view to preferment, desiring to be admitted among the presbyters of that city. But the discovery of his opinions having blasted all his hopes, and his er

of the Gnostics, the books of the Old Testament; and looked upon the writers of that sacred history as inspired by the Creator of this world, and not by the|| Supreme God.-6. They excluded pres-rors being condemned in a council held byters and elders from all part in the administration of the church.

at Carthage, A. D. 412, he departed from that city, and went into the East. It was from this time, that Augustin,the famous bishop of Hippo, began to attack the tenets of Pelagius and Celestius in his learned and elegant writings; and to him, indeed, is principally due the glory of having suppressed this sect in

Things went more smoothly with Pe

lic profession of his opinions, and formed disciples in several places. And though, in the year 415, he was accused by Orosius, a Spanish presbyter, whom Augustin had sent into Palestine for that purpose, before an assembly of bishops met at Jerusalem, yet he was dismissed without the least censure; and not only so, but was soon after fully acquitted of all errors by the council of Diospolis.

PEACE, that state of mind in which persons are exposed to no open violence to interrupt their tranquillity. 1. Social peace is mutual agreement one with another, whereby we forbear injuring one another, Psalm xxxiv. 14. Psalm cxxxii-2. Ecclesiastical peace is free-its very birth. dom from contentions, and rest from persecutions, Isa. xi. 13, Isaiah, xxxii.||lagius in the East, where he enjoyed 17. Rev. xii. 14-S. Spiritual peace is the protection and favour of John, bideliverance from sin, by which we were shop of Jerusalem, whose attachment to at enmity with God, Rom. v. 1; the the sentiments of Origen led him naturesult of which is peace, in the con- rally to countenance those of Pelagius, science, Heb. x. 22. This peace is the on account of the conformity that there gift of God through JesusChrist,2 Thess. seemed to be between these two sysiii. 16. It is a blessing of great im-tems. Under the shadow of this powportance, Psalm cxix. 165. It is deno-erful protection, Pelagius made a pubminated perfect, Isaiah, xxvi. 3. inexpressible, Phil. iv. 7. permanent, Job, xxxiv. 22. John, xvi. 22. eternal, Isaiah, 1vii. 2. Heb. iv. 9. See HAPPINESS. PELAGIANS, a sect who appeared about the end of the fourth century. They maintained the following doc trines: 1. That Adam was by nature mortal, and, whether he had sinned or not, would certainly have died.-2. That the consequences of Adam's sin were confined to his own person.-3. That This controversy was brought to new-born infants are in the same situa-Rome, and referred by Celestius and tion with Adam before the fall...4. That Pelagius to the decision of Zosimus, who the law qualified men for the kingdom was raised to the pontificate, A. D. 417. of heaven, and was founded upon equal The new pontiff, gained over by the ampromises with the Gospel.-5. That the biguous and seemingly orthodox congeneral resurrection of the dead does fession of faith that Celestius, who was not follow in virtue of our Saviour's re- now at Rome, had artfully drawn up, surrection.-6. That the grace of God and also by the letters and protestations is given according to our merits.-7.|| of Pelagius, pronounced in favour of That this grace is not granted for the these monks, declared them sound in performance of every moral act; the the faith, and unjustly persecuted by liberty of the will and information in their adversaries. The African bishops, points of duty being sufficient. with Augustin at their head, little afThe founder of this sect was Pelagius, fected with this declaration, continued a native of Great Britain. He was edu-obstinately to maintain the judgment cated in the monastery of Banchor, in they had pronounced in this matter, and Wales, of which he became a monk, to strengthen it by their exhortations, and afterwards an abbot. In the early their letters, and their writings. Zosimus part of his life he went over to France, yielded to the perseverance of the Afriand thence to Rome, where he and his cans, changed his mind, and condemnfriend Celestius propagated their opi-ed, with the utmost severity, Pelagius nions, though in a private manner. Upon the approach of the Goths, A. D. 410, they retired from Rome, and went first into Sicily, and afterwards into Africa, where they published their doctrines with more freedom. From Africa, Pelagius passed into Palestine, while Celestius remained at Carthage, with a"

and Celestius, whom he had honoured with his approbation, and covered with his protection. This was followed by a train of evils, which pursued these two monks without interruption. They were condemned, says Mosheim, by that same Ephesian council which had launched its thunder at the head of Nestorius. In

short, the Gauls, Britons, and Africans, years of age. Since its reformation by by their councils, and emperors, by their Mary Alvequin, in 1616, none have edicts and penal laws, demolished this been admitted but maids, who, however, sect in its infancy, and suppressed it en- still retain the ancient name, penitents. tirely before it had acquired any tolera- PENITENTS, an appellation given ble degree of vigour or consistence. to certain fraternities of penitents, disPEÑANCE, a punishment either vo- tinguished by the different shape and luntary, or imposed by authority, for colour of their habits. These are secuthe faults a person has committed. Pe- lar societies, who have their rules, stanance is one of the seven sacraments of tutes, and churches, and make public the Romish church. Besides fasting, processions under their particular crossalms, abstinence, and the like, which es or banners. Of these, it is said, there are the general conditions of penance, are more than a hundred, the most conthere are others of a more particular siderable of which are as follow: the kind; as the repeating a certain num-White Penitents, of which there are seber of avemarys, paternosters, and creveral different sorts at Rome, the most dos; wearing a hair shift, and giving oneself a certain number of stripes. In Italy and Spain it is usual to see Chris tians, almost naked,loaded with chains, and lashing themselves at every step. See POPERY.

ancient of which was constituted in 1264: the brethren of this fraternity every year give portions to a certain number of young girls, in order to their being married: their habit is a kind of white sackcloth, and on the shoulder is PENITENCE is sometimes used for a circle, in the middle of which is a red a state of repentance, and sometimes for and white cross. Black Penitents, the the act of repenting. It is also used for most considerable of which are the Brea discipline or punishment attending re-thren of Mercy, instituted in 1488 by pentance, more usually called penance. It also gives title to several religious orders, consisting either of converted debauchees and reformed prostitutes, or of persons who devote themselves to the office of reclaiming them. See next article.

Order of penitents of St. Magdalen was established about the year 1272, by one Barnard, a citizen of Marseilles, who devoted himself to the work of converting the courtesans of that city. Barnard was seconded by several others, who, forming a kind of society, were at length erected into a religious order by pope Nicholas III. under the rule of St. Augustin. F. Gesney says, they also|| made a religious order of the penitents, or women they converted, giving them the same rules and observances which they themselves kept.

some Florentines, in order to assist criminals during their imprisonment, and at the time of their death. On the day of execution they walk in procession before them, singing the seven penitential psalms, and the litanies; and after they are dead, they take them down from the gibbet, and bury them: their habit is black sackcloth. There are others whose business it is to bury such persons as are found dead in the streets: these wear a death's head on one side of their habit. There are also blue, gray, red, green,and violet penitents, all which are remarkable for little else besides the different colours of their habits.

Penitents, or Converts of the name of Jesus, a congregation of religious at Seville, in Spain, consisting of women who have led a licentious life, founded in 1550. This monastery is divided into three quarters: one for professed religious; another for novices; a third for those who are under correction. When these last give signs of a real repentance, they are removed into the quarter of the novices, where,, if they do not behave themselves well, they are remanded to their correction. They observe the rule of St. Augustin.

Congregation of penitents of St. Mag. dalen, at Paris, owed its rise to the preaching of F. Tisseran, a Franciscan, who converted a vast number of courtesans, about the year 1492. Louis, duke of Orleans, gave them his house for a monastery; or rather, as appears by their constitution, Charles VIII. gave them the hotel called Bochaigne, whence they were removed to St. George's Chapel, in 1572. By virtue of a brief of pope Alexander, Simon, bishop of Paris, in 1497, drew them up a body of statutes. and gave them the rule of St. Augustin.ed It was necessary before a woman could be admitted, that she had first committed the sin of the flesh. None were admitted who were above thirty-five

Penitents of Orvieto, are an order of nuns instituted by Antony Simoncelli, a gentleman of Orvieto, in Italy. The monastery he built was at first designfor the reception of poor girls abandoned by their parents, and in danger of losing their virtue. In 1662 it was erected into a monastery, for the reception of such as having abandoned them

selves to impurity, were willing to take up, and consecrate themselves to God by solemn vows. Their rule is that of the Carmelites.

PENITENTIAL, an ecclesiastical book retained among the Romanists, in which is prescribed what relates to the imposition of penance, and the reconciliation of penitents. There are various penitentials, as the Roman penitential; that of the venerable Bede; that of pope Gregory the Third, &c.

PENITENTIARY, in the ancient Christian church, a name given to certain presbyters or priests, appointed in every church to receive the private confessions of the people, in order to facilitate public discipline, by acquainting them what sins were to be expiated by public penance, and to appoint private penance for such private crimes as were not proper to be publicly cen

a person performs all the commands of God with the full exertion of all his powers, without the least defect. This is what the law of God requires, but what the saints cannot attain to in this life, though we willingly allow them all the other kinds above mentioned, Rom. vii. 24. Phil. iii. 12. 1 John, i. 8. Witsii Economia Fæderum Dei, lib. iii. cap. 12, § 124; Bates's Works, p. 557. &c. Law and Wesley on Perfection; Doddridge's Lectures, lec. 181.

religion, &c.-Moses speaks only truth, though infidels charge him with imposture. But, great God! what an impostor must he be, who first spoke of the divinity in a manner so sublime, that no one since, during almost four thousand years, has been able to surpass him! What an impostor must he be whose writings breathe only virtue; whose style equally simple, affecting, and sublime, in spite of the rudeness of those first ages, openly displays an inspiration altogether, divine!" See Ainsworth and Kidder on the Pentateuch; Prideaux's || Con.vol. i. p. 342, 345, 573,575 ; Marsh's PERJURY is the taking of an oath, Authenticity of the Five Books of Mo- in order to tell or confirm a falsehood. ses considered; Warburton's Divine This is a very heinous crime, as it is Legation; Dr. Graves's lectures on the treating the Almighty with irreverence; last four books in the Old Test. Jen- denying, or at least discarding his omkins's Reasonableness of Christianity; niscience; profaning his name, and vioWatson's Apology, let. 2 and 3; Ta-lating truth. It has always been esbor's Hora Mosaice, or a View of the teemed a very detestable thing, and Mosaical Records. those who have been proved guilty of it, have been looked upon as the pests of society. See OATH.

PENTECOST, a solemn festival of the Jews, so called, because it was celebrated fifty days after the feast of the passover, Lev. xxiii. 15. It corresponds with the Christians' Whitsuntide, for which it is sometimes used.

PERFECTIONS OF GOD. See ATTRIBUTES.

as the dragging of innocent persons before the tribunal of Justice, Matt. x. 18. The unlawfulness of persecution for conscience sake must appear plain to every one that possesses the least degree of thought or of feeling. "To banish, imprison, plunder, starve, hang, and burn men for religion," says the shrewd Jortin, "is not the Gospel of Christ; it is the Gospel of the Devil. Where persecution begins, Christianity ends. Christ never used any thing that looked like force or violence, except once; and that was to drive bad men out of the temple, and not to drive them in."

PERMISSION OF SIN. See SIN. PERSECUTION is any pain or affliction which a person designedly inflicts upon another; and, in a more rePERFECTION, that state or quali- strained sense, the sufferings of Christy of a thing, in which it is free from de- tians on account of their religion. Perfect or redundancy. According to some, secution is threefold. 1. Mental, when it is divided into physical or natural, the spirit of a man rises up and opposes whereby a thing has all its powers and another.-2. Verbal, when men give hard faculties; moral, or an eminent degree words and deal in uncharitable censures. of goodness and piety; and metaphysi3 Actual or open, by the hand, such cal or transcendant is the possession of all the essential attributes or parts necessary to the integrity of a substance; or it is that whereby a thing has or is provided of every thing belonging to its nature; such is the perfection of God. -The term perfection, says the great Witsius, is not always used in the same sense in the Scriptures. 1, There is a perfection of sincerity, whereby a man serves God without hypocrisy, Job, i. 1. Is. xxxviii. S.-2. There is a perfection of parts, subjective with respect to the whole man, 1 Thess. v. 23, and objective with respect to the whole law, when all the duties prescribed by God are observed, Ps. cxix. 128. Luke, i. 6.-3. There is a comparative perfec. tion ascribed to those who are advanced in knowledge, faith, and sanctification, in comparison of those who are still infants and untaught, 1 John, ii. 13. 1 Cor. ii. 6. Phil. iii. 15.-45. There is an evangelical perfection. The righteousness of Christ being imputed to the believer, he is complete in him, and accepted of God as perfect through Christ, Col ii. 10. Eph. v. 27. 2 Cor. v. 21.-5. There is also a perfection of degrees, by which

We know the origin of it to be from the prince of darkness, who began the dreadful practice in the first family on earth, and who, more or less, has been carrying on the same work ever since, and that almost among all parties. "Persecution for conscience sake," says Dr. Doddridge, is every way inconsistent, because, 1. It is founded on an absurd supposition, that one man has a right to judge for another in matters of religion.-2. It is evidently opposite to that fundamental principle of morality;

that we should do to others as we could || ashes supplied music for his ears reasonably desire they should do to us.-2. The second general persecution was 3. It is by no means calculated to an under Domitian, in the year 95, when swer the end which its patrons profess|| 40,000 were supposed to have suffered to intend by it.-4. It evidently tends martyrdom.-3. The third began in the to produce a great deal of mischief and third year of Trajan, in the year 100, confusion in the world.-5. The Chris- and was carried on with great violence tian religion must, humanly speaking, || for several years.-4. The fourth was be not only obstructed, but destroyed, under Antoninus, when the Christians should persecuting principles universal- || were banished from their houses, forbidly prevail.-6. Persecution is so far from being required or encouraged by the Gospel, that it is most directly contrary to many of its precepts, and indeed to the whole of it."