The principal event in his life, so far as we know, was the
quarrel with his master Callimachus, which was most probably the
cause of his condemnation at Alexandria and departure to Rhodes.
This quarrel appears to have arisen from differences of literary
aims and taste, but, as literary differences often do,
degenerated into the bitterest personal strife. There are
references to the quarrel in the writings of both. Callimachus
attacks Apollonius in the passage at the end of the "Hymn to
Apollo", already mentioned, also probably in some epigrams, but
most of all in his "Ibis", of which we have an imitation, or
perhaps nearly a translation, in Ovid's poem of the same name.
On the part of Apollonius there is a passage in the third book of
the "Argonautica" (11. 927-947) which is of a polemical nature
and stands out from the context, and the well-known savage
epigram upon Callimachus. (2) Various combinations have been
attempted by scholars, notably by Couat, in his "Poesie
Alexandrine", to give a connected account of the quarrel, but we
have not data sufficient to determine the order of the attacks,
and replies, and counter-attacks. The "Ibis" has been thought to
mark the termination of the feud on the curious ground that it
was impossible for abuse to go further. It was an age when
literary men were more inclined to comment on writings of the
past than to produce original work. Literature was engaged in
taking stock of itself. Homer was, of course, professedly
admired by all, but more admired than imitated. Epic poetry was
out of fashion and we find many epigrams of this period--some
by Callimachus--directed against the "cyclic" poets, by whom
were meant at that time those who were always dragging in
conventional and commonplace epithets and phrases peculiar to
epic poetry. Callimachus was in accordance with the spirit of