PEL – PET

Volume II, pages 378–384, 365–376 of the 1732 edition, from PEL to PET: everything printed on these pages, in order.

Continued from Pella

by the Revelation of an Angel to withdraw thither. This City belonged to the Kingdom of Agrippa, who did not enter into this War but on the Side of the Romans, and to assist them at the Siege of Jerusalem.

I suspect that Pella takes its Name from Abila, or Abela. There were more Cities than one that were known by the Name of Abila; but that I mean is called by Geographers Abila of Batanea, and in Scripture Abel of the Vines. Polybius¹ distinguishes Abila from Pella, since he says, that Antiochus the Great took Pella, Kamos, Gephros, Abila, Gadara, &c. Stephanus the Geographer says, that the City of Pella had Alexander the Great for its Founder, probably in Memory of the City of Pella in Thessaly, where he had his Birth. Abila and Pella were afterwards Episcopal Cities of the second Palestine. Josephus says², that Pella was one of the seven Toparchies of Judæa; but elsewhere he calls it Betlephtepha³, and Pliny gives it the same Name⁴. ‘Tis unknown where Betlephtepha was. The Name of Pella is not in the Scripture, but it is famous enough to deserve a Place here.

PELONITE. Peloni or Pheloni was a City of Judæa⁵. Abijah the Pelonite, was one of the Heroes of David’s Army, 1 Chron. xi. 36.

PELUSIUM, a City of Egypt, situate at the Mouth of the most Eastern Arm of the Nile, and the nearest to Palestine. Pelusium, otherwise Damietta, was as it were the Key of Egypt, towards Phœnicia and Judæa. Ezekiel⁶ speaks of it under the Name of Sin, and calls it the Rampart or Strength of Egypt. The Hebrew Word Sin, which signifies Mud, answers very well to the Greek Pelusium, which comes from Pelos, of the same Signification. The Septuagint have read Sais instead of Sin, in this Place of Ezekiel. The Scripture speaks of the Desart of Sin, between Elim and Sinai, Exod. xvi. 1. Numb. xxxiii. 11.

This is the Prophecy that Ezekiel pronounces Ezek. xxx. 13, 14, 15, 16, &c.against Pelusium. Thus saith the Lord God: I will also destroy their Idols, and I will cause their Images to cease out of Noph, and there shall be no more a Prince of the Land of Egypt, and I will put a Fear in the Land of Egypt. And I will make Pathros desolate, and will set Fire in Zoan, and will execute Judgments in No. And I will pour my Fury upon Sin the Strength of Egypt, and will cut off the Multitude of No. And I will set Fire in Egypt, Sin shall have great Pain, &c. ‘Tis thought these Threats had Regard to the Expedition of Ezek. xxix. 18, 19.Nebuchadnezzar against this Country. For the Lord says to Ezekiel; Son of Man, Nebuchadrezzar King of Babylon caused his Army to serve a great Service against Tyrus; every Head was made bald, and every Shoulder was peeled, yet had he no Wages, nor his Army, for Tyrus, for the Service that he had served against it. Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I will give the Land of Egypt unto Nebuchadrezzar King of Babylon, and he shall take her Multitude, and take her Spoil, and take her Prey, and it shall be the Wages for his Army. Afterwards the Prophet foretels the Calamities before mentioned. Pelusium by its Situation was as it were the Key, the Rampart, and the Strength of Egypt, It suffered the first Efforts of the King of Babylon, and of the Chaldean Army⁷.

2 Kings xix. 35.Before Nebuchadnezzar’s Time the City of Pelusium had been already attacked by the Army of Sennecharib King of Assyria. This Prince set upon Sethon, otherwise Sevechus, King of Egypt, and lay down before Pelusium⁸. Sethon was a Prince devoid of Prudence, and but little capable of Government. He had alienated the Minds of his Soldiers, and found himself forsaken of all those that could defend him. Yet having addressed himself to Vulcan, whose Priest he was, he was bid to advance as far as Pelusium, there to meet Sennecharib, and God would send him Assistance. He therefore put himself at the Head of such People as he could get together, and God sent against Sennecharib’s Army a great Multitude of Rats, which in the Night Time gnawed the Strings of the Bows, and the Thongs of the Bucklers of the Assyrians, by which their Arms became useless to them. This is what the Egyptians relate. But the sacred Books of the Hebrews inform us, that it was an Angel of the Lord, who in one Night put to Death eighty-five Thousand Men of Sennecharib’s Army.

We are assured⁹, that Cambyses King of Persia, being desirous to make War in Egypt, and resolving to become Master of Pelusium, which was as it were its Rampart, to take it with less Difficulty he devised this Stratagem. In an Assault which he made against the Town, he placed a great Number of Cats, Dogs, Sheep, and such other Animals as the Egyptians held for sacred, in the Front of his Troops. Thus the Soldiers that defended the City, who were altogether or mostly Egyptians, durst not throw their Lances, or shoot any Arrows on that Side, for Fear of wounding any of those Animals. By which Means Cambyses became Master of the Place without any Oppositiona.

PENIEL, Phanuel, or Penuel, a City beyond Jordan, near the Ford or Brook

Jabbok. This was the Occasion of its Name. Jacob upon his Return from Mesopotamia¹⁰, made a Stop at the Brook Jabbok; and very early the next Morning, after he had sent all the People before, he remained alone, and behold an Angel came and wrestled with him, till the Day began to appear. Then the Angel said to Jacob, Let me go, for the Morning begins to appear. Jacob answered, I shall not let you go from me, till you have given me your Blessing. The Angel blessed him then in the same Place, which Jacob thence called Peniel, saying: I have seen God Face to Face, yet continue alive.

1 Sam. i. 2, 3, &c.In following Ages the Israelites built a City in this Place, which was given to the Tribe of Gad. Gideon returning from the Pursuit of the Midianites, overthrew the Tower of Peniel¹¹, and put all the Inhabitants of the City to Death, for having refused Sustenance to him and his People, and having answered him in a very insulting Manner. Jeroboam the Son of Nebat rebuilt the City of Peniel¹². Josephus says¹³, that this Prince there built himself a Palace.

1 Sam. ii. 5.PENINNAH, or Phenenna, the second Wife of Elkanah, the Father of Samuel. Peninnah had several Children, but Hannah, who afterwards was Mother of Samuel, was for a great while barren: Peninnah, instead of giving the Glory to God, the Author of Fruitfulness, was elevated with Pride, and insulted her Rival Hannah. But the Lord having visited Hannah, Peninnah was thereupon humbled; and some Interpreters think, that God took away her Children from her, or at least that she had no more after this Time, according to the Words of the Song of Hannah; The barren hath born seven, and she that hath many Children is waxed feeble.

PENTAPOLIS¹⁴. This Name is given to the five Cities, Sodom, Gomorrah, Adamah, Zeboim, and Zoar. They were all five condemned to utter Destruction, but Lot interceded for the Preservation of Zoar, otherwise call’d Bala. Sodom, Gomorrah, Adamah, and Zeboim, were all consumed by Fire from Heaven, and in the Place where they stood was made the Lake Asphaltites, or the Lake of Sodom.

PENTATEUCH. This Word is derived from the Greek¹⁵, and signifies literally, the Collection of the five Instruments or Books of Moses, which are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. We have spoke of each of these Books under their proper Articles. See also Moses, and the Commentators upon the Pentateuch, where they endeavour to prove at large, that Moses was the Author of those five Books, and to confute such as have advanced any thing to the contrary. These are the Arguments of some modern Criticks, who have disputed Moses’s Right to the Pentateuch. We find in this Work, as they affirm, several Things that agree neither to the Age nor Character of this Legislator. The Author speaks of Moses in a manner much to his Advantage, he commends his Moderation and Meekness. Now the Man Numb. xii. 3.Moses was very meek, above all the Men which were upon the Face of the Earth. He speaks always in the third Person, The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, &c. Moses said unto Pharaoh, &c. Moses would never have spoke of himself in this Manner, at least sometimes he would have express’d himself in the first Person.

Besides, the Author of the Pentateuch sometimes abridges his Narration like a Writer who collected from some antient Memoirs. Sometimes he interrupts the Thread of his Discourse; for Example, he Gen iv. 23. Gen. xii. 6.makes Lamech the bigamous to say; Hear my Voice ye Wives of Lamech, hearken unto my Speech; for I have slain a Man to my Wounding, and a young Man to my Hurt: Without informing us before-hand, to whom this related. These Observations for Example, And the Canaanite was then in the Land, cannot be reconciled to the Age of Moses, since the Canaanites continued to be the Masters of Palestine all the Time of Moses. The Passage out of the Book of the Wars of the Lord, quoted in the Book of Numb. xxi. 14.Numbers, seems to have been clap’d in afterwards, as also the first Verses of Deuteronomy. The Account of the Death of Moses, which is at the End of the same Book, cannot certainly belong to this Legislator; and the same Judgment may be made of other Passages, wherein it is said, that the Places mention’d lay beyond Jordan; that the Bed of Og was at Ramah to this Day; that the Numb. xxxii. 41. Deut. iii. 14.havoth of Jair, or the Cities of Jair, were known to the Author, tho’ probably they had not that Name till after Moses’s Time.

‘Tis observed also in the Text of the Pentateuch, that there are some Places that are defective; for Example, in Exodus we see Exod. xii. 8.Moses speaking to Pharaoh, where the Author omits the Beginning of his Discourse. The Samaritan inserts in the same Place what is wanting in the Hebrew. In other Places the same Samaritan Copy adds what is deficient in the Hebrew Text; and what it contains more than the Hebrew seems so well connected with the rest of

the Discourse, that it would be difficult to separate them. Lastly, they believe they observe certain Stroaks in the Pentateuch, which can hardly agree with Moses, who was born and bred in Egypt; as what he says of the earthly Paradise, of the Rivers that water’d it, and ran through it; of the Cities of Babylon, Erech, Resen and Calneh; of the Gold of Pison, of the Bdellium, of the Stone of Sohem, which was to be found in that Country; these Particulars observed with such Curiosity seem to prove, that the Author of the Pentateuch liv’d beyond the Euphrates. Add what he says concerning the Ark of Noah, of its Construction, of the Place where it rested, of the Wood wherewith it was built, of the Bitumen of Babylon, &c.

These last Observations have made some surmise, that the Levite that was sent by Esar-haddon to the Cushites who were settled 2 Kings xvii. 24, 27.in Samaria, might possibly have composed the Pentateuch, and that the Jews might have received it with some little Variation from the Hands of the Samaritans. Others have imagin’d that the Pentateuch, in the Condition wherein we have it, was but the Abridgment of a larger Work, compos’d by some publick Writers, who had this Trust committed to them in the Republick of the Hebrews.

But not to undertake here to enter into an Examination of all these Proofs, or to refute all the Opinions upon which they are founded, on which so much has already been written; we shall content our selves to make these three Reflexions. First to divest Moses of a Possession he has maintain’d for so many Ages, as the Author of the Pentateuch; a Possession supported by the joint Testimony both of the Synagogue and the Church, of the sacred Writers both of the Old and New Testament, of Jesus Christ and his Apostles; this certainly requires Proofs to which there can be no Reply, evident Demonstrations. But it is plain that the Objections brought against this Assertion are even below convincing Arguments. For secondly the Additions, the Dislocations, the Confusions, the Omissions, which we cannot refuse to allow therein, will not determine that Moses is not the Author of those Books. They only prove that some Amendments have been made, either by adding or expunging. God has suffer’d that the sacred Books should not be exempted from such kind of Alterations, as proceed from the Hands of Copiers, or which are a Consequence of the Length of Time. If a slight Addition, or some Change made in the Text of an Author, should be thought sufficient to deprive him of his Labours, what Writer could remain in the quiet Possession of his Work for even one Century? Thirdly, the Conjectures of M. le Clerc and of F. Simon, about the Author of the Pentateuch, have been so often confuted, that it would be quite needless to touch upon that Matter here. The publick Writers of F. Simon are purely chimerical. The Priest or Levite sent by Esar-haddon to the Cushites, could not have composed the Pentateuch. This Book was wrote long before his Time. It is quoted in Works that were extant before the Time of this Levite. The Law was in constant Practice from Moses down to the Captivity, and was therefore written. A Copy of it was lodg’d in the Ark, and was found in the Days of King Josiah. The Jews and Samaritans had too much Aversion for each other, to communicate their sacred Writings to one another. By comparing the Samaritan Pentateuch with that of the Jews, it may be easily perceived that they are both derived from the same Original; but one may also easily perceive, that one of them is not copy’d from the other, and that the Samaritans have touch’d up their Copy, to support certain Pretensions that they had against the Jews, in the Business of Mount Gerizim, upon which their Temple was built. The Samaritans have preserved the Hebrew Pentateuch written in the antient Phenician Characters, which are the Hebrew Characters used before the Captivity of Babylon. See under the Title SAMARITAN.

PENTECOST. This Word is derived from the Greek Word Pentecoste, which signifies the fiftieth, because the Feast of Pentecost was celebrated the fiftieth Day after the sixteenth of Nisan, which was the second Levit. xxiii. 15, 16.Day of the Feast of the Passover. The Hebrews call it¹⁶ the Feast of Weeks, because it was kept seven Weeks after the Passover. Deut. xvi. 9, 10. Levit. xxiii. 15, 16.They then offer’d the first Fruits of this Wheat-harvest, which at that Time was compleated. These first Fruits consisted in two Loaves of leaven’d Bread, of two Assarons of Meal, or of three Pints of Meal each¹⁷. Besides which they presented at the Temple seven Lambs of that Year, one Calf, and two Rams, to be offer’d for a Burnt-offering, two Lambs for a Peace-offering, and a Goat for a Sin-offering. We do not find in the Text of Scripture, or in Josephus, that the Pentecost had an Octave, tho’ it was one of the three great Solemnities, in which all the Males were to appear before the Lord. Besides the Victims appointed in Leviticus, Chap. xxiii. 18, 19. to be offer’d on the Day of Pentecost, they offer’d also two Calves and a Ram for a Burnt-offering, seven Lambs for a Peace-offering, and a Goat for a Sin

offering. See Numb. xxviii. 27. Josephus puts all these Sacrifices together. Antiq. l. 3. c. 10.

The Feast of Pentecost was instituted among the Jews, first to oblige the Israelites to repair to the Temple of the Lord, there to acknowledge his absolute Dominion over the whole Country, and on their Labours, by offering to him the First Fruits of all their Harvests. Secondly to call to their Memory, and to render Thanks to God for the Law which he had given them from Mount Sinai on the like Day, which was the fiftieth Day after their coming out of Egypt¹⁸.

The modern Jews¹⁹ celebrate the Pentecost for two Days, and these two Days are kept by them as Festivals of the Passover, that is to say, they abstain from all Labour, and meddle with no Business, no more than on the Sabbath-day, excepting that they may make Fires, dress Victuals, and carry what they want from one Place to another. They hold by Tradition, that this Day the Law was deliver’d from Mount Sinai; for which Reason they are used to dress the Synagogue and the Places appointed for the Reading of the Law, and even their Houses, with Roses and Flowers knit together in Crowns and Garlands, and that in great Quantities.

The Prayers are accommodated to the Festival, and they read from the Pentateuch the Sacrifice that was offer’d on that Day, with a Lesson out of the Prophets, which has some Relation to the Feast of Pentecost. Afterwards they pronounce a Blessing for the Sovereign, and make a Sermon in Commendation of the Law.

When the second Day of the Festival is over, in the Evening they perform the Ceremony of the Abdala, that is, Distinction, to distinguish the Day of the Feast from a working Day, and to shew that they pass from the Feast to a Day in which it is allowed to work. This Ceremony consists in repeating certain Prayers, and certain Blessings, and in wishing one another good Health, and all kind of Prosperity. After which every one employs himself as he sees proper, the Feast being at an End.

This Abdala, or Distinction, is also performed at the Passover and the Sabbath; but on the Day of the Sabbath there is more Ceremony. When every one is come home to his House, they light a Torch, or a Lamp with two Cottons, the Master of the House takes Wine in a Cup, and sweet-scented Spices: And when he has said some Passages out of the Psalms, and what is read at the End of the eighth Chapter of the Book of Esther; The Jews had Light, and Gladness, and Joy, and Honour, &c. Then he blesses the Wine and the Spices, and enjoys the Flavour of them as it were to begin the Week with Pleasure; he blesses the Brightness of the Fire, of which no Use has yet been made, looks upon his Hands and Nails, because he is then beginning to work, and throws the Wine upon the Ground, as a Token of Joy and Gladness. Then wishing each other a happy Week, they begin to go about their Business. But at the End of the Feast of the Passover, and of the Pentecost, they make the Abdala with Words only.

To these Practices Buxtorf²⁰ adds some other Ceremonies, peculiar perhaps to the Jews of Germany. To call to Mind in a more sensible Manner the Mount of Sinai, upon which the Law was given, they make a very thick Cake, made of seven Layers of Past; they call it Sinai, and inculcate, that these seven Thicknesses of Past represent the seven Heavens, which God was obliged to re-ascend, from the Top of this Mountain to the Heaven of Heavens, where he makes his Abode. They reckon up exactly all the Days that pass after the Passover, that they may not be mistaken in the Moment upon which the Pentecost is to begin. The King, they say, has promised Liberty to a Prisoner, and his Daughter in Marriage, at the End of seven Weeks. Is it not fit that this Prisoner should count the Days, the Hours, the Moments, at the End of which his Happiness is to begin? This King is God, who has promised Liberty to the Jewish Nation, and also his Law.

And that they may not be mistaken in their Calculation, they celebrate two Festival Days for the greater Security. They did the same Thing formerly at other Festivals, as may be seen from Judith²¹. And Buxtorf affirms they did the same Thing at the Passover; and it is from hence that he removes the Difficulty arising from our Saviour’s eating the Paschal Lamb a Day before the Jews.

To return to the Pentecost. Twice they bring the Book of the Law, five Persons read it one after another. The Synagogue and the Windows of the Houses are adorned with Flowers, to insinuate, that every Thing was dressed in Verdure about Mount Sinai, when the Israelites received the Law.

The Christian Church also celebrates the Feast of Pentecost fifty Days, or seven Weeks after the Passover, or the Resurrection of our Saviour. We are convinced that the true Day of the Passover, in the Year that our Saviour died, fell upon the Saturday, and that the Pentecost fell on Sunday the 24th of May, fifty Days after our Saviour’s Resurrection. The Church has always kept the Pentecost on the Sunday, at least it is a Tradition very express²²

among the Fathers²³, and the Ecclesiastical Writers²⁴. After the Ascension of Christ, the Apostles having withdrawn together into a House at Jerusalem, which ‘tis said was that of Mary the Mother of John²⁵, which was upon the Mount of Sion²⁶, they there waited for the Holy Ghost, which our Saviour had promised to send them. And on the Day of Pentecost, about the third Hour of the Day, that is, about Nine a-Clock in the Morning, on a sudden they heard a great Noise, as it were the rushing of a mighty Wind, which came from Heaven, and which filled the Acts ii. 1, 2, 3.whole House where the Apostles were assembled together. At the same Time they saw appear among them as it were Tongues of Fire, which were parted or cloven, and rested upon each of them, who were then immediately filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak different Tongues or Languages, according as the Spirit gave them Utterance.

There were then at Jerusalem Jews of all Nations, pious Men and fearing God; and at the Noise that was made in the House where the Apostles were assembled, a great Number of Persons came together, who were very much surprized to hear all those in the House, to speak such a Variety of Languages. Some of ‘em were very much astonished at the Event, while others made a Mock of them saying, that these People were full of new Wine. Then St. Peter took up their Defence, and said, The People that you see here are by no Means drunk, for it is yet but the third Hour of the Day. On Festival Days they did not eat before Noon²⁷, especially they tasted nothing before Nine in the Morning, which was an Hour of Prayer. But added he, you see Acts iii. 1.here the Accomplishment of what was spoke by the Prophet Joel. I will pour out my Spirit upon all Flesh; your Sons and your Daughters Joel ii. 28.shall prophesie, your young Men shall have Visions, and your old Men shall dream Dreams. I will cause Prodigies to appear in the Heavens above, and extraordinary Wonders on the Earth below. And then, whoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved. After this he spake to ‘em of Jesus Christ, of his Death and Resurrection, and of the Descent of the Holy Ghost, the Effects of which were so evident to them.

At these Words, those that heard St. Peter were moved with Compunction, and said to him, and the rest of the Apostles, Brethren, what must we therefore do? St. Peter answered them, Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ, to obtain the Remission of his Sins, and you also shall receive the Holy Ghost. He continued to instruct them by several other Discourses, and that Day were baptized about three Thousand Men. This is what passed on the Day of Pentecost, in the 33d Year of the Vulgar Æra

I. PENUEL, or Phanuel, Son of Hur, of the Tribe of Judah, 1 Chron. iv. 4.

II. PENUEL, Son of Shashak, 1 Chron. viii. 25.

2 Tim. iv. 13.PENULA. St. Paul in his second Epistle to Timothy says, Penulam quam reliqui Troade apud Carpum veniens affer tecum. When thou comest bring with thee the Cloak which I left with Carpus at Troas. Penula is here rendered by a Cloak, because this is the proper Signification of that Latin Word, which stands for a Riding-coat, or upper Garment, to defend us from the Rain or the Cold²⁸. Tertullian says²⁹, it was invented by the Lacedemonians, that they might be present at the publick Games without Injury from the Cold. At first among the Romans it was only used by Slaves, or Men of mean Condition, who wore them in the City. They were more generally worn upon a Journey, to defend them against bad Weather. They were used even by the Women in the Country³⁰. Aftewards they came to be more generally worn, even in the City, and by People of Fashion. The Tribunes of the People commonly made Use of this Habit. Dio observes³¹, that the Emperor Tiberius put on a Cloak, Penulam, that he might be present at an Assembly when it rained. Alexander Severus³² allow’d old Men (or Senators) to make Use of the Penula in the City; but he forbid the Use of it to Women, in the City, and allowed them only to wear it in the Country. Yet Spartian³³ says, that the Emperors never made Use of it. 2 Tim. iv. 13.Ambrosiaster, Haimo, and the Commentary upon St. Paul ascribed to St. Anselm, think the Penula was a long Robe, or Senators Gown; that St. Paul’s Father had received one as a Present, which he used as being a Roman Citizen and a Senator. They think that he had given it to St. Paul, who having left it at Troas, desired St. Timothy to bring it with him to Rome. But these are Fictions, which do not deserve a serious Confutation. In St. Paul’s Time the Penula was not yet become the Habit of a Senator; and what Proof is there, that the Father of St. Paul was ever a Senator?

By the Word Phenole or Phelone, the Greek Fathers³⁴ understand either a Book-case,

or a Garment. But they generally contend for the Interpretation of a Book-case, wherein St. Paul used to keep his Books, which he mentions in the same Place. Penulam affer tecum, & libros, maxime autem membranas. St. Jerome also takes Notice of this Opinion, when he says³⁵, Volumen Hebræum replico, quod Paulus phelonen juxta quosdam vocat. M. Brucmas has supported this Acceptation of Phenole, in a Dissertation made on Purpose, and printed by Masius at the End of his Book, concerning the Authority of Princes in Matters of Religion. M. Boileau, Dean of the Holy Chapel at Paris, has also maintained the same Opinion in his Book de re vestiaria hominis sacri. See also Hammond and Estius upon St. Paul. I should rather take it for a Garment. Penula in Latin had never any other Signification, and it is plain this Word comes from the Greek Phainole. The Form of the Penula was pretty much like that of the antient Chasuble or Cope, which covered the whole Body, was without Sleeves, and had no other Opening but at Top, to admit the Head through.

PEOR, or Phogor, a famous Mountain beyond Jordan, which Eusebius places between Hesbbon and Livias³⁶. The Mountains Nebo, Pisgah, and Peor were near one another, and probably made but the same Chain of Mountains. It is very likely that Peor took its Name from some Deity of the same Name, which was worshipped there; for Peor, or Phegor, or Baal-peor was known in this Country. See Numb. xxv. 3. Deut. iv. 3. Psalm cv. 28.

Peor was a City of the Tribe of Judah, which is not read in the Hebrew, nor in the Vulgate, but only in the Greek of Josh. xv. 60. Eusebius says it was near Bethlehem, and Jerome adds, that in his Time it was called Paora.

PEREA. This Word comes from the Greek, Peran, beyond, and signifies the Country beyond Jordan, or on the East Side of this River. Josephus says³⁷, that Perea had its Limits westwardly at Philadelphia, Jordan to the East, Macberon to the South, and Pella to the North. Sometimes the Word Perea is taken in a more extensive Signification, for the whole Country beyond Jordan. This Country to the East was also enclosed by Mountains, which divided it Matth. v. 48.from Arabia deserta.

PERECCO, a City of Galilee. Joseph. de Bello, l. ii. c. 25. Mr. Reland thinks³⁸, that it ought to be read Caphar-ecco, the Country of Ecco or Acco. The City of Ptolemais was called Acco, so that Caphar-ecco could not be far from thence.

PERFECTION. The Son of God commands us, saying; Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect. Not that we can ever attain his Luke vi. 36. Matth. xix. 21. Luke vi. 40. 1 Cor. i. 10. xiv. 10, &c.Perfection, but yet we ought always to be making Advances towards it. We ought always to propose it to our selves as our Pattern, in the Exercise of all Sorts of Virtue, and chiefly his Mercy and Charity. Whence St. Luke says in the Passage parallel to this; Be ye therefore merciful as your Father also is merciful. In another Place our Saviour says, that he that would be perfect, must forsake all and follow him. And again, that the Disciple that would arrive at Perfection must become like his Master. St. Paul often exhorts his Disciples to be perfect, that is to say, to acquire the Perfection of Christianity, to be convinced of the Excellence of it, and to practice its Truths.

In the Books of the Old Testament, the Words perfect and Perfection answer to the Hebrew Words Tham and Thummim, which properly signifie intire and compleat, without Blemish or Defect, irreprehensible, perfect. Gen. vi. 9. Gen. xvii. 1. Deut. xviii. 13. Josh. xxiv. 14. 2 Kings xx. 3.Thus it is said, Noah was a just Man, and perfect in his Generations. And God says to Abraham, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. And speaking to his People, Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God. In all these Places perfect is put for without Reproach, unreprovable, sincere. And in like Manner, to serve God with a perfect Heart, is to serve him faithfully, purely, without admitting a Rival. Perfect Knowledge, a perfect Law, perfect Charity, a perfect Work; in all which Expressions the Word Perfect is used to signify, whatever may make those Things compleat, finished, intire, and where nothing is wanting. St. Paul says, The Law made nothing perfect; it Heb. vii. 19.may be said to give only Sketches of Things, and to enjoin Things that have less Perfection than what the Gospel requires.

A perfect Captivity is when a whole People Jer. xiii. 18. Amos i. 6, 9. Deut. xxiii. 8. Vulg.are transported into a strange Country, without leaving any to cultivate the Land, And in Deuteronomy, Perfectio tua & doctrina tua stand for the Urim and Thummim, that the High-priest carried about him. See those two Words.

PERFUMES; the Use of Perfumes was frequent among the Hebrews, and among the Orientals in General, before it was known to the Greeks and Romans. Pliny says³⁹, that they knew not who was the first Inventor of Perfumes, and that they were unknown even at the Siege of Troy. Ovid⁴⁰ imputes the Honour of this Discovery to Bacchus. Arnobius maintains⁴¹, that they were unknown in the Heroic Times. But in the Time of Moses they must be known in Egypt, since he speaks of the Art of the Perfumer, and gives Exod. xxx. 25.the Composition of two Kinds of Perfumes, of which one was to be offered to the Lord, upon the Golden Altar which was in the holy Exod. xxx. 34, 35, &c.Place; and the other was appointed for the anointing of

the High-priest and his Sons, as also of the Tabernacle, and all the Vessels that were used in divine Service.

The first of these Perfumes was composed of Stacte, the Onyx or odoriferous Shell-fish, of Galbanum, and Incense, all of equal Weight. This Perfume was a sacred and inviolable Thing, and it was forbid on Pain of Death, for any Man whatever to make Use of it. It was set every Morning and Evening upon the Golden Altar which was in the Sanctum. This was the Office of one of the Priests of the Week. ‘Twas this Perfume that Zacharias the Father of John the Baptist went to offer, when the Angel appeared to him, and foretold to him the Birth of the Prodromus of the Messiah. The other kind of Perfume, which was rather an Ointment, to anoint the Priests and the sacred Vessels of the Tabernacle, was composed of the best Myrrhe, of the Weight of five hundred Shekels, of Cinnamon the Weight of two Hundred and fifty Shekels, of Canna Aromatica a like Quantity, of Casia Aromatica the Weight of five hundred Shekels; and one hin of Oil Olive. The whole being well mingled served to make a pretious Ointment, with which Aaron and his Sons were anointed, and every Thing that appertained to the Tabernacle. But ‘tis thought they did not afterwards anoint the Successors of Aaron, because their Dignity being successive in his Family, this Unction did not seem necessary. God reserved this Ointment, or this Perfume, to his own Service; and whoever should make of it, either for himself or another, was to be cut off from his People. I have spoke of the Altar of Perfume under the Title ALTAR.

The Hebrews had also Perfumes which they made Use of for the embalming of their Dead. The Composition is not exactly known, but ‘tis known they generally made John xix. 49.Use of Myrrhe, Aloes, and other strong and astringent Drugs, proper to prevent Putrifaction, Infection, and Corruption; and consequently they were of a saline, sharp, and astringent Nature. The Reader may see what Herodotus⁴² says of the Manner in which the Egyptians embalmed their Dead; for it seems to be from the Egyptians that the Hebrews borrowed this Custom.

Besides the Perfumes we have mentioned above, there are still others which are known to us from Scripture. Those for Example which King Hezekiah preserved in his Repositories. The Spices and precious Ointment.2 Kings xx. 13. And those that were burned with the Body of King Asa. They laid him in the Bed 2 Chron. xvi. 14.which was filled with sweet Odours, and diverse Kinds of Spices prepared by the Apothecary’s Art. Judith perfumed her Face when she was to appear before Holofernes. They Judith xvi. 10.prepared the Virgins which were to appear before the Kings of Persia, for six Months together, by the Use of Oil of Myrtle, and for six other Months, by other Perfumes, and other sweet-scented Oils. The Spouse in the Canticles commends the Scent of the Perfumes of her Lover; and her Lover in Return says, that the Scent of the Perfumes of his Spouse surpasses the most excellent Odours. He names particularly the Spikenard, the Canna Aromatica, the Cinnamon, the Myrrhe, the Aloes, as making a Part of these Perfumes. The voluptuous Woman described by Solomon says, that she had perfumed her Bed with Myrrhe, Aloes, and Cinnamon. The Epicures in the Book of Wisdom encourage one another to the luxuriant Use of Odours and costly Perfumes.

Isaiah reproaches Judæa, whom he describes as a Spouse faithless to God, as being painted and perfumed to please Strangers. Thou wentest to the King with Ointment, and didst increase thy Perfumes. Ezekiel seems to accuse the Jews with having profaned the Odours and Perfumes, the Use of which was reserved to sacred Things, by applying them to their own Use. Thou sattest upon a stately Bed, and a Table prepared before it, whereupon thou hast set mine Incense and mine Oil. Amos inveighs against the rich Men of Ephraim, who drank the most excellent Wines, and perfumed themselves with the most precious Oils. The She-sinner in St. Luke, and Mary Magdalen in St. John, anointed our Saviour’s Feet with costly Perfume. That of Mary Magdalen was Spikenard.

All these Examples shew us in general, what was the Taste of the ancient Hebrews, what was and still is the Taste of the Orientals, who made much Use of Scents and Perfumes. They prove also that Men and Women used them indifferently, and that wise and serious Men condemned the two frequent and affected Use of them. It may also be observed, that to abstain from Perfumes, Scents, and Unction, was esteemed as a great Piece of Mortification. Esther refrained from Perfumes and Ointments during the Time of the Humiliation of her People. Daniel did not anoint himself all the three Weeks that he was urgent in Prayer, to obtain the Communications that he desired of God.

Solomon says, that dead Flies cause the Ointment of the Apothecary to send forth a stinking Savour. One Fly is sufficient to spoil the Smell of a whole Box of Perfumes: So one Fault is enough to destroy a Man’s good Name. Qui in uno peccaverit, multa bona perdet; muscæ morientes perdunt suavitatem unguenti. The Hebrew says literally, one dead Fly will make the most excellent Perfume to stink.

PERGA, a City of Pamphylia mentioned Acts xiii. 14. This is not a maritime City, and St. Paul must have gone up the River Caystrus to come to it, or else must have gone on Foot. Strabo⁴³ speaks of a Temple of Diana of Perga, situated upon an Eminence near the City. u Herodot. l. ii. c. 86, 87, 88. x Strabo l. xxiv. PERGAMUS

PERGAMUS. Jesus Christ in the Revelations, speaks thus to the Angel, or to the Bishop of Pergamus; I know thy Works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan*‘s* Seat is: And thou holdest fast my Name, and hast not denied my Faith, even in those Days wherein Antipas was my faithful Martyr, who was slain among you where Satan dwelleth. But I have a few Things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the Doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a Stumbling-block before the Children of Israel, to eat Things sacrificed to Idols, and to commit Fornication. So hast thou also them that hold the Doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. Repent, or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the Sword of my Mouth. Some have Lyran. Aureol. Euseb. Hist. Eccl. lib. 4. c. 15.thought, that the Angel of Pergamus, mentioned here, was St. Carpus, who suffered Martyrdom at Pergamus, as we learn from Eusebius. But he does not acquaint us that he was then Bishop of this Church. The Roman Martyrology makes him Bishop of Thyatira; but besides, St. Carpus died under the Empire of Decius. Therefore it is not at all credible, that he could be Bishop of Pergamus under Dioclesian.a Now Pergamus was a City of Troas, very considerable in the Time of St. John the Evangelist. ‘Twas at Pergamus, as they say, that Parchment was invented, called thence Pergamena.

Ezek. xlii. 7, 10. Vulgat. וגדר אשר לחוץPERIBOLUS. Ezekiel makes use of this Term, to signify a Wall of the Court of the Priests, which was Fifty Cubits long, and was the whole Length of the Apartments that surrounded this Court. Peribolus properly signifies an Enclosure, and comes from the Greek, Periballo, to surround. The Hebrew calls it Geder, which signifies a Partition-Wall.

PERIPSEMA. This is a meer Greek 1 Cor. iv. 13. Περίψημα.Word. St. Paul makes use of it to shew, that himself and all Christians of that Time were considered by the Heathen, as the Offcast and Filth of the Earth. Tanquam purgamentum hujus mundi facti sumus, omnium peripsema usque adhuc. The most learned Interpreters think,⁴⁴ that in this Place St. Paul alludes to a Custom then in Use among the Heathen, where they sometimes took Men, to make them serve as an Expiation for a City, or for a whole People, at the Time of a Pestilence, or other publick Calamity. This Custom is observed to have obtained among the Gauls, the Romans, and the Athenians. After having fed these unfortunate Victims for some Time at the publick Charge, they were brought forth upon the Day of their Death, with Rev. ii. 13. Garlands of Flowers or Leaves, to the Places they intended to expiate. The People there loaded them with Curses, and prayed the Gods to pour out all their Indignation upon them. Afterwards they threw them into the Sea, or whipped them to death, or burned them alive, and scattered their Ashes into the Sea, saying, Be thou our Suidas. Περίψημα ἡμῶν γένου.Victim or Expiation, to turn away the Anger of the Gods from us. So that one might thus translate the Text of St. Paul; They use us like human Victims, that are sacrificed for publick Crimes; as those miserable Wretches that are put to death, to atone for the Offences of others.

PERISCELIDES. This is a Greek Word, and signifies an Ornament which Women used to put about their Legs. It is mentioned in Isaiah iii. 20. and in Numbers xxxi. 50. Moses says, That the Israelites, when they had defeated the Midianites, offered to the Lord the Garters, (Periscelides) the Rings, Bracelets, and Collars that they had taken from the Enemy. This shews the Custom of those People, and the Ornaments which even Men brought with them to the War. We see the same thing in the Victory which many Years after, Gideon obtained over the same People. The Hebrew Word, which here is Judg. viii. 25, 26, 27. אצערה Azada 70. χλιδῶνα. 2 Sam. i. 10.translated by Periscelides, comes from a Root, which signifies to walk; which favours the Translation of those that understand it of costly Garters, or Ornaments which the Midianites wore about their Legs. The Septuagint translate it by a Bracelet; it is certain it has this Signification in the Second Book of Samuel, where the Amalekite that had slain Saul, says, That he took off the Bracelet (Azadah) from the Arm of that Prince.

Isaiah makes use of the same Term in the Enumeration that he makes of the Ornaments of Women. The Chaldee translates it by the Chains of the Foot. Clemens Alexandrinus⁴⁵ calls those silver or golden Circlets that Women put about their Legs, Fetters or Bonds. Profane Authors call them in the same manner, shining Fetters, golden Shackles.

Martial, A pedibus niveis fulserunt aurea vincta.

And Seneca, Crura distincta religavit auro.

The Women of Syria and Arabia at this Day wear great Rings at their Legs, at which are fastned a great Number of other lesser Rings, which make a Noise like little Bells, whenever they walk or⁴⁶ stir.⁴⁷

These Rings are fixed above the Ancle, and are made either of Gold, Silver, Copper, Glass, or even of varnish’d Earth, according to the Substance and Condition of the Person that wears them.

The Princesses of Arabia wear large hollow Rings of Gold, within which are inclosed little Pebbles, that sound like Bells. Others have lesser Rings called Kelkal, hung all round them, which have the same Effect when they walk. These great Circles or Rings are open in one Place, in form of a Crescent, by which they pass over the Small of the Leg. The Egyptian Ladies wore also very valuable ones; for we read in an Inscription found in Spain, that the Statue of Isis had Ornaments of Gold upon its Legs, set with two Emeralds, and with eleven other precious Stones. The Roman and Grecian Women also made use of them, as we have seen before. Trimalchio in Petronius, speaking of his Spouse, said, See what she wears upon her Legs. Videtis mulieris compedes. As it were by way of Complaint at her Expensiveness.

PERJURY. The Law of God severely condemn’d Perjury, all false Oaths and Vows, and Promises made without an Intention to perform them; as also all Oaths made in the name of false Gods. Perjury offends against the Veracity and Justice of God himself, and is a great Insult upon his Power and Majesty, by appealing to him as a Witness to a Lye, and making use of his tremendous Levit. v. 4, 5, 6. vi. 2, 3. Heb. vii. 18. Gal. ii. 16. Rom. viii. 3. Heb. ix. 9, 13.Name to commit Evil.

specialibus legibus. Moses in Leviticus, seems to assign Sacrifices to atone for Perjury; which is contrary to St. Paul, who assures us, that the Sacrifices and Ceremonies of the Law did not remit internal Sins, but only external and legal Faults. It must therefore be affirmed, that these Sacrifices ordained by Moses, had only respect to the Ignorance or Temerity of him, who had made a rash Promise, or only to him that had made a secret Oath or Promise. Or else he supposes, that he to whom it was appointed to offer this Sacrifice, had already expiated his internal Fault, by a perfect Repentance and Contrition; and that the external Sacrifice prescribed, is only, as we may say, to satisfy for the Faults he might have committed, by approaching holy Things in a State of Defilement. ‘Tis otherwise known, that wilful Perjury, pronounced in publick, and before the Judge, was not to be remitted by Sacrifices, even according to Moses’s Law. He was punished by the Sentence of the Judges, when he was found guilty. Portabit iniquitatem suam; which is usually understood of capital Punishment. See Levit. v. 1. xix. 8. xx. 17, 19, 20. xxiv. 15. Numb. ix. 13. xv. 13.

PERIZOMA. This word is wholly Greek. It signifies a kind of Breeches, or a very broad Girt, which covered the Reins, and what Modesty requires to be concealed. The Latins call it Subligaculum. Moses Gen. iii. 7. Vulgat.says, that our first Parents, after their Sin, sewed together the broad Leaves of the Fig-tree, to make themselves Aprons, Perizomata, to cover their Nakedness.

PERIZZITES, or Pheresæi, the antient Inhabitants of Palestine, mingled with the Canaanites. There is also great Probability, that they themselves were Canaanites, but having no fix’d Habitations, and living after the Manner of the Scythians and the Nomades, sometimes dispersed in one Country, and sometimes in another, they were for that Reason called Perizzites, which signifies scattered or dispersed. Pherazoth stands for Hamlets or Villages. The Perizzites did not inhabit any certain Portion of the Land of Canaan; there were some of them on both Sides of the River Jordan, in the Mountains, and in the Plains. In several Places of Scripture the Canaanites and Perizzites are mentioned as the two chief People of the Country. It is said, for Example, Gen. xiii. 7.that in the Time of Abraham and Lot, the Canaanite and Perizzite were in the Land. The Israelites of the Tribe of Josh. xvii. 15.Ephraim complained to Joshua, that they were too much pent up in their Possession: he bid them go, if they pleased, into the Mountains of the Perizzites and Rephaims, or Giants, and there clearing the Land, to cultivate and inhabit it. Solomon subdued the Remains of the Canaanites and Perizzites, which the Children of Israel had not rooted out, and made them Tributary to him. There is still mention made of the Perizzites in the Time of Ezra, after the Return from the Captivity of Babylon; and several Israelites had married Wives from that Nation.

PERPERAM. St. Paul makes use of this Term in his first Epistle to the Corinthians. Much Dispute has been about the Signification of this Word. St. Chrysostom, Theophylact, and the greatest part of Interpreters, explain it by Rashness, Lightness, Precipitation. Charity is wise, steady, constant, serious, and grave in its Behaviour. It never acts lightly or with Precipitation. Theodoret; Charity does not mingle itself in other People’s Business: It does not meddle with what it has nothing to do. Others maintain⁴⁸ that the Greek Word in this Text properly signifies, to be puff’d up with Pride, to boast,

to make a vain Shew of one’s Understanding or Capacity.

The Word Perperam is very common among Latin Authors. Agere perperam in this Language signifies to act incongruously or unadvisedly. But the Greek Word περπερεύομαι is not found in antient Greek Writers, which makes it probable, that it is taken from the Latin Word perperam, and that it has in Greek a more extensive Signification than in Latin. It signifies properly, to boast or brag, to set a Value on one’s self, to display one’s own good Qualities.

PERSECUTION, to persecute. Persecution in all Ages has been the Portion of the Elect, and of good Men. Cain persecuted Abel. Joseph was persecuted by his Brethren. The Israelites in Egypt were persecuted by Pharaoh, David by Saul, Elijah and Elisha by Ahab, the Prophets by the Kings and People of their Time, Jesus Christ by Herod and the chief of the Jews, John the Baptist and the Apostles by all wicked Enemies of Piety, Truth, and Justice. Lastly, ‘tis a Maxim laid down by our Saviour, that all those that would lead a godly Life shall suffer 2 Tim. iii. 12.Persecution. Omnes qui pie volunt vivere in Christo Jesu persecutionem patientur. But happy are those that shall suffer Persecution Matt. viii. 10.for Righteousness Sake. Beati qui persecutionem patientur propter justitiam.

But the Verb to persecute, persequi, is not always to be taken in this odious Sense; it is often put purely for following an Enemy in their Flight or Retreat, or Deut. xvi. 20.for applying one’s self vigorously to any thing. For Example, Juste quod justum est persequeris; You may apply yourself Ps. xxxiii. 15. Prov. xiii. 21. Ecclus. xxxiv. 2.diligently to the Practice of Justice. And elsewhere, Inquire pacem, & persequere eam. And in the Proverbs, Peccatores persequitur malum; Punishment pursues Sinners. And in Ecclesiasticus; He that depends upon deceitful Visions is compared to one that catches at a Shadow, or grasps at the Wind. Quasi qui apprehendit umbram, & sequitur ventum.

PERSEPOLIS, the capital City of Persia. The Persians call it Esthekar. It lies in 88° 30’ of Longitude, and 30 Degrees D’Herbelot Bibliot. Orient. p. 327.of Latitude, according to the Arabick Tables. The Author of Lebtariskh writes, that Kischtasb Son of Lobarab, the fifth King of Persia, of the Race of the Caianides, there fix’d his Residence, and there caused several of those Temples to be built, dedicated to Fire, which the Greeks call Pyrea, or Pyrateria, and the Persians, Athesch Khane, and Athesch Gheda. And that very near to this City, in a Mountain adjoining to it, he order’d Sepulchres to be dug into the Rock for himself and his Successors. The Ruins of ‘em are still to be seen at this Day, with some Remains of Figures and Columns; which though much defaced by Length of Time, yet still sufficiently shew, that the antient Kings of Persia had chose this Place for their usual Residence. We may see Descriptions of these in Chardin’s Travels, and ‘tis said that M. le Bruin, a famous Traveller, will soon publish them in a more exact Manner than has been yet done.

These Monuments are to be distinguish’d from a magnificent Palace, which Queen Homai, Daughter of Bahuman, built in the Midst of the City of Esthekar. ‘Tis now call’d in the Persian Tongue, Gihil, or Tchilminar, the forty Pharos’s or Columns. The Mussulmen formerly made a Mosque of it. But the City being entirely ruin’d, they made use of the Materials for building that of Schiraz, which is not above the Distance of twelve Parasangs from it, and which is become the Capital of the Province of Persia, properly so call’d.

The same Author, speaking of antient Persepolis, or Esthekar, makes it twelve Parasangs long, and ten broad, which without doubt is extravagant. But certain it is, that all the Persian Historians speak of it as the most antient and the most magnificent City of all Asia.

They believe Giamschid to have been the first Founder of it; and some advance its Antiquity as high as Houschenk, and even to Caiumarask, the first Founder of the Persian Monarchy. This however is certain, that it derived its chief Splendor from the second Dynasty of Kings, who forsook their Residence at Balkhe in Corassan, to dwell at Esthekar.

The fabulous Tradition of the Persians is, that this City was built by the Peri, that is to say, by the Fairies, at the Time that Gian-ben-gian govern’d the World, a long Time before Adam; which is not said of any other City of Asia, but of Esthekar Idem p. 395.and Baalbek. They say also, that when the Foundations of Esthekar were laying, they found a Vessel of Turquois Stone, which held four Pints, or two Pounds of Liquor. This valuable Vase was for its Excellence call’d Giamschid; which in Persian signifies, the Vase of the Sun. And the Persian Poets allegorize a thousand Ways upon this famous Vessel, and transform it into an hundred different Figures to embellish their Poetry.

2 Maccab. ix. 1,2,&c.It is said in the second Book of the Maccabees, that Antiochus Epiphanes being gone to Persepolis, with an Intent to pillage a rich Temple that was there, all the People run to their Arms, and drove him away with his Followers. In the first 1 Maccab. vi. 1,2,&c.Book of the Maccabees, where the same History is related, ‘tis said that it was at Elymais, where Antiochus Epiphanes met

with this Opposition, intending to plunder the Temple of Nannea. See the Article of 2 Maccab. i. 13, 15.NANNEA before. As to the Cities of Elymais and Persepolis, ‘tis certain they were very different and distant from each other. Elymais was upon the Euleus, and Persepolis Strabo l. 15.upon the Aranei. Besides, Persepolis was in Ruins in the Time of Antiochus Epiphanes, Alexander the Great having set it on Fire and entirely destroy’d it⁴⁹. We must then admit, that there is a Mistake in the Text of the second Book of the Maccabees, or that the Author has put Persepolis to stand for the capital City of Persia, though its true Name were Elymais. Strab. l. 19.

PERSIA, a Kingdom of Asia. The Persians became very famous from the Time of Cyrus, the Founder of the Persian Monarchy. Their antient Name was Elamites; and in the Time of the Roman Emperours they went by the Name of Parthians. At present they are now generally call’d Persians. See what has been already said under the Article PARTHIANS.

D’ Herbelot. Bibl. Orient. p. 340.Persia is bounded to the East by the Province of Kerman; to the West by Chusistan; to the South by the Gulf of Persia; and to the North by a great Desart that separates it from Chorassan. It is about three hundred French Leagues in Extent, along the Ocean. Jazd is the most eastern City of this Province, Hamadan the most western, Gireft or Sireft the most southern, and Rei the most northern.

The Arabians say, that Fars, Father of the Persians, was Son of Azaz, or Arphaxad Son of Shem. Others derive him from Japheth; but the Persians maintain, they derive their Original from Kaiumarath, who is among them what Adam is with us. They assure us that they have always had Kings of their own Nation, whose Succession has not been interrupted but for a Space of Time altogether inconsiderable.

The Dilemites, the Curdes, and even the Oriental Turks, according to some Authors, are descended from the Persians. The Dilemites inhabit along the Shores of the Caspian Sea, call’d also the Sea of Dilem, because of its Neighbourhood to that Nation. The Curdes are scatter’d in Assyria, to which they have given the Name of Kurdistan. The Turks are withdrawn beyond the River Oxus, into a Country which from them is call’d Turkestan.

Herodot. Clio, seu l. 1. c. 31.Authors speak differently of the Religion of the antient Persians. Herodotus is the first who has given any Account of it. He tells us, “ That they had neither “ Temples, nor Statues, nor Altars. They “ look upon it as a Piece of Folly to “ make any, or to suffer any, because “ they did not believe as the Greeks, that “ the Gods were of human Original. They “ sacrificed to Jupiter on the highest “ Mountains. They gave the Name of “ God to the whole Circuit of the Heavens. They sacrificed also to the Sun, “ and the Moon, and the Earth; to the “ Fire, and the Water, and the Winds. “ They knew no other Gods antiently but “ these. Since that Time they learn’d “ from the Assyrians and the Arabians, to “ sacrifice to Urania, or heavenly Venus, “ whom the Assyrians call Militta, the “ Arabians, Alitta, and the Persians, “ Mithra. Strabo copies from Herodotus almost Word for Word, but they do not agree that the Persians gave the Name of Mithra to Venus; he says it is the Sun they call so, and all Authors in this agree with Strabo. “ They sacrifice, says he, in a “ pure Place, where they offer up their “ Prayers, and bring thither their Victim “ crown’d. After the Magus has divided “ the Flesh, each takes his Part; they “ leave nothing for the Gods, saying, that “ God is contented with the Soul of the “ Sacrifice. Some throw into the Fire a “ small part of the double Fat that is “ wrapt about the Intestines. They chiefly “ sacrifice to the Fire and the Water. “ They put upon the Fire dry Wood, “ without Bark, upon which they throw “ Fat, and then Oil also. They light “ the Fire without any Bellows, only “ making a Wind with a kind of Fan. If “ any one blows the Fire, or throws any “ Carkass or Dirt into it, he is punish’d “ with Death. “ The Sacrifice to the Water is perform’d in this Manner. They come together near a Lake, a River, or a Fountain, and make a Ditch, where they kill the Sacrifice, taking Care that the neighbouring Water is not defiled with the Blood, which would make it unclean. After which they put the Flesh upon Myrtle, or upon Lawrel. The Magi put Fire to it with little Sticks, and sprinkle their Libations of Oil mix’d with Milk and Honey, not upon the Fire, or upon the Water, but upon the Ground. Then for a long Time they make their Enchantments, holding a little Bundle of Heath. The Cappadocians have a great Number of Magi, whom they call Pyrethes, and several Temples of the Gods of the Persians. They kill their Victims without making use of Knives, but of a Lever, with which they strike as with an Axe. They have great Enclosures which they call Pyrethees, in the Midst of which is an Altar, on which the “

Magi preserve Ashes and a perpetual Fire. They enter therein every Day, and there make their Enchantments for the Space of an Hour, holding Whisps of Rods, and wearing Mitres that come down so low, as to cover their Lips and Cheeks. “The Sacrifices of the Persians, says Herodot. loco citato.Herodotus, are perform’d after this Manner. They erect no Altars, nor use any Fire. They have no Libations, nor any Players upon Musick, nor Garlands, nor Meal. But he that offers the Sacrifice brings the Victim into a pure and clean Place, and invokes the God to whom he would sacrifice, having his Mitre crown’d with Myrtle. It is not allow’d the Priest to pray for himself in particular, but he must pray for the King, and the whole Nation. After he has roasted the Flesh of the Victim, being cut into several Pieces, he spreads young Grass, or especially Clover, and lays them thereon. Afterwards a Magus comes to sing the Theogony, a kind of Song in use among them; and they are not allow’d to sacrifice without a Magus. A little while afterwards the Priest takes away these Pieces of Flesh, and does with ‘em what he pleases. Plutarch. de Iside & Isiride.Plutarch informs us of some Articles of their Creed. “Among those that admitted of two Principles, the one good and the other bad, was, as he says, the famous Zoroaster, who lived, according to some, five thousand Years before the Trojan War. One of these Gods he named Oromazes, and the other Arimanius; and said, that one had a Relation to sensible Light, and the other to Darkness and Ignorance. That there was still another between these two, who was of a middle Nature, and whom he call’d Mithras; and that it is for that Reason that the Persians call’d him Mithras, who has the middle Place. He taught, that the first was to be sacrificed to, to obtain Favours, and the other, to be defended from Evils. This is the Manner in which they invoked Pluto and Darkness. They bruised in a Mortar an Herb call’d Omomi, which afterwards they mingled with the Blood of a sacrificed Wolf, and taking it all away, they threw it into a dark Place, where the Sun never shines. They believed that some Plants and Trees belonged to the good God, and others to the evil one; and that among Animals, Dogs, Birds, and Urchins belong to the good God, and all those of the Waters, to the evil one. Oromazes, according to them, was born of the purest Light, and Arimanius of the Darkness. They are always at variance. Oromazes has produced six Gods, of which the first is the Author of Benevolence, the second of Valour, the third of Equity, the fourth of Wisdom, the fifth of Riches, the sixth of such Pleasures as attend good Actions. Arimanius also, by way of Emulation, has produced a like Number of Gods. “Oromazes having made himself three Times greater than he was at first, withdrew as far from the Sun, as the Sun is from the Earth. He adorn’d the Heaven, placing the Stars there. He made a Star which is more excellent than the rest, and, as it were, their Guardian. This is Sirius, or the great Dog. He made besides four and twenty Gods, and put them all into an Egg. Arimanius made the same Number, who broke the Egg in which the good ones were inclos’d, and then the good and evil were mingled together. They say there is a Time fix’d, in which Arimanius must die, and then the Earth being united, all happy Men shall live in a perfect Union, being assembled into the same City, and speaking the same Language. Theopompus adds, that according to the Opinion of the Magi, for Three thousand Years one of the Gods shall be too powerful for the other; for three thousand Years more they shall make War, and shall endeavour to destroy each other. At last Pluto shall be overcome, and then Men shall be happy, and shall no longer have any need of Eating.”

Tho’ the Persians at first would make use of no Images, yet they had them afterwards, as Berosus says in the third Book of his Chaldean History, as he is quoted by Clem. Alex. l. protrept.Clemens Alexandrinus. ‘Twas Artaxerxes Son of Darius, and Father of Ochus, who introduced this Custom, and was the first that erected the Statue of Venus Tanaides, at Babylon, at Shushan, and at Ecbatana, and taught the Persians, the Bactrians, the People of Damascus and Sardis, that it was to be worshipped as a Goddess. Such was the Religion of the antient Persians, according to those Authors that lived at a Time, when they had the best Opportunity of being inform’d of it.

A modern Author, very skilful in the Eastern Languages, and who has purposely studied the Religion of the Persians, pretends that these People had just Notions concerning the Deity, and believ’d but one only God. That indeed they admitted of two Principles; but one of ‘em was uncreated, and the other created. The created Principle was the World. He maintains, that the Worship they paid the Sun and Fire was merely civil and relative. The modern Persians refer their Religion to Abraham, whom some confound

found with Zoroaster, and others will have him to have been the Master of Zoroaster. They think the World was created in six Days; that at the Beginning God created a Man and a Woman, from whom Mankind are derived. That there are several Terrestrial Paradises, one universal Deluge, one Moses, one Solomon. All this, without doubt, is taken from the History of the Jews, and from the Traditions of the Mahometans.

D’Herbelot. Bibl. Orient. p. 340.They hold one eternal God, call’d in their Tongue Jesdan, or Oromazdes, who is the true God, call’d by the Arabians, Allah, the Author of all Good. And also another God produced by Darkness, to whom they give the Name of Ahermen, who is properly the Eblis of the Arabians, or the Devil and the Author of all Evil. They have a very great Veneration for Light, and a very great Aversion to Darkness. God the Creator of all Things has produced Light and Darkness, and from a Mixture of these two Things, of Good and Evil, Generation and Corruption, and the Composition of all the Parts of the World is effected, and will always subsist, ‘till the Light withdrawing itself on one Side, and the Darkness on the other, shall cause a Destruction and Dissolution. This is an Abridgment of the Doctrine of Zoroaster, which is still espoused by the Magians and Guebres, who are Worshippers of Fire, and who always when they pray turn themselves to the Rising Sun.

Here is a List of the Kings of Persia, who had any Relation to the sacred History of Scripture.

Cyrus the Founder of the Persian Monarchy, reign’d nine Years after the taking of Babylon; that is, from the Year of the World 3466 to 3475, before Christ 525, before the vulgar Era 529.

Cambyses, call’d Ahasuerus, Ezr. iv. 6. reign’d seven Years and five Months. He died in the Year of the World 3482, before Christ 518, before the vulgar Era 522.

Oropastes the Magian, call’d Artaxerxes, Ezr. iv. 7. pretending to be Smerdis the Brother of Cambyses, reign’d five Months. He was kill’d by seven Conspirators, one of which was Darius the Son of Hystaspes.

Darius Son of Hystaspes; he is call’d Ahasuerus in the Hebrew of the Book of Esther, and Artaxerxes in the Greek of the same Book. He reign’d thirty-six Years, from the Year of the World 3482 to the Year 3519, before Christ 481, before the vulgar Era 485.

Xerxes I. reign’d twelve Years, from the Year of the World 3519 to 3531, before Christ 469, before the vulgar Era 473.

Artaxerxes Longimanus reign’d forty-eight Years, from 3531 to 3579, before Christ 421, before the vulgar Era 425.

Xerxes II. he reign’d but one Year, died in 3580, before Christ 420, before the vulgar Era 424.

Secundianus, or Sogdianus, his Brother and Murderer, reign’d seven Months.

Ochus, or Darius Nothus, reign’d nineteen Years, from the Year of the World 3581 to 3600, before Christ 400, before the vulgar Era 404.

Artaxerxes Mnemon reign’d fortythree Years, died in 3643, before Christ 357, before the vulgar Era 361.

Artaxerxes Ochus reign’d twenty-three Years, from the Year of the World 3643 to 3666, before Christ 334, before the vulgar Era 338.

Arsen reign’d three Years, died in 3668, before Christ 332, before the vulgar Era 336.

Darius Condomannus was conquer’d by Alexander the Great in 3674, after having reign’d six Years.

The Empire of the Persians lasted in all 208 Years.

PERSIS, a Roman Lady, whom St. Paul salutes in his Epistle to the Romans, xvi. 12. and whom he calls his beloved Sister. He says she has labour’d much for the Lord, and still labours. Nothing else of her Life is come to our Knowledge, nor do we see that she is honour’d by any Church; which is something singular.

PESTILENCE, or Plague. In the Hebrew Tongue, as well as in most others, the Word Plague or Pestilence is put for all Sorts of Distempers and Calamities. It answers to the Hebrew Word Deber, which properly signifies the Plague, and which is extended to all other epidemical and pestilential Diseases. Commonly the Prophets connect together the Sword, the Pestilence, and the Famine, as three Evils, which hardly go one without the other, by taking the Prov. xv. 12. Vulg.Word Plague in the Sense we have mentioned.

The Pestilent Man is the Scorner, the Fleerer, the pretended Free-thinker, who diverts himself with the Simplicity of good People, and with the Timorousness of pious Souls. The Hebrew Word Lez, which is translated by pestilent, signifies a Scorner. The Chair of Pestilence, [or Seat of the Scorner,] mention’d in the first Psalm, is the Seat of such pernicious People. Ibid. Prov. xix. 25.Solomon in many Places cautions his Readers against their Discourse. Non amat pestilens (the Hebrew has derisor) eum qui se castigat. The Scorner loves not him that reproves him. And elsewhere, Pestilenti flagellato, stultus sapientior erit. The Correction of such Scoffers is a Prov. xxix. 8.great Instruction for the Weak, the Low, the Foolish, those that want Light and Understanding, Homines pestilentes dissipant civitatem. Such kind

of Men are only fit to draw down the Anger of God upon a Community, in order to its Destruction. Tertullus, the Advocate of the Jews, says, that St. Paul was a pestilent Fellow, a common Disturber and Mover of Sedition, because he maintained that Jesus was the Christ. Jeremiah gives to Babylon the Name of the contagious Mountain. Ecce ego ad te, mons pestifer; because it spread the Infection of Idolatry and Superstition through the whole World. Hos. xiii. 14.The Messiah says in Hosea, O Death, I will be thy Plagues; O Grave, I will be thy Destruction. St. Jerom translates it; Ero mors tua, ô mors, morsus tuus ero, inferne. And in Psalm xc. 3. instead of these Words, Ipse liberavit me de laqueo venantium, & à verbo aspero; the Hebrew has, He shall deliver me from the Snares of the Hunter, and from the dangerous Pestilence. The same Letters that signify a Word, dabar, also signify the Pestilence, deber.

2 Macc. iv. 12. ὑπὸ πέτασον ἦγεν.PETASUS. This was a Cap usually worn by Travellers. ‘Tis observed commonly upon the Head of antient Figures of Mercury. It had Brims, but not so broad as those of our Hats. It was peculiar to Travellers. Mercury wore it in the Quality of the God of Travellers and Merchants.

In the Greek of the Second Book of the Maccabees, Chap. iv. it is said that Jason, High-priest of the Jews, obliged the robust young Men, and such as approved themselves best in Horsemanship, to pass under the Petasus. Hesychius and Pollux say, that the Petasus was given to the Ephebi, to young Men that were just become Striplings; and to Mercury, to whom it is supposed that the Theatre of Jerusalem was dedicated: St. Jerom, and many other Interpreters, have understood this Passage of the Second Book of Maccabees, of Places of Prostitution, wherein these young People were obliged to enter themselves. He translates it, Optimos quosque epheborum in lupanaribus ponere.

Junius thinks that Petasus, in the Passage that we are now inquiring into, has the same Signification as Petaurus; and, indeed, both Hesychius and Phavorinus intimate, that these two Words were sometimes confounded. But Petaurus signifies a Wheel, across which the Petaurists us’d to pass with surprizing Agility. The Author of the Maccabees would therefore affirm, that Jason caus’d such Youth as succeeded best in the first Exercises of the Gymnasium, to perform those other dangerous Exercises.

John i. 42, 43.PETER. St. Peter the chief of the Apostles was born at Bethsaida, Son of John, Jona, or Joanna, and Brother of Acts xxiv. 5.St. Andrew. His first Name was Simon or Simeon, but when our Saviour called him to the Apostleship, he changed his Name into Cephas, that is, in Syriac, a Stone or a Rock, in Latin, Petra, whence Peter. He was a marry’d Man, and had his House, his Mark i. 29. Matth. viii. 14. Luke iv. 38.Mother-in-Law, and his Wife at Capernaum, upon the Lake of Gennesareth. St. Andrew having been first call’d by Jesus Christ, met his Brother Simon and told him,⁵⁰ we have found the Messiah, and then brought him to Jesus. Jesus beholding him, said to him, You are Simon Son of John, henceforth you shall be call’d Cephas, that is, Stone or Rock. After having pass’d one Day with our Saviour, they return’d to their ordinary Occupation, which was Fishing. Yet it is thought they were present with him at the Marriage of Cana in Galilee.

Luke v. 1, 2, 3.Towards the End of the same Year, Jesus Christ being on the Shoar of the Lake of Gennesareth, saw Peter and Andrew busy about their Fishery, and were then washing their Nets. He enter’d into their Boat, and bid Peter throw out his Nets into the Sea, in order to fish. Peter obey’d him, tho’ he had already fish’d the whole Night without catching any thing. They took so many Fishes at this Draught, that their own Vessel, and that of James and John Sons of Zebedee, were fill’d with them. Then Peter threw himself at the Feet of Jesus, and said to him, Depart from me, Lord, for I am a Sinner. Then Jesus said to them, Follow me, and I will make you Fishers of Men. He said the same thing to James and John, and immediately they quitted their Boats and Nets, and follow’d our Saviour.

Some time after⁵¹ Jesus coming to Capernaum, enter’d into the House of St. Peter, where his Mother-in-Law lay sick of a Fever. He immediately heal’d her, and she began to minister to him. A little while before the Feast of the Passover of the following Year, being the 32d of the vulgar Era, after Jesus return’d into Galilee, he made Matth. x. 2. Luke vi. 13.Choice of Twelve Apostles, among which St. Peter has always the first Place. One Night that Jesus Christ walked upon the Matth. xiv. 28, 29.Waters of the Lake of Gennesareth, St. Peter asked him Leave to come and meet him. Jesus gave him Leave, but he seeing a great Wave coming, was afraid, and therefore began to sink. Then Jesus held him up, and said to him; O Man of little Faith, why was you afraid? Afterwards landing on the other Side the Lake, and the Multitude that he had fed the Day before beyond the Lake, being come to him at Capernaum, he spoke to them of his Body and of his Blood, which he was to give to his Disciples to eat and drink;

Matth. xvi. 13, 14.this so offended the Multitude, that several of them quitted him thereupon. He therefore asked his Apostles if they would leave him also; to which Peter reply’d, To whom shall we go, Lord? for thou hast the Words of John vi. 53, 54, &c.eternal Life.

One Day as our Saviour was near Cesarea Philippi, he asked his Apostles who Men took him to be. They answered him, that some said he was John the Baptist, others Elias, and others Jeremiah, or some one of the old Prophets. And you, says he, who do you say I am? Simon Peter answer’d him, You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Jesus then said to him, Happy are you, Simon Son of Jona, for ‘tis not Flesh or Blood that has reveal’d these things to you, but my Father which is in Heaven. And I say further to you, that as your Name is Peter, so upon this Rock I will build my Church, and the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatsoever you shall bind upon Earth shall be also bound in Heaven, and whatever you shall loose upon Earth shall be loosed in Heaven. About eight Days after, a our Saviour being transfigured upon the Mountain apart from the rest, took with him Peter, James, and Matt. xvii. 1, 2, 3, &c. Luke ix. 28.John, and shew’d them a Glimpse of his Glory. Then St. Peter being in an Ecstacy, and seeing Moses and Elias with Jesus, cry’d out to them, Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you please we will make three Tents, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elias.

Jesus returning from thence to Capernaum, upon the Road the Apostles disputed among themselves, which of them should be the greatest in the Kingdom of God, which Matt. xvii. 23, 24. Luke ix. 46. Mark ix. 32.they thought to be very near. Jesus and St. Peter came first to Capernaum, a pretty while before the rest; and those that gather’d the half Shekel a-head for the Use of the Temple, came and asked Peter if his Master would pay it then. Jesus bid Peter throw his Line into the Sea, and he should find wherewith to pay the Toll for them two, in the Mouth of the first Fish he should take. Peter obey’d; and found a Shekel in the Mouth of the Fish, which he gave to the Toll-gatherers for Jesus and himself. Then the Apostles came to them, and Jesus inquir’d of them about the Conversation they had had by the Way, and gave them good Instructions of Humility and Modesty; shewing plainly, that though absent, he knew very well what Discourse had passed among them.

One Day as Jesus was speaking concerning the Forgiveness of Injuries, St. Peter asked him how often they must forgive, and Matt. xviii. 21, 22.whether it was not sufficient to pardon an Offender Seven times. Jesus told him, I say, you must pardon not only as far as Seven times, but even Seventy times Seven. Upon another Occasion,⁵² as our Saviour was speaking of the Danger of Riches, Peter said to him; Lord, we have left all Things to follow thee; what Reward shall we have for it? Jesus answer’d him; I tell you in truth, that you who have left all Things to follow me, shall receive an hundred-fold, even in this World, and in the other Eternal Life; and at the last Day, when the Son of Man shall come to judge the World, you shall sit upon twelve Thrones, to judge the twelve Tribes of Israel.

Mark xi. 12—24.On the Tuesday before our Saviour’s Passion, Peter shewed him the Fig-tree he had cursed, the Evening before, which was now dry’d up and wither’d; and the Day following as they sat upon the Mountain of Olives, he, with the other Apostles, asked Jesus when the Temple was to be destroy’d. On Thursday he was sent with St. John to prepare all Things for the Mark xiv. 1, 2. Luke xxii.Passover; and at Evening, when Jesus was come into the City with his Apostles, and being sat down at Table, began to speak of him that should betray him, Peter made Signs to John to ask him who this should be. After Supper, the Disciples enter’d into John xiii. 24.a Dispute which should be the Greatest among them; whereupon Jesus Christ laying aside his Garments, betook himself to wash their Feet, to give them an Example of Humility in his own Person. St. Peter at first made some Difficulty, and would not suffer his Master to wash his Feet; but Jesus telling him, that if he did not wash his Feet, he could have no Part in him; St. Peter reply’d, Lord, wash not only my John xiii. 6- —10. Luke xxii. 31, 32, &c.Feet, but my Hands and Head also.

Some time after, Jesus said to him, Peter, Satan has desired you, and the other Apostles, to sift you as Men sift Wheat: But I have pray’d for you, that your Faith may not fail; and when you are converted, confirm your Brethren. By this he warn’d St. Peter of his Fall, that was just at hand, and of his renouncing him; from which, by the Assistance of God, he was afterwards to recover. St. Peter then asked him, where he was going, and said, he was ready to follow Luke xxii. 33.him every where, not only to Prison, but to Death itself. But Christ declared to him, that he would be so far from following him to Death, that he would abjure him three times that very Night, before the Cock should crow, or before Break of Day. When Supper was ended, he went to the Garden of Olives, where taking Peter, James and John, he⁵³

went with them apart, that they might be Witnesses of his Agony. Peter, tho’ before he had shew’d so much Resolution, yet fell asleep with the rest, which occasioned Jesus to say to him; Do you sleep, Simon? Could Mark xiv. 37. Matth. xxvi. 40. &c.you not watch with me one Hour?

Judas being come with the Soldiers to seize Jesus, Peter drew his Sword, and cut off the right Ear of one called Malchus, who was Servant to the High Priest: But Jesus bid him put up his Sword into the Scabbard, and told him, that all those that fought with the Sword should perish by the Sword: And at the same time healed John xviii. 10, &c.Malchus’s Ear. Peter follow’d Jesus afar off, as far as the House of Caiaphas, and was let in by means of another Disciple, who was known in the Family. The Soldiers and Servants that had brought Jesus, having lighted a Fire in the Middle of the Hall, Peter mingled amongst them to warm himself John xviii. 15, 18.also; when a Maid Servant having look’d earnestly upon him, said, Surely this Man was with Jesus of Nazareth. But Peter made answer, I know not what you say, for I do not so much as know the Man. Presently after he went out into the Porch, when immediately the Cock crew. A little while after another Maid said to those that were present, This Man was with Jesus of Nazareth. But Peter deny’d it with an Oath. About an Hour after, one of the Company affirm’d, that Peter was a Disciple of Jesus. Others insisted upon the same thing, and said, that surely he was one of them, for his very Speech betray’d him to be a Galilean. Lastly, one of them, being a Kinsman to Malchus, whose Ear Peter had cut off, affirmed the same thing, and asked him, Did not I see you with him in the Garden? Peter again deny’d it with an Oath, protesting that he did not know the Man. And at the same time the Cock crow’d the second Time. Then Jesus being in the same Hall, and not far from Peter, look’d upon him; and Peter then remembring that Jesus had said to him, Before the Cock should crow Twice he should deny him Thrice, he went out of Caiaphas’s House, and wept Matt. xxvi. 73, 75. Mark xiv. 34, 72.bitterly.

Very probably he remain’d in Secret, and in Tears, all the Time of our Saviour’s Passion, that is, all Friday and Saturday following; but on Sunday Morning Jesus being risen, and Mary having been at the Tomb, and not finding the Body of Jesus, she came in haste into the City, to tell Peter and John that they had taken away their Master, and that she could not find where they had put him. Peter and John made haste thither, and John coming first, did not go into the Sepulchre. Peter then coming up to him, presently stoop’d down, and saw the Linen Cloths wherein the Body Vide Joan. xx. 1, 2, 3, &c. and Luc. xxiv. 12, &c. Mark xvi. 7. Luke xxiv. 34. Chrysost. in 1 Cor. hom. 38.had been wrapt. He went then into the Sepulchre, and John with him, after which they return’d to Jerusalem, not knowing what had come to pass. But soon after Jesus appeared to the Holy Women, who had come first to the Sepulchre, and bid them give his Apostles Notice of his Resurrection, and particularly St. Peter. And the same Day our Saviour also appeared to Peter, to comfort him, and assure him, that his Repentance had been acceptable to him.

Some Days after, St. Peter being return’d into Galilee, as Jesus had commanded him, and going to fish in the Sea of John xxi. 1, 2, &c.Galilee, or in the Lake of Gennesareth, with some other of the Apostles; Jesus appeared to them on the Shoar, and bid them throw out their Nets on the right Side of the Vessel. They threw them out, and took such a Multitude of Fishes, that they could not draw up their Nets again. Then St. John said to Peter, ‘Tis the Lord. Peter immediately girded up himself, for he was naked, and swimming to Shoar he came to Jesus; then drawing their Nets to Shoar, Jesus dined with them. After Dinner, Jesus said to Peter; Simon Son of Jona, do you love me more than these? He answered, yea, Lord, you know that I love you. Jesus says to him, Then feed my Lambs. He put the same Question to him again, and Peter making the same Answer, our Lord said to him again, Feed my Lambs. This he repeated a third Time, at which St. Peter was troubled and said, You know, Lord, that I love you. Jesus reply’d to him, ” Feed my Sheep. I tell you ” for a Truth, that when you were young, ” you girded your self and went where you ” pleas’d; but now you are old another shall ” gird you, and lead you where you would ” not go.” This he said to let him know what Death he was to dye. At the same time Peter seeing St. John the Evangelist, said to our Saviour, Lord, what must become of him? Jesus answered, ” If I will ” have him continue as he is, what does that ” concern you? Do you follow me.” Thus he refused to declare, in what manner St. John should end his Life.

After that Jesus Christ had ascended into Heaven, and that the Apostles had been Witnesses of his Ascension, they returned to Jerusalem, to wait there for the Holy Ghost, whom our Saviour had promised to send them; and being assembled together in a House, they continued there in Prayer, and in the Union of Charity, till the Time that the Holy Ghost descended upon them, in the Form of Tongues of Fire. During this Interval, St. Peter proposed to the Apostles, and to the rest of the Assembly, to fill up the Place that the Traitor Judas had left vacant in the Apostleship. The Proposal was agreed to by all, and two

Persons were presented, Joseph Barsabas and Matthias. They all betook themselves to Prayer, to desire of God that he would declare his Pleasure in the Choice of one of these two Persons. The Lot was cast, which fell upon Matthias, who from that time was admitted as one of the Apostles.

The tenth Day after the Ascension of our Saviour, the Holy Ghost having descended upon the Apostles, and upon all the Faithful that were there assembled with them, and having replenished them with supernatural Gifts, and especially with the Gift of Tongues, all those that were Witnesses of this Miracle, express’d their Admiration at it: And it being the Day of Pentecost, and there being then at Jerusalem Jews from all the Provinces of the East; they could not comprehend by what means these People, who generally were Galileans, should speak the Languages of all these Pagan Nations. Some of them said, that the Apostles were full of Wine: Acts ii. 1, 2, 3, &c.But St. Peter standing up in their Defence, told them, That what they heard and saw, was not the Effect of Drunkenness, but it was the Completion of the Promise that the Holy Ghost had made by the Prophet Joel, Joel ii. 28.to send his Spirit upon all Flesh, and to give the Spirit of Prophecy to Young and Old, to Men and Women. He afterwards spoke to them of Jesus Christ, and told them, that he was the true Messiah, and that he was risen from the Dead, as the Scripture had foretold he should; declaring, that himself and the other Apostles were Witnesses of his Resurrection, of his Ascension into Heaven, and of the Mission of the Holy Ghost, the visible Effects of which they saw with their own Eyes, in the Gift of Languages wherewith they were replenish’d.

Then those that heard him were touched with Compunction, and asked the Apostles saying, Brethren, what shall we do? Peter answer’d them; Repent and be baptized, and you shall receive the Holy Ghost. Then he instructed them, baptized them, and that very Day Three thousand Persons were added to the Church. Some Days after St. Peter and St. John were going to Acts iii. 1, 2, 3.the Temple at the Hour of Prayers, and found at the Gate of the Temple a Man of more than forty Years of Age, who from his Birth had been a Cripple, so that he could not walk. This Man seeing Peter and John, asked an Alms of them. Then Peter said to him; I have neither Silver or Gold, but what I have I will give you. In the Name of Jesus of Nazareth, rise up and walk. Presently he got up, walked, and went into the Temple along with them, lifting up his Voice, and glorifying God. He held St. Peter, telling the People then assembled, all that happened unto him. Then St. Peter taking this Occasion, told the People, that it was not by his own Power, that he had performed the Miracle they wonder’d at so much, but it was by the Power of Jesus Christ that this Man was healed. He then laid before them the great Crime they had committed, in putting Jesus Christ to death, who was the Saviour of the World and the Messiah. And after he had shewn them by all the Prophecies that Christ was to dye thus, he exhorted them to Repentance, and to make a proper Use of the Death of Christ.

Acts iv. 1, 2, 3, &c.He was thus speaking to the People, when the Priests and Sadducees coming upon them, they laid hold on Peter and John, and put them in Prison till the Day following, for now it was late. But the Number of those that were converted this Day, at this second Preaching of St. Peter, was about Five thousand. The Day following, the Senate, the Magistrates, and the Chief of the Priests being assembled, they made the two Apostles appear before them, when they were asked, in whose Name they had performed the Miracle of healing the lame Man. St. Peter answered them, That it was in the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom they had crucified, and whom God had raised again from the Dead. This is he, said they, who is the Corner-stone whom you have rejected, but who is he alone in whom we can hope for Salvation. The Boldness of Peter and John surprized them all, and causing them to be taken out of the Assembly, that they might deliberate among themselves on what Resolution to take, they agreed to order them to speak no more in the Name of Jesus Christ; then making them to come in again, they strictly charged them to teach no more in this Name. But Peter and John told them; Judge your selves which is most just before God, whether to obey you or to obey God; for we cannot help speaking of what we have heard and seen. The Senate then dismissed them with great Threats, if they should persist in being disobedient to their Orders.

Acts v. 1, 2, 3. Acts iv. 23, 24, &c.The two Apostles returned then to their Brethren, and related to them all that had passed. Having heard this, they raised their Voices to Heaven, and begged of God to give them Strength and Courage to declare his Word with perfect Liberty, and having finished their Prayers, the Place shook wherein they were assembled, and they were again filled with the Holy Ghost. At this time many of the Faithful sold their Estates, and brought the Money, and laid it at the Feet of the Apostles. Of this Number was a Man called Ananias, with his Wife Sapphira, who, by a private Agreement between themselves, concealed a Part of the Money for which they had sold their Land, and brought the rest to

Acts v. 15, 16,17, &c.to St. Peter as if it were the whole Sum. Ananias came first, and St. Peter said to him; Ananias, how came Satan to seduce you, and to prevail with you to lye to the Holy Ghost, by concealing part of the Price of your Land? ‘Tis not Men that you thought to impose on, but God. Immediately Ananias fell down dead, and they carried him out and buried him. About three Hours after his Wife Sapphira came in, and St. Peter said to her almost the same Things he had before said to her Husband, and immediately she fell down also, and gave up the Ghost. This Accident infused a great Awe in the whole Church, and amongst all those that heard of it.

Acts viii. 1,2, 3, &c.The Number of Believers considerably increased every Day, so that they even brought out the Sick into the Streets, and laid them where Peter was to pass, that at least his Shadow might cover some of them, by which means they were healed of their Distempers. Then the High-priest and his Associates, that is, the Pharisees, caused the Apostles to be apprehended and put into Prison. But an Angel brought them forth, and bid them go into the Temple, and there boldly declare all the Words of Life which God had taught them. This they perform’d, upon which the Princes and Priests caus’d them to be brought before them, and having demanded why they had disobey’d their Orders, in continuing to speak still in the Name of Jesus Christ; Peter and the Apostles answer’d, that it was more necessary to obey God than Man. This Answer provok’d them very much, and they were going to condemn them to death, when Gamaliel prevail’d with them to change their Resolution, by representing to ‘em, that if this Matter proceeded from God, ‘twas in vain for them to oppose it; but if otherwise, then it would soon vanish of itself. So they dismiss’d the Apostles, after giving them thirty-nine Stripes apiece, and charged them to speak no more in the Name of Jesus Christ.

After the Martyrdom of St. Stephen, a Persecution was carry’d on against the Faithful at Jerusalem, and they were obliged to take Shelter in several Places. The Apostles alone continued at Jerusalem; St. Philip the Deacon going to Samaria, the Samaritans received the Word of the Lord, and several of them were baptized. Then St. Peter and St. John repair’d thither also, to give them the Holy Ghost; which St. Philip, being only a Deacon, had not Power to do. Simon the Magician was also baptized among others, and admiring the Power that the Apostles had, of conferring the Holy Ghost, would have Era 35. bought the same Power of the Apostles, and accordingly offer’d Money to St. Peter. But Peter with Indignation reply’d to him, Thy Money and thou perish together, who thinkest the Gifts of God can be bought with Money! Thou hast no part with us, nor hast any Pretensions to this Ministry, for thy Heart is not right before God. Repent therefore of this Wickedness, and pray to God if perhaps he will pardon the wicked Thoughts of thy Heart. After this Peter and John return’d again to Jerusalem.

Acts x. 1, 2, 3.The Fire of Persecution being now pretty well extinguished, St. Peter departed from Jerusalem,⁵⁴ and visiting the Disciples from City to City, he came also to see the Saints that dwelt at Lydda. Here he found a Man call’d Æneas, who had been paralytick for eight Years. St. Peter said to him, Æneas, rise up; Jesus Christ the Lord cures you. He presently got up, and all that dwelt at Lydda that saw the Miracle were converted to the Lord. There was also at Joppa a certain holy Woman named Tabitha, who happening to die while St. Peter was at Lydda, the Disciples sent to desire him to come to them. Whereupon St. Peter came, and entering into the Chamber where Tabitha lay dead, he caus’d every body to go out, and betook himself to Prayers. Then turning himself towards the Corps, he said, Tabitha arise. At which Instant she open’d her Eyes, and seeing St. Peter, she sat up. This Miracle was much fam’d at Joppa, and was the Occasion that many were converted. St. Peter stay’d there a good while, taking up his Lodging with one Simon a Tanner.

Now there was at Cesarea of Palestine a Centurion call’d Cornelius, a Man that fear’d God, and to whom it was reveal’d by an Angel, that he should send to Joppa to Peter, who should tell him what he had to do. Cornelius immediately sent two of his Servants, and while they were upon the Road, the Lord sent a Vision to Peter, to prepare him to go to this Man without any Scruple, although he was not a Jew. For as yet the Door of the Gospel had not been to open’d the Gentiles. St. Peter then being upon the Terrass of his Host Simon, was seized with an Ecstasy, and saw, as it were, a great Sheet of Linen let down from Heaven, which was full of all Kinds of Animals and Reptiles, both clean and unclean. He had this Vision three times, and heard a Voice, saying, Arise Peter, kill and eat. But Peter answered, Lord, I have never eaten any thing unclean. The Voice reply’d, Call not that unclean which God has purified. After which the Sheet was again taken up into Heaven. At the

same Time the Men came in that had been sent by Cornelius. They acquainted him with what had happen’d to their Master, and desir’d him to go along with them to Cesarea. The Day following St. Peter went along with them, and some of the Brethren of Joppa accompany’d them also.

He found Cornelius with his Kindred and Friends in Expectation of him. When CorneliusActs x. 14, 15,16,&c. first saw him, he fell at his Feet as if to worship him. But Peter lifting him up, told him; I am but a Man as well as you. Coming into the House, Peter said to those that were assembled together, You know what Aversion the Jews have for those that are uncircumcis’d, and with what Caution they avoid all Correspondence with them, and will not so much as go into their Houses. But God has shew’d me, that I ought not to esteem any Man as unclean and defiled, whom he has sanctify’d; for which Reason I have made no Difficulty of coming to you. I pray you therefore to declare to me, for what Reason you have sent for me. Then Cornelius related to him what had happen’d; and Peter giving Thanks to God, who had no Respect to the different Circumstances of Persons, began to preach Jesus Christ to Cornelius, and to all those that were present. While he was yet speaking, the Holy Ghost descended upon all that heard him, and they spoke with Variety of Tongues. Then Peter said, Can any one refuse Baptism to those that have already receiv’d the Holy Ghost as well as ourselves? And he commanded that they should be baptized in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

When St. Peter was return’d to Jerusalem, the Faithful of the Circumcision said to him, Why have you gone unto those that are not circumcis’d, and why have you eat with them? But when Peter had related to ‘em all that had passed, they were satisfy’d, and glorify’d God, who had given the Gift of Repentance, leading to Life, to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews. ‘Tis thought that Peter went to Antioch a little Acts xi. 1, 2, 3, 4, &c.after this, a where he founded the Christian Church, of which he was first Bishop. St. Chrysostom says, he continued there a long while; ‘tis believed he was there seven Years, Chrysost. t. 1. homil. 42. p. 503. Greg. l. 6. Ep. 37. Euseb. l. 3. c. 1. Hist. Eccl.not continually, but at several Times. For during this Time he went to Jerusalem, into the Provinces of Asia Minor, to Bithynia, Cappadocia, and Pontus, as is concluded from the Epistle that afterwards he address’d to the Faithful of those Provinces. From thence he went to Rome, in the 42d Year of the vulgar Era, and the 2d Year of the Emperor Claudius, about five and twenty Years before his Martyrdom; which is the Time that the Church of Rome generally allows to the Bishoprick of St. Peter. ‘Tis thought that at his leaving Antioch, he there fix’d St. Ignatius in his Place.

‘Tis said,⁵⁵ that while he was at Rome under Claudius, he there contracted an Acquaintance with Philo, the Alexandrian Jew, and had several Conversations with him. See the Article PHILO. ‘Tis thought also, that the chief Occasion of his Journey⁵⁶ was to oppose Simon Magus, who by his Deceits had perverted a great Number of Persons, and was honour’d there almost as a God. The Presence of St. Peter, and the true Miracles that he opposed to the Tricks of Simon, ruin’d or much diminish’d the Reputation of this Impostor. If at this Time St. Peter did not continue long enough at Rome, to undeceive those that had been seduced by Simon, yet he did it effectually afterwards, at his Return, when he entirely defeated him, as we shall see in its Place.

Acts 12. 1, 2, 3, &c.St. Peter being come to Jerusalem, at the Passover of the 44th Year of the vulgar Era, Herod Agrippa began a Persecution against the Church. He put to the Sword St. James the Greater, Brother of John; and perceiving that his Death was acceptable to the Jews, he moreover caused Peter to be apprehended, and put him in Prison, with a Design of putting him to death publickly after the Passover. In the Interim Intercession was made for him continually to God, by the Church. But the very Night that Herod thought of putting him to death, as Peter loaded with Chains was sleeping between two Soldiers, the Angel of the Lord awakened him, broke his Chains, open’d the Door of the Prison to him, and brought him the Length of a Street. Then the Angel leaving him, he said, Now I find that the Lord has deliver’d me from the Hands of Herod, and from all the Expectation of the Jews. From thence he came to the House of Mary the Mother of John, where many of the Faithful were assembled at Prayers. He knock’d at the Door, and a Damsel call’d Rhode coming to open it, when she heard his Voice, instead of opening the Door to him, she run in a Transport of Joy to acquaint the Family, that Peter was at the Door. Those that heard her could not believe it, and said it was his Angel, and not himself. But he continuing to knock, they let him in, when he inform’d them of what had happen’d to him.⁵⁷

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