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portant subjects which occupy the minds rates the faculty of generation and nu

of men.

PERIOSTEUM. (See Bone.)

PERIPATETIC PHILOSOPHY. The philosophy of Aristotle (q. v.) received this name either from his custom of teaching while walking (Epinarev), or from the place where it was taught—a walk planted with trees. We can give but a brief sketch of the system of this powerful mind. Philosophy was to Aristotle the science of knowledge. Direct knowledge, by which we know immediately the general and necessary, rests on experience. According to him, logic, as a preparatory science, as the organ of all science, has the precedence of all. Logic either treats of appearances, and is then called dialectics; or of truth, and is then called analytics. In his Physics, he opposes the two systems then prevailing (that of emanation, which taught that all things emanated from God; and the atomic, which explained the origin of things by the concourse of atoms, eternal, like God), and assumes the eternity of the world. According to him, the heavens are of a more perfect and divine nature than other bodies. In the centre of the heavens is the earth, round and stationary. The stars, like the sky, beings of a higher nature, but of grosser matter, move, though not of themselves, but by the impulse of the primum mobile. Every change presupposes a substratum (substance), that by which a thing becomes possible; a form, by which a thing becomes real; and privation, inasmuch as the existence of a certain form is founded on the exclusion of others. All change or motion takes place in regard to substance, quantity, quality and place. There are

three kinds of substances-those alternately in motion and at rest, as the animals; those perpetually in motion, as the sky; and those eternally stationary. The last, in themselves immovable and imperishable, are the source and origin of all motion. Among them there must be one first being, unchangeable, which acts without the intervention of any other being. All that is proceeds from it; it is the most perfect intelligence-God. The immediate action of this first mover-happy in the contemplation of himself-extends only to the heavens; the other inferior spheres are moved by other incorporeal and eternal substances, which the popular belief adores as gods, and to which it attributes bodies, contrary to their nature. The soul is the principle of life in the organic body, and is inseparable from the body. As faculties of the soul, Aristotle enume

trition; of sensation, memory and recollection; the faculty of thinking, or the understanding; and the faculty of desiring, which is divided into appetite and volition. The ethical principles of Aristotle have been often misunderstood, partly on account of the degeneracy of his school; and he has been considered a supporter of the philosophy whose principle is pleasure; but to Aristotle, the best and highest (i. e. that which is desirable for itself) is the happiness which originates from virtuous actions. Virtue, according to him, consists in acting according to nature: by the expression "according to nature," he means, keeping the mean between the two extremes of the too much and the too little. Thus valor, in his view the first of virtues, is a mean between cowardice and rashness; temperance is an observance of the mean in respect to sensual enjoyments. Human actions, to be called moral, must be independent of external motives; otherwise they are but phenomena, the laws of which belong to physics, and are therefore indifferent to the practical philosopher. Self-action, and consequently the power to act or not to act, to act in one way or another, is the condition of all morality. Perfect happiness can be attained only in political society or the state; but the best form of state polity must be determined by circumstances. The school of Aristotle (the peripatetic school) continued at Athens uninterruptedly till the time of Augustus. Among those who proceeded from it are Theophrastus, author of several works on natural history; Strato of Lampsacus, whose views are but imperfectly known to us from some fragments preserved by Cicero and Plutarch; and Demetrius Phalereus. (q. v.) No one of the philosophical schools of antiquity maintained its influence so long as the peripatetic. down to modern times, its principles served as the rule in philosophical inquiries, and some countries still honor Aristotle as an infallible master of wisdom. The Arabians did not first make him known to the philosophers of modern Europe, but they extended his authority. The acuteness and profoundness which appear in his works, his dogmatic tone, his subtile distinctions, and the technical language, first introduced by him into philosophy, pleased them more than Plato's philosophical doubts and allegorical language. But we find him in the Christian church as early as the time of the Arian controversy; and while the influence of Plato

Even

PERIPATETIC PHILOSOPHY-PERJURY.

was diminished by the heresies of Platonizing teachers, that of Aristotle, which the commentaries of Boëthius on his translation of Aristotle's works contributed to extend, was continually increasing. (See Scholastics.) When the works of Aristotle again began to be read in the original language, a peripatetic sect, differing from the scholastic, arose, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, which was divided into the Averroists and Alexandrians (so called, from celebrated commentators on Aristotle). To the former belonged Alex. Achillinus, Zimara and Cæsalpinus; to the latter, the famous Pomponatius and others. PERIPETIA; an unexpected change, which takes place in the condition of the chief person of an epic or dramatic poem, a novel, &c. Aristotle gives, as an instance, the scene in Edipus, in which the news intended to relieve the king's fears, and to cheer him, produces the contrary effect, by discovering to him his origin. Necessary as the peripetia is for giving interest to great compositions, a ludicrous effect is often produced by young poets heaping misfortunes upon their heroes, to surprise the reader with an unexpected deliverance. The Germans call such compositions Rettungsstücke (saving-pieces). PERIPHERY. (See Circle.) PERIPNEUMONY. (See Pneumony.) PERIPTERAL TEMPLE. (See Architecture, p. 341.)

PERISTYLE. (See Architecture, p. 341.) PERIZONIUS, James, a learned Dutch philologian of the seventeenth century, born at Damme in 1651, studied at Deventer and Leyden, and became professor of history, rhetoric and Greek, at the latter place, where he died in 1715. His historical and philological works are numerous. The principal are Animadversiones Historica (1685), a treasure of learning; Origines Babylonica et Egyptiaca (1711); editions of Ælian's Various Histories, of the Minerva of Sanctius, &c.

PERJURY, by the common law of Eng-
land, is a crime committed by one who,
being lawfully required to depose the
truth in any judicial proceeding, wilfully
swears falsely in a point material to the
It has, however,
question in dispute.
been held, that a man may be indicted for
perjury for swearing that he believed a fact
to be true, which he knew to be false.
The common law takes no notice of any
false swearing, but such as is committed
in some court of justice, having power to
administer the oath, or before some officer
or magistrate invested with similar author-
ity, in some proceeding relative to a civil

suit or criminal prosecution; for the law
esteems all other oaths unnecessary, at
least, and hence will not punish the breach
of them. Thus, if a person swears falsely
in a voluntary affidavit in any extrajudicial
matter, he is not liable to any punishment.
By numerous statutes in England and
America, the penalties of perjury have
By
been extended to false oaths by electors,
bankrupts, insolvent debtors, &c.
the English law, the evidence of one wit-
ness alone is not sufficient to convict on
an indictment for perjury; in such case,
there would be only one oath against an-
other; but it is sufficient if corroborated
by other independent evidence. Suborna-
tion of perjury is the offence of procuring
a man to commit perjury. By the law
of Moses (Deuteronomy xix, 19), if a man
testify falsely against his brother, it shall
be done unto him as he had thought to do
against his brother. And this is the prin-
ciple adopted in the laws of many of the
states of modern Europe. By the law of
the Twelve Tables, " perjurii pœna divina,
exitium ; humana, dedecus." Gellius, xx. 1,
mentions, that some persons who had per-
jured themselves, by giving false testimo-
ny, were thrown from the Tarpeian rock.
The civil law punished perjury committed
in swearing by the name of God, in civil
cases, by infamy (Digest, lib. ii, tit. 4; Code,
lib. xii. tit. 1); but the punishment of per-
jury committed in swearing by the safety
of the emperor, was death (Code, iv. 1: 2);
by the genius of the prince, beating and
scourging (Dig. lib. xii, tit. 2, 13). The
punishment of perjury, by the common
law in England was, anciently, death; af-
terwards banishment, or cutting out the
tongue; then forfeiture of goods. At the
present time, it is fine, imprisonment, and
pillory, at the discretion of the court, to
which the statute Geo. II, c. 25 adds a
power in the court to order the offender
to be sent to the house of correction for a
term not exceeding seven years, or to be
transported for the same period. The of
fender is incapacitated from giving evi-
dence in a court of justice; but a pardon
will restore his competency. By the law
of the U. States, the punishment on con-
viction for perjury committed in any
cause depending in any of the courts of
the U. States, or in any deposition taken
in pursuance of the laws of the U. States,
is imprisonment not above three years,
and fine not exceeding $800, pillory one
hour, and disqualification for being a wit-
ness until the judgment is reversed. By
the capitularies of Charlemagne and
Louis le Débonnaire, perjury was punished

by cutting off the hand. By the Napoleon code, perjury in criminal cases is punishable by confinement at hard labor for a limited time. If the party accused is sentenced to a severer punishment, the perjurer is to suffer the like. In cases of correctional or police jurisdiction, it is punishable by confinement. Perjury in civil suits, is punishable by civic degradation. By the Prussian code, promulgated by Frederic William in 1794, whoever, whether he appears as a party or as a witness, perjures himself, is to be excluded for ever from his employments, rights and civil profession, to undergo an ignominious exposition as a perjured person, or to be publicly declared such, and, in addition thereto, to be condemned to confinement from one to three years. If the perjury be with a view to profit the perjurer, he is to forfeit a sum quadruple of that which he endeavored to obtain. If the perjury is committed in a capital case, and an innocent person is, in consequence, condemned, the punishment of the perjurer is death; and in cases not capital, the punishment of the perjurer is to be proportioned to the crime of which the innocent person was accused and convicted. By the law of Spain (in 1804), perjury, in civil causes, is punishable with ten years' condemnation to the galleys; and in criminal cases, in which the punishment for the offence charged does not extend to death, public infamy and perpetual condemnation to the galleys. (Johnston's Civil Law of Spain, L. vii, tit. 17, lib. 8, Rec.)

PERKIN WARBECK. (See Warbeck.) PERKINS, doctor Elisha, the inventor of the metallic tractors, was born at Norwich, Connecticut, in January, 1740, and was educated by his father, doctor Joseph Perkins, for the profession of medicine. He was indebted to nature for uncominon endowments, both bodily and mental. In person he was six feet high, and of remarkable symmetry. He possessed extraordinary ability to endure fatigue. His reputation and success as a physician were considerable, but he is principally known by his metallic tractors. These were formed by him from a composition which he discovered after numerous experiments with various kinds of metals, during several years, he having conceived the idea that metallic substances might have an influence on the nerves and muscles of animals, and be capable of being converted to useful purposes as external agents in medicine. They consisted of two instruments, one of the appearance of steel, the

other of brass, and were about three inches in length, and pointed at one end. The manner in which they were applied was, by drawing the points over the affected parts, in a downward direction, for about twenty minutes each time. The complaints in which this operation was found most useful, were local inflammations in general, pains in the head, face, teeth, breast, side, stomach, back, rheumatism, &c. Doctor Perkins procured a patent for his discovery, and the success which it obtained was great, not only in this country, but on the other side of the Atlantic. The professors of three universities in America gave attestations in favor of its efficacy. In Copenhagen, twelve physicians and surgeons, chiefly professors and lecturers in the Royal Frederic's Hos pital, commenced a course of experiments, accounts of which were published in an octavo volume. They introduced the term Perkinism, in honor of the discoverer, and asserted that it was of great importance to the physician. In London, a Perkinian institution, as it was called, was established, principally with the view of benefiting the poor by the use of the tractors; and, in a pamphlet giving an account of the institution, it was stated that the communications of cases were from disinterested and intelligent characters from almost every quarter of Great Britain, including professors, regular physicians, surgeons and clergymen. A computation of the cures said to have been effected, presents the number of one million five hundred thousand. It may be well deemed a matter of surprise, after what we have stated, that the tractors have sunk into oblivion; but such is the fact. During the prevalence of yellow fever in New York, in 1799, doctor Perkins went thither for the purpose of testing the merits of a highly antiseptic remedy which he had introduced into practice; but after about four weeks of unremitted assiduity in attending the sick, he took the disease himself, and died at the age of 59 years. He was a man of great liberality of character and of strict honor and integrity. In address and col loquial powers, few of his profession ex celled him.

PERMUTATIONS. (See Combinations.)

PERNAMBUCO; the name generally given to the two cities of Olinda and Recife, in Brazil. The former contains 4000 inhabitants, and is the see of a bishop. It lies about three miles north-east of the latter, in lat. 8° S. It was formerly more populous and flourishing, but since its capture by the Dutch in 1640, its commerce and

nanufactures have deserted it for the latter. (See Recife.)

PERON, François, a distinguished French naturalist, born at Cerilly, in 1775, studied in the college at that place, and, in 1792, joined the army on the Rhine. Having been captured at Kaiserslautern, in about a year he was exchanged, and, having lost the sight of one eye, was discharged from the service, and returned to Cerilly, in August, 1795. He then obtained admission into the school of medicine at Paris, where he applied himself closely to his studies, and also attended the lectures of the museum of natural history. When the expedition to the South seas, under captain Baudin, had been projected, Péron, with some difficulty, obtained the situation of zoologist. The vessels appointed for this service, the Geographer and the Naturalist, sailed from Havre, October 19, 1800, and returned to France in April, 1804. They had visited New Holland, and many of the Australian and Polynesian islands; and during the whole of the voyage, Péron seized every opportunity for augmenting the stores of science, by making collections and observations. After his return, he was employed, in conjunction with captain Freycinet, to draw up an account of the voyage, and, with M. Le Sueur, to describe the new objects of natural history which had been procured. Péron died December 14, 1810. His works are, Observations sur l'Anthropologie; and Voyage de Découvertes aux Terres Australes (1807-1816, 3 vols., 4to.); an unfinished History of the Medusæ, fragments of which have been published, and several valuable memoirs on subjects of natural history.

PÉROUSE, LA. (See Lapérouse.)

PERPENDICULAR, in geometry; a line falling directly on another line, so as to make equal angles on each side; called also a normal line. These lines may be straight lines or curves. A plane is perpendicular to another plane, if a line drawn on one of them, perpendicular to the line of intersection, forms right angles with a perpendicular line on the other plane drawn to the same point. (See Plumb Line.) A vertical line is one perpendicular to a horizontal line (a line parallel to the surface of calm water), so called because it passes from our vertex or zenith (q. v.) down to the nadir (q. v.), so that the vertical line is a particular kind of perpendicular line.

PERPETUAL MOTION; a motion which is supplied and renewed from itself, without the intervention of external causes. 3

VOL. X.

The problem of a perpetual motion consists in the inventing of a machine which has the principle of its motion within itself; and numberless schemes have been proposed for its solution. The difficulty is, that the resistance of the air, the friction of the parts of the machine, &c., necessarily retard, and finally stop, the motions of machines, and therefore seem to render perpetual motion an impossibility. Attempts have recently been made to produce a perpetuum mobile, by means of galvanism; a metallic bar, being placed between two dry galvanic columns, is alternately attracted by each column.

PERPETUITY, in the doctrine of annuities, is the number of years in which the simple interest of any principal sum will amount to the same as the principal itself; or it is the number of years' purchase to be given for an annuity which is to continue for ever; and it is found by dividing £100 by the rate of interest agreed upon : thus, allowing 5 per cent., the perpetuity is

£

100

5

= 20.

PERPIGNAN; a city of France, capital of East Pyrenees, about a league from the Mediterranean sea; lon. 2° 54′ E.; lat. 42° 42′ N.; population, 15,350. It is a place of strength, and accounted one of the keys of the kingdom, on the side of Spain. It is mostly ill built and gloomy. The trade consists in corn, wool, iron and wine. The manufactures are woollen and silk.

PERRAULT. Of four brothers of this name, who lived during the reign of Louis XIV, the most known are Claude (born 1613, died 1688), a physician, naturalist and architect, from whose designs the celebrated façade of the Louvre (q. v.) and the observatory at Paris were built; and Charles (born 1633, died 1703), a man of erudition, but of little taste, whose verses have not outlived his day. Colbert availed himself of their assistance in founding the French academy of art, of which Charles was the librarian. His poem Le Siècle de Louis le Grand, which he read before the academy in 1687, gave rise to the famous controversy on the comparative merits of the ancients and moderns. In his Parallèle des Anciens et Modernes (1688-96), in the form of a dialogue, he maintains that the moderns have carried art and science, which were in a state of infancy among the ancients, to the highest perfection, and have excelled them in their works. This opinion was warmly attacked by Boileau, and zealously defended by Fontenelle and Hudart de la Motte. Perrault was also author of Les

Hommes illustres de France (1696-1700). The Contes de ma Mère l'Oye (Tales of Mother Goose), of which he is the reputed author, has procured for him, but perhaps unjustly, the title of "inventor of the French Fairy Tales." (See Fairies.) PERRON, Anquetil du. (See Anquetil du Perron, and Zendavesta.)

PERRY, Oliver. (See Appendix to this vol.)
PERRY. (See Pear.)

The

PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS. persecutions which the early Christians underwent were a natural consequence of the anxiety which the free spirit of the Christian doctrine and worship, so opposite to the religious institutions previously existing, excited among Jews and heathens. As long as the Jewish state continued, the Christian communities established within its limits had little reason to expect toleration, as even the founder of their religion had been regarded as a stirrer up of sedition, on account of his opposition to the ordinances of the Jewish church, which were zealously defended by the Pharisees, who formed the ruling party; and the sanhedrim could not forgive his followers for regarding him as the true Messiah. But, as this body had not power to carry its wishes into effect, and the Christians abstained from open violation of the public peace, there was no general persecution of them in Palestine under the sanction of the Roman authorities; and only some of the heads of the congregations at Jerusalem, such as Stephen and the apostles James the elder and James the younger, suffered martyrdom, the former forty-three, the latter sixty-three years after Christ. But the Jews in the towns of the Roman empire, where they had made settlements, and where Christian congregations soon sprung up, excited against them the suspicions of the magistrates, who, at first, may have considered the Christians as an unimportant Jewish sect, or have tolerated the new worship with less reluctance, since the introduction of a new divinity had little in it to startle the mind of a heathen. Nero, indeed, ascribed to the Christians the conflagration of the city of Rome kindled by himself, and, in the year64, subjected them to a dreadful persecution, in which the apostles Peter and Paul suffered; but this was more an exercise of imperial tyranny than of policy, or an intolerant spirit. This first persecution does not appear to have extended far beyond Rome. There arose, however, a second, in the year 95, because Domitian, deceived by the royal title which the Christians gave to Jesus,

after fruitless inquiries for the supp relations of Jesus and pretenders to crown, caused many of his followers, ticularly in Asia Minor, to be banishe put to death. What is called the persecution of the Christians, took plac the time of Trajan, who issued an against secret societies, which was fol ed, in 105, by a prohibition of their n ings, and the punishment of some re tory individuals, because the Roman consuls (for example, Pliny the your in Bithynia) considered the refusal of Christians to pay the usual homage to image of the emperor as deserving of ishinent; and their suspicions were a1 ened by the independent character of followers of the new faith, and their d tion from the national customs. Ch of outrage and sedition, principally ex and spread abroad by the Jews, incre the unfavorable disposition of the heat towards the Christians. It was said they were accustomed, in their assem! to eat human flesh (a misconception the eucharist), and to practise shan vices, and not only to aim at the dest tion of the old religion, but at the throw of the Roman imperial throne, the foundation of a new monar These reports easily grew out of peculiar habits. The obscurity in w they enveloped themselves, on accour their well-founded apprehensions; spirit of their associations, which them separate from the rest of the wo their secret meetings for religious cises, often held by night,—were suffi to furnish materials for suspicion: an extravagant expectations which n among them entertained of the near turn of Christ, their zeal against hea manners and customs, and their oper position to the worship of idols, 1 which they annually converted thous excited the heathen priests and magist against all that bore the name of Chris Yet the followers of the new religion ing almost entirely confined to the k class, and being split into a vanety sects, chiefly Gnostics, which were tinually increasing, were objects rathe contempt than of fear; and, next to protection of an overruling Provide it is principally owing to this cire stance that, notwithstanding several o sions for new persecutions, and notw standing the zeal with which their trines were assailed by heathen phil phers (as, for example, Celsus, who w against Christianity about 140%, they joyed above fifty years of undistu

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