Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VI.djvu/705

 EPISTOL^E OBSCURORUM VIRORUM pies prevailed in Holland, he returned, preached at Rotterdam, and after 1634 taught theology in the new college established by his friends in Amsterdam. To Arminius belongs the dis- tinction of having founded the sect, but Epis- copius was the theologian who first skilfully developed its ideas. Besides his many contro- versial pieces, the most important of his wri- tings is the Institutiones Theologice. A collec- tion of his works was published by Courcelles (2 vols. fol., Amsterdam, 1650). EPISTOL^: OBSCURORUM VIRORUM (" Letters of Obscure Men," the word obscuri being intended to mean at the same time ignorant and illiberal persons), a collection of satirical letters in dog Latin, published anonymously in 1515 and 1517, the first part at Hagenau, by the learned publisher Angst, the second at Basel by Froben, though Venice is named on the title page as the place of publication. These letters are conspicuous in the history of the reformation in Germany. At that time John Pfefferkorn, a converted Jew, and Jacob Hoogstraaten were foremost among those in Cologne who endeavored to keep down the light of independent thought developed by the study of the classics. A violent literary feud between them and the liberal thinkers, Reuch- lin especially, caused the publication of the Epistolm, a keen and caustic satire on the ig- norance and perversity of the clergy. There was much uncertainty in regard to their au- thorship. Reuchlin, Erasmus, and Ulrich von Hutten were severally supposed to have been the authors. But careful investigation has shown that there was a large number of con- tributors, including Ulrich von Hutten, Her- mann von dem Bussche, E. Hess, Peter Eber- bach, Rhegius, Somrnerfeld, Coesarius, Pirk- heimer, Wolfgang Angst, and Jakob Fuchs, for the first volume ; and besides them, Hermann von Nuenar and F. Fischer for the second. The Epistolm were prohibited by the pope in 1517, in consequence of which their popularity increased. The book has been frequently re- published. The best editions are those of Frankfort (1643), London in 12mo (no year given), that edited by Maittaire at London (1710), a new edition by Rotermund (Ham- burg, 1827), another by Munch (Leipsic, 1827), and the latest by G. Booking (Leipsic, 1858), which includes also a third volume, published for the first time in 1689. The satirical form of the Epistola has on several occasions been imitated by more modern authors. One of these imitations is the Epistolce, Novce Obscuro- rum Virorum, which was published by Prof. Schwetschke (Halle, 1849) as a satire on the German parliament. EPITHELIUM (Gr. tiri, upon, and M#, a nip- ple), the layer of cells lining the internal free surfaces of the body, continuous with the epi- dermis which covers the external surface of the skin. It arises from cells like the epider- mis, which are developed and thrown off in the same manner in both structures ; the epi- EPIZOA 693 thelium, however, serves for totally distinct purposes in the animal economy, as" from the soft and moist surfaces covered by its cells are elaborated the various secretions of the body. A continuous layer of its cells may be traced the whole length of the alimentary canal, along the other mucous membranes into the glands and follicles, on the serous and synovial membranes, and the coats of the blood vessels and absorbents. The two principal among the numerous forms of epithelial cells are the tessellated or pavement epithelium, and the columnar epithelium. The tessellated epithe- lium lines the serous and synovial membranes, the blood vessels, the follicles of most of the cutaneous and mucous glands, and many parts of the mucous membranes ; the cells are gen- erally flattened and polygonal, forming by their contact a kind of pavement, and the number of layers is usually small. The columnar epi- thelium covers the mucous membrane of the alimentary canal, the larger ducts of the glands, the vas deferens, and the urethra ; its cells are cylinders, arranged side by side, one end rest- Cells of Pavement Epithelium. Ciliated Columnar Epithelium. ing on the basement membrane, the other forming the free surface. These two kinds pass into each other at various points, giving rise to various transition forms, and both are often fringed with delicate filaments or cilia, varying in length from TSV^-O to ^Vrr f an inch. (See CILIA.) Ciliated epithelium is found in the cerebral cavities, the ramifications of the bronchi, the air passages, with their nasal, frontal, maxillary, and lachrymal appen- dages, the posterior fauces, and Eustachian tube ; their function seems to be to expel the secretions of these various membranes. The epithelial like the epidermic cells are in a state of continual separation and renewal, more rapid according to the activity of the connected function ; the introduction of nutrient matters, the separation of effete substances, the various products of secretion, and the development of the reproductive particles, are effected by the agency of epithelium cells. EPIZOA (Gr. eTTi, upon, and (ov, an animal), a term used by Owen to signify only a singu- lar class of humbly organized articulate ani- mals, which infest the skin, gills, and eyes of marine animals, but now applied to the most