neither volatile nor poisonous in small quantities, and is destitute of odor. It is gradually decomposed by exposure to the light, forming prussic acid and prussian blue. It decomposes some salts of the more powerful acids: peroxide of iron, for example, unites with it in preference to sulphuric acid, unless the latter is concentrated. As this acid contains no oxygen, but simply consists of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and metallic iron, the name of ferrureted chyazic acid (chyazic, from the initials of carbon, hydrogen and azole) has been proposed; but the term ferrocyanic acid is more generally employed. Of the salts formed by this acid, the most important in chemistry is the ferrocyanate of potash (formerly called the prussiate of potash). It is transparent, and of a beautiful lemon yellow color. In large crystals, it possesses a certain kind of toughness, and in thin scales, a degree of elasticity. Its solution is not affected by alkalies, but it is decomposed by almost all the salts of the permanent metals. The following table presents a view of the colors of the metallic precipitates thus obtained : beautiful dye, called prussian blue, is a ferrocyanate of the peroxide of iron, and is always formed when ferrocyanic acid or its salts are mixed in a solution with a persalt of iron. The usual mode of manufacture is by mixing together one part of the ferrocyanate of potash, one part of copperas and four of alum, each previously dissolved in water. Prussian blue, mingled with more or less alumine, precipitates. It is afterwards dried on chalk stones in a stove. The ferrocyanate of potash employed in the process is prepared by heating to redness dried blood, or other animal matters, with an equal weight of pearlash, until the mixture has acquired a pasty consistence. The sulphocyanic acid is a compound of cyanogen, sulphur and hydrogen. Cyanogen forms two compounds with sulphur alone, and one with selenium. PRUTH; a river of Europe, which rises in Galicia, in the Carpathian mountains, and empties into the Danube below Galacz. By the treaty of Bucharest between Russia and the Porte (May 6, 1812), the Pruth, from its entrance into Moldavia, was recognised as the boundary of the two empires, and all that part of Moldavia lying on the left bank, was ceded to Russia. In 1711, Peter the Great (see Peter I), after three days' disadvantageous fighting on the Pruth, was surrounded by the Turkish forces, and extricated only by a treaty, concluded through the prudence and promptitude of the empress. (See Catharine I.) By the treaty of Adrianople (September, 1829) it was stipulated that the Pruth should continue to form the boundary between the Russian and Turkish territories. PRYNNE, William, a learned lawyer and antiquary, was born at Swanswick, in Somersetshire, in 1600, and was placed at Oriel college, Oxford, where he was graduated bachelor of arts, in 1620. He then removed to Lincoln's-inn to study the law, and became barrister, bencher, and reader of that society. His attendance upon the lectures of doctor Preston, a distinguished Puritan, strongly attached him to that sect, and he began to write as early as 1627, attacking the drinking of healths, love-locks, popery, and Arminianism, which he deemed the enormities of the age. In 1632, he published his work against theatrical exhibitions, entitled Histrio-Mastix; which, although licensed by archbishop Abbot's chaplain, yet, in consequence of some reflections upon female actors, that were construed to be levelled at the queen (who had acted in a pastoral after the publication of the work), brought thirty-five or thirty-six days of their presa persecution upon the author in the star- idency. The liberty of eating in the Prychamber, which condemned him to a fine taneum was one of the highest marks of of £5000, to be expelled the university of honor, and was conferred only on those Oxford and Lincoln's-inn, to be degraded who had done important service to the from his profession of the law, to stand state. Napoleon established a school in Partwice in the pillory, losing an ear each is under the name of the prytanée, in which time, and to remain a prisoner for life. some hundreds of scholars were educated, Prynne continued writing against prelacy mostly at the expense of the state. They in prison; until, for a virulent piece, en- were educated together until they were titled News from Ipswich, he was again twelve years old, when they were trained sentenced by the star-chamber to a fine for civil affairs (for which there were five of £5000, to lose the remainder of his professors), or for the military service (for cars in the pillory, and to be branded in which there were three professors). At each cheek with the letters S. L. (seditious the age of fifteen years, they left this instilibeller). This sentence was also execut-tution, for the purpose of completing their ed, and he was removed for imprisonment education in other seminaries. to Caernarvon castle, and afterwards to PSALM; in general, a song; in a narthe island of Jersey. His spirit was not, rower sense, a sacred song (from the Greek however, to be subdued, and he continued falar, to play on a stringed instrument, to write until the meeting of parliament to sing). Psalm is used particularly to dein 1640, when, being chosen representa- note the sacred songs which are contained tive for Newport in Cornwall, the house in the collection of religious lyric poems of commons issued an order for his re- in the Old Testament. They are mostly lease. He entered London, with other of the time of David, or of a later period, sufferers, in triumphant procession, and one only, perhaps (the 90th, the psalm of petitioned the commons for damages Moses), being of more ancient date. (See against his prosecutors. On the impeach- Hebrew Literature.) David, who arranged ment of Laud, he was employed as chief the temple music, not only appointed from manager of the prosecution, and, when the Levites a considerable number of the parliament became victorious, was singers and musicians, but also composed appointed one of the visitors to the uni- for the divine worship sacred songs, which versity of Oxford, where he labored stren- served as a model for many others. Sevuously to advance the cause of Presbyte- eral of the psalms that bear his name are rianism. He warmly opposed the Inde- not, indeed, written by him, but only pendents when they acquired ascendency, composed in his manner, and therefore and used all his influence to produce an called by his name. Seventy-one, in accommodation with the king, being one particular, are ascribed to him, but some, of the members who were excluded and even of these, are evidently of a later imprisoned on that account. With the date. On the other hand, the contents other excluded members, he resumed his and style of some which do not bear his seat in 1659, and displayed so much zeal name, and the superscriptions of which for the restoration, that general Monk was have, perhaps, been lost, show him to obliged to check his impetuosity. He have been the author. To his times besat in the healing parliament as member long most of the psalms attributed to for Bath, and on the restoration was ap- Asaph, Heman, and Ethan or Jeduthun. pointed to the office of chief keeper of Twelve psalms bear Asaph's name, of the records in the Tower. He occupied which several show traces of a later origin. his later years in writings connected with Asaph, son of Berachiah, was a Levite, and his office in the Tower, and finished his (1 Chron. xvi,5) the first of the chief musilife at his chambers in Lincoln's-inn, in cians appointed by David for the divine 1669. Prynne was a man of extensive worship. The name of Heman is attached learning and indefatigable industry, but to one only (the 88th psalm). Heman, surwanted genius and judgment. His works, named the Ezrabite, seems to have been of which Wood has given a catalogue, a Levite, and is named among the chief amount to 40 volumes, folio and quarto, singers of David. Some of the Psalms the most valuable of which is his Collection were composed by Solomon, who, accordof Records (3 vols., folio). ing to the First Book of Kings (iv, 32) wrote "a thousand and five songs," but whose name is affixed, in our collection, to two only (the 7d and 127th), and of these the first seems rather to have been PRYTANEUM; the building in Athens, in which the Prytanes (those senators who presided in turn) held their meetings, and lived at the public expense during the VOL. X. 34 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 idyllic. (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 encouragement, 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 Testament 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 education, 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 tavern, whose house he left clandestinely, and, renewing his wandering mode of life, he conceived the project of professing himself to be a Japanese convert to Christianity, who had found his way to Europe. As he did not find this scheme very profitable, he adopted the character of a heathen native of the island of Formosa, and, in order to support his pretensions, he contrived a new language, which he called the Formosan. At this time he became acquainted with a clergyman named Innes, who, conceiving he could turn the imposture to good account, persuaded the pretended Formosan to suffer himself to be converted to the church of England; and the clergyman and his new disciple went to London, where the latter was presented to bishop Compton and others, and the former was rewarded for his zeal with church preferment. Psalmanazar had the effrontery to translate the Church 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, pseudony mous. (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 (4x7, 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 4x, the soul, and Aoyos, 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 ineludes 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 distinction 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, empirical 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 speculation. Again, empirical psychology is applied philosophy; for it must not only employ the philosophical forms in the disposition and explanation of facts, but also certain metaphysical notions (as 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 psychology presents them in their connexions, and according to the laws which regulate them; and in this view it is that part of |