PROPRETOR PROSELYTE. 



723 



8:11 = 11 ; 14; 11:14=14:17; 14:17= 17:20, 

 &c., or 4 : 8 = 8 : 1 6 ; 8 : 16 = 16 : 32 ; 16 : 32 = 

 32 : 64, the numbers 8, 11 , 14, 17, 20, form an arith- 

 metical progression, and 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, &c., a geo- 

 metrical progression. 



PROPRETOR. See Proconsul. 

 PROPYL^EA (Greek a- ? *-uA;); the splendid 

 entrance to a temple among the Greeks, a square 

 before the temple, surrounded with a portico ; on 

 the square in the open air stood the altar. The 

 term was employed particularly in speaking of the 

 superb vestibules, or porticoes, conducting to the 

 Acropolis, or citadel of Athens, which formed one 

 of the principal ornaments of the city. This mag- 

 nificent work, of the Doric order, was constructed 

 by Pericles, after the designs of Mnesicles, one of 

 the most celebrated architects of his age. Pausa- 

 nias says it was covered with white marble, remark- 

 able for the size of the blocks and the beauty of the 

 workmanship. Stuart, in his Antiquities of Athens, 

 Le Roy, in his Ruins of Greece, and the Travels of 

 Anacharsis the Younger, mention the relics of the 

 propylasa. 



PROROGATION of parliament ; the continu- 

 ance of parliament from one session to another, as 

 adjournment is a continuance of the session from 

 one day to another, or for a longer period. Proro- 

 gation determines the session ; but adjournment, 

 though for a fortnight, month, &c., does not. After 

 a prorogation, any bill which has previously passed 

 both houses, or either house, without receiving the 

 royal sanction, or the concurrence of the other 

 house, must be taken up de novo. Parliament is 

 prorogued by the royal authority, either by the lord 

 chancellor, at the king's command, or by proclama- 

 tion. Jn France, the king also prorogues (proroge) 

 the chambers (art. 42 of the charter of August, 1830). 

 hi the United States of America the term adjourn- 

 ment is used both for prorogation and adjournment, 

 properly speaking. Congress is adjourned (pro- 

 rogued) by the concurrent vote of the two houses ; 

 but, in case of their disagreement, the president is 

 authorized by the constitution to adjourn them. 



PROSCENIUM (* ? <>ffxwi<), in the Roman thea- 

 tres; the place before the scene, where the actors 

 appeared. It was also called pulpitum, and was 

 coloured red, by being sprinkled with crocus-water, 

 for the sake of the perfume. It was somewhat lower 

 than the scena, but higher than the orchestra, which 

 was in iront of it. The place behind the scene 

 where the actors dressed and undressed was called 

 post-scenium. See Theatre. 



PROSE (generally derived from prorsa (oratio), 

 the reason of which will be given in the course of 

 the article). The true character of prose can be 

 clearly conceived only by considering it in relation 

 to poetry. Their difference lies in the essential 

 difference of certain states of the mind and feelings. 

 The two chief states of the inward man may be 

 called the thinking and the poetical states, and de- 

 pend upon the predominance of the understanding, 

 or the imagination and feelings. If we think (in the 

 narrower sense of the word), we combine ideas ac- 

 cording to the laws of reason ; and prose, which is 

 the language of sober thought, is characterized by 

 the abstractness, generality of precision which be- 

 longs to the ideas that occupy the understanding. 

 When the mind is in a poetical state, that is, when 

 the imagination or feelings are strongly excited, then 

 it seeks for language which shall affect immediately 

 the imagination and feelings of others. Warmth, 

 liveliness, individuality, therefore, characterize the 

 language of the poet. A full consideration of the 

 ilistinguishing features of prose, whose province is 

 tact and opinion, and of poetry, which deals with 



emotions, would afford room for much interesting 

 discussion; but this our limits preclude. Two of 

 the chief instruments of poetry are imagery and 

 rhythm. It calls in beauty of sound to aid beauty 

 of sense. Clearness and precision are the chief 

 aim of prose : and every thing else must, if neces- 

 sary, be sacrificed to them ; yet man, striving always 

 to combine the beautiful with the useful, does not 

 entirely dispense with musical sounds in prose; and 

 though he does not subject it to the strict rules of 

 metre, yet he arranges the words so as to please 

 the ear by their measured cadence (numerus). It 

 is wrong, however, to make verse die distinguishing 

 feature of poetry. How much versified prose ex- 

 ists ! and how much poetry, unadorned by metrical 

 language ! Metre is a mere consequence of the 

 character of poetry, and does not constitute it. 



Prose and poetry cannot be strictly defined, but 

 often run into each other, and many compositions 

 which are called prose have much of a poetical 

 character ; for instance, some of the proclamations 

 of Napoleon to his army. Prose, however, in the 

 most common acceptation of the word, is used in 

 contradistinction to metrical composition ; hence it 

 is called, by the Romans oratio soluta. The exter- 

 nal form naturally strikes first, and, in the early 

 stages of society, strikes most ; hence the term 

 prose, which, as we have already stated, is generally 

 derived from prorsus, prorsa oratio (progressive 

 speech), opposed to verse, which is derived from 

 versus (backwards), returning always to the selected 

 metre. The Greeks called prose o vrifys Aay, 

 which the Romans translated pedestris oratio ; anil 

 St Evremond compares prose writers to modest 

 pedestrians. Some have added to the divisions 

 poetry and prose a further division, eloquence, con- 

 sidering the third either as partaking of the nature 

 of both the others, or as essentially differing from 

 both. From what has been said of the difference 

 between prose and poetry, it is clear that poetry 

 must be much earlier developed than prose, because 

 feeling and imagination prevail most with nations 

 in their early periods. We do not mean merely that 

 poetical compositions preceded prose compositions, 

 but the common way of viewing things and express- 

 ing thoughts, in early periods, was in images. His- 

 tories, laws (*opi>i), and philosophical maxims, were 

 first conveyed in verse with the Greeks, and many 

 other nations, and, with all, certainly had a symbo- 

 lical, poetical character. Pliny says that Pherecydes 

 of Scyros (a contemporary of Cyrus) first formed 

 the Greek prose (prosam primus condere instituif); 

 but perhaps he was only the first who wrote on phi- 

 losophico-my thological subjects in prose. Fine prose 

 is among the latest attainments both of nations and 

 individuals ; and it would appear that, with most 

 nations, classical prose writers are fewer than clas- 

 sical poets. 



PROSELYTE (Greek, a stranger ; new-comer), 

 in religion ; he who leaves one religion for the pro- 

 fession of another ; in general, he who changes his 

 religious party, or any other party. The Jews had 

 two classes of proselytes, viz. the " proselytes of the 

 gate," as they were termed, and the " proselytes of 

 righteousness," or of the covenant. The first were 

 those who renounced idolatry, and worshipped the 

 only true God, according to the (so called) seven 

 laws of the children of Noah, without subjecting 

 themselves to circumcision and the other commands 

 of the Mosaic law. They were only admitted to 

 the court of the temple, and stood at the door of 

 the inner temple, whence their name. They had 

 the right of dwelling in the land of Israel, but only 

 in suburbs and villages. Under Solomon, there 

 were 150,000 such proselytes, who laboured iu 

 2z 2 



