POMEGRANATi:. 



ii.vr. OH. 







rmlly. 



. -' 



such, and that tliej- wonhipped mentally one Supreme 

 Hut however thU might be, the popular 



e people have been polytheista in reality ; and, as 

 ' De Ebrietatc '), " Polytheism in the minds of the 



Being untl . . 



nations were not so refined. Wherever the philosophers have appeared 

 tobepol7t)>ei>ta,the 



I'hilo-J mLi'iis says (' 

 ignorant is atheism." 



Wherever the Christian religion has been established, polytheism 

 and iu attendant evils have disappeared ; but there still remain vast 

 :- of the world in which polytheism prevails; and the miseries 

 are inconceivably great which millions of the human race are still 

 voluntarily inflicting upon themselves with a view to propitiate the 

 favour of imaginary deities. 



(Cudworth's l*ttUrrtal Syttrm ; Henry More's Myitery of Ood- 

 lint* ; Shuckford 's C<mrfli<m of Sacred and Profane Jfiitory.) 



POMEGRANATE. I'nder PcsiCA.in the NAT. HIST. Div.,a notice 

 has been given of the medicinal properties attributed to the flowers and 

 the bark of the root of the pomegranate, but they have not been much 

 used in European practice. The inspissated juice of the fruit forms one 

 of the most agreeable constituent* of the sherbets of {he East ; and the 

 alMindant and pleasant acid of the fruit renders it not only a favourite 

 when eaten, but is held in high estimation as an ingredient iu those 

 refreshing and cooling beverages so much needed in hot climates, and 

 to which the professors of the Moslem faith are confined. It is also 

 used to flavour certain cooked viands, much as lemon-juice is employed 

 in Europe. In this country it can only be reared as an exotic, and 

 with little success even then as regards the fruit 



PO'XTIFEX was the name by which the Romans designated the 

 members of the most illustrious of their great colleges of priests, 

 and is supposed to have been derived from the sacrifices having been 

 |x-rfornied on a bridge connecting the city on both sides of the Tiber. 

 The pontiffs are said to have been instituted by Numa Pompih'us for 

 the purpose of taking care that the laws relating to religion should be 

 observed by individuals as well as by the state. Their original number, 

 according to Livy (x. 6), was four, two for each of the tribes of 

 the Ramnes and Titles. Cicero ('De Rep.' ii. 14) says that their 

 number was five, but he includes the I'ontifex Maximus, or chief 

 pontiff. 



The minor pontiffs were a college of priests of which scarcely any- 

 thing is known : Cicero mentions three members of it (' Horusp. 

 Kesp.' 6). The name of the minor pontiffs was afterwards transferred 

 to, or perhaps assumed by, the secretaries of the other pontiffs (pon- 

 tifioes majores : Liv. xxii. 67 ; Capitolin., ' Vit. Macrin.,' 7). 



When the great state offices had become accessible to the ple- 

 beians, they also obtained the privilege of being represented in the 

 college of pontiffs by members of their own order. This change was 

 brought about in 300 B.C. by the Ogulnion law, by which the original 

 number of pontiffs, through the addition of four plebeians, was in- 

 creased to eight, or, including the chief pontiff, to nine. (Liv. x. 6, 9.) 

 The chief pontiff, however, continued to be taken from the patricians 

 to the year 254 B.C. (Liv. ' Epit.' xviii.) This number remained the 

 same for more than two centuries, until in 81 B.C. the dictator Sulla 

 raised it to fifteen. (Liv. ' Epit.' 89.) J. Ctcsar added one more 

 p. intiif. (Dion Cass., xlii., p. 230.) In the early ages of the history of 

 Itorne the pontiffs were elected by the kings, but after the overthrow 

 of the kingly power the college exercised the right of co-optation 

 (l)ionys. Hal., ii. 73; Livy, xl. 42), until 104 B.C., when the right of 

 electing persons to the office of pontiff was partly transferred to the 

 people by the Domitian law ; for, according to this law, the co-optation 

 of the college was still necessary as a religious ceremony, after a 

 person had been elected by the |>eople. (Cic., ' in RulL,' ii. 7.) When 

 Sulla increased the number of pontiffs, he, at the same time, gave back 

 to the college the full right of ctf-optation ; the tribune Labienus, 

 indeed, in 63 B.C., revived the Domitian law, but it was again abolished 

 by Antony. (Dion Cass., xliv., p. 805.) The chief pontiff, who at first 

 seems to nave been appointed by the kings, was afterwards elected by 

 the curies in the cpmitia cunata, and generally taken from the 

 number of the pontiffs themselves, or from those who hod held the 

 highest offices of the state. (Liv. xL 42 ; comp. with xxv. 6.) The func- 

 tions of the college of pontiffs were not limited to the service of any 

 particular deity. It had very extensive powers, and not only had the 

 superintendence over all matters of religion, but even those which 

 were in any degree connected with it, such as marriage, adoption by 

 abrogation (Cic., ' Pro. Dom.,' 13), and funeral ceremonies. The pontiffs 

 had a direct judicial power, and might, in some instances, even punish 

 with death. (Cic., 'De Legg.,' ii. 9 ; comp. with Liv. xxii. 57.) The 

 chief pontiff, whose office, like that of the other pontiffs, was for life, 

 and who was not responsible either to the senate or the people, was 

 kupretne judge in all matters relating to, or connected with, religion ; 

 and from his sentence an appeal could only be made to the people in 

 cases where a magistrate was fined, or his person seized (Liv. xl. 42) ; 

 for the few instances of later times, where a tribune interposed and 

 modified the sentence of the chief pontiff, seem to have been anoma- 

 lies. His powers extended over magistrates u well as private in-!i- 

 viduals ; and the former, if acting contrary to the laws of religion, 

 might be fined (Liv. xxvii. 61 ; Cic., ' Philip,' xi. 8 ; Liv. xl. 42), or 

 compelled by the chief pontiff to resign their office. It also formed 

 part of his duties to regulate the calendar, and to interpret the 

 ceremonial laws, for he and his college were in the exclusive posses- 



won of the ritual books (commcntarii ucrornm or lilni pontificale*), 

 iu which all religious rites were laid down, and which at all times were 

 considered as decisive upon any p..int whieh belonged to their juris- 

 . and consequently, they decided what auguries were to be 

 received. The rules and regulations which guided the pontiticon form, ,1 

 a Urge body of law, called 'Jus IVnlitk-iuin.' (Go., 'De Or.,' L 48; 

 iU. 83; 'Pro D.un.,' 13.) Among the external distinctions of tin- 

 pontiffs, were the toga pnetexta, and the tutulus or galerux, a cap of 

 a conical form adorned with an apex. They lived iu pnMi.- l.mMini;- 

 on tli.- Via Sacra (Suet., ' CVs ,' 40), or in the house of Nnmu il'lm., 

 .' iv. 11). The chief jwntiff was not permitted to quit Italy 

 (a rule first violated by 1'. Lit inius Cratmis); he was nt :>llw<-<l . nl,. r 

 to see or to touch a corpse, or even to visit a house in whieh tl:.i.- 

 was a dead body. After the death of his wife, who, according <> tl.. 

 lawn, should always, be a woman of great moral virtue, he won not 

 permitted to marry again. (Plin., ' Paneg.,' 83.) He also elected the 

 vestal virgins, and superintended their moral cuncim -t. l-'r.un tin- time 

 that Augustus assumed the office of rhii -f ] mtill', it wax held by all 

 hia successors down to the time of Uratianus, \v!n> di-Lim-d thi-t 

 dignity. (Zosim., iv. 30, 9.) The title P.M., or Pon. SI., I'ontifex 

 Maximus, appears on some of the coins of the Roman emperors. The 

 mode of living of the Roman pontiffs does not seem to have been 

 much more sober or simple than that of some priests of modern 

 times. (Horat., 'Od.,' ii. 14, 26, ff. ; Martial, 'Epigr.,' xii. 48, 12; 

 Mocrob., ' Sat.,' ii. 9.) 



In the Roman Catholic church, the Pope has the title of So\ , 

 Pontiff. In the Liturgy of that church all prelates are styled I' 

 The book of ceremonials for the administration of the sacran. 

 called the pontifical ; and the pontificate is alike the dignity of the 

 pope, and the period during which he occupies the seat. It is ob- 

 servable that the early Christian priestly communities were frequently 

 the founders or guardians of bridges. 



PONTOON, or PONTON. This term is employed by the French 

 to signify any barge or fiat-bottomed boat ; but in this country it is 

 confined to those vessels which are used in the formation of floating- 

 bridges for military purposes. 



The conveyance of an army with its artillery and baggage across 

 the rivers which intersect its line of march is one of the most difficult 

 as well as the most important operations in military tactics. The 

 occupation of an advantageous position in a given time, when the army 

 acts offensively, materially influences the success of a campaign ; and 

 the favourable moment may be lost, if means should not be at hand to 

 overcome the obstacle presented by a deep and rapid stream. But 

 the failure or insufficiency of such means must be attended with the 

 most fatal consequences to a retreating army, when it is prevented by 

 a river from getting beyond the reach of an enemy ; for its safety, in 

 this cose, depends upon the power of passing the river without 

 delay, and upon the removal or destruction of the bridge immediately 

 afterwards. 



History presents us with innumerable instances, both of the ruin of 

 armies caused by the want of means to make good their passage across 

 rivers, and of the protection which armies have received when rivers 

 have interposed between them and the superior forces of an enemy. 

 To take on example from modern warfare, it may be observed, 1 1 ial 

 during the retreat of Napoleon from Moscow, hod it not been t.n- 

 the extraordinary care used by the chief of the French engineers to 

 preserve the materials requisite for the formation of a bridge, the 

 whole of the army must have been captured or destroyed on the 

 Kinks of the Bereaina. 



The rapidity of warlike operations seldom allows bridges, at least 

 those of considerable magnitude, to be constructed on piles or piers ; 

 and perhaps the only military work of this nature which need be 

 hinted at is that which was formed by Cicsor across the Rhine. 

 [BRIDGE.] 



Bridges consisting of timber platforms supported on floating vessels 

 appear to have been in use in all ages. But those which were thrown 

 by Darius across the Boephorus, and subsequently over the Matin'.-, 

 and that which was formed by the order of Xerxes over the Helles- 

 pont at the time of his unfortunate expedition into Europe, deserve 

 to be considered as the most famous works of that nature which wen- 

 constructed by the ancients : and Herodotus, who has preserved 

 (lib. iv., 88) the name of the Greek engineer employed on the two first, 

 has also given a full description of the last (v:i. 36). He states that 

 360 vessels, anchored both at the head and stern, were disposed in 

 parallel directions across the strait with their keels in the direction of 

 the current, in order to diminish the strain on their cables ; and that 

 parallel to this line, but nearer the Archipelago, was another > < 

 ing of 314 vessels, similarly disposed. The vessels were connected 

 together by cables, over which was laid a platform of plonks covered 

 with a bed of earth, and there was a rail on each side, X> imphon also 

 relate* (' Anabasis,' lib. ii., c. 4) that the Greeks, in their i , 

 passed the Tigris by means of a bridge which was supported on thirty- 

 seven vessels. Of such boat-bridges for military purposes the moat 

 remarkable, in modern times, is that which was formed, by the 

 engineers of the British army, across the A dour, iu the south of France, 

 in 1814. It consisted of twenty-five chasse-maroes, varying in 

 burthen from 20 to 40 tons, which were moored at distances of nearly 

 40 feet from centre to centre. At first, hawncrs resting on their decks 



