EPIGENESIS. 148 EPILEPSY. The next embrvologist to lend by his observa- tions support to' the views of Wolff was Von Baer in 1829, and after his time the cell theory was formulated, and the epoch-making works of the later embryologists, J. Miiller, Ratlike, Kolliker. Remak. Bischoff, E. Van Beneden, Ko- valevsky, the Hertwig brothers, Weismann (in hi- earlier works), and many others, gradually built up the modern science of embryology (q.v.), and entirely dispelled the old-time preformation views. Bibliography. O. Hertwig, The Biological Problem of To-Day: Preformation or F. pi genesis f (Eng. trans. New York, 1894). Also the works of Haeckel, Nageli, Strasburger, II. de Vries, His, Roux, Driesch, H. Spencer, Whitman, and other authorities referred to under Embryology. EP'IGLOT'TIS. See Labynx. EPIGTONI (Lat.. from Gk. eirlyovoc, epigonos, descendant, from i-l, epi, upon + y6mc, gonos, offspring, from ylyveoBai, gignesihai, to become). In Greek legend, a name applied to the de- scendants of the seven chiefs who attacked Thebes in the war between Eteocles (q.v.) and Polyniees. After the disastrous defeat of this expedition and death of all the leaders except Adrastus, a second war was undertaken by the children of the fallen chiefs, and this is known a- the 'war of the Epigoni.' It seems that the story was told in two forms in the early epic, for two lists of names are preserved, agreeing only in six out of eight or nine heroes. The result is said to have been the capture of Thebes, the death or flight of King Laodamas, son of Eteocles, and the establishment of Thersander, son of Poly- nices, on the throne. In literary history the term epigoni is sometimes applied to scholars who limit themselves to unfolding the ideas of the great masters of a previous age. See Seven Against Thebes. EP'IGRAM (Lat. epigram-ma, Gk. (irlypatx/in, imma, inscription, from enl, epi, upon + fp</ia, gramma, writing, from ypdfaiv, graphein, to write) . Tin' epigrams of the early Greeks were simply inscriptions on tombs, statues, and monu- ment-, written in verse, and marked by brevity and simplicity of style, but having nothing in com- mon with what now passes under the name. It i among the Romans that the epigram first assumed a satirical character. The great masters were Catullus and Martial, in modern times an epigram is understood to be a very short poem, generally from two to eighi lines, containing a witty or ingenious though! expressed in pointed
- y, and in general reserving the essence
of the wit tint i 1 the close. The term is also more loosely applied to though! expressed concisely. Epigrams flourished in the period following the revival of learning John Heywood wrote six hundred, and almost every Elizabethan versi lied his hand at them. Later, Pope i ma ter. Among the French I i was one of (he first to write epigrams. He was afterwards excelled by i. Voltaire, and Piron. Epigrams in Ger re for the most pari happily expressed of Schiller and few sharp and bit ing verses 1 1, English t lie ait of epi- gram i i ... ; Iced bj Byron and iint il revived by William Watson in his Epigrams of Art, Life, and Nature I Liverpool, 1884). Consult: Booth, Epigrams, ,ii and Modem (2d cd., London, 18ti5) ; Dodd, Epigrammatists of Mediaeval and Modern Times I 2d ed., London, 1875) ; and Adairs, Book of Epigrams (London, 1890). EPIG'RAPHY. See Inscriptions. EPIGYNY, e-pij'i-ni ( from Gk. cttI, epi, upon + }<""/, gyne, woman). In flowers, a condition in which the sepals, petals, and stamens seem to arise from the summit of the ovary. In epigynous flowers the ovary appears just below the "flower,' and is often said to be 'inferior.' (outlasting terms are 'hypogyny' and 'perigyny.' See Flower. EPILEPSY (Lat. epilepsia, Gk. twUitfla, epi- lepsia, epilepsy, from ifrikay.fii.vEiv, epilambanein, to seize upon, from iirl, epi, upon + a/i/idveiv, lambanein, to seize). A form of disorder, com- monly termed 'the falling sickness.' It is charac- terized by sudden insensibility, generally with convulsive movements of the voluntary muscles, and occasionally arrest of the breathing, owing to spasm of the muscles of respiration, and tem- porary closure of the glottis. (See Larynx.) Owing to the striking character of the convul- sion of epilepsy, it was, in ancient times, sup- posed to be due to the influence of the gods or of evil spirits, and was therefore called by the Romans morbus sacer. There are four varieties of this condition: (1) Grand mal; (2) petit mal; (3) psychic epilepsy; (4) Jacksonian epilepsy. In the ordinary form, or grand mal, the patient is seized, without reference to his condition or occupation at the moment, with insensibility, often so complete and sudden as to lead to serious accidents and bodily injuries; in the most aggra- vated cases he has no premonitory sensations whatever, but falls down without any attempt to save himself, and usually with a wild inarticulate cry of some kind, immediately after which the face is violently distorted, the head drawn toward one or other shoulder, and the whole body eonvtilsed. These convulsions follow in rapid suc- cession for a few minutes, and are attended by foaming at the mouth, and by great lividity, or, in some cases, pallor, which, with the irregular spasmodic movements of the lips, nostrils, and eyes, almost invariably lead the bystanders to an exaggerated idea of the immediate danger of the fit. The immediate danger is, in reality, not great, excepting that the sudden attack may lead to an injurious or fatal fall; the tongue, however, may be bitten if protruded during the convulsion, or the patient may be so placed as to injure him- self seriously by the repeated and unconscious movements of his body, or he may suffocate him- self by accidentally falling with his face in water, or otherwise closing up the mouth and nostrils, or by dragging upon a tightened neckcloth. Care should always be taken to avoid these accidents by keeping the epileptic as much as possible within view of persons acquainted with his con- dition, and able to give such assistance as may be required, as well as by warning the patient himself to avoid all places in which a fall would be especially dangerous. Any attempt to rouse the patient by violent stimuli, as ammonia ap- plied t" the nostrils, or by dashing water in the face, or, -till more, by administering medicines ha -t ilj recommended, is almost certain to do more harm than good. The tongue should be protected,
