written for Solomon than by him.

But, on the other hand, some others, of unknown authors, may be his; several are at least of his time, and refer to events of his reign-the consecration of the temple, &c. The opinion that some psalms are of the time of Samuel, and written by the prophet himself, is supported by no historical testimony, but is not improbable. Most of those by unknown authors seem to be of later date; some few apparently belong to the reigns of the kings immediately succeeding Solomon, several to the mournful days of the Babylonish captivity and of the return, especially those headed "for the sons of Korah," most of which are probably by the same author. Of later date, also, are probably those called "songs of the degrees," which some have referred to the return from Babylon, others to the annual pilgrimages to Jerusalem and the temple, and which others suppose to have been sung on the steps of the temple. Finally, a few seem to belong to the age of the Maccabees. The psalms of David, whether actually composed by him, or merely of his time, probably constituted an earlier collection, which extended to the 72d. Those which follow are, for the most part, more modern. Our collection consists of 150 psalms, but the manuscripts are not all numbered alike. The Septuagint and Vulgate unite the 9th and 10th, and the 104th and 105th, while they divide the 116th and the 147th into two, so that their number differs in some respects from that of the English translation. The Masorites, without any sufficient reason, divided the whole collection into five books. The Psalms are lyric poems, chiefly odes, and didactic, elegiac or idylic. (See Lowth's Hebrew Poetry.) Most of them are in the form of prayer, or begin or end with prayer; and, whether they utter complaint, lamentation or consolation, are expressive of the deepest trust in God. Their morality is pure, except in some of David's martial or triumphal songs, or songs of lamentation, in which we find expressions of hate, cruelty, and national pride. But they are all truly national, and most of them of a pure religious tone. They are among the highest and sublimest efforts of poetry; and the holy light of revelation, the inspiring belief in the eternal true God, spreads over them a bright splendor, and fills them with deep fervor. They must not be compared with the other lyric productions of the ancient world; they are altogether the peculiar growth of the holy land, where the voice of revelation resounded most loudly, and

was preserved the most purely. Many of their allusions are historical, and must be explained by history; but it would be going too far to attempt to explain every thing historically; since it is evident that much is metaphorical, some, though a smaller portion, allegorical, and much prophetical, referring to the future, rather than to the past. Some, on account of their local allusions, are less instructive to us; but most of them are rich in encour agement, consolation, filial trust, joyful confidence in God, evidences of humility and patience, and are well adapted for the sacred songs of Christians. It may be added that the collection in the Old Tes tament by no means contains the whole treasure of Hebrew psalms. Not only are the songs of Solomon lost, but there are many others mentioned in the Old Testament which are not in our biblical collection.

PSALMANAZAR, George, the assumed name of a man of letters, who is chiefly known as a literary impostor. He was born of Catholic parents, in the south of France, in 1679. His mother, being abandoned by her husband, sent her son to a school kept by Franciscan friars; and he was afterwards placed in a college of the Jesuits. He then studied among the Dominicans, and having finished his edu cation, acted as a private tutor. Leaving his situation, he engaged in several adventures; and, at length, having stolen from a church, where it had been dedicated, the habit of a pilgrim, he roved about in that character, subsisting on charity. He afterwards became a common vagrant, and then servant to the keeper of a taver whose house he left clandestinely, and, renewing his wandering mode of life, be conceived the project of professing hitself to be a Japanese convert to Christianity, who had found his way to Europe. As he did not find this scheme very prof able, he adopted the character of a native of the island of Formosa, and, in order to support his pretensions, he co trived a new language, which he calle the Formosan. At this time he became acquainted with a clergyman named Ipnes, who, conceiving he could turn the imposture to good account, persuaded the pretended Formosan to suffer himself be converted to the church of England. and the clergyman and his new discip went to London, where the latter was pre sented to bishop Compton and others, the former was rewarded for his zeal w church preferment. Psalmanazar the effrontery to translate the Churra

beathen

Catechism into his newly-invented Formosan language; and he published a History of Formosa (1704), which passed through several editions. In the mean time he was sent to study at Oxford; and a controversy was carried on between his patrons and doctor Halley, doctor Mead, and some other less credulous persons, who refused to admit his pretensions. The imposture at length became clearly manifest; and the culprit, deserted by those whom he had deceived, was obliged to rely on the exercise of his literary abilities for his support. He settled in London, where he resided many years, and was employed by the booksellers, particularly in the former part of the Universal History, published in 1747. Towards the close of his life, he drew up an autobiographical Memoir, in which he expresses much contrition for the deceptions which he had allowed himself to practise. His death took place in 1763.

PSALMODY; the art of writing, or composing, divine hymns, or songs. The composition and performance of psalmody appears to have been practised and encouraged in Germany, France, and the Low Countries, long before it was introduced into England. Most of the old melodies now sung in the service of the parochial churches were set by German musicians, and it seems highly probable,

from all that can be collected on the subject, that the practice of psalmody had its origin in Germany. It does not, however, appear that even in that country it at first gained admission into public worship; but it was a long time confined to family devotion, especially among the reformed. Luther, who was a good musician, is known to have regularly practised psalmody with his friends every evening after supper, and is by some supposed to have been the author of the excellent melody of the 100th psalm. The first English version of the Psalms of Dayid, which took place soon after that of the French, was made in the reign of Henry VIII, by Thomas Sternhold (q. v.), groom of the robes to that monarch, and John Hopkins, a schoolmaster, assisted by William Whittyngham, an English divine of considerable learning. Soon after the publication of this version, vocal psalmody was introduced into the church service, and various musical manuals appeared for the purpose of facilitating its practice.

PSALTER; a collection of the Psalms (q. v.); also a large chaplet or rosary, con

sisting of 150 beads, the number of the Psalms in the Psalter.

PSALTERY, or PSALTERION; a stringed instrument much used by the ancient Hebrews, and by them called nebel. We know but little of the ancient form of this instrument, but have reason to conclude that it resembled that of our harp. The psaltery now in use is a flat instrument, in the form of a trapezium, or a triangle truncated at top. It is strung with thirteen wire cords, tuned in unisons, or octaves, and mounted on two bridges. It is performed with a plectrum, whence it is usually ranked among the instruments of percussion.

PSAMMETICUS. (See Egypt.)

PSARA, or IPSARA (Psyra); an island of the Grecian Archipelago, seven miles north-west of Scio, about five and a half miles in length, and as many in breadth. It consists almost entirely of a rock, thinly covered in some places with a vegetable mould. The population is about 400. It was settled about a century ago, by a little band of Greeks, who fled thither to escape the Turkish yoke, and supported themselves by fishing. In 1824, it was taken by the Turks; 600 Psariotes, the sole remnant of a population of 6000, which had perished under the Turkish scymetar, after defending themselves for a long time, in a mountain-fortress of the island, buried themselves beneath its

ruins.

PSEUDO (from the Greek cudos, a falsehood); a term or particle prefixed to names and words, to denote any thing spurious and false. Thus we call any thing which has a false name, as a book written under a feigned name, pseudonymous. (See Anonymous.) Pseudo-Smerdis, the false Smerdis. (See Persia.)

PSEUDO-DEMETRIUS. (See Russia.) PSEUDO-ISIDORE. (See Isidore, Decretals, and Popes.)

PSYCHE, the twofold signification of whose name (4x", the soul, and a butterfly) added much to the effect of the beautiful allegory respecting her, was the daughter of Sol and Constancy. Apuleius (q. v.) makes her the daughter of a king, and relates her history thus: Psyche, whose two elder sisters were of moderate beauty, was so lovely, that she was taken for Venus herself, and men dared only to adore her as a goddess, not to love her. This excited the jealousy of Venus, who, to revenge herself, ordered Cupid to inspire her with love for some contemptible wretch. But Cupid fell in love with her himself. Meanwhile, her father desiring

to see his daughter married, consulted the oracle of Apollo, which commanded that Psyche should be conveyed, with funeral rites, to the summit of a mountain, and there be left, for she was destined to be the bride of a destructive monster, in the form of a dragon, feared by gods and men. With sorrow was the oracle obeyed, and Psyche was left alone on the desert rock, when suddenly Zephyr hovers around her, gently raises and transports her to a beautiful palace of the god of love, who visits her every night, unseen and unknown, leaving her again at the approach of day. Perfect happiness would have been the lot of Psyche, if, obedient to the warning of her lover, she had never been curious to know him better. But by the artifices of her jealous sisters, whom she had admitted to visit her, contrary to the commands of Cupid, she was persuaded that she held a monster in her arms, and curiosity triumphed. As he slept, she entered with a lamp to examine him, and discovered the most beautiful of the gods; in her joy and astonishment, she let a drop of the heated oil fall upon his shoulders. Cupid awoke, and, having reproached the astonished Psyche for her suspicions, fled. After having tried in vain to throw herself into a river, she wandered, inconsolable, to all the temples, seeking every where her beloved, till she came to the temple of Venus. Here began her severest sufferings. Venus kept her near her person, treated her as a slave, and imposed upon her the severest and most trying tasks. Psyche would have sunk under the burden, had not Cupid, who still tenderly loved her, secretly assisted her in her labors. But in the last dangerous task imposed upon her, to descend to the realm of shadows, and bring away Proserpine's box of cosmetics, she almost perished. She succeeded, indeed, in the adventure; but, having opened the box, a deadly vapor issued from it, and she sunk lifeless to the earth. Cupid now appeared, and the touch of his arrow restored her to life. Venus was finally reconciled; by Jupiter's command Psyche became immortal, and was for ever united with her beloved. Her marriage was celebrated with great festivities, but her envious sisters threw themselves from a precipice. Raphael has given a most beautiful representation of the marriage,

in the Farnesina at Rome.

PSYCHOLOGY (from 4x7, the soul, and Auyos, doctrine); the science of the soul, or the spiritual principle in man. The object of this science is to teach the laws

and relations of the changes and phenom ena which take place in the mind during the intellectual operations; or to trace the causes of these phenomena, and to discover the nature of the mind and its relations to the universe; or, in short, to treat of the mind, either as it manifests itself. or as it is in itself. Investigations of the latter class, which have for their object that which cannot be discovered by observation, constitute metaphysical or transcendental psychology; while those of the former class, in which the soul becomes a subject of observation, constitute empirical or experimental psychology. Empirical psychology may, therefore, be defined to be the scientifically conducted observation of the operations and changes of the human soul. As a science, it includes all the phenomena of the intellectual activity; as the science of the soul, it forms a part of anthropology, called psychological anthropology, in distinction from physiology, or physiological anthropology. It takes for granted the distinetion of the spiritual substance (the I, the self) from the body, as a matter of con sciousness, and does not therefore attemp to explain it. It treats of the mind, indeed, in its operations, and in so far as it is connected with the body, but neglects the mere physical phenomena. It is, more strictly than logic, an introduction to intellectual philosophy, since logic treats only of the laws of reason. As the developement of the human mind proceeds from the particular to the general, enpirical psychology is the most proper introduction to speculative philosophy; the more so, as it makes us acquainted with the spiritual instrument which philosophy employs. In this course of investigation, the subject of attention is merely facts, of which every one is conscious, and which, therefore, are intelligible by all, and of which a distinct and connected view may prevent many errors in philosophical spec ulation. Again, empirical psychology is applied philosophy; for it must not c employ the philosophical forms in the disposition and explanation of facts, but also certain metaphysical notions a power, cause, &c.), and requires a philosophical spirit to give it the character of a science; and it is thus distinguished from a mere natural history of the soul, the developement of which is prior in point of time. The latter merely records the facts in their natural order, while p chology presents them in their connexions and according to the laws which regula them; and in this view it is that part of

applied philosophy which teaches the organization of the human soul, according to the external manifestations of its inward experience (consciousness). (See Philosophy, and Metaphysics.)

PTOLEMAIC SYSTEM. (See System of the Universe.)

PTOLEMAIS. (See Acre.)

PTOLEMY; the common name of thirteen Greco-Egyptian kings, who reigned in Egypt, from the death of Alexander till it became a Roman province (about 290 years). They are more properly called Lagides (since they did not all bear the name of Ptolemy), from Lagus, the founder of the dynasty. 1. Ptolemæus Lagi (i. e. son of Lagus, a Macedonian; in reality, the son of Philip), called also Soter, the Savior (by the Rhodians, on account of the assistance which he rendered them), at first governor of Egypt, reigned thirtynine years, and died 284 B. C. He embellished Alexandria, and founded the library in that city. His son and successor, 2. Ptolemy II (Philadelphus), a magnificent prince, is said to have founded Ptolemais and several cities, and to have built the Pharus (q. v.), which, however, is by some ascribed to his father. He died 247 B. C. 3. Ptolemy Euergetes died 221 B. C. His wife was Berenice. These three first Ptolemies were, in particular, the patrons of learning at Alexandria. (Concerning these and the other Ptolemies, see Alexandrian School, and Egypt.) Vaillant wrote a Historia Ptolemæorum (Amsterdam, 1701, folio.)

PTOLEMY (properly PTOLEMÆUS, Claudius), geographer, astronomer and mathematician, born at Pelusium in Egypt, A. D. 70, lived at Alexandria during the reigns of Marcus Antoninus and Adrian, and is said to have reached the age of eighty years. He is considered the first astronomer of antiquity. He corrected Hipparchus's catalogue of the fixed stars, and drew up tables for calculating the motions of the sun, moon and planets. The scattered observations of the ancients were first collected by him, and reduced to a system, which is contained in his work Meyaλn Euvragis, 13 books (Basle, 1538, fol.). The system of the world which he here exhibits is known under the name of the Ptolemaic. This work was translated into Arabic about 827, and from this translation, which bears the title Almagest, a Latin version was made by the command of the emperor Frederic II (1230). There are also other translations of this work, from the Arabic into Latin. Another important work of Ptolemy is his Geography

(in eight books). He followed, in this work, the geography of Marinus of Tyre, which appeared not long before; but he enriched his work with important additions and improvements, both in regard to the latitude and longitude of places, and the boundaries of countries and provinces, and he is the first writer who sought to determine the situation of places in this way; his work also contains the first principles of the projection of maps (in Greek and Latin, with maps, by Mercator, 1618). Although necessarily imperfect, from want of observations, it is nevertheless important to modern geographers. Besides these principal works, we have other works of Ptolemy, on chronology and astronomy.

PUBERTY; that period of life in which childhood ceases and youth begins. It is much earlier in southern countries than in northern. In our climate, it is from the age of thirteen to fifteen in the female sex, and from fourteen to sixteen in the male, but, in individual cases, is accelerated or retarded by various circumstances. The physical and intellectual changes which manifest themselves at this epoch are highly interesting. The child is occupied and satisfied with present objects, and all the functions of the body appear to operate merely for the preservation of the individual, while the sexual organs, which are destined for the continuance of the species, and therefore to direct the thoughts to the future, are yet not developed for the performance of their proper functions; but, at the period of puberty, a sudden change occurs: the lively and easilypleased boy, the gay and sportive girl, begin to appear thoughtful and reserved, and separate themselves from the childish plays in which the two sexes mingle together; the body grows more rapidly than before; the sexual parts are developed; the breasts become fuller; and, in both sexes, the voice becomes harsh and disagreeable before assuming the clear metallic tone, deep in man, high in woman, but in both very different from that of childhood. After this crisis is passed, the youth and maiden appear in all their bloom; they look upon the world as if with new senses; hope shines over the future, in which they live more than in the present; the region of the ideal opens before them, and they are eager to realize it, at the greatest efforts. This period is often attended with dangerous diseases: in some individuals, it is retarded or checked in its developement, by former maladies, and in this case the body is generally small and

feeble, and the mind perverse; in others, it is attended with violent symptoms, which, however, may depend upon accidental causes, thwarting nature in her functions. Excess of blood, inflammations, bleeding, are among the common complaints of this period, arising from the irritable state of the vascular system; or the nerves and mind are too highly excited, giving rise to epilepsy, St. Vitus's dance, &c., or to mental aberrations, melancholy, enthusiasm,&c. (See Physiology.) PUBLIC DEBT. [For the amount of the national debt of the different countries of Europe, see the table in article Europe, also given, in the early copies, after the index to vol. v.; for those of the American countries, see the separate articles; the securities of which they consist are described in the article Public Stocks.] The policy of contracting public debts is good or bad, according to circumstances. In general it is not desirable for a government, any more than for an individual, to be in debt; and yet cases will justify a nation in drawing on its future resources. In pressing emergencies, taxation is not adequate to the necessary expenditures; and even if it were adequate, it may be better to distribute a part of the burthen through many successive years, by means of loans, because the suddenly levying of an immense tax might check the productive faculties of the people; and no wrong is done to posterity by this, where the object of the expenditure is as important to the future as to the present, as in case of national defence or public works. We may add, that increasing the means of public expenditure usually creates demand for an increased quantity of the products of the country, and thus stimulates industry. If, for example, the government has a large army to maintain on its own territory, and the products of the country can supply it with arms, clothing, food, and all other articles, the army will be a stimulus to all the kinds of industry concerned in affording its supplies. It may even happen that the very burthen, or what seems to be one, will, in such case, enable the people in general to be better clothed, fed and lodged, since the means of a people to produce the luxuries and comforts of life depend very materially upon the facility and rapidity of exchanges of products of different sorts of labor, and great public expenditure often creates a market by increasing consump⚫tion, and thus stimulating industry. But if the expenditure employs only the industry of a foreign country, as if an army

is to be maintained abroad by the supply of articles wholly the product of foreign industry, there is no such compensation for the burthen of the tax. Another advantage of public debts is, their affording a means of investment, and thus encouraging the accumulation of property. Lands, houses, banks, canals, mines, and all other species of permanent property, afford a stimulus to industry and economy, as they offer the means of enjoying, permanently, the fruits of acquisitions, and public stocks have the same effect. Another effect of a public debt is its attaching the public creditors to the government. But before their number can be sufficiently large to make their aid important to the government, the national debt must, probably, be increased to an amount that will render it burthensome. Among the disadvantages arising from the facility of contracting permanent public debts, one is the facility which it gives for the carrying on of wars, and the indulging in any other expenditures. The wars of Europe, since the public debt of Great Britain commenced, under William III, are attributed partly to this cause. Another disadvantage is, the burthensome taxes, to which the necessity of paying the interest of such a debt, may subject the people. This is the operation of the national debt of Great Britain, at the present time. It is impossible to prevent the burthen of the taxation from falling, directly or indirectly, in a very great degree, upon the laboring and active classes; and, in Great Britain, this has become so heavy to the mere borer, who has no capital, that his wages will but just support, or will not support, himself and his family, in the cheapest manner of living; and his life becomes one desperate struggle against want and starvation.

PUBLIC LANDS. The property of the soil of the whole vast region, compre hended within the limits of the U. States, and not owned by the separate states or by private individuals, vests in the goversment of the U. States. From the Atlante to the Pacific ocean, and between the northern and southern boundaries of the republic, it is calculated that there is contained a superficies of 1,400,000,000 acres. The political situation of the differer: parts of this superficies is exceeding various. Dividing it into four belts or strips, parallel (or nearly so) with a meris ian line, the first comprehends the Atlan states, in most of which, particularly in the Middle and Northern states, the land s almost wholly the property of individuals