EPIDEMIC 36 EPINAL first at Mitylene, then at Lampsacus ; but his great school was at Athens, where he settled about 305 B. C. According to him the supi'eme good of life is found in pleasure, but not in the momentary grati- fication of sense, rather in the delight inseparable from the practice of virtue. The Epicurean doctrines were in time misinterpreted and misunderstood, and Epicureanism became a sjmonym of self- indulgent and sensuous pleasure. EPIDEMIC, a disease which attacks many persons at the same time at dif- ferent places, spreading with great rapidity, extremely virulent and fatal at the first onset, gradually becoming spent and feeble, so that the early cases are usually the worst. The plague, cholera, smallp(5x, and influenza are epidemics, and other infectious diseases are among the number. EPIDERMIS, in human anatomy, the cuticle or scarf-skin constituting the ex- ternal layer of the skin, and protecting the inner ones. It is thickest in the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet, where the skin is much exposed to pressure. In comparative anatomy, a somewhat similar cuticle in several animals; also a layer of animal matter covering the shells of mollusks. In botany, the true skin of a plant below the cuticle; also the general integument as a whole, divided into cuticle and derma. EPIGLOTTIS, a cartilaginous valve which partly closes the aperture of the larynx. EPIGRAM, a short poem of a pointed or antithetical character, or any short composition expressed neatly and happily or antithetically. Epigram was the name given by the Greeks to a poetic inscrip- tion on a public monument, and hence the word came parsed into its modern signification. Of the Roman poets, Catul- lus and Martial are most celebrated for their epigrams. In cookery, epigrams of mutton, veal, etc., are small cutlets of mutton, veal, etc., dressed in a particular manner. EPILEPSY, falling sickness. It de- rives its name, epilepsia, from the sud- denness of the attack. The leading symp- toms are a temporary suspension of consciousness, with a recurring clonic spasm. Epilepsy may be caused by fear, passion, etc., or by a blow operating on the brain; it is often associated with idiocy and the puerperal state. There is little hope of cure. EPILEPTIC COLONIES, establish- ments modeled on farms in which epilep- tics inhabit houses surrounded by open spaces such as gardens and meadows, and supplemented by factories, schools, theaters, and churches; giving the pa- tients occupation and a diversion, and the opportunity of a life spent largely in the open. The idea is a modem one and has been fx'uitful of results. It was first conceived in Germany and the epileptic colony at Bielefeld, in Westphalia, the best known of its kind, provides vdth the officials and employes for about 4,000 persons. Both sexes are accommodated, and the tabulated results show that less than 1 per cent, of the patients have been allowed to develop insanity. Nearly 10 per cent, are discharged as cured; over 20 per cent, improve sufficiently to leave for ordinary duties; 21 per cent, show no sign of improvement; and 20 per cent, are released by death. Epileptic colonies, modeled on that of Bielefeld, have been established in different parts of Europe. There are several in Germany, one in Holland, one in Italy, and one in Switzerland. The English established colonies at Chalfont St. Peter in 1894, and another at Warford, Cheshire, in 1900. The results have been similar to those noted at Bielefeld. The principles that lay at the basis of the treatment of epileptics in Germany had long re- ceived favorable consideration in the United States, and in course of time sev- eral States established farm colonies of a similar character. There are now such colonies in New York, Virginia, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, and other States. The colony at Sonyea, N. Y., was opened in 1896, covering something like 2,000 acres, with gardens, orchards, woods, meadows, parks and numerous groups of buildings, including mills, residences, churches, libraries, schools, shops, and barns, and the available means for many industries. The average attendance is about 1,500. The census of 1912 showed 745 males, 673 females, of whom 130 males and 97 females were admitted during the previous year, 146 males and 83 females being discharged, transferred or died, 4 recovering. EPILOGUE, the closing speech or short poem addressed to the audience at the end of a play. The epilogue, is the opposite of the prologue, or opening addi'ess. EPINAL, chief town of the depart- ment of the Vosges, France, situated at the W. base of the Vosges Mountains, on both banks of the Moselle, and about 260 miles E. S. E. from Paris. It was in this region that the French forces attempted to launch an offensive against the Germans in Alsace-Lorraine, shortly after the beginning of the World War, in August, 1914, but were strongly re-
