Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1901-08-17
EPIGRAMS.
An Art in Which the Ancient Writers
Excelled.


ity The soul Of the epigram is wit.
A genuine epigram Is like a diamond of
the first water, cut and polished. and
sclntllating at every pOint-but is in
initely more rare. Our poets don't write
epigrams nowadays. Is Il that they lack
IN wit? Perhaps II is shat In the fever
ish rush of modern life they lack tho
time, and are losing the capacity To
labor long over little for the epgram-
matist must possess before all things
an infinite capacity for taking pains
Originally the cplgram was merely an
nsciiption-as its name implies-on
stone, often a tombstone, or any votiye
or commemorative tablet or building
that required an explanation Of It's ex-
ls,encc. The finest example of the prim-
1.-Two Greek epigram l., perhaps, that
written by the poet Simonides 10 COM
memorate the fall Of the heroes Of
Thermopolae.
Stranger, tell the Lacedaemonians
that we are lying here in obedience 10
their laws"
The simple grandeur OF this utter
ance is indispensable.
By an easy transition the term
"epigram" was gradually extended to
the concise expression In verse, chiefly
elegiac, Of some one thought or con-
cepton which might serve for an in
scription, though not written expressly
for that purpose. Such a one Is that
by Simonides on Timocreon, poet and
athlete OF Rhodes
Having eaten much and drunk much
and said much evil OF other men, here
| lie, Timocreon Of Rhodian."
The sarcasm displayed here Is quite
an exceptional feature, and the unex-
pected turn for the prototype Of the
modern epi-expression which charac-
terize the modern epigram are not TO Ia
found in. the Greek original. the great
charm OF which is that indefnable sim
pliolty so remarkable in all ancient
Greek art.
IL Is to Roman literature that we
must turn for the prototype of the mod
ern epigram, and we find Il in the terse
pointed and often wicked" verse OF
Martial In his hands 1t became a
weapon, a fiery dart wherewith to irk
his enemies, and ever since It has
served as a convenient vehicle for So
cial satire and personal inyective.
Smart eplgrams-little more than
puns with rhymc-abound. but the
genuine epigram, glowing with the
sparkle and heat Of true wit. Is Woe
fully rare, and does not seem TO take
kindly to English soil. The Elizabeth
an dramatist and lyric poets abound in
Isolated lines which have very often the
true epigrammatic ring but 1t seems 10
vanish at the slightest attempt 10 pre-
serve II IN true egigram form Ben
Johnson was undoubtedly a wit. in the
true sense OF the word. but he never
wrote any genuine epigrams. although
q whole collection Of verse by him bears
that title Martial is the one and only
master Of modern" epigram, and az
ms best ne VIII not bear translation
| II VIII be seen then. that a quest OF the
lure enigram Is likely 10 prove
Disappointing but we may find never
theless' much that Is. II not II the very,
best, az least very entertaining, and au
times not a little intructlye In ancient
times practically every epitaph was an
eplgram as the ancients understood n
ms Is not so now. not even, perhaps.
Is the ancient conception. and certain
Nv not IN the modern sense Of the term.
Occasionally, however. even on tbs
tombstone we read lines OF distinctly
epigrammatic turn, such. for instance
os these:
stop. an YOU who gaze on this my
humble grave and think!
| am IN eternity and you are on the
hrink,"
Nor are the lines of Sir John Harring-
ton altogether lacking in epigrammat-
g. verse:
treason doth never prosper: what's
The reason.
For II 1t prosper none dare call II trea-
SON."
a last example from a modern emf
grammaust William Watson. win
serve admirably to point the oft quoted
saying.
1T Is but a step from the sublime
TO the ridiculous:
My friend the apothecary Ger the way
Doth not his window Byron's bust dis
play.
once a Chllde Harolds voice did Eu-
rope bow:
lie wears a patent lung protector now"
Paris Messenger.