PHI 



PHI 



birds. The crowing of the pheasant is 

 very similar to that of the former species, 

 but not so loud or so distinct. There are 

 many varieties of the pheasant tribe kept 

 in the aviaries of the curious in England, 

 exhibiting the most admirable plumage, 

 but not sufficiently hardy to endure the 

 rigours of winter in that climate, where 

 the P. colchicus alone has become na- 

 tionalized. See Aves, Plate XII. fig. 2. 

 PHEASANT. See PHASIAKUS. 

 PHELLANDU1UM, in botany, water 

 hemlock, a genus of the Pentandria Digy- 

 nia class and order. Natural order of 

 Umbellate, or Umbellifera:. Essential 

 character : florets of the disk smaller ; 

 fruit ovate, even, crowned with the peri- 

 anth and pistil. There are two species, 

 viz. P. aquaticum, common water hem- 

 lock, and P. mutellina : the former is a 

 native of most parts of Europe : Linnaeus 

 informs us, that the horses in Sweden, 

 by eating this plant, are seized with a 

 kind of palsy ; this effect is not to be 

 ascribed to the plant, but to a coleopte- 

 rous insect breeding in the stalks: in the 

 winter the roots and stem, dissected by 

 the influence of the weather, afford a cu- 

 rious skeleton or net-work. 



PHILADELPHIA, in botany, syringa, 

 a genus of the Icosandria Monogynia 

 class and order. Natural order of llespe- 

 rideae. Myrti, Jussieu. Essential charac- 

 ter : calyx four or five-parted, superior ; 

 petals four or five ; capsule four or five- 

 celled, many-seeded. There are four spe- 

 cies, of which P. coronarius, common or 

 white syringa, is a shrub that sends up a 

 great number of slender stalks from the 

 root, seven or eight feet in height, put- 

 ting forth several short branches from 

 their side ; leaves ovate, lanceolate, three 

 inches long, and two broad in the middle, 

 terminating in acute points, with several 

 indentures on their edges ; they have 

 both the taste and scent of fresh cucum- 

 bers ; the primary flower is five-cleft in 

 the calyx, corolla, pistil, and capsule ; the 

 rest are four-cleft. It is a native of the 

 South of Europe. 



PHILLYUEA, in botany, a genus of 

 the Diandria Monogynia class and order. 

 Natural order of Sepiaria;. Jasminese, 

 Jussieu. Essential character : calyx four- 

 toothed; corolla four-cleft; berry two- 

 celled; seeds solitary. There are three 

 species, which are distinguished by the 

 form and indentations of their leaves; 

 they are shrubs, and natives of the south- 

 ern countries of Europe; they are ever- 

 greens, and sufficiently hardy to thrive 

 in the opep air, being rarely injured, ex- 



cept in very severe winters, which causes 

 their leaves to fall, and kills some of the 

 weaker branches ; these are repaired by 

 new shoots the following summer ; there 

 are few evergreens which are hardier 

 than the phillyrea, or that deserve more 

 to be cultivated for pleasure. 



PHILOLOGY, a science, or rather as- 

 semblage of several sciences, consisting 

 of grammar, rhetoric, poetry, antiquities, 

 history, and criticism. Philology is a kind 

 of universal literature, conversant about 

 all the sciences, their rise, progress, au- 

 thors, &c. It makes what the French call 

 the belles lettres. In the universities it is 

 called humanities. Anciently, philology 

 was only a part of grammar. 



PHILOSOPHER a person versed in 

 philosophy ; or one who makes profession 

 of, or applies himself to, the study of na- 

 ture and morality. See PHILOSOPHY- 



PHILOSOPHER'S stone, the greatest ob- 

 ject of alchymy, is a long sought for pre- 

 paration, which, when found, is to convert 

 all the true mercurial part of metal into 

 pure gold, better than any that is dug out 

 of the mines, or perfected by the refiner's 

 art. 



PHILOSOPHY, mental 1. That science 

 which teaches us the laws of our mental 

 frame, which shews us the origin of our 

 various modes and habits of thought and 

 feeling, how they operate upon one an- 

 other, and how they are cultivated or re- 

 pressed, is mental philosophy, or the phi- 

 losophy of the human mind. The well 

 directed study of it calls into action and 

 improves the highest intellectual faculties; 

 and while it employs the powers of the 

 mind, it suggests the best means for their 

 culture, and the best mode of their direc- 

 tion. It enables us to trace the intricacies 

 of our own hearts, and points out the pro- 

 per discipline for their correction. It dis- 

 covers to us the real excellencies of the 

 mind, and guides us in our efforts for the 

 attainment of them. To success in form- 

 ing the moral and mental character of 

 others, it is more or less essential ; for it 

 discloses the nature of our influence over 

 their minds, and the best mode of exer- 

 cising it so as to bring their various fa- 

 culties into the best adjusted and most 

 perfect state. Pursued with proper views, 

 and in a proper manner, it lays the best 

 foundation for the highest degrees of in- 

 tellectual, moral, and religious improve- 

 ment " There are difficulties," to use 

 the words of the great Hartley, " both in 

 the word of God and in his works ; and 

 these difficulties are sometimes so mag- 

 nified as to lead to scepticism, infidelity, 



