PRE-ADAMITES 



63 1 3 



PRECEPT 



what he says. This accounts for 

 the success which has attended 

 the preaching of unlettered men. 

 Hardly less important is a know- 

 ledge of human nature, an ability 

 to adapt the appeal to the mood of 

 the audience. A good voice, 

 managed with skill and discretion, 

 is essential, while some knowledge 

 of oratory is desirable. The greatest 

 preachers have often been great 

 students, firstly of the Bible, and 

 secondly of other branches of 

 Christian literature. See Pulpit; 

 Sermon ; consult also Mediaeval 

 Preachers and Preaching, J. M. 

 Neale, 1857; A History of Preach- 

 ing, E. C. Durgan, 1906. 



Pre- Adamites. People former- 

 ly supposed to have inhabited the 

 world before Adam. Some people 

 hold that Adam was the first man 

 of a new creation to take the place 

 of an earlier people who had 

 been exterminated. This view 

 was advocated by Isaac de la 

 Peyrere (1592-1676), and his 

 followers were sometimes called 

 Pre-Adamites. 



Preamble (Lat. praeambulrtre, 

 to walk before). Literally, an intro- 

 ductory statement. It is chiefly 

 used in connexion with Acts of 

 Parliament, which usually open 

 with a paragraph detailing the 

 objects sought in passing the 

 Act. An example is the preamble 

 to the Parliament Act of 1911, 

 stating that its authors intended 

 to reform the House of Lords. 



Prebend (late Lat. praebenda, 

 soldier's rations). Eccles. term for 

 the food, clothing, etc., provided 

 for a clergyman or monk, as dis- 

 tinct from the income of a benefice. 

 Later it came to be used for an 

 endowment provided for the sup- 

 port of a priest attached to the 

 staff of a cathedral ; the holder of 

 the prebend being known as a pre- 

 bendary. The office of prebendary is 

 now usually a sinecure conferred on 

 a clergyman as a mark of dis- 

 tinction, and the income attached 

 to the dignity is nominal or nil. 



Pre- Cambrian. In geology, 

 name given to the period older 

 than the Cambrian. It is one of 

 great indefiniteness in many ways, 

 and no general classification of it 

 has been accepted by geologists. 

 The term is usually applied to in- 

 clude all those rocks which are of a 

 greater age than those containing 

 the Olenellus fauna of the Cam- 

 brian. The rocks are the oldest on 

 the earth, dating from the first 

 formation of a solid crust on the 

 earth's surface down to Cambrian 

 times, and comprise conglomerates, 

 sandstones, greywacke, gneisses, 

 slates, limestones, quartzites, etc. 

 They are usually highly metamor- 

 phosed igneous and sedimentary 



strata which contain few fossils. 

 They are rich in iron and other 

 minerals, as graphite, talc, gold, 

 copper, nickel, etc., and contain 

 many valuable building stones, in 

 particular granite and marble. 



Pre-Cambrian rocks are found 

 widely scattered and often receive 

 local names, or are sub-divided. 



Precedence (Lat. praecedere, to 

 go before). Order in which indi- 

 viduals follow each other at state 

 and other ceremonies. It begins 

 with the sovereign or ruler and his 

 family, and is most exactly en- 

 forced in monarchical countries. 

 Precedence is determined either 

 by birth or by office. In England 

 the order rests on ancient usage 

 and subsequent regulations as, for 

 instance, the one which ranked the 

 prime minister after the archbishop 

 of York. The first of various sta- 

 tutes was passed in 1539, and the 

 regulations, which are based on 

 letters patent, are issued by the 

 lord chamberlain, assisted by the 

 Heralds' College. In Scotland the 

 authority rests with the Lyon 

 court ; in Ireland with the Ulster 

 king of arms. As regards local 

 authorities in the United Kingdom, 

 no written code has been promul- 

 gated, but in the county the lord- 

 lieutenant stands first, followed by 

 the high sheriff. 



ORDER OF PRECEDENCE IN THE UNITED 



KINGDOM. 



The Sovereign. The Prince of Wales. 

 Sons of the Sovereign. Grandsons of the 

 Sovereign. Sovereign's Brothers. Sov- 

 ereign's Uncles. Sovereign's Nephews. 

 Archbishop of Canterbury. Lord High 

 Chancellor. Archbishop of York. Prime 

 Minister. Lord Chancellor of Ireland. 

 Lord President of the Privy Council. 

 Speaker of the House of Commons. Lord 

 Privy Seal (if of Baronial rank). Seven 

 following state officers if .Dukes: (1) 

 Lord Great Chamberlain (on duty). (2) 

 Lord High Constable. (3) Earl Marshal. 

 (4) Lord Hish Admiral. (5) Lord Steward. 

 (6) Lord Chamberlain. (1) The Master of 

 the Horse. Dukes according to their Pa- 

 tents of Creation: 1. Of England; 2. Of 

 Scotland; 3. of Great Britain; 4. Of Ireland; 

 5. Those created since the Union. Eldest 

 sons of Dukes of Blood Royal. Seven above 

 state officers if Marquesses. Marquesses, 

 in same order as Dukes. Dukes' eldest 

 Sons. Seven above state officers if Earls. 

 Earls, in same order as Dukes. Younger 

 sons of Dukes of Blood Royal. Mar- 

 quesses' eldest Sons. Dukes' younger 

 Sons. Seven above state officers if Vis- 

 counts. Viscounts in same order as 

 Dukes. Earls' eldest Sons. Marquesses' 

 younger Sons. Bishops of London, 

 Durham, and Winchester. All other 

 English Bishops, according to their 

 seniority of consecration. Seven above 

 state officers if Barons. Secretaries of 

 state, and Chief Secretary to the Lord 

 Lieutenant of Ireland if of the degree of 

 a Baron. Barons, in same order as Dukes, 

 Commissioners of the Great Seal. Trea- 

 surer of H.M.'s Household. Comptroller 

 of H.M.'s Household. Vice-Chamberlain of 

 Household. Secretaries of state and Chief 

 Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of 

 Ireland under the decree of Baron. Vis- 

 founts' eldest Son*. Earls' younger Sons. 

 Barons' eldest Sons. Knights of the 

 Garter if commoners. Knights of St. 

 Patrick. Privy Councillors if of no 

 h'gher rank. Chancellor of the Ex- 

 chequer. Chancellor of the Duchy of 

 Lancaster. Lord fhVf Justice of 

 England. Master of the Holls. The 

 Lords Just'ce? of Appeal and President 

 of the Probate, Divorce and Admiralty 

 Courts. Judges of the H'rti Court. Vis- 

 counts' younger Sons. Barons' younger 

 Sons. Sons of Life Peers. Baronets of 

 either Kinedom, according to date of 

 Patents. Members of the various Orders 



in following rotation: G.C.B., G.C.S.I.. 

 G.C.M.G.. G.C.I.E., G.C.V.O,. G.B.E., 

 K.C.B., K.C.S.I., K.C.M.G., K.C.I.E., 

 K.C.V.O., K.B.E. Kn ghts Bachelor. 

 Judges of County Courts and Judges 

 of the City of London Court. Serjeants- 

 at-Law. Masters in Lunacy. C.B., C.S.I.. 



C.M.G., C.I.E., c.v.o, C.B.E,. D.S.O. 



Members of the 4th Class of the H.V.O. 

 Officers of the British Empire. Com- 

 panions of the I.S.O. Eldest Sons of 

 younger Sons of Peers. Baronets' eldest 

 Sons. Eldest Sons of Knights of the 

 Garter. Eldest Sons of Knights in order 

 of the fathers. Members of the 5th 



Younger Sons of Knights in the same 

 order as the-r Fathers. Naval. Military, 

 and other Esquires by Office. 



Precedent. In general, an action 

 or rule which is used as an authori- 

 tative example to be followed in 

 similar circumstances at a later 

 time. In law, precedent plays an 

 important part. In order that the 

 course of law may be as certain and 

 regular as possible, the practice has 

 grown up of recording the decisions 

 of judges, particularly on new 

 points, so that these judgements 

 may serve as precedents for future 

 cases of similar nature. A judge of 

 first instance is not, strictly speak- 

 ing, bound to follow the decisions of 

 another judge of equal rank, but 

 he is bound to follow the judge- 

 ments of a superior court, and a 

 court of appeal is always bound to 

 follow its own judgements. 



The common law of England is to 

 be found almost entirely in the 

 decisions of judges who have 

 expounded the principles whereon 

 it is based. The same observation 

 applies to equity as administered 

 in England. In Scotland also the 

 common law is built upon pre- 

 cedent. See Justice ; Law. 



Precentor (late Lat. prae- 

 cinere, to sing before). Leader of 

 the singers in the rendering of the 

 musical portion of the service in a 

 cathedral. The term first appeared 

 in the 4th century, when in chant- 

 ing it became usual for the first 

 half of each verse of the Psalms to 

 be sung by a precentor or precen- 

 tors, and for the choir and people 

 to take up the latter half. SS. 

 Basil, Athanasius, and Chrysostom 

 all allude to the custom, and the 

 Apostolic Constitutions order it. 

 In cathedral churches of the 

 Church of England, the precentor 

 is usually the chief of the minor 

 canons, and is responsible for all 

 the musical arrangements of the 

 services. The word was specially 

 used of the leader of praise in 

 Scottish churches before the intro- 

 duction of organs. 



Precept (Lat. pruecipere, to 

 jrdain). Literally a rule or law or 

 order. It is used specially in Eng- 

 land for the written warrant of a 

 magistrate. An order from a local 

 authority, e.g. board of guardians, 

 for the payment of money to it 

 from the rates is known as a pre- 

 cept. See Rate. 



