PESTILENCE 



PETER 



87 



lialf-a-dozen times by the Austrians. Pesth mean- 

 while was i educed to a heap of ruins ; and it did 

 not begin to recover until the first quarter of 

 the 18th century. A century later it was rapidly 

 outstripping its twin-sister Buda. 



There are German books on Pesth by Hevesi (1873), 

 Kiiriwi ( 1882), Heksch ( 1882) ; and one in Hungarian, by 

 Gerloczy and Dulacsko (3 vols. 1879). 



Pestilence. See EPIDEMIC, BLACK DEATH, 

 CHOLERA, PLAGUE, SWEATING SICKNESS. 



Petal. See FLOWER. 



Petard, an instrument for blowing open the 

 gates of a fortress, demolishing palisades, &c. , con- 

 sist i n;; of a half-cone of thick iron filled with powder 

 and hall ; this was firmly fastened to a plank, and 

 the latter was provided with hooks to allow of its 

 being attached securely to a gate, &c. The petard, 

 which was lighted by a slow-match, was superseded 

 by the use of powder-bags. Large petards con- 

 tained as much as 13 Ib. of powder. See BOMB, 

 and SHELL. 



Petavlus, DIONYSIUS, the name by which the 

 great Catholic theologian Denys Petan is usually 

 known. Born at Orleans, 21st August 1583, he 

 studied at Orleans and Paris, became a teacher in 

 the university of Bourges in 1602, in 1605 entered 

 the order of Jesuits, and 1621 was mode professor 

 of Theology in the university of Paris. This post 

 lie held for twenty-two years, but in 1646 he retired 

 and devoted himself to the completion of a remark- 

 able series of works in philology, history, and 

 theology. Of his 49 works among the best known 

 are editions of Synesins (1611) and Epiphanius 

 (1622); De Doftrina Temporum (1627): Tubulas 

 I'lirnnnlogictt (1628); Sfitionarium Temponiin. an 

 outline of universal history (1634); anil De T/ieo- 

 Iti'/t'-i.i Donnuitibus, a history of doctrines ( 1644-50 ; 

 new ed. by Thomas, 8 vols. 1864 et seq.\; l>esides 

 polemical works against Grotins and Kalmasius. 

 He died in Paris, llth December 1652. 



Petchenegs. See RUSSIA, Vol. IX. p. 43. 



Petchora, a large river of Russia, rises on the 

 western slope of the Vrals, flows north through tlie 

 eastern parts of the governments of Vologda and 

 Archangel, then south-east for 150 miles, and 

 finally sweeping northwards into an estuary 30 

 miles wide, and full of inlands, falls into the Arctic 

 Ocean, after a course of 975 miles. It is navigable 

 by Ixiats for upwards of 700 miles. The country 

 through which the river flows is thinly peopled and 

 i|iiit>- uncultivated; dense forests extend on both 

 sides, ami the character of the scenery is wild, 

 somlire, ami melancholy. See Seebohm's Siberia 

 in Europe (1881). 



Petechla-. This term is ffveAto spots of a 

 ilnsky crimson or purple colour, quWe flat, with a 

 well-defined margin, and unaffected bv pressure, 

 which closely resemble flea-bites. These spots 

 result from a minute extravasation of blood be- 

 neath the cuticle. They occur most frequently on 

 the back, at the bend of the elbow, and in the 

 groin. They indicate an altered state of the blood, 

 and are characteristic of the disease called purjiitnt ; 

 but are often symptoms of very serious diseases, as 

 of typhus fever, plague, scurvy, &c. They likewise 

 occur in very severe cases of smallpox, measles, 

 and scarlet fever, when their presence must be 

 regarded as indicative of extreme danger. 



Peter, ST, apostle, named originally SYMEON 

 (Acts, xv. 14) or SIMON, was 'of Bethsaida ' (John, 

 i. 44) on the Lake of Galilee, but during the public 

 ministry of Jesus had his bouse at Capernaum, 

 which he appears to have shared with his brother 

 Andrew, the household including his mother-in-law 

 and probably children ( Mark, ix. 33, 36 ). His father 

 wan called John (John, i. 42 ; xxi. 15, 16, R.V.) or 



Jonas ( Jonah ), and the name by which he himself 

 is known in Christian history is the Greek transla- 

 tion of that given him by Jesus ( Cephas, Grzecised 

 form of Aramaic kepha, meaning ' rock ' or ' stone,' 

 Gr. Petra, masc. Petros). He was a fisherman by 

 occupation, and together with his brother Andrew 

 was actually engaged in the pursuit of his calling 

 on the Sea of Galilee when Jesus called both to be 

 his disciples, promising to make them 'fishers of 

 men.' For this invitation they had been prepared 

 by previous acquaintance, formed perhaps for the 

 first time when they were attending the preaching 

 of John the Baptist (John, i. 40-42), and they both 

 accepted it without hesitation. For the incidents 

 recorded in the life of Peter as a disciple reference 

 must be made to the four canonical gospels. It is 

 plain, especially from the Synoptics, that he was 

 regarded by Jesus with particular favour and afTec 

 tion. In many respects he was indeed an ideal 

 disciple, warmly attached to his master, quick (on 

 occasions at least) to apprehend new ideas, and 

 ardent, energetic, and fearless in following them 

 out. This is seen most clearly at that most import- 

 ant crisis in the life of Jesus when Peter was the 

 first to see and say ' Thou art the Christ, the son 

 of the living God ' (Matt. xvi. 16-18) ; and it is not 

 without reason therefore that Matthew signifi- 

 cantly heads his list of the apostles with ' the first, 

 Simon, who is called Peter.' This position of leader- 

 ship among the twelve Peter continued to hold. 

 In the earliest extant account of the resurrection 

 ( 1 Cor. xv. 5 ) it is stated that the risen Christ 

 appeared first ' to Cephas, then to the twelve ; ' 

 and in the Epistle to the Galatians the apostle 

 Paul tells us that his first errand to Jerusalem 

 after his conversion was 'to visit Cephas' (Gal. i. 

 18). In the Acts of the Apostles Peter was the 

 first mover in the election of a new apostle in the 

 room of Judas Iscariot ; he was the spokesman of 

 the rest on the day of Pentecost, and also when 

 they were brought liefore the council ; he was the 

 judge who condemned Ananias and Sapphira ; 

 along with John he was sent from Jerusalem to 

 the Samaritan converts that they might receive 

 the Holy Ghost ; and he was the first to baptise a 

 Gentile convert. He took a prominent part in the 

 council or conference at Jerusalem, the result of 

 which, though its events are somewhat differently 

 related in Gal. ii. 1-10 and in Acts, xv. 4-29, was his 

 acceptance of the policy of conciliation between the 

 contending Jewish and Gentile parties. The date 

 of this conference cannot be accurately fixed, but 

 no recent scholar has placed it earlier than 47 A.D. 

 or later than 53 A.D. He afterwards came to 

 Antioch and for a time worked in harmony with 

 Paul, but ultimately the famous dispute arose 

 (Gal. ii. 11-21) which in conjunction with other 

 causes led to the termination of Paul's ministry in 

 that city. Peter, however, seems to have remained 

 in Antioch, and was afterwards regarded as the 

 founder of its church. His subsequent history is 

 very obscure. On any theory of the authorship of 

 1 Peter that writing bears witness to an early 

 belief that his missionary activity extended as far 

 as to Pontus, Cappadocia, Galatia, Asia, and 

 Bithynia ; and, on one interpretation of 1 Peter, 

 v. 13 (which, however, has little probability), he 

 also lalmured in Babylon. That he suffered mar- 

 tyrdom is clear from John, xxi. 18, 19, and is con- 

 firmed by the unanimous voice of ecclesiastical 

 tradition : as to the manner of it, we have it on the 

 authority of Eusebius (H.E. iii. 1, interpreted by 

 some as resting on Origen ) that he was impaled or 

 crucified with his head downward ; as to the 

 place, tradition from the end of the 2d century 

 invariably mentions Rome, and this also is most 

 probably implied in the vague phraseology of 

 Clemens Romanus (1 Ep. v. 4). Another circum- 



