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epistle

(Encyclopedia)epistle ĭpĭsˈəl [key], in the Bible, a letter of the New Testament. The Pauline Epistles (ascribed to St. Paul) are Romans, First and Second Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossi...

Marlowe, Christopher

(Encyclopedia)Marlowe, Christopher, 1564–93, English dramatist and poet, b. Canterbury. Probably the greatest English dramatist before Shakespeare, Marlowe, a shoemaker's son, was educated at Cambridge and he wen...

Pliny the Elder

(Encyclopedia)Pliny the Elder (Caius Plinius Secundus) plĭˈnē [key], c.a.d. 23–a.d. 79, Roman naturalist, b. Cisalpine Gaul. He was a friend and fellow military officer of Vespasian, becoming eventually an arm...

Barton, Clara

(Encyclopedia)Barton, Clara, 1821–1912, American humanitarian, organizer of the American Red Cross, b. North Oxford (now Oxford), Mass. She taught school (1839–54) and clerked in the U.S. Patent Office before t...

Antoninus Pius

(Encyclopedia)Antoninus Pius (Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius Antoninus) pīˈəs [key], a.d. 86–a.d. 161, Roman emperor (138–161). After a term as consul (120) he went as proconsul to Asia, where he gove...

Jackson, Shirley

(Encyclopedia)Jackson, Shirley, 1916–65, American writer, b. San Francisco. She is best known for her stories and novels of horror and the occult, rendered more terrifying because they are set against realistic, ...

Milo, Roman partisan leader

(Encyclopedia)Milo (Titus Annius Papianus Milo), 95 b.c.–47 b.c., Roman partisan leader. As tribune of the people (57 b.c.) he obtained the recall from exile of Cicero. At the insistence of Pompey, Milo hired a g...

baths

(Encyclopedia)baths, in architecture. Ritual bathing is traceable to ancient Egypt, to prehistoric cities of the Indus River valley, and to the early Aegean civilizations. Remains of bathing apartments dating from ...

Colosseum

(Encyclopedia)Colosseum or Coliseum both: kŏləsēˈəm [key], Ital. Colosseo, common name of the Flavian Amphitheater in Rome, near the southeast end of the Forum, between the Palatine and Esquiline hills. Begun ...

Peele, George

(Encyclopedia)Peele, George, 1558?–1597?, English playwright, educated at Oxford. He experimented in a variety of forms, including the pageant, history, pastoral, comedy, and melodrama, but his best-known work is...

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