The acrostic is a short poem in which the first letters of each line,
read collectively, form a name, word, or sentence. The word comes from
the Greek _akros_, extreme, and _stichos_, order or line. The acrostic
was formerly in vogue for valentine and love verses. When employed as
a riddle it is called a _Rebus_, which see.
[AS A MAN LIVES, SO SHALL HE DIE.]