Pekin. the Grand Union, is in this second court. It is built "The throne, which is in the middle of the hall, consists of a pretty high alcove, exceedingly neat. It has no inscription but the character ching, which the authors of this relation have interpreted by the word holy but it has not always this signification; for it answers better sometimes to the Latin word eximius, or the English words excellent, perfect, most wise. Upon the platform opposite to this hall stand large vessels of bronze, in which incense is burnt when any ceremony is performing. There are also chandeliers shaped like birds and painted different colours, as well as the waxcandles that are lighted up in them. This platform is extended towards the north, and has on it two lesser halls; one of them is a rotunda that glitters with varnish, and is lighted by a number of windows. It is here that the emperor changes his dress before or after any ceremony. The other is a saloon, the door of which opens to the north through this door the emperor must pass, when he goes from his apartment to receive on his throne the homage of the nobility; he is then carried in a chair, by officers dressed in long red robes bordered with silk, and caps ornamented with plumes of feathers. It would be difficult to give an exact description of the interior apartments which properly form the palace of the emperor, and are set apart for the use of his family. Few are permitted to enter them but women and eunuchs." The temples and the towers of this city are so numerous, that it is difficult to count them. Provisions of all kinds are very plentiful, they being, as well as the merchandises, brought from other parts by means of canals cut from the rivers, and always crowded with vessels of different sizes, as well as from the adjacent country. An earthquake which happened here in 1731 buried above 100,000 persons in the ruins of the houses which were thrown down. E. Long. 116. 41. N. Lat. 39-54. See CHINA, SUPPLEMENT. We have already, under the article OBSERVATORY, mentioned the famous observatory in this city, of which we shall give this further account from the Universal Mod. Un. History. "The Chinese had thought nothing in viii. Hist. vol. the universe could equal in magnificence this famous place; and one of the most celebrated mathematicians of the royal academy of Paris hath made no scruple to represent it as one of the greatest prodigies of art and ingenuity, of beauty and magnificence; and yet, when this celebrated structure came to be viewed by more Pekia proper and unbiassed judges, it appears to have been of little worth as to its ancient machines, and less as Pelagiu to its situation; and that all that is now valuable in it is owing to the improvements made by Father Verbiest a Flemish Jesuit, who caused a new set of instruments to be made, with extraordinary care, neatness, and precision. "This fabric stands in a court of a moderate extent, and is built in the form of a square tower, contiguous to the city wall on the inside, and raised but ten or twelve feet above its bulwark. The ascent up to the top is by a very narrow staircase; and on the platform above were placed all the old instruments, which, though but few, took up the whole room, till Father Verbiest introduced his new apparatus, which he disposed in a more convenient order. These are large, well cast, and embellished; and were the neatness of the divisions answerable to the work, and the telescopes fastened to them according to the new method, they would be equal to those of Europe; but the Chinese artificers were, it seems, either too negligent, or incapable of following his directions. As to the old instruments, they were, by order of the emperor Kang-hi, set aside as useless, and laid in the hall near the tower, where they may be seen through a cross-barred window, all covered with rust, and buried in oblivion. "In this famed observatory there are five mathematicians employed night and day, each in a proper apartment on the top of the tower, to observe all that passes over their heads: Their observations are carefully entered in their journals, and an account of them is brought every morning to the surveyor of the mathematics, and registered in his office." These mathematicians, however, are very ignorant. Mr Barrow tells us that they compiled the national calendar from the Connaissance de tems of Paris, and that journal not having arrived in consequence of the war, they were in great perplexity, till one of the gentlemen belonging to the embassy furwished them with a set of nautical almanacs up to 1800. PELAGIANS, a Christian sect who appeared about the fifth or end of the fourth century. They maintained the following doctrines: 1. That Adam was by nature mortal, and, whether he had sinned or not, would certainly have died. 2. That the consequences of Adam's sin were confined to his own person. 3. That new-born infants are in the same situation with Adam before the fall. 4. That the law qualified men for the kingdom of heaven, and was founded upon equal promises with the gospel. 5. That the general resur rection of the dead does not follow in virtue of our Saviour's resurrection. 6. That the grace of God is given according to our merits. 7. That this grace is not granted for the performance of every moral act; the liberty of the will, and information in points of duty, being sufficient, &c. The founder of this sect was PELAGIUS, a native of Great Britain; but whether of England, Scotland, or Wales, is as uncertain as it is immaterial (A). He was born towards the close of the fourth century, and educated in the monastery of (A) Dr Henry thinks he was born in North Wales; that his real name was Morgan, of which Pelagius Pelagius. of Banchor, in Wales, of which he became a monk, and afterwards abbot. In the early part of his life he went over to France, and thence to Rome, where he had the insolence to promulgate certain opinions somewhat different from those of the infallible church. His morals being irreproachable, he gained many disciples; and the dreadful heresy made so rapid a progress, that, for the salvation of souls, it became necessary for the pope to exert his power. Pelagius, to avoid the danger, in the year 409 passed over to Sicily, attended by his friend and pupil Celestius. In 411 they landed in Africa, continued some time at Hippo, and were present at the famous conference between the Catholics and Donatists which was held at Carthage in 412. From thence they travelled into Egypt; and from Egypt, in 415, to Palestine, where they were graciously received by John bishop of Jerusalem. In the same year Pelagius was cited to appear before a council of seventeen bishops, held at Diospolis. They were satisfied with his creed, and absolved him of heresy. The African bishops, however, being displeased with their proceed ings, appealed to the Roman pontiff: he first approved, and afterwards condemned, the opinions of Pelagius, who, with his pupil Celestius, was publicly excommunicated; and all the bishops who refused to subscribe the condemnation of the Pelagian heresy were immedi ately deprived. What became of him after this period Pelagius, PELAGOSA, an island in the Adriatic, which, to- is a translation; and that he was born on the 13th of November A. D. 354, the same day with his great antagonist St Augustin. The same learned historian gives us the following account of Pelagius and his great coadjutor Celestius. "He received a learned education in his own country, most probably in the great monastery of Banchor near Chester, to the government of which he was advanced A. D. 404. He was long esteemed and loved by St Jerome and St Augustin, who kept up a friendly correspondence with him by letters before they discovered the heretical pravity of his opinions; for Pelagius, being a cautious and artful man, for some time vented his peculiar notions as the sentiments of others, without discovering that they were his own. At length, however, he threw off the mask, and openly published and defended his doctrines at Rome about the beginning of the fifth century. This involved him in many troubles, and drew upon him the indignation of his former friends St Jerome and St Augustin, who wrote against him with great acrimony. He is acknowledged, even by his adversaries, to have been a man of good sense and great learning, and an acute disputant, though they load him with the most bitter reproaches for his abuse of these talents. His personal blemishes are painted in very strong colours; and he is represented by these good fathers, in the heat of their zeal, as a very ugly fellow, broad-shouldered, thick-necked, fat-headed, lame of a leg, and blind of an eye.' Even the most northern parts of this island (Britain) produced some men of learning in this period. Celestius, the disciple and friend of Pelagius, was a Scotsman, who made a prodigious noise in the world by his writings and disputations about the beginning of the fifth century. He defended and propagated the peculiar opinions of his master Pelagius with so much learning, zeal, and success, that those who embraced these opinions were frequently called Celestins. Before he became acquainted with these doctrines he wrote several books, which were universally admired for their orthodoxy, learning, and virtuous tendency. After he had spent his youth in his own country in a studious privacy, he travelled for his further improvement to Rome, where he became acquainted with Rufinus and Pelagius, and was by them infected with their heresies. From that time he became the most indefatigable and undaunted champion of these heresies, and thereby brought upon himself the indignation of the orthodox fathers of these days, who gave him many very bad names in their writings. St Jerome, whose commentaries on the Ephesians he had presumed to criticise, calls him, an ignorant, stupid fool, having his belly swelled and distended with Scots pottage; a great, corpulent, barking dog, who was fitter to kick with heels than to bite with his teeth; a Cerberus, who, with his master Pluto (Pelagius), deserved to be knocked on the head, that they might be put to eternal silence.' Such were the flowers of rhetoric which these good fathers employed against the enemies of the orthodox faith! But candour obliges us to observe, that this was perhaps more the vice of the age in which they lived than of the men. Both Pelagius and Celestius were very great travellers; having visited many different countries of Asia and Africa, as well as Europe, with a view to elude the persecutions of their enemies, and to propagate their opinions. It is no inconsiderable evidence of their superior learning and abilities, that their opinions gained great ground in all the provinces both of the eastern and western empire, in spite of the writings of many learned fathers, and the decrees of many councils against them. The Felagian and Celestian heresy (says Photius) not only flourished in great vigour in the West, but was also propagated into the East.' VOL. XVI. Part I. N Pelatiah. Pelagosa rine volcano, as the island near Santerini was in our age; or if we ought to believe it the top of some ancient volcanic mountain, of which the roots and sides have been covered by the waters, which divided Africa from Spain, forming the straits of Gibraltar; an invasion that no one can doubt of who has examined the bottoms and shores of our sea. The Lissan fishermen say, that Pelagosa is subject to frequent and violent earthquakes; and the aspect of the island proves at first sight, that it has suffered many revolutions; for it is rugged, ruinous, and subverted." PELAIAH, a Levite (Nehem. viii. 7. x. 10.). He was one of the principal Levites that returned from captivity, and was one of those who signed the covenant that Nehemiah renewed with the Lord. PELALIAH, son of Amazi and father of Jeroham, of the family of Pashur son of Malchiah, of all whom mention has been made: he was of the race of the priests (Nehem. xi. 12.). PELASGI. See PELASGIOTIS., PELASGIA (Pliny); the ancient name of Lesbos; so called from the Pelasgi, its first inhabitants (Diodorus Siculus). Also the ancient name of Peloponnesus, from Pelasgius, a native of the country (Nicolaus Damascenus, Ephorus). PELASGICUM (Pausanias, Pliny); the north wall of Athens; so called from the builders, the Pelasgi. There was an execration pronounced on any that should build houses under this wall, because the Pelasgi, while dwelling there, entered into a conspiracy against the Athenians (Thucydides).. PELASGIOTIS, a third part of Thessaly (Strabo; so called from a very ancient people, the Pelasgi, called Pelasgiote (Ptolemy); who formerly, together with the Eolians, occupied Thessaly, and thence that part was called Pelasgicum Argos; besides many other parts of Greece. Their name Pelasgi, or Pelargi, denoting storks, was given them from their wandering roving life (Strabo). The poets extend the appellation to Greeks in general. Pelasgus, the epithet. Some of the inhabitants of Crete were called Pelasgi (Homer); who thus also calls the neighbouring people to the Cilicians in Troas. The Pelasgi were originally of Arcadia, (Hesiod); but schylus makes Argos, near Mycenæ, their country. The Pelasgiotis was situated between Pieria and Macedonia to the north and west, Thessaliotis to the south, and Magnesia to the east, (Strabo, Pliny). PELATE, were free-born citizens, among the Athenians, who by poverty were reduced to the necessity of serving for wages. During their servitude they had no vote in the management of public affairs, as having no estate to qualify them; but this restriction was removed whenever they had released themselves from their servile situation, which they were allowed to do when able to support themselves. While they continued servants, they had also a right to change their masters. We find them sometimes distinguished by the name of Thetee. PELATIAH, son of Hananiah, and father of Ishi, of the tribe of Simeon. He subdued the Amalekites upon the mountain of Seir (1 Chron. iv. 42.). The time of this action is unknown. PELATIAH, son of Benaiah, a prince of the people, who lived in the time of Zedekiah king of Judah, and epposed the wholesome advice given by Jeremiah, to 4 submit to King Nebuchadnezzar. Ezekiel (xi. 1, 2, 3, Pelatia 4.) being a captive in Mesopotamia, had a vision, in which he saw five and twenty men at the door of the Peletrom temple of Jerusalem, among whom were Jaazaniah the son of Azur, and Pelatiah the son of Benaiah, who were the most remarkable. Then the Lord said to him, “Son of man, these are the men that have thoughts of iniquity, and who are forming pernicious designs against this city, saying, Have not the houses been built a long time? Jerusalem is the pot, and we are the flesh. Thus saith the Lord: You have made great havock in this city, and have filled its streets with dead bodies. These men are the flesh, and the city is the pot. But as for you, I will make you come forth from the middle of this city, and I will make you perish by the hands of your enemies." he was prophesying in this manner, Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. As PELE, (Stephanus). There were two towns of this name in Thessaly; the one subject to Eurypylus, the other to Achilles; both extinct. Peleus the gentilitious name (id.). PELEG, son of Eber, was born in the year of the world 1757. The scripture says his father gave him the name of Peleg, signifying division, because in his time the earth began to be divided (Gen. xi. 16. x. 25.); whether it was that Noah had begun to distribute the earth among his descendants, some years before the building of Babel; or that Peleg came into the world the same year that Babel was begun, and at the division of languages; or that Eber by a spirit of prophecy gave his son the name of Peleg some years before the tower of Babel was begun, is not absolutely certain. That which here perplexes the interpreters is, first, that Peleg came into the world not above 100 years after the deluge. But it should seem, that the number of men was not then sufficient for such an undertaking as that of Babel. Secondly, Joktan the brother of Peleg had already thirteen sons at the time of this dispersion, which happened after the confusion of Babel (Gen. x. 26, 27, 28, &c.). Peleg being born in the thirty-fourth year of Eber (Gen. xi. 16.), it is impossible his brother Joktan should have such a number of children at the birth of Peleg. It seems therefore that he was not born at the time of the dispersion. To this may be answered, that Moses has there enumerated the names of the thirteen sons of Joktan (in Gen. x. 26.) by way of anticipation, though they were not born till a good while after the confusion at Babel; but as they possessed a very large country, it was convenient to take notice of them, and to name them among other descendants of Noah, who divided the provinces of the east among themselves. However this may have been, at the age of thirty years Peleg begat Reu; and be died at the age of 239. the PELETHITES. The Pelethites and Cherethites were famous under the reign of King David. They were the most valiant men in the army of that prince, and had the guard of his person. See Ezekiel xxv. 16. Zephaniah ii. 5. 1 Sam. xxx. 14. 2 Samuel xv. . 18.. xx. 7. Patrick's Comm. Pool's Annot. and Delany's Hist. of the Life of David. PELETHŘONII, a name or epithet given to the Lapitha, either because they inhabited the town of Pelethronium at the foot of Mount Pelion in Thesealy, Pelethronii saly, or because one of their number bore the name of Pelethronius. It is. to them, we are told, that mankind are indebted for the invention of the bit with which they tamed their horses with so much dexterity. Peleus. PELETHRONIUM (Nicander and Scholiast); a town of Thessaly, situated in a flowery part of Mount Pelion; and hence the appellation throna, signifying "flowers." Lucan says the Centaurs were natives of that place; to whom Virgil assigns Mount Othrys. Most authors, however, ascribe the breaking of horses to the Centaurs. Some make the Lapitha and Centaurs the same; others a different people; allowed how ever to be both of Thessaly. Their story is greatly involved in fable. See LAPIthus. PELEUS, in Fabulous History, a king of Thessaly, son of Æacus and Endeis, the daughter of Chiron. He married Thetis one of the Nereids, and was the only mortal man who ever married an immortal. He was concerned in the murder of his brother Phocus, and was therefore obliged to leave his father's dominions. He fled to the court of Eurytus the son of Actor, who reigned at Phthia, or according to the opinion of Ovid, the truth of which is questioned, to Ceyx king of Trachinia. He was purified of his murder by Eurytus, with the usual ceremonies, and the king gave him his daughter Antigone in marriage. After this, as Peleus and Eurytus went to the chase of the Calydonian boar, the father-in-law was accidentally killed by an arrow which his son-in-law had aimed at the beast. This unfortunate action obliged him to banish himself from the court of Phthia, and he went to Iolchos, where he was also purified of the murder of Eurytus by Acastus the king of the country. His residence at Iolchos was short: Astydamia the wife of Acastus fell in love with him; but when she found him insensible to her passionate declarations, she accused him of attempts upon her virtue. The king her husband partly believed the accusations of his wife; but not willing to violate the laws of hospitality, by putting him instantly to death, he ordered his officers to conduct him to Mount Pelion, on pretence of hunting, and there to tie him to a tree and to leave him a prey to the wild beasts of the place. The orders of Acastus were faithfully obeyed but Jupiter knowing the innocence of his grandson Peleus, ordered Vulcan to set him at liberty. As soon as he had been delivered from danger, Peleus assembled his friends in order to punish the treatment which he had received from Acastus. He took Iolchos by force, drove the king from his possessions, and put to death the wicked Astydamia. On the death of Antigone, Peleus made love to Thetis, of whose superior charms Jupiter himself had been enamoured. His pretensions were rejected; for as he was but a mortal, the goddess fled from him with the attmost abhorrence, and the more effectually to evade his inquiries, she generally assumed the shape of a bird, or a tree, or of a tygress. Peleus's passion was fanned by refusal: he offered a sacrifice to the gods; and Proteus informed him, that to obtain Thetis he must surprise her while she was asleep in her grotto, near the shores of Thessaly. This advice was immediately attended to; and Thetis, unable to escape from the grasp of Peleus, at last consented to marry him. Their nuptials were celebrated with the greatest solemnity, all the Islands gods attending and making them each the most valu- Peleus, able presents. The goddess of Discord was the only Pelew one of the deities who was absent; and she punished this seeming neglect by throwing an apple in the midst of the assembly of the gods, with the inscription of Detur pulchriori. The celebrated Achilles was the fruit of this marriage, whose education was early entrusted to the Centaur Chiron, and afterwards to Phonix, the son of Amyntor. Achilles, it is well known, went to the Trojan war, at the head of his father's troops; and Peleus gloried in having a son who was superior to all the Greeks in valour and intrepidity. His death, however, was the source of great grief to Peleus; but Thetis, to comfort her husband, promised him immortality, and ordered him to retire into the grottoes of the island of Leuce, where he should see and converse with the manes of his son. Pelcus had a daughter called Polydora, by Antigone. PELEW ISLANDS, a clustre of small islands situated: between the latitudes of 50 and 7° north, and the longitudes 134° and 136° cast. Various conjectures have been formed respecting the time of their first discovery by Europeans. Mr Keate, the editor of the only voyage in which we have any account of their climate, soil, and produce, together with the manners of their inhabitants, thinks they were first noticed by the Spaniards from the Philippines, and by them named Palos from the number of trees growing in them resembling the masts of ships. This conjecture has been vehemently opposed by a critic, who affirms that the whole of Mr Keate's introduction is erroneous, and that the islands in question were first discovered by a French Jesuit named Pere Papin. The Jesuit, he imagines, was directed to them by one of the inhabitants, who had found his way to the Moluccas, where he was baptized. They are said to have been again noticed by P. Centova in 1724, who, saw at Agdane, the capital of the Merian islands, some of the inhabitants; and from their account gives a description not very favourable of these harmless islanders. Centova's description is to be found in the 15th volume, and the relation of the discovery by P. Papin in the 11th volume, of Lettres Edifiantes et Curieuses, published at Paris 1781. The latest and most authentic account of them, however is given from the Journals of Captain Wilson of the Antelope, a packet belonging to the East India company, which was wrecked upon one of them in August 1783. This ship was fitted out in England by the court of directors in the summer 1782, as was then generally understood, for a secret expedition. Whatever may have been her destination, as she was proceeding from Macao in squally weather, the man, who, on the night of the 10th of August, had the look-out, suddenly called out Breakers! But the sound of the word had scarce reached the ears of the officer on deck, before the ship struck and stuck fast; and in less than an hour bulged and filled with water. Having secured the gunpowder, small arms, bread, and such other provisions as were liable to be spoiled with water, Captain Wison, after many difficulties, effected a landing. The crew of the Antelope consisted of 33 Europeans besides the tain, and 16 Chinese: and the only possible means by which they could be delivered from an island, which at first appeared to them uninhabited, was by building a ship capable of transporting them to the nearest Euro N 2 cap pean Pelew P and his people, that some of the crew should be sent to the king of the place, in order to solicit his friendship, Isl. and intreat his permission to build a vessel that might carry them back to their own country. This business was allotted to the captain's brother; and during his absence, Raa Kook, the king's brother, and several of the natives, remained with our people. This amiable chief seemed to place an entire confidence in those he was among; he endeavoured to accommodate himself to their manners; would sit at table as they did, instead of squatting on his hams; and inquired particularly into the principles and causes of every thing he observed about him, lending his personal assistance in all that was going forward, and even desiring the cook to let him aid him in blowing the fire. pean settlement in that quarter of the globe. Whilst Islands. they were meditating upon this undertaking, the natives appeared on the second day after their arrival; and their intercourse with them was facilitated by means which appear as singular as they were providential. Captain Wilson had a servant recommended to him at Macao, who spoke both the Malay and English languages perfectly well; and they had not been long at Pelew before they had the good fortune to meet with a Malay, who had been thrown by a tempest upon this very spot about a year before, and had made himself acquainted with the language of the country; so that by this extraordinary event each party had an interpreter who could readily explain their wants and desires, and by that means prevent a number of misconceptions which might have arisen from making use of signs and gestures only. The natives are all of a deep copper colour, going perfectly naked. They are of a middling stature, very straight, muscular, and well formed; but their legs, from a little above their ancles to the middle of their thighs, are tatooed so very thick, as to appear dyed of a far deeper colour than the rest of their skin. Their hair is of a fine black, long, and rolled up behind, in a simple manner, close to the back of their heads, which appeared both neat and becoming; but few of them had beards, it being the general custom to pluck them out by the roots. They began by stroking the bodies and arms of the English, or rather their waistcoats and coat sleeves, as if they doubted whether the garment and the man were not of the same substance; and as the Malay explained the circumstances to them, our people were greatly surprised at the quickness with which they seemed to comprehend every information he gave them. The next thing they noticed was our people's white hands, and the blue veins of their wrists; the former of which they seemed to consider as artificial, and the other as the English manner of tatooing. After being satisfied in this particular, they expressed a further wish to see their bodies; and, among other things, were greatly surprised at finding hair on their breasts, it being considered by them as a great mark of indelicacy, as it is their custom to eradicate it from every part of the body in both sexes. They afterwards walked about, testifying great curiosity at every thing they saw, but at the same time expressing a fear that they might be thought too intruding. As our people were conducting them to the tents, one of the natives picked up a bullet, which had been casually dropped on the ground, and immediately expressed his surprise, that a substance so small to the eye should be so very ponderous to the touch; and on their entering the tent, a large Newfoundland dog, and a spaniel, which had been tied up there to prevent their being lost, set up a most violent barking, and the natives a noise but little less loud, which at first it was not easy to account for. They ran in and out of the tent, and seemed to wish that they might be made to bark again. This the Malay soon explained to be the effect of their joy and surprise, as these were the first large animals they had ever seen, there being no quadrupeds of any species on these islands, except a very few grey rats in the woods. After some time it was agreed on by Captain Wilson In order to conciliate their affections, Captain Wilson had presented Arra Kooker, another of the king's brothers, with a pair of trowsers; but having conceived a greater passion for a white shirt, one was immediately given to him; which he had no sooner put on, than be began to dance and jump about with so much joy, that every body was diverted by his singular gestures, and the contrast which the linen formed with his skin. This prince was about 40, of a short stature, but so plump and fat that he was nearly as broad as he was long. He possessed an abundant share of good humour, and a wonderful turn for mimickry; and had besides a countenance so lively and expressive, that though our people at this time were strangers to almost all he said, yet his face and gestures made them accurately comprehend whatever he was describing. After three or four days, Abba Thulle the king arrived with a great retinue. He was received with every mark of respect by the ship's company, who were exercised before him, and fired three volleys in different positions. The surprise of the natives, their hooting, hallooing, jumping, and chattering, produced a noise almost equal to the discharge of the muskets; and when one of the men shot a bird, which was done to display the effect of their arms, the surprise it occasioned was wonderful. Some of the natives ran for it, and carried it to the king, who examined it with great attention, but was unable to comprehend how it could be wounded, not having seen any thing pass out of the gun. Raa Kook expressed great impatience to show the king whatever had impressed his own mind; and taking his brother by the hand, led him to a grindstone which was fixed behind one of the tents. He immediately put it in motion as he had frequently done before; at the rapidity of which the king was greatly astonished, particularly when he was informed that it would sharpen iron. Captain Wilson ordered a hatchet to be brought and ground, that they might more readily perceive its operation, when Raa Kook eagerly seized the handle, and began turning it, appearing highly delighted to let his brother see how well he understood it. The whole appeared like something supernatural; but the circumstance which most bewildered their ideas was, how the sparks of fire could come, and how a stone so well wetted could become so soon dry. The king then visited the different tents, and inquired about every thing he saw: all was novelty, and of course interested his attention. When he got to the tent where the Chinese men were, who had been brought with them from Macao, Raa Kook, whose retentive mind never lost |