What is "epistles"

n. (plural of epistle English)

The Epistles (or Letters) of Horace were published in two books, in 20 BC and 14 BC, respectively.

• Epistularum liber primus (First Book of Letters) is the seventh work by Horace, published in the year 20 BC. This book consists of 20 Epistles. The phrase sapere aude ("dare to be wise") comes from this collection of poems.
• Epistularum liber secundus (Second Book of Letters) was published in the year 14 BC. This book consists of 3 Epistles. However, the third epistle - the Ars Poetica - is usually treated as a separate composition.

The Epistles ( Greek: Ἐπιστολαί; Latin: Epistolae) of Plato are a series of thirteen letters traditionally included in the Platonic corpus. Their authenticity has been the subject of some dispute, and scholarly consensus has shifted back and forth over time. They were "generally accepted as genuine until modern times"; but by the close of the nineteenth century, many philologists (such as Richard Bentley, Christoph Meiners, and Friedrich Ast) believed that none of the letters were actually written by Plato. Now every letter except the First has some defenders of its authenticity. The Twelfth is also widely regarded as a forgery, and the Fifth and Ninth have fewer supporters than the others.

The Epistles focus mostly on Plato's time in Syracuse and his influence on the political figures Dion and Dionysius. They are generally biographical rather than philosophical, although several, notably the Seventh Letter, gesture at the doctrines of Plato's philosophy. Only two, the Second and Seventh, directly reference Plato's teacher Socrates, the major figure within his philosophical dialogues.