Atmosphere atmospheres were then modified over time by various complex factors, resulting in quite different outcomes. The atmospheres of the planets Venus and Mars are primarily composed of carbon dioxide, with small quantities of nitrogen, argon, oxygen and traces of other gases. The composition of Earth's atmosphere is largely governed by the by-products of the life that it sustains. Dry air from Earth's atmosphere contains 78.08% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.04% carbon dioxide, and traces of hydrogen, helium, and other "noble" gases (by volume), but generally a variable amount of water vapor is also present, on average about 1% at
Copia: Foundations of the Abundant Style on Quintillian's rhetorical guide, "Institutio Oratoria". The first chapter of book 10 in Quintillian's "Oratoria" is titled ""De copia verborum"". This is quite possibly where Erasmus received his most direct inspiration for the book. In that 10th chapter, Quintillian declined to give examples for employing the abundant style, on the grounds that each individual case requires a unique solution. This left the door open for Erasmus to detail the abundant style in "Copia". Erasmus acknowledges Quintillian in the preface, and borrows from him (and other classical authors) throughout "Copia", sometimes citing, sometimes not. As further revisions of "Copia" are printed,