Atman, 11, won the DuPage County spelling bee after 13 rounds and correctly spelling " brachylogy " -- derived from Greek meaning concise expression -- and "portulaca" -- derived from Latin meaning a genus of tropical flowering plants.

present to him in actuality--to which he must apply this kind of speech in this sort of manner in order to obtain persuasion for this kind of activity--it is only when he can do all this and when he has, in addition, grasped the concepts of propriety of time--when to speak and when to hold his tongue, when to use and when not to use brachylogy , piteous language, hyperbole for horrific effect, and in a word, each of the specific devices of discourse he may have studied--it is only then, and not until then, that the finishing and perfecting touches will have been given to his science.

And the parodic quality/nature of the Intercoenales is also part of this chapter that so painstakingly examines styles, genres, and the language of these works in order to help us see, in the brachylogy of Alberti's Apologi, an expression of saturnine brevitas and micrology: a withdrawal of the author and of art itself, leaving therefore an empty, silent space that presents the artistic/creative efforts as illusory.