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MENIPPEAN

Volume 13 · 87 words · 1810 Edition

(Satira Menippaea), a kind of satire consisting of prose and verse intermixed. It is thus called from Menippus a cynic philosopher who delighted in composing satirical letters, &c. In imitation of him, Varro also wrote satires under the title of Satire Menippae: whence this sort of composition is also denominated Varronian satire.

Among the moderns there is a famous piece under this title first published in 1594, against the chiefs of the league, called also the Catholicon of Spain. It is esteemed a masterpiece for the time.