HARVARD District of Massachusetts, to wit: BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the second day of September, in the thirty fourth year of the Independence of the United States of America, JOSHUA BELCHER, of the said district, has deposited in this Office the title of a book, the right whereof he claims as proprietor, in the words following, to wit: "A Selection of English Epigrams, extracted principally from the British and American Journals; and comprising the most valuable of those contained in the British Martial; with some Originals. In conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States, intitled, "An Act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and books to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned; and also to an act intitled, "An Act supplementary to an act, intitled, An Act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of Maps, Charts, and books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies during the times therein mentioned; and extending the benefits thereof to the arts of designing, engraving, and etching historical and other prints." WILLIAM S. SHAW, Clerk of the District PREFACE. A COLLECTION of epigrams, publish ed in London, under the title of the "BRITISH MARTIAL," first suggested the idea of the present work. It was contemplated, at first, to publish that compilation entire, in two volumes; but on examination, not more than a quarter part of that work was considered of sufficient merit to deserve a republication. The idea of reprinting the whole was therefore relinquished; and a SELECTION OF EPIGRAMS was undertaken, which should comprise the most valuable of those contained in the British Martial, together with such others of real merit, as might be gleaned from those miscellaneous publications to which convenient access could be had. The British and American journals were accordingly laid under contribution; nor did those of France entirely escape pillage. Many a mouldering volume, which had long been quietly inurned, has been compelled to burst its cearments; and from many a heap of unpromising rubbish have been called into light gems of pre-eminent lustre. Of the result of these humble researches a specimen is offered in this little volume; in which, perhaps, is compressed as much wit, as can be found in any book, of equal magnitude, in the English language. The epigram is received with complacency in all ranks of society. With the grave and the gay, the old and the young, the learned and the illiterate, it is equally welcome. From all it commands the tribute of a smile. To collect therefore into a nutshell the wit of ages, scattered over a waste of miscellaneous and periodical works, was deemed a labour, which would be rewarded with the publick approbation. The epigram is considered by the criticks as the last and the least considerable of all the labours of poesy. Some one has remarked, that good epigrams are oftener the effect of accident, or a happy thought, than the offspring of genius. To write a perfect one, uniting brevity, neatness, elegance, force, and wit, is not, however, an easy task. Rapin declared it sufficient for an individual writer, to produce one good epigram. "The word Epigram signifies Inscription; for epigrams derive their origin from those inscriptions placed by the ancients on their statues, temples, pillars, triumphal arches, and the like; which, at first, were very short, being sometimes no more than a single word, but afterwards, increasing their length, they made them in verse, to be the better retained by the memory. This short way of writing came at last to be used upon any occasion or subject; and hence the name of Epigram has been given to any little copy of verses, without regard to the original application of such poems." An epigram, according to its modern acceptation, is defined by the criticks to be, A little poem, or composition in verse, treating of one thing only, and whose distinguishing characters are BREVITY, BEAUTY, and POINT. With respest to BREVITY, its usual limits are from two to twenty lines; but those are considered best which do not exceed eight. The shorter it is, the better and the more perfect, as it partakes more of the nature and character of this kind of poem. The epigram being only the expression of a single thought, it ought to be compressed in a little compass, or else it loses its force and strength. The BEAUTY required in an epigram is a harmony and an apt agreement of all its parts, a sweet simplicity, and polite language. The POINT is a sharp, lively, and unexpected turn of wit, with which an epigram ought to be concluded. There are some criticks, |