O. Norse Vilhidlmr; O. H. Ger. Willahelm, Willahalm, M. H. Ger. Willehelm, Willehalm, Mod.Ger. Wilhelm; Du. Willem; O. Fr. Villalme, Mod. Fr. Guillaume; from " will," Goth. vilja, and " helm," Goth. hilms, Old Norse hidlmr, meaning
- WILLIAM (c. 1130-C. 1190)
- WILLIAM, 13TH
William See also:Somerville, essayed the epistle with more or less success, and it was employed by See also:Gay for several exercises in his elegant persiflage. Among the epistles of Gay, one rises to an See also:eminence of merit, that called " Mr See also:Pope's welcome from Greece," written in 1720. But the great writer of epistles in English is Pope himself, to whom the See also:glory of this See also:kind of verse belongs. His " Eloisa to See also:Abelard " (1717) is carefully modelled on the form of Ovid's " Heroides," while in ' his Moral Essays he adopts the Horatian See also:formula for the epistle. In either See also:case his success was brilliant and See also:complete. The " Epistle to Dr See also:Arbuthnot " has not been surpassed, if it has been equalled, in Latin or French poetry of the same class. But Pope excelled, not only in the voluptuous and in the didactic epistle, but in that of compliment as well, and there is no more graceful example of this in literature than is afforded by the letter about the poems of See also:Parnell addressed, in 1721, to See also:Robert, See also:earl of See also:- OXFORD
- OXFORD, EARLS OF
- OXFORD, EDWARD DE VERE, 17TH EARL
- OXFORD, JOHN DE VERE, 13TH EARL OF (1443-1513)
- OXFORD, PROVISIONS OF
- OXFORD, ROBERT DE VERE, 9TH EARL OF (1362-1392)
- OXFORD, ROBERT HARLEY, 1ST
Oxford. After the day of Pope the epistle again See also:fell into desuetude, or occasional use, in England. It revived in
the charming naivete of See also:Cowper's lyrical letters in octosyllabics to his friends, such as William See also:Bull and See also:Lady See also:Austin (1782). At the close of the century Samuel See also:Rogers endeavoured to resuscitate the neglected form in his " Epistle to a Friend " (1798). The formality and conventional See also:- GRACE (Fr. grace, Lat. gratia, from grates, beloved, pleasing; formed from the root cra-, Gr. xav-, cf. xaipw, x6p,ua, Xapts)
- GRACE, WILLIAM GILBERT (1848– )
grace of the epistle were elements with which the leaders of romantic revival were out of sympathy, and it was not cultivated to any important degree in the 19th century. It is, however, to be noted that See also:Shelley's "Letter to Maria See also:Gisborne" (1820), See also:Keats's "Epistle to See also:Charles See also:- CLARKE, ADAM (1762?—1832)
- CLARKE, CHARLES COWDEN (1787-1877)
- CLARKE, EDWARD DANIEL (1769–1822)
- CLARKE, JAMES FREEMAN (1810–1888)
- CLARKE, JOHN SLEEPER (1833–1899)
- CLARKE, MARCUS ANDREW HISLOP (1846–1881)
- CLARKE, MARY ANNE (c.1776–1852)
- CLARKE, SAMUEL (1675–1729)
- CLARKE, SIR ANDREW (1824-1902)
- CLARKE, SIR EDWARD GEORGE (1841– )
- CLARKE, THOMAS SHIELDS (1866- )
- CLARKE, WILLIAM BRANWHITE (1798-1878)
Clarke " (1816), and See also:Landor's " To See also:Julius See also:Hare " (1836), in spite of their romantic colouring, are genuine Horatian epistles and of the pure Augustan type. This type, in English literature, is commonly, though not at all universally, See also:cast in heroic verse. But Daniel employs rime royal and terza rima, while some modern epistles have been cast in See also:short See also:iambic rhymed See also:measures or in See also:blank verse. It is sometimes not easy to distinguish the epistle from the See also:elegy and from the See also:dedication. (E. G.)
For St See also:Paul's Epistles see PAUL, for St Peter's see PETER, for Apocryphal Epistles see APOCRYPHAL LITERATURE, for Plato's see PLATO, &c.
End of Article: EPISTLE
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