merit" and the précieuses ridicules means a ridiculous aping of their ways and manners. The plot is, briefly, as follows. Ca'thos, cousin of Madelon, has been brought up by her Uncle Gor'gibus, a plain citizen in the middle rank of life. These two silly girls have had their heads turned by novels, and thinking their names commonplace, Cathos calls herself Aminte, and her cousin adopts the name of Polix'ene. Two gentlemen wish to marry them, but the girls consider their manners too unaffected and easy to be "good style," so the gentlemen send their valets to represent the Marquis of Mascarille and the Viscount of Jodelet. The girls are delighted with these "distinguished noblemen"; but when the game has gone far enough, the masters enter, and lay bare the trick. The girls are taught a useful lesson, without being involved in any fatal consequences. Preciosa. The heroine of Longfellow's Spanish Student (q.v.). Presles, The Marquis de. In Le Gendre de M. Poirier, a comedy by Augier and Sandeau, the titled son-in-law of the bourgeois M. Poirier (q.v.). Prester John (i.e. John the Presbyter). A fabulous Christian king and priest, supposed in medieval times to have reigned in the 12th century over a wonderful country somewhere in the heart of Asia. He figures in Ariosto (Orlando Furioso, Bks. xvii-xix), and has furnished materials for a host of medieval legends, including that of the Holy Grail. 66 According to Sir John Mandeville " he was a lineal descendant of Ogier the Dane (q.v.), who penetrated into the north of India with fifteen of his barons, among whom he divided the land. John was made sovereign of Teneduc, and was called Prester because he converted the natives. Another tradition says he had seventy kings for his vassals, and was seen by his subjects only three times in a year. So firm was the belief in his existence that the Pope, Alexander III (d. 1181), sent him letters by a special messenger. The messenger never returned. The centuries go by, but Prester John endures for ever Presto. The name frequently applied to himself by Swift in his Journal to Stella. According to his own account (Journal, August 1st, 1711) it was given him by the Duchess of Shrewsbury, an Italian. Pretender. The Old Pretender. James Francis Edward Stuart (1688-1766), son of James II. He is introduced in Thackeray's Henry Esmond. The Young Pretender. Charles Edward Stuart (1720-1788), son of the "Old Pretender." By his friends he was called "the Chevalier" or Bonnie Prince Charlie. Scott introduces him in Waverley and again in Redgauntlet, where he appears disguised as Father Buonaventura. Prettyman, Prince. In the burlesque Rehearsel (1621) by the Duke of Buckingham, the lover of Cloris, who, much to his own annoyance, is sometimes a prince and sometimes a fisherman. He is said to be a caricature of Leonidas in Dryden's Mariage à la Mode. Pri'am. In Greek legend, king of Troy when that city was sacked by the Greeks, husband of Hec'uba, and father of fifty children, among whom were Hector, Helenus, Paris, Deiphobus, Polyxena, Troilus, Cassandra and Polydorus. When Hector was slain, the old King went to the tent of Achilles and made a successful plea for the body of his dead son. After the gates of Troy were thrown open by the Greeks concealed in the wooden horse, Pyrrhus, the son of Achilles, slew the aged Priam. Pri'amond. In Spenser's Faerie Queene (IV. ii) the elder brother of Diamond and Triamond, sons of Ag'ape, a fairy. He was very daring, and fought on foot with battleaxe and spear. He was slain by Cam'balo. Priapus. In Greek mythology, the god of reproductive power and fertility (hence of gardens), and protector of shepherds, fishermen, and farmers. He was the son of Dionysus and Aphrodite, and in later times was regarded as the chief deity of lasciviousness and obscenity. Price, Fanny. Heroine of Jane Austen's Mansfield Park (q.v.). Pride and Prejudice. A novel by Jane Austen (1813). The story concerns the middle-class household of the Bennets, a family of five daughters. Mr. Bennet, a mild and indolent man, has little but witty cynicisms to oppose to the everlasting scheming of his wife, who is a type of the silly garrulous mother anxious to marry off her daughters. During the first half of the novel Elizabeth Bennet grows more and more impatient with her suitor, Darcy, whose haughty consciousness of superior birth and uncalled for interference in the love affair of her sister Jane and his friend Bingley win antry. Sent to sell a good horse at a fair, he bartered it for a gross of green spectacles with copper rims and shagreen cases, of no more value than Hodge's razors. her growing dislike. In the latter half, | vicar, noted for his greenness and pedBingley renews his suit with Darcy's approval; a boisterous younger sister, Lydia, causes great excitement by eloping with an officer named Wickham and Darcy himself finally conquers his own pride and Elizabeth's prejudice to their mutual satisfaction. In this novel, which has often been called Jane Austen's best, appear also two of her best-known minor characters, Mr. Collins (q.v.) and Lady Catherine de Bourgh (q.v.). Prime Minister, The. A novel by Anthony Trollope (1876). See Omnium, Duke of; Phineas Finn. Primrose, The Rev. Dr. Charles. The hero of Oliver Goldsmith's famous novel The Vicar of Wakefield (q.v.), a clergyman, rich in heavenly wisdom. He has his little foibles and vanities, but is genuinely devout and kindly, a man whom all his parishioners love. Mrs. (Deborah) Primrose. The doctor's wife, full of motherly vanity, and desirous to appear genteel. She could read without much spelling, prided herself on her housewifery, especially on her gooseberry wine, and was really proud of her excellent husband. She was painted as Venus," and the vicar, in gown and bands, presenting to her his book on "second marriages," but when completed, the picture was found to be too large for the house. Olivia Primrose. The eldest daughter of the doctor. Pretty, enthusiastic, eager for adventure, she "wished for many lovers," and eloped with Squire Thornhill. Her father found her at a roadside inn called the Harrow, where she was on the point of being turned out of the house. Subsequently, she was found to be legally married to the Squire. Sophia Primrose. The second daughter of Dr. Primrose. She was soft, modest, and alluring.' She was twice rescued by Sir William Thornhill, then disguised as Mr. Burchill, and married him at last. Pri'mum mo'bile (Lat. the first moving thing), in the Ptolema'ic system of astronomy, was the ninth (later the tenth) sphere, supposed to revolve around the earth from east to west in twenty-four hours, carrying with it all the other spheres (q.v.). Milton refers to it as that first mov'd" (Paradise Lost, iii. 483), and Sir Thomas Browne (Religio Medici) uses the phrase, "Beyond the first movable," meaning outside the material creation. According to Ptolemy the primum mobile was the boundary of creation, above which came the empyrean (q.v.) or seat of God. The term is figuratively applied to any machine which communicates motion to others; and also to persons and ideas suggestive of complicated systems. Thus, Socrates may be called the primum mobile of the Dialectic, Megaric, Cyrena'ic, and Cynic systems of philosophy. Prince (Lat. princeps, chief, leader) A royal title which, in England, is now limited to the sons of the sovereign and their sons. Princess is similarly limited to the sovereign's daughters and his sons' (but not daughters') daughters. Crown Prince. The title of the heirapparent to the throne in some countries, as Sweden, Denmark, and Japan (formerly also in Germany). of Prince Consort. A prince who is the husband of a reigning Queen, as Albert Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, husband of Queen Victoria, and the husband of Wilhelmina, Queen of the Netherlands. Prince Imperial. The title of the heirapparent in the French Empire of 18521870. ·Prince of Wales. See Wales. Prince of Alchemy. Rudolph II, Em Prince of Apostles. St. Peter. Prince of Asturias. The title of the heirapparent to the Spanish throne. Prince of Dandies. Beau Brummell (q.v.) (1778-1840). Prince of Darkness. Satan (Eph. vi. 12). Prince of Destruction. Timur Tamerlane (1333-1405). Prince of Gossips. Samuel Pepys (1632-❘ 1703) noted for his gossiping Diary, commencing January 1st, 1659, and continued for nine years. Prince of Grammarians. Appolonios of Alexandria (fl. B. C. 40-30), so called by Priscian. Prince of Hell. Satan. Prince of Hypocrites. Emperor Tiberius (B. C. 42-A. D. 37). Prince of Liars. Fernando Mendes Pinto, so called by Cervantes. Prince of Music. 1594). Palestrina (1529– Prince of Painters. (1) Parhasius (fl. B. C. 400); (2) Apelles (fl. B. C. 330), both Greek painters. Prince of Peace. A title given to the Messiah (Isa. ix. 6). Prince of Physicians. Avicenna (9801037) the Arabian physician. Prince of Piedmont. The Italian heirapparent. Prince of Poets. (1) Virgil (B. C. 70–19); (2) Edmund Spenser (1553-1599), so called on his monument. Prince of Spanish Poetry. Garcilasso de la Vega (1503-1536), so called by Cervantes. Prince of the Church. A cardinal. Prince of the Ode. Pierre de Ronsard (1524–1585). Prince of the vegetable kingdom. So Linnæus calls the palm tree. Prince and the Pauper, The. A historical romance by Mark Twain (Am. 1882), describing in satirical vein the comedy resulting from a prankish change of garments between Prince Edward, afterward Edward VI, and his double, Tom Canty the beggar boy. Tom is regarded as the lawful prince, temporarily unbalanced, and only when he is on the point of being crowned king is the mistake cleared up. Prince Chery or Cheri. See Chery and Fair-star. Prince of India, The. A novel by Lew Wallace (Am. 1893) based on the legend of the Wandering Jew (q.v.). Here the Jew has assumed the title Prince of India and devotes himself to preaching brotherly love. He takes his teaching to both the Mohammedans and the Greek Church, but with little success; then gives his support to Mohammed, heir to the Turkish Empire. The capture of Constantinople by Mohammed and his marriage to Princess Irene are important incidents. At the conclusion of the novel the Prince, left for dead on the battlefield, starts out with renewed youth on fresh wanderings. Prince of Parthia. A tragedy by Thomas Godfrey, the first play written by an American and performed by professional actors in America. It was played on April 24th, 1767. The scene was laid in Parthia about the 1st century A. D. Princess, The. A long narrative poem by Tennyson (1847), especially noted for the songs introduced. It deals with the general subject of the " new woman," and shows the heroine, Ida, as founder of a university to which only women are admitted. The Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera, Princess Ida (1884), is " a respectful operatic per-version of Tennyson's Princess." Princess Casamassima, The. A novel by Henry James (Am. 1886), dealing with socialism. The titular heroine is the Christina Light who appeared in Roderick Hudson. Wealthy, beautiful and unhappily married, she seeks an outlet in her espousal of the socialist cause and in her sympathetic association with Hyacinth Robinson, a handsome and ardent young radical. Printers' Bible. See Bible, Specially named. Printing. Father of English printing. See under Father. Prinzivalle. In Maeterlinck's Monna Vanna (q.v.), the Florentine admirer of Vanna. Prioress's Tale, The. One of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (1388), similar to the story of "Hugh of Lincoln " (q.v.). A little boy was constantly singing the Alma redemptoris, and the Jews captured him on his way to school, killed him and cast his dead body into a well. His mother, anxious at his absence, went in search of him, and coming to the well heard her son's voice singing the Alma redemptoris. She told the provost, who had the Jews executed. The child was drawn up still repeating the same words, and, being asked why he did so, replied that he could never die till his tongue was cut out. The abbot cut out the tongue, the child instantly gave up the ghost, and the body was buried in a marble tomb. Wordsworth has modernized this tale. In his drama The Canterbury Pilgrims (q.v.), Percy Mackaye makes the gentle, lovable Prioress play a prominent rôle as the rival of the Wife of Bath. She is perhaps best described in the following lines: Ther was also a Nonne, a Prioresse That of hir smyling was ful simple and coy And Frensh she spak ful faire and fetisly. Chaucer: Prologue to the Canterbury Tales. Priscian. A great grammarian of the fifth century. The Latin phrase, Diminuere Prisciani caput (to break Priscian's head), means to "violate the rules of grammar." Priscilla. (1) The heroine of Longfellow's Courtship of Miles Standish (q.v.). (2) A delicate little seamstress, one of the chief characters in Hawthorne's Blithedale Romance (q.v.). Prisoner of Chillon. See Chillon. Prisoner of Zenda, The. A popular romance by Anthony Hope (Am. 1894). The English hero, Rudolf Rassendyll, for three months impersonates King Rudolf of Ruritania, the "Prisoner of Zenda," meantime making every effort to secure the King's release and return to him the throne. His final success in so doing loses for Rassendyll the hand of the Princess Flavia whom he surrenders to his royal rival, together with the crown. Pri'thu. A hero of the Indian Purânas. Vena having been slain for his wickedness, and leaving no offspring, the saints rubbed his right arm, and the friction brought forth Prithu. Being told that the earth had suspended for a time its fertility, Prithu went forth to punish it, and the Earth, under the form of a cow, fled at his approach; but unable to escape, promised that in future seed-time and harvest should never fail." Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft, The. A novel by George Gissing (Eng. 1903), largely autobiographical and dealing with the problems of the struggling author. Privy Council. The council chosen by the English sovereign originally to administer public affairs, but now never summoned to assemble as a whole except to proclaim the successor to the Crown on the death of the Sovereign. The business Procne. In classic myth the sister of Philomela (q.v.). Procris. In classic myth, the jealous wife of Cephalus (q.v.). Unerring as the dart of Procris. When Procris fled from Ceph'alus out of shame, Diana gave her a dog (Lælaps) that never failed to secure its prey, and a dart which not only never missed aim, but which always returned of its own accord to the shooter. Procrustes' Bed. Procrustes, in Greek legend, was a robber of Attica, who placed all who fell into his hands upon an iron bed. If they were longer than the bed he cut off the redundant part, if shorter he stretched them till they fitted it. He was slain by Theseus. Hence, any attempt to reduce men to one standard, one way of thinking, or one way of acting, is called placing them on Procrustes' bed. Prodigal Son. A repentant sinner from the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke xv.) who "wasted his substance in riotous living" in a far country, but returned to his father's house and was forgiven. Prodigy (Lat. prodigium, a portent, prophetic sign). The prodigy of France. Guillaume Budé (1467-1540); so called by Erasmus. The Prodigy of Learning. Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843), the German, was so called by J. Paul Richter. Professor Bernhardi. A drama by Arthur Schnitzler (Aus. 1861- ) concerning the public persecution of a distinguished Jewish physician who has refused to let a Catholic priest disturb a charity patient, dying in the hospital in happy ignorance of her impending fate. Profound Doctor. See under Doctor. Progne. See Procne. Proletariat. The lowest class of the community, laborers and wage-earners who are destitute of property. In ancient Rome the proletarii contributed nothing to the state but his proles, i.e. offspring; they could hold no office, were ineligible for the army, and were useful only as breeders of the race. Prometheus (Gr. Forethought). One of the Titans of Greek myth, son of Iapetus and the ocean-nymph Clymene, and famous as a benefactor to man. It is said that Zeus employed him to make men out of mud and water, and that then, in pity for their state, he stole fire from heaven and gave it to them. For this he was chained by Zeus to Mount Caucasus, where an eagle preyed on his liver all day, the liver being renewed at night. He was eventually released by Hercules, who slew the eagle. It was to counterbalance the gift of fire to mankind that Zeus sent Pandora (q.v.) to earth with her box of evils. Prometheus is the subject of a famous trilogy by the Greek dramatist Eschylus (Prometheus Bound, Prometheus Unbound, Prometheus the Fire Bringer). One of Shelley's best-known works is his poetic drama Prometheus Unbound. William Vaughn Moody's drama, The Fire Bringer (Am. 1904) also deals with Prometheus and many other poets have sung of him. Promethean. Capable of producing fire; pertaining to Prome'theus (q.v.). The earliest "safety" matches, made in 1805 by Chancel, a French chemist, who tipped cedar splints with paste of chlorate of potash and sugar, were known as Prometheans. Promethean fire. The vital principle; the fire with which Prometheus quickened into life his clay images. Figuratively, inspiration. The Promethean unguent. Made from a herb on which some of the blood of Prometheus had fallen. Medea gave Jason some of it, and thus rendered his body proof against fire and warlike instruments. Promised Land or Land of Promise. Canaan or Palestine; so called because God promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at their offspring should possess it. xxvi. 3, xxviii. 13). Ton is frequently in use with promise of the Balfour Declaration (q.r.) that the Jews should have a "homeland in Palestine. The Promised Land. An autobiography by Mary Antin (1912), describing her life in Polotsk as the child of a Russian Jew, her emigration to America at the age of ten and her school days in Boston, where her talents and enthusiasm for America made friends for her and opened many doors of opportunity. Proof. A trial imprint to be corrected and approved before it is finally printed. Galley or first proof. Galleys are shallow oblong containers that hold three or four pages of book type. First proofs are practically always taken in galley form — that is, in single column on long strips of paper. Corrections noted on galley proof are made before the type is arranged in pages. Page proof (usually second proof, although the proof reader sometimes calls for a second galley proof). After the type has been taken out of the galley and arranged in pages, page proofs are taken, with page numbers, titles or chapter headings, etc. Plate or foundry proof. Proofs made after the type pages are locked in the forms for the electrotyping process. They have a black border made by the ink from the metal guards. After the electrotype plates are cast, corrections are very expensive. Author's proof. The proof sent to the author of the manuscript for his corrections and O.K. Clean proof. A proof having very few printers' errors; or a revised proof. Foul or dirty proof. A proof after it has been corrected by proof reader or author; or a proof with many printers' |