Italy or Spain.

The word "column" is used, by analogy with architecture, for any upright
body or mass, in chemistry, anatomy, typography, &c. (R. P. S.)

FOOTNOTE:

[1] The tree-trunk used as a column was inverted to retain the sap;
hence the shape.

COLURE (from Gr. [Greek: kolos], shortened, and [Greek: oura], tail), in
astronomy, either of the two principal meridians of the celestial
sphere, one of which passes through the poles and the two solstices, the
other through the poles and the two equinoxes; hence designated as
_solstitial colure_ and _equinoxial colure_, respectively.

COLUTHUS, or COLLUTHUS, of Lycopolis in the Egyptian Thebaid, Greek epic
poet, flourished during the reign of Anastasius I. (491-518). According
to Suidas, he was the author of _Calydoniaca_ (probably an account of
the Calydonian boar hunt), _Persica_ (an account of the Persian wars),
and _Encomia_ (laudatory poems). These are all lost, but his poem in
some 400 hexameters on _The Rape of Helen_ ([Greek: Harpage Helenes]) is
still extant, having been discovered by Cardinal Bessarion in Calabria.
The poem is dull and tasteless, devoid of imagination, a poor imitation
of Homer, and has little to recommend it except its harmonious
versification, based upon the technical rules of Nonnus. It related the
history of Paris and Helen from the wedding of Peleus and Thetis down to
the elopement and arrival at Troy.

The best editions are by Van Lennep (1747), G. F. Schafer (1825), E.
Abel (1880).

COLVILLE, JOHN (c. 1540-1605), Scottish divine and author, was the son
of Robert Colville of Cleish, in the county of Kinross. Educated at St
Andrews University, he became a Presbyterian minister, but occupied
himself chiefly with political intrigue, sending secret information to
the English government concerning Scottish affairs. He joined the party
of the earl of Gowrie, and took part in the Raid of Ruthven in 1582. In
1587 he for a short time occupied a seat on the judicial bench, and was
commissioner for Stirling in the Scottish parliament. In December 1591
he was implicated in the earl of Bothwell's attack on Holyrood Palace,
and was outlawed with the earl. He retired abroad, and is said to have
joined the Roman Church. He died in Paris in 1605. Colville was the
author of several works, including an _Oratio Funebris_ on Queen
Elizabeth, and some political and religious controversial essays. He is
said to be the a