Plato
Plato (gr. 70.67rwv, Abroad,* A Sobriquet Given By Ariston, A Teacher In Athletics, And Re Ferring Probably To Plato's Broad Shoulders), Was Born In Athens In The Deme Of Collytus, In 427 B.c., Of Aristocratic Parentage, And Died There In 347. According To An Ancient Tradition He Was Born On ...
Platonism
Platonism, The System Of Philosophy Taught By Plato. The Tripartite Division Of Philosophy Into Dialectic (metaphysics), Phys Ics And Ethics Is Not Explicitly Made By Plato, Although These Several Disciplines Are Discussed In The Various Dialogues And The Classification Is Implicitly Made. Platonic The Fundamental Discipline In The Platonic Philosophy ...
Plattsburg
Plattsburg, Plateberg, N. Y., Village, Port Of Entry, County-seat Of Clinton County, On Lake Champlain, At The Mouth Of The Sara Nac River And On The Delaware And Hudson And The Chateangay Railroads. It Has Steamer Connection With Burlington, Vt., And All The Lake Ports. It Is About 160 Miles ...
Platyhelminthes
Platyhelminthes, A Phylum Of The Metazoa, Commonly Known As The Flat Worms, Characterized By A Bilaterally Symmetri Cal Body, Somewhat Flattened Dorsoventrally And Usually Elongated. The Primary 'body Cavity Is Filled With Parenchymatous Tissue, Giving Char Acteristic Firmness To The Body. The Alimentary System Is Sacculate And Provided With But ...
Plautus
Plautus, The Third Of The Roman Drama Tists In Chronological Order And The First In Lit Erary And Linguistic Importance. His Full Name Was Titus Maccius Plautus; It Was Formerly Supposed To Be M. Accius Plautus And Is So Given In Editions Before 1850. He Was Born In Sar Sina, ...
Playboy Of The Western
Playboy Of The Western World, The, In Three Acts, By John Milling Ton Synge, Is A Singularly Arresting Play By Reason Of Its Extraordinary Combination Of Qualities That Are Ordinarily Deemed Contradic Tory. It Is A Comedy Of Irish Peasant Life, Ex Travagant, Even Boisterous At Moments, Yet Based On ...
Plebeians
Plebeians, (plebs), An Or Der Of The Roman People, Corresponding To The English Commons. The Time At Which The Plebeians Were Recognized As A Distinct Order In The State Is Not Known; They Were At First Excluded From Almost Every Right Of Citizen Ship. They Differed From The Clientes In ...
Pleistocene Epoch
Pleistocene Epoch, In Geology, Includes The Time That Elapsed Be Tween The Close Of The Tertiary And The Dawn Of The Historical Or Recent Period. Measured In Years, It Is The Shortest Of The Epochs, But Geologically It Is One Of The Most Interesting. It Includes The Great Ice Age ...
Plekhanoff
Plekhanoff, George, Rus Sian Political Economist; Founder Of The Rus Sian Social-democracy: B. 1837; D. Petrograd, June 1918. He Was Of Noble Origin, Attended The Petrograd School Of Mines, And At An Early Agejoined The Populists (narodniki), Later The Zemlya I Volya (land And Liberty) Group. When Theparty Split In ...
Plesiosaurus
Plesiosaurus, A Genus Of Extinct Rep Tiles Of The Order Sauropterygia. Several Species Have Been Described From Very Complete Re Mains In European Lias Rocks, First Discovered In 1822 And Studied By Cuvier And His Followers. In These Reptiles The Head Is Small, The Neck Very Long, The Tail Of ...
Pleura
Pleura, The Serous Membrane Lining The Cavity Of The Thorax Or Chest, And Which Also Covers The Lungs. Each Lung Is Invested By A Separate Pleura Or Portion Of This Membrane; The Structure Being Spoken Of Rather As Double Pleura Than As A Single Membrane. Like All Serous Membranes, Each ...
Pleurisy
Pleurisy, An Inflammatory Disease Of The Pleura (q.v.). It Is Either Dry Or Accom Panied By Effusion. Dry Or Fibrinous Pleurisy Is Characterized By An Inflamed Area, Usually Of Small Extent, Covered With A Layer Of Plastic Lymph And Somewhat Roughened. Its Invasion Is Accompanied With Sharp Pain And A ...
Pliny
Pliny, Plin'y (gaius Pultrus Seamus), Commonly Called Pliny The Elder, Roman Au Thor: B. Novum Comum, 23 A.d. ; D. Stabim, 79 A.d. He Came To Rome At An Early Age Where He Availed Himself Of The Best Teachers. He Served In Germany Under Dominus Corbulo And Pornponius Secundus, And ...
Pliny_2
Pliny (garus Ptirmus Cx.craus Seoun-• Nus), Called Pliny The Younger, Roman Author: B. Novum Comum, 62 A.d. ; D. About 113. He Was A Nephew Of Pliny The Elder, By Whom He Was Adopted And Carefully Educated. He Studied At Rome Under Quintilian And Nicetes Sacerdos, In 76 Wrote A ...
Plotinus
Plotinus, The Most Famous Of Neo-platonists: B. Lycopolis, Egypt, About 204 Ad.; D. Ifinturnse, Campania, 270. In His Intercourse With His Pupils And Acquaintances He Avoided All Reference To The Antecedent Circumstances Of His Life, His Age, Nativity Or Parentage. It Is Conjectured That Be Was Of Roman Descent, Probably ...
Plover
Plover, The General Name Employed To Designate Most Birds Of The Limicoline Family Charadrids, Of Which The True Plovers Are Sometimes Held To Constitute The Subfamily Charadrince, And To That Extent Are Separated From The Turnstones And Surf-birds (qq.v.). Closely Related Are The Sandpipers And Snipes (qq.v.). The Plovers Have ...
Plow
Plow, An Implement Originally Drawn By Horses Oxen, Etc., Used For Breaking Up Or Loosening The Soil, Preparatory To Planting Or Sowing. The Plow Was The Primary Implement Of Civilization. The Cultivation Of The Soil, Which Began With The Invention Of The Plow, Made It Possible For Men To Live ...
Plum
Plum, The Popular Name For Several Spe Cies Of The Genus Prunus, Extensively Cultivated In Mild Climates For Their Fruits. They Are Widely Distributed In The North Temperatezone, Especially In America And Eastern Asia. "they Have Alternate, Simple, Leaves; White Flowers Mostly In Cymes And Generally Appearing With The Leaves; ...
Plumage
Plumage. Feathers Are Pre-eminently The Distinguishing Characteristic Of Birds: All Birds Have Them, While No Other Animal Pos Sesses Them. As Elsewhere Described (see Ornithology) Feathers Fill Two Important Func Tions, The Retention Of Animal Heat In The Body And The Support Of The Bird In Flight; And Since They ...
Plumbing And Steam Fitting
Plumbing And Steam Fitting. The Word Derived From The Latin Plumbum (lead), As Originally Used, Meant To Seal Or Repair With This Metal, But The Term As Now Used, In Its Broadest Sense, Means The Pipes, Connections, Fixtures, Etc., Used For The Purpose Of Supplying Water, Gas, Hot Water, Steam ...
Pluralism
Pluralism. This Term Is Used In Cur Rent Philosophical Discussion To Denote The View That Regards The World As Composed Of A Num Ber Or Plurality Of Beings Of Distinct And Inde Pendent Nature. It Is Thus Opposed To Monism (q.v.), Which Asserts That There Is Only One Ultimate Form ...
Plutarch
Plutarch, Plot:it/irk (gr. Greek Writer: B. Chwronea, Bixotia, About 46 A.d. ; D. There, About 125. He Studied Philosophy Under Ammonius, A Peripatetic Philosopher Of Attica, In 60 A.d., Which Is The Only Indication Of His Age. He Several Times Visited Rome, Where During The Reign Of Vespasian He Remained ...
Plutarchs Lives
Plutarch's Lives, North's Transla Tion Of. Sir Thomas North Was A Soldier And Public Official Rather Than A Man Of Letters, But He Shared With Other Elizabethans That Striking Versatility Which Enabled So Many Of Them To Attain Distinction In More Than One Field Of Activity. His Literary Works Were ...
Pluto
Pluto, Ploo't6, In Greek Mythology, The Giver Of Wealth, Or Hades, The God Of The Lower World. The Former Name Gradually Superseded The Latter, Which Was More Commonly Used By The Poets. He Was The Third Son Of Cronus (saturn) And Rhea, A Brother Of Zeus (jupiter) And Poseidon (neptune), ...
Plymouth
Plymouth, England, An Important Sea Port And Commercial Town Of Devonshire, On Plymouth Sound, Between The Estuaries Of The Plym And Tamar, 36 Miles Southwest Of Exeter. Devonport On The West, Stonehouse In The Mid Dle, And Plymouth Proper On The East, Constitute The Aggregate Known As °the Three Towns." ...
Plymouth Brethren
Plymouth Brethren, A Religious Sect Which Had Its Rise In The British Isles About 1827, When The Rev. John N. Darby, A Minister Of The Episcopalian Church Of Ireland, Asso Ciated Himself With A Group Of Dissenters In Dublin And Formed A Religious Society Of Brethren On A Platform Of ...
Plymouth N C
Plymouth (n. C.), Engagements At. When General Burnside Had Occupied Roanoke Island And Newbern In February And March 1862, The Union Gunboats Became Active In Pa Troling The Waters Of North Carolina And Seiz Ing The Coast And River Towns. Plymouth Was Occupied In June By Lieut. C. W. Flusser, ...
Plymouth_2
Plymouth, Mass., Town, County-seat Of Plymouth County, On Plymouth Harbor, A Part Of Massachusetts Bay, And On The New York, New Haven And Hartford Railroad, 38 Miles Southeast Of Boston. It Was Here That The Pilgrims Landed From The Mayflower, 21 Dec 1620, And Established The First Permanent English Colony ...
Pneumatic Tools
Pneumatic Tools Are A Class Of Portable Mechanical Appliances Operated By Com Pressed Air. The Air Pressure Is Conveyed Through A Flexible Tube From A Pressure Tank To A Miniature Self-contained Motor, And The Tool Is Adjusted And Applied By The Hand. They Are Of Two Types — Percussion And ...
Pneumatic Tubes
Pneumatic Tubes. Pneumatic Tubes Are Employed To Despatch Letters, Parcels, Tele Grams, Etc., To A Distance By The Energy Of Compressed Air. Their Application Was Origi Nally Suggested By Denis Papin In 1667, When He Read A Paper Before The Royal Society Of London, Describing A Plan By Which The ...
Pneumogastric Nerve
Pneumogastric Nerve, The Vagus, Or 10th Cranial Nerve (see Cranial Nerves), The Lung-stomach Nerve. It Is Formed By The Junc Tion Of From 10 To 15 Filaments Which Arise In The Medulla Oblongata. They Form A Flattened Band Which Passes Out Through The Skull With Other Nerves And Pursues Its ...
Pnyx
Pnyx, Niks, In Ancient Greece, A Hill In Athens Where The People Assembled To Make De Crees, Pass Laws, Etc. Po, Pi (ancient Padus, Or Eridanus ) , The Largest• River Of Italy, In Respect Both Of Its Length And Its Volume Of Water. It Rises On The Confines Of ...
Po River
Po River, Engagement On. After Two Days' Terrific Fighting In The Wilderness (q.v.), With A Loss Of Over 17,000 Men, General Grant Concluded To Continue The Movement By The Left, And On The Evening Of 7 May He Put His Army In Motion For Spottsylvania Court House. The Second Corps, ...
Pocahontas
Pocahontas, Po-lca-hon'tas, Indian Princess: B. Virginia, About 1595; D. England, March 1617. She Was The Daughter Of Pow Hatan (q.v.), A Celebrated Indian Sachem In Virginia And Chief Of The Chickahominy Tribe. She Discovered The Warmest Friendship For The English Colonists, And Undoubtedly Did Render Many Services To The Struggling ...
Podiatry
Podiatry (gr.irodc, Rod, Foot. And Laraira, Treatment). The Art Of Caring For The Feet Both To Cure And To Prevent Affections Of Them, Called Chiropody Formerly (etymology Usually Given Vet], Hand, And 'rod, Foot, As If Treat Ment Of Hand And Foot, But Probably From Xelpvpy, Surgery, And Sod, Foot, ...
Poem Of The Cid
Poem Of The Cid ('poema De Mio Cid') Is The Most Ancient Monument Of Spanish Literature. The Author, Date And Place Of Its Composition Are Uncertain, But Internal Evidence Points To Some Part Of Castile, Probably The Neighborhood Of Medina, As The Place And 1140 60 As The Date Of ...
Poetics Of Aristotle
Poetics Of Aristotle, The. The 'poetics) Of Aristotle, Historically, And Doubt Less Intrinsically, Is The Most Important Of Ex Tant Works In Literary Criticism. Its Relation To Prior And Contemporary Treatises On Poetry, In Cluding An Aristotelian Dialogue 'on Poets,' Is Uncertain; Yet This One Surviving
Poetry
Poetry. Poetry Has Been Defined In Many Ways, And In The Nature Of The Case The Term Means Different Things Under Different Condi Tions. In General It May Be Defined As Emo Tional And Imaginative Discourse In Metrical Form; That Is, The Representation Of Experi Ences Or Ideas With Special ...
Poetry And Truth
Poetry And Truth. ((aus Meinen Leben: Dichtung And Goethe's 'poetry And Truth) Is One Of The Great Auto Biographies Of The World's Literature. It Is Divided Into Four Parts, The First Three Of Which Were Written And Published Between 1811-14, While The Fourth Was Written Mainly In 1830-31 And Published ...
Poincare
Poincare, Raymond, President Of The French Republic: H. Bar-le-duc, Meuse, 20 Aug. 1860. He Was Educated At The Lycees Of Bar Ic-duc And Louis-le-grand And Studied Law In Paris. He Practised For A Short Time And Was A Contributor To Political Journals. In 1886 Young Poincare Was Elected Deputy And ...
Poincari
Poincari, (jules) Henri, French Mathematician And Physicist: B. Nancy, 29 April 1854; D. Paris, 17 July 1912. He Studied At The Teole Polytechnique In 1873 And Two Years Later Completed His Work At The Ecole Superieur Des Mines. In 1879 He Received The Degree Of Doctor Of Sciences And Took ...
Pointillism
Pointillism, The Division Of Tones In Painting By Very Small Dots Of Equal Size, Caus Ing The Spherical Shape To Act Equally Upon The Retina Of The Beholder's Eye. The Accumulation Of These Luminous Points Is Carried Out Over The Entire Surface Of The Canvas. The Theory Of Complementary Colors ...
Poison Gas
Poison Gas. In The Four Years' World War (1914-18), Gas Was First Used In 1915, By The Germans As A Means Of Attack Against The French And Canadian Troops, Who Were Holding Positions On The Ypres Salient. • It Came As A Complete Surprise To The Allies Who Retaliated And ...
Poland
Poland, A Republic Of Considerable Size In Eastern Europe, Bounded On The West By The Oder And Warthe Rivers, In The East By The Dnieper River, On The South By The Carpathian Mountain Range And The Dniester River, And In The North By The Dwina River, And Its Tributaries, And ...
Polar Research
Polar Research. American Explora Tion In The Arctic Divides Itself Readily Into Three Parts — The Expeditions, 1851-55, Incident To The Sir John Franklin Search; Those Promoted By The United States Government, 1870-72 And 1881-84, And Those Projected, Financed And Led By Rear Admiral Robert E. Peary, U.s.n., 1891 1909. ...
Polarization Of Light
Polarization Of Light, An Ef Fect Upon The Mode Of Vibration Of Light Pro Duced By Reflection, Ordinary Refraction Or Double Refraction. The Term Polarisation Is Due To Newton Who In The Development Of His Emis Sion Theory Of Light Made Use Of A Supposed Analogy Between The Phenomena Of ...
Pole
Pole, Reginald, English Roman Catholic Prelate: B. Stourton Castle, Staffordshire, 3 March 1500; D. London 17 Nov. 1558. He Was The Son Of Sir Richard Pole, Lord Montacute, By Margaret, Daughter Of The Duke Of Clarence, Brother Of Edward Iv. He Was Educated At Oxford, Where Linacre And Latimer Were ...
Polenz
Polenz, Pol'6nts, Wilhelm Von, German Novelist: B. At Castle Oberlcunewalde, Ober Lausitz, Saxony, 14 Jan. 1861; D. There, 13 Nov. 1903. Studying At The Universities Of Leipzig And Berlin He Fell Under The Spell Of Modern Ideas. In 1891 He Published His First Novel (siihne) Which Was Followed By A ...
Police
Police, Poles (greek, Politeia, Govern Ment, From Polls, A City), A Judicial And Executive System, And An Organized Civil Force For Main Taining Order And Enforcing The Laws. There Are Traces To Be Found In Every Organized Soci Ety Of Some System Of Rules For The Maintenance Of Peace And ...
Police Ppwer
Police Ppwer. No Adequate Defini Tion Can Be Given Of This Subject, The Courts Usually Deciding In Each Case As To Its Extent. In Its General Acceptation It Means The Power Of A Municipal Government To Preserve The Wel Fare Of The Public By Prohibiting Everything That Is Contrary To ...
Police And Fire Alarm
Police And Fire Alarm Sys Tems. The Usual Police Alarm System Con Sists Of A Bell Signal And Telephone Arranged In Boxes At Desired Locations. Keys To These Boxes Are Held By The Policemen On Duty, Who Must Report At Certain Times From These Boxes To Headquarters By Telephone. On ...
Poliomyelitis
Poliomyelitis. Also Known As In Fantile Paralysis, Or Heine Medins Disease. An - Acute Infectious Disease, Chiefly Involving The Spinal Cord And Its Membranes, At Times Pro Gressing Into The Upper Parts Of The Mid-brain And Brain Itself. The Agent Itself Has Not Been Definitely Isolated (1919) Although The Disease ...
Polish Language
Polish Language. The Polish Lan Guage Is One Of The Slavic Family Of Tongues And Is Most Nearly Related To The Bohemian Branch Of That Family. It Belongs To The Western Group Of Those Languages And Is Spoken By About 15,000,000 People, In Its Various Dialects. Remarkable For Its Phonetic ...
Polish Literature
Polish Literature. Compara Tively Nothing Is Known Of The Polish Lan Guage Previous To The 15th Century. No Literary Remains In Polish Have Come Down To Us Previous To That Time. For The 15th Century Itself We Have Only The 'florian Psalter,' 'the Song Of The Virgin Mary' (bogorodzico), 'queen ...
Politianus
Politianus, Po-lish-i-vniis, Angelus (latinized Form Of Angelo Poliziano), Italian Scholar And Poet: B. Montepulciano, Tuscany, 14 July 1454; D. Florence, 24 Sept. 1494. His Name Was Taken From His Native Town, The Family Name Having Been Antbrogini. He Was Educated At Florence, Where He Acquired Great Proficiency In The Classics ...
Political Parties And The
Political Parties And The World War. The Fortunes Of Political Parties Depend To A Large Extent Upon The Popularity Of The Principles Which They Espouse, As Indicated By Their Platforms And By The Char Acter Of The Men Whom They Nominate For Office. The Principles Advocated By The Political Parties ...
Political Science
Political Science, The Science Which Treats Of The Nature And Organization Of States With Particular Reference To Their Forms Of Government (q.v.). The Late Sir John Seeley, One Of The Most Profound Students Of Political Science, Declared That °the State In The Largest Acceptation Of The Word, Distinct From The ...
Polk
Polk, James Knox, 11th President Of The United States: B. Mecklenburg County, N. C., 2 Nov. 1795; D. Nashville, Tenn., 15 June 1849. He Was Of Scotch-irish Ancestry And Was Reared Near The North Carolina Frontier Amid The Hard, Simple Surroundings Of Plain Farmers. He Was Graduated At The University ...
Pollination
Pollination. The Pollen Of Seed Plants Are Really Microspores In A More Or Less Advanced Stage Of Germination. They Are Developed Within Anthers And, At The Time Of Shedding, Form A Powdery Mass Which Usu Ally Has A Distinctly Yellowish Color. The Pol Len Is The Male Product Of The ...
Pollio
Pollio, Caius Asinius, Roman Poet, Historian And Orator: B. 76 S.c.; D. 4 A.d. He Is Known From The Part He Took In The Politi Cal Events Of His Time, But Still More By His Writings And Love Of Literature. In The Civil War, He (49 Ac.) Adhered To Julius ...
Polo
Polo, An Equestrian Game, The Object Of The Players Being To Strike The Ball Through The Opponent's Goal; All Are Mounted On Ponies Not Exceeding 1454 Hands And Carry Mallets About Four Feet Long With Which To Strike The Ball, Made Of Light Wood. The Grounds Are Usually 900 Feet ...
Polonium
Polonium, An Element Discovered By Mme. Skiodowska Curie (1898), Who, While Ex Amining Some Samples Containing Uranium Ob Tained It From The Complex Mineral Pitch-blende. Mme. Curie Named It Polonium In Memory Of Her Native Land, Poland. Pitchblende Is A Peculiar And Very Complex Mineral Found Prin Cipally In Joachimsthal, ...
Polyandry
Polyandry (gr. Polys, Many, Andres, Men, Husbands), A Marital Relation Subsisting Between One Woman And Several Men. Poly Andry Is Found To Exist In Primitive And Bar Barous Peoples In Every Age And Everywhere. In Antiquity We Have The Testimony Of Hero Dotus For The Prevalence Of This Custom Among ...
Polybius
Polybius, Greek Historian•, Son Of Lycostas, A Distinguished General And One Of The Heads Of The Achzans: B. Megalo Polis, Arcadia, About 205 B.c. ; D. About 120 B.c. He Was Educated For Arms And Political Life, And When About 169 A.c The Design Of The Ro Mans To Make ...
Polycarp
Polycarp, P611-karp, One Of The Apos Tolic Fathers Of The Church, And Styled By His Disciple Irenmus A Pupil Of The Apostle John: Lb. Smyrna, Probably About 69 A.d. D. There, 155. According To Legend He Was Brought Up By A Noble Christian Lady Named Callisto, And Was Consecrated By ...
Polychromy
Polychromy, P'611-kremi, Literally The Use Of Many Colors And Generally Used In The Sense Of Decorative Work By Means Of Brilliant Coloring Or That Which Is Brilliant In Compari Son With Other Work Of The Same Class And Character. Thus A Fitting Together Of Building Stones In Patterns Is Polychromy, ...
Polyclitus
Polyclitus (0514-ki1'tils) Of Sic Yon, Greek Sculptor And Architect. He Was A Pupil Of The Sculptor Ageladas, Of Argos, In Whose Studio He Became Feljow-student Of Phidias. He Flourished 452-412 A.c. He Stood At The Head Of The Schools Of Argos And Sicyon, And Is Held To Rival Phidias, The ...
Polycrates
Polycrates, 1,6-mere-tea, Greek Tyrant Of Samos; D. 522 A.c. He Was One Of The Most Daring, Successful And Treacherous Of The Greek Tyrants. Toward The End Of The Reign Of Cyrus, About 535 A.c., With The Aid Of His Brothers, Pantagnotus And Syloson, He Conquered The Island Of Samos Which ...
Polyeucte
Polyeucte, Pole-ekts. Polyeucte Was An Armenian Christian Who Suffered For His Faith Under The Persecutions Of The Emperor Decius And Was Afterward Canonized, His Day Being The 9th Of January. His Name Would No Doubt To-day Be No More Widely Known Than That Of The Obscurest Of The Noble Army ...
Polygamy
Polygamy, The Condition Of A Man Hav Ing More Than One Wife At The Same Time. Etymologically Considered, The Word Would Sig Nify Plurality Of Husbands (polyandry) As Well As Plurality Of Wives (polygyny) ; It Is Em Ployed Here In The Latter (the Usual) Sense. Polygamy Among Barbarous People ...
Polyglot
Polyglot (greek, Polys, Many, And Glotta, Language), .a Work Which Contains The Same Matter In Several Languages, Especially A Copy Of The Holy Scriptures In Two, Three Or More Languages. The Most Important Of Such Works Is The Complutensian Polyglot, Prepared Under The Direction Of Cardinal Ximenes. It Was Printed ...
Polynesia
Polynesia (greek, Polys, Many; Nesos, Island), A Geographical Name Applied Col Lectively By Some Writers To All The Pacific Is Lands Of Stnctly Oceanic Character, I. E., Either Of Volcanic Or Coralline Origin; By Others Restricted To The Vast Island-dotted Region Extending From Southeastern Asia Across The Pacific, And From ...
Polynesians
Polynesians. Many Studies Have Been Devoted To The Origin And Migration Of The Polynesian People. It Has Been Maintained, Largely Upon Undigested Linguistic Material. That They Are Of The Aryan• Race; With Equal Insist Ence Certain Other Students On The Same Linguis Tic Ground Have Assigned Them To Such Intimate ...