"In almost 1,600 epigrams, written in styles ranging from the lyrical to the pornographic, Martial (c. 40-c. 103CE) painted a definitive picture of everyday life, society and sexuality in ancient Rome. His influence on English literature, both direct and indirect, has been immense." "From Elizabethan times, writers like Jonson, Herrick, Cowley and Byron translated (or adapted to the London of their day) Martial's portraits of poseurs, prostitutes and philosophers, legacy hunters and social climbers. His urbanity and sharply polished wit helped inspire Pope's heroic couplets and Swift's savage irony. Although Romantics and Victorians tended to react against Martial's obscenity and fulsome flattery of his imperial masters, he always retained a reputation as an underground classic and then became an important model for Ezra Pound. Recent poets, as J. P. Sullivan and A. J. Boyle explain in their Introduction, have also found in his work 'a fully realized, if sometimes sombre world, which alternately fascinates and disquiets'."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Instructions in a system of martial arts practiced and taught in England by the sixteenth century Company of Maisters.

"Contains the Oxford learner's thesaurus, printable topic maps, exercices, study pages and thesaurus trainer"--Étiquette.

A more than complete dictionary of Chinese martial arts, from Chinese to English. Years and years in the making, this dictionary has more than all the techniques you need. It contains all the words beyond the basics of the language, to enable you to read martial arts books, whether practical, theoretical, historical, or whatever.

One of literature's greatest satirists, Martial earned his livelihood by excoriating the follies and vices of Roman society and its emperors, and set a pattern that satirists have admired across the ages. For the first time, readers can enjoy an English translation of these rhymes that does not sacrifice the cleverly constructed effects of Martial's short and shapely thrusts. Martial's Epigrams "bespeaks a great scholar at play" (The New York Times Book Review), makes for addictive reading, and is a perfect, if naughty, gift. Look out for a new book from Garry Wills, What the Qur'an Meant, coming fall 2017.

An edition of a collection of Latin epigrams by the poet Martial to celebrate games held in the Colosseum. An introduction sets the epigrams in their literary and social context. Each epigram is followed by an English translation and a detailed commentary discussing matters of linguistic, literary, and historical interest.

This volume is the first comprehensive commentary on the fourth book of Martial's epigrams. The introduction discusses its date of publication, major themes (Domitian, literature, death), the arrangement and form of the epigrams, and some issues concerning the transmission of the text. Of special note is the author’s study of the structure of the book. The commentary, preceded by the Latin critical text and an English translation, aims to provide readers with as much pertinent information as possible to enable them to fully comprehend the epigrams. Attention is paid to style and literary tradition, as well as to realia. Both each individual epigram and the book as a whole are studied as finely accomplished works of art.

From well-known forms such as ju-jutsu, karate, tae-kwon-do, aikido, t'ai-chi chu'an, and kung-fu to the less familiar practices of kyudo, kendo, and yabusame, this encyclopedic reference defines the terms and describes the moves, motivations, and contest rules for all of the major martial arts. Comprehensive and well-illustrated, its alphabetically arranged entries cover not only the technical and historical details of each martial art, but a wide range of weaponry, influential practitioners from Miyamoto Musashi to Bruce Lee, techniques such as ibuki and ki-ai, and concepts such as do, qi, shen, and wa. Hundreds of diagrams and drawings illustrate the finer points of all techniques. Cross references further clarify the relationships between the martial arts of one country and another and between related styles. Clear and detailed in its explanations, this is the book that no martial-arts enthusiast can do without.