PROVIDENCE 



PROVISIONAL ORDER 



459 



thirty-two moral precepts, six of which are distichs, 

 seventeen in four lines, and the others of various 

 forms, including a discourse or inashal of some 

 length against drunkenness (xxiii. 29-35). An 

 exhortation to needfulness under instruction is 

 prelixed (xxii. 17-21). (4) xxiv. 23-34 is super- 

 scribed 'These also are sayings of the wise,' and 

 contains six sayings or precepts of a somewhat 

 trite order, including, however, the familiar de- 

 scription of the sluggard and his vineyard. (5) 

 xxv. 1-xxix. 27 has the heading 'These also are 

 the proverbs of Solomon, which the men of Heze- 

 kiah, king of Judah, copied out.' Of the total 

 number (127) 114 are distichs, six in four lines, and 

 the rest irregular. This collection is generally 

 considered by critics to contain more elements of 

 high antiquity than the rest of the book, and is 

 specially distinguished by the vigour, freshness, 

 and originality of its observations and expressions. 



(6) xxx. consists of twelve sets of verses of various 

 import, including some riddles of the Hebrew type. 

 The somewhat obscure heading ought probably to 

 run 'The words of Agur the son of Jaken of Massa' 

 <cf. Gen. xxv. 14; 1 Chron. i. 30, iv. 38), and the 

 opening verses to be read (as in R.V. margin) 

 'The man said, I have wearied myself, God, I 

 have wearied myself, O God, and am consumed, 

 for I am more brutish than any man, and have not 

 the understanding of a man ' the despairing ex- 

 pression of a spirit that has exhausted its energies 

 in the effort to reach a true knowledge of God. 



(7) xxxi. 1-9, 'The words of Lemuel, king of Massa 

 (ee above), wherewith his mother instructed him,' 

 u warning against wine and women, and an exhor- 

 tation to righteousness in judgment. (8) xxxi. 10- 

 31, an alphabetical piece without superscription, 

 <-im>i~ting of twenty-two distichs in praise of the 

 'virtuous woman' i.e. the wise, energetic, capable 

 housewife. There are no data that enable us accur- 

 ately to determine the relative ages of these eight 

 |M>rtic>ns. It seems not unreasonable to suppose 

 that the book may have been brought into its 

 ]>r>'si'nt form by the writer of the first part (i.-ix.). 

 It is not improbable that the book contains indi- 

 vidual utterances of very great antiquity as old 

 as, and perhaps even older than, Solomon himself ; 

 but it is impossible to pick out these with certainty. 

 There is no good reason for identifying the main 

 collection (x. 1-xxii. 16), consisting as we have 

 seen of 376 mashals, with the 3000 proverbs of 

 Solomon mentioned in 1 Kings, iv. 32, though this 

 has been done by Jerome ; that x. 1-xxii. 16 was 

 not before the compilers of xxv. 1-xxix. 27 is 

 evirlent from the number of doublets contained in 

 the latter series (cf., for example, xxv. 24 and 

 xxi. 9 ; xxvi. 13 and xxii. 13 ; xxvi. 15 and xix. 24, 

 and numerous other instances). It is probable 

 that the present l>ook was a slow and gradual 

 growth ; and that the process may have been carried 

 on to a very late date is shown by the considerable 

 variations between the* Massoretic and Septuagint 

 texts. 



For a good account of the Book of Proverbs, with refer- 

 ences to the literature of the subject, see Reuss, Getch. 

 d. keil. Schriften Allen Testament* (1890). The most 

 convenient commentaries are those of Hitzig (1858), 

 Bertlieau ( 1847 ; new ed. by Nowack, 1883), and Delitzsch 

 ( 187:< ; Eng. trans. ). Mee also The Speaker's Commentary, 

 aii'I a homiletical work by Horton ( 1891). 



Providence, a seaport and the semi-capital of 

 the state of Rhode Island, the second city of New 

 England and the twentieth in order of population 

 in the United States, is situated at the head of 

 navigation, on an arm of Narragansett Bay known 

 as Providence River, 35 miles from the ocean and 

 44 miles by rail SSW. of Boston. It covers a wide 

 area on both sides of the river, which, above its 

 two bridges, expands into a cove, a mile in circuit, 



on the borders of which is a handsome park, shaded 

 with noble elms. It is a city of large commerce, 

 manufactures, and wealth, abounding with beauti- 

 ful villas and gardens. Founded before the con- 

 ventional type of American cities had been dis- 

 covered, its streets are pleasantly irregular, and 

 the site singularly uneven, rising in one place to 

 204 feet above high-water ; and in one ward, much 

 of which is still in farms, there are numerous hills 

 and valleys. Among the many notable public 

 buildings and institutions of Providence are a city 

 hall, of granite, which cost upwards of $1,000,000, 

 and has facing it the state's soldiers' monument ; 

 the state-house ; the custom-house and post-office ; 

 the Athenaeum, and the buildings of the Rhode 

 Island Historical Society ; the arcade and the 

 Butler Exchange ; a great number of churches, 

 schools, and libraries, hospitals and asylums, in- 

 cluding a iioble charity known as the Dexter Asylum 

 for the Poor ; the Friends' Boarding-school ( popu- 

 larly, 'the Quaker College'); and Brown University, 

 a Baptist institution, founded in 1764, and amply 

 endowed : it has about 300 students, and ranks 

 among the leading colleges of the United States. 

 The city has lost most of its foreign trade, but 

 instead it has become one of the great manufactur- 

 ing centres of the country ; two small rivers afford 

 abundant water-power. The chief establishments 

 are engaged in producing silver- ware, tools, stoves, 

 engines, locomotives, cottons and woollens, corset- 

 laces, shoe-laces, lamp-wicks, &c. ; and besides 

 there are scores of manufactories of jewellery, many 

 bleaching- works, &c. Providence was settled in 

 1636 by Roger Williams. Pop. (1870) 68,904; 

 (1880) 104,857; (1890) 132,146; ( 1900) 175,597. 



Province (Lat. provfaeia). a territory acquired 

 by the Romans beyond the limits of Italy, and 

 governed by a Roman Prsetor (q.v. ) or proprietor, 

 or by a proconsul (see CONSUL). The senate de- 

 cided which provinces were to be prtetorian and 

 which consular. As a rule the provinces were 

 unmercifully plundered by the governors and the 

 tax-collectors (pubiicani). Under Augustus there 

 were twelve imperial provinces, requiring military 

 occupation, and under the emperor's immediate 

 control, and ten senatorial provinces, entrusted 

 to senatorial management (see ROME). The pro- 

 vinces of France (q.v.) were superseded at the 

 Revolution by the departments. The great govern- 

 mental divisions of India, Canada, and other 

 countries are often entitled provinces. The sphere 

 of duty of an Archbishop (q.v.) is his province, 

 usually consisting of several dioceses. The mon- 

 astic orders are or were distributed in provinces of 

 varying area ; the provincial, in its monastic refer- 

 ence, is the superior of all the houses and all the 

 members of a monastic order within any particular 

 province. See GENERAL, MONACHISM. 



Provlns, a town of France (dept. Seine-et- 

 Marne), by rail 59 miles SE. of Paris, has remains 

 of ancient walls, flanked by ruined watch-towers. 

 The most interesting feature is an ancient tower, 

 built in the 12th century, vulgarly called Caesar's 

 Tower. The vicinity was long famous for its roses, 

 and they are still cultivated to a considerable 

 extent. There are numerous flour-mills and dye- 

 works. Pop. 7888. 



Provisional Order is an order granted, under 

 the powers conferred by an act of parliament, by a 

 department of the government, by the Secretary of 

 State, or by some other authority, whereby certain 

 things are authorised to be done which could be 

 accomplished otherwise only by an act of parlia- 

 ment. The order does not receive effect, however, 

 until it has been confirmed by the 'legislature. 

 Till that time it is purely provisional ; and even 

 after it has been so confirmed and is in reality 



