849 



PORTUS, FRANCla 



dimensions of platforms for guns and mortars. The same volume I 

 contains another professional paper by him, entitled 'Notes on the 

 Superior Slopes of Parapets.' Having served at Corfu for the time pre- 

 scribed by the regulations, he returued to England, and subsequently 

 communicated to the Geological Society, a paper on the geology of 

 that island and of Vido. After the decease of General Colbyf in 

 So2 he produced a separate memoir of that eminent officer, 'with a 

 sketch of the British Trigonometrical Survey,' which has already been 

 cited m this article. In the ' Aide-Memoire to the Military Sciences,' a 

 valuable work, edited and indeed almost wholly produced by officers of 

 the Royal Engineers, appeared a short article on Galvanism by Colonel 

 Portlock; also an article on 'Geognosy and Geology,' and one on 

 Paleontology; both illustrated by plates. These have been universally 

 regarded as most valuable contributions to the didactic literature of 

 the sciences to the knowledge of which they are intended to be intro- 

 ductory. The judgment of Colonel Portlock in devoting himself to the 

 palseontological as well as to the stratigraphical department of the 

 original In>h geological survey, has been fully vindicated by the repu- 

 tation which has been his reward. While engaged in the survey, he 

 became a Fellow of the Royal Society, on the 8th of June 1837. He 

 had joined the Geographical Society many years before, and having, 

 subsequently to his return from the Ionian Islands, frequently served 

 as Vice President of that body, on the lamented decease of Mr. Daniel 

 bharpe, in 1 3a6, he was unanimously elected to the triennial presi- 

 dency. At the anniversary meeting of February 20th, 1857, he 

 delivered his first address to the Society, containing the usual notices 

 of deceased Fellows, together with a view of the recent progress of 

 science, in which he entered into a critical examination of certain 

 hypotheses, evincing the advantage of a previous training in mathe- 

 matical physics to the geological philosopher. This will shortly be 

 published in the Society's Quarterly Journal. 



PORTUS, FRANCIS, a celebrated philologer, born in 1511, in the 

 Crete. He lost both his parents at an early age, and waa 

 sent by a friend to Padua, where for six years he studied classical 

 literature and philosophy. After the death of his friend and bene- 

 factor he repaired to Venice, where his talents procured him the 

 directorship of the school for young Greeks. But owing to bis incon- 

 siderate expressions on matters of religion, he soon lost his place. He 

 now went to Modena, where in 1536 he was made professor of Greek 

 literature, after having signed some articles of faith, to which at first 

 be strongly objected. He held this office for six years, at the end of 

 which he exchanged Modena for Ferrara, to undertake the education 

 of the sons of the Duchess Renege of France. In this capacity he also 

 carried on her correspondence with Calvin, whose doctrines this lady 

 bad secretly adopted. During his stay at Ftrrara, Portus was made a 

 member of the Academy of the Filareti. After the death of her 

 husband the duchess returned to France, and Portus, from fear of 

 persecution for his religious opinions, went to Geneva, where he 

 obtained the rights of a citizen and a professorship in the university 

 62). Here he spent the remaining years of his life, partly in ful- 

 illing the duties of his office, and partly in writing those works by 

 which he established his reputation as a scholar and a critic. He 



1 on the ath of June 1581. 



Portus has written explanatory and critical commentaries on various 

 ancient authors, such as Aristotle (' Rhetoric '), Aphthonius, Hermo- 

 genes, Longinus, Pindar, on the ' Greek Anthology,' some works of 

 Xenophon, on Thucydides, and others. He translated into Latin the 

 treatise of Apollouius of Alexandria, 'De Syntaxi, seu Correctione 

 Orationis,' the ' Psalms,' the hymns and letters of Synesius, and the 

 odes of Gregorius Nazianzenus. His son ^Emilius Portus published, 

 in 1584, six dissertations and some other works of his father. It is 

 said that there are still some manuscripts of Francis Portus in the 

 library of Este, containing commentaries on the several orations of 

 Demosthenes and on Sophocles, which have never been printed. 



PORTUS, ^EMILIUS, the son of Fraucis Portus, was born about 

 1560 at Ferrara. In his youth he was instructed by his father in the 

 ancient languages and literature. After the death of his father be 

 left Geneva, and in the same year (1581) he was made professor of 

 Greek at Lausanne, where he remained for ten years, devoting his 

 leisure hours to preparing new editions of ancient authors. In 1592 

 he was invited to the chair of Greek literature in the University of 

 Heidelberg, of which he afterwards became one of the greatest 

 ornaments. He died at Heidelberg in 1610, at the age of sixty. 

 The numerous works of vEtnilius Portus consist of commentaries, 



POSTLETHWAYT, MALACHI. 



C60 



Oxford in 1809; ' Dictionarium Doricum Graco-Latinum, quod Theo- 

 criti, Moscbi, Bioms, et Simmije variorum opusculorum interpreta- 

 tionemcontinet,' Frankfurt, 1604: ' Pindaricum Lexicon, in quo non 

 eolum Dorismi Pindaro peculiars, sed etiam verba phrasesque n, 



Igares et in alus lexicis omissje declarantur,' Hanau, 1604 ' De 

 pnsca Graecorum Compotatione,' Heidelberg, 1604 ; ' De Nihili Anti- 

 quitate et multiphci Potestate,' Cassel, 1609. 



PORUS (napos), the name given by Greek writers to several Indian 

 kings. From its frequent occurrence it appears to have been the 

 name of a family or tribe, rather than the proper name of an indi- 

 vidual Some modern writers suppose it to be the same word as the 

 Sanskrit 'paura,' a 'citizen;' but Lassen (' Pentapotamia Indioa,' 

 pp. 17, 18) with more probability connects it with 'Paurava,' or des- 

 cendants of ' Puru, which we know, from the ancient writings of the 

 Hindus, to have been the name of several Indian dynasties. 



Alexander, in his invasion of India, met with two different kings of 

 ;his name, one of whom ruled over the country between the Hydaspes 

 and Aeesines, and the other over the country between the Acesiues 

 and Hydraotes (Ravee). The former made a formidable resistance to 

 Alexander, but was conquered. Alexander however treated him with 

 respect, and restored to him his kingdom, with enlarged limits. The 

 other Porus did not wait the arrival of Alexander, but fled to the 

 kingdom of the Prasii. His dominions were given to the Porus whom 

 Alexander conquered. (Arrian, ' Anab.' v. 20, 21, 29.) Porus however 

 did not long survive Alexander. He was treacherously killed bv 

 Eudamus, B.C. 317. (Diod. Sic., xix. 14.) * 



Strabo mentions (xv. p. 686) that an Indian king of the name of 

 Porus sent an embassy to Augustus. 



POSIDO'NIUS, a Greek philosopher, was a native of Apameia in 

 byna but a citizen of Rhodes, where he resided the greater part of 

 his hfe. (Strabo, xiv. p. 655 ; Athen., vi. p. 252, e.) The dates of his 

 birth and death are unknown; but he must have been born during 

 the latter half of the 2nd century before the Christian era, as he was 

 a disciple of Pansetius, who probably died about B.C. 100, and whom 

 he succeeded as the head of the Stoic school. He removed to Rome 

 m the consulship of Marcus Marcellus (Suidas, 'Posidon.'), ac 51 

 and probably died soon after. He lived, according to Lucian (' Macrob ' 

 c. 20), to the age of eighty-four. 



Posidonius was one of the most celebrated philosophers of his day 

 Cicero, who had received instruction from him (Cic., 'De Fato ' c 3- 

 De Nat. Deor.,' i. 3 ; ' De Fin., 1 i. 2), frequently speaks of him in the 

 highest terms. Pompey also appears to have had a very high opinion 

 f him, as we read of his visiting him at Rhodes shortly before the 

 war against the pirates, B.C. 67 (Strabo, xi. p. 492), and again in B c 62 

 after the termination of the Mithridatic war. (Plut., ' Pomp ' c, 42 

 Plin., ' Hist. Nat.,' vii. 30.) 



Posidonius appears to have been a man of very extensive informa- 

 tion. Besides his philosophical treatises he wrote works on geography, 

 history, and astronomy ; but none of them have come down to ua, 

 with the exception of their titles, and a few sentences quoted by 

 Cicero, Diogenes, Laertius, Strabo, and others. He seems to have 

 travelled in different parts of the world for the purpose of collecting 

 information. We learn incidentally from Strabo (xiii. p. 614 ; iii. 

 p. 165; iv. p. 197), that he had been in Spain, Liguria, and Gaul. 

 Plutarch was also indebted to Posidonius, among others, for the 

 materials of several of his lives. This is the case in the Lives of 

 Marcellus, Paulus yEmilius, the Gracchi, and others ; but particularly 

 in the Life of Marius, with whom Posidonius had been personally 

 acquainted. (Plut., Marius,' c. 45.) Posidonius wrote 'Meteoro- 

 logica.' Cicero mentions (' Nat. Deor.,' ii. 34) his artificial sphere, 

 which represented the motions of the heavens. 



Posidonius was a much stricter Stoic than his master Panrotius. 

 [PAN^TIUS.] He maintained that pain was not an evil, as we learn 

 from an anecdote which Pompey frequently related respecting his 

 visit to the philosopher at Rhodes. (Cic., ' Tusc. Disp.,' ii. 25.) His 

 works on Divination and the Nature of the Gods are referred to by 



'* J-AJUJiiiiiO A ui l/uo vUUOJOIj VL ''"" 1/LVll mriffB. 



translations, and original works. Among the first we may mention 

 his Commentary on Pindar (1598), his edition of Euripides, withnotes 

 of Canter, Brodaeug, Stibilinus, and some of his own, Geneva, 1602; 

 Aristophanes, Geneva, 1607; Aristotle's 'Rhetoric' (the translation 

 was made by ^Einilius, the Commentary by his father); Spire, 1598 ; 

 Homer'i ' Iliad,' Xenophon, and Thucydides. He translated into Latin 

 the work of Proclus, ' De Theologift 1'latonis,' published at Hamburg 

 in 1618 ; the Lexicon of Suidas, Colonia Allobrogum, 1619; a reprint 

 appeared at Geneva in 1630. He also translated Thucydides and the 

 'Roman Antiquities' of Dionysius of Halicarnassus. The'followiug 

 are the original works of ^Emilius Portus : ' Oratio de variarum 

 Linguarum uau, necessitate, prajatantiaque,' Cassel, 1611, 4to; 'Dio- 

 tionarium lonicum Grteco-Latimim, quod indicem in omnes Herodoti 

 libros contioet,' Frankfurt, 1603, 8yo; a reprint of it appeared at 



Cicero, who probably made use of them in his works on the same 

 subject. (Cic., 'De Div.,' i. 3, 30, 64; 'De Nat. Deor.,' i. 44.) 



Strabo says (xi. 492) that Posidonius wrote an account of the wars 

 of Pompey, but did not pay much attention to accuracy. This account 

 was however probably contained in his historical work, of which 

 Athenieus quotes (iv. p. 168, d) the 49th book. (Compare Athen., 

 iv. p. 151, e.) For further information respecting the opinions and 

 writings of Posidonius, see 'Posidonii Reliquiae Doctrinaj. Collegit 

 atque illustravit Janus Bake. Accedit D. Wyttenbachii Annotatio. 

 Lugduni Bat.,' 1810, 8vo. 



There was another Posidouius of Alexandria, who was a pupil of 

 Zeno, and consequently was prior to Polybius. Suidas however, by 

 mistake, ascribes to this Posidonius a continuation of Polybius, 

 in fifty-two books, which is evidently the work of the younger 

 Posidonius. 



POSTLETHWAYT, MALACHI, an eminent writer on commerce, 

 is supposed to have been born about the year 1707 ; but no parti- 

 culars relative to his origin or education, and very few relative to his 

 after-life, appear to exist. In the introductory discourse to his work, 

 entitled ' Great Britain's True System,' he says (pp. 62, 63) : " Nature 

 having given me but a very tender and weak constitution, I have 

 studiously declined and avoided, as much as I well could, every degree 



