P Y R 



P Y R 



rhonifts fell into difufe, whilft the doftrine of Pyrrho had 

 many advocates. For the difTerence between them, fee 

 Sceptics. 



Le Clerc obferves, that the Pyrrhonians, in affirming 

 that there is nothini;- certain, were the moil aduming and 

 decifive of all pliilofophers ; fince they mull iirft. have ex- 

 amined all things, to be able to determine precifely that all 

 things are uncertain. 



It may be added, that the very principle of the Pyrrho- 

 nians dettroys itfelf; for if there be nothing certain, then 

 muft that dogma itfelf be precarious ; and if no one thing 

 be more probable, or liker to truth than another, why (hall 

 the principle of the Pyrrhonians be believed preferably to 

 the oppofite one ? fince itfelf is come at in the fame way as 

 our other knowledge. Brucker's Hill, of Pliilof. by En- 

 field, vol. i. 



PYRRHUM, in ylmient Geography, a town of Pan- 

 ronia, on the route from Pstovio to Sifcia, between Aqua- 

 viva and Dautona, according to the It in. of Antonine. 



PYRRHUS, in Biography, king of Epirus, one of the 

 mod diftinguifhed warriors of the period in which he 

 flourifhed, fuppofed to be defcended from Pyrrhus, the fon 

 of Achilles, was the fon of jEacides, who was expelled 

 the kingdom by a revolt of his fubjefts. When Pyrrims 

 was only twelve years of age, he was placed on the throne 

 ©f his anceftors by Glaucias, kmg of Illyria, who had pro- 

 tefted him in his infancy. He reigned in peace till he 

 was about feventeen years of age, when, being abfent from 

 his kingdom. Ilia fubjefts feized his trealures, and conferred 

 the crown upon his great uncle, Neoptolemus. Pyrrhus 

 being poflefied of no force to enable him to recover his 

 authority, repaired to Demetrius Poliorcetes, the fon of 

 Antigonus, who had married his filler, and under that emi- 

 nent commander he learned the art of war, in company 

 with many officers and foldiers of Alexander the Great. 

 At the battle of Ipfus, in the year B.C. 301, he greatly 

 diftinguifhed himfelf, and after its lofs by Demetrius, he 

 fecured for him the Greek cities, with the care of which he 

 had been entrufted. When a treaty of peace was con- 

 cluded between Demetrius and Ptolemy Lagus, king of 

 Egypt, Pyrrhus confented to be one of the hoftages fent 

 into that country for the performance of the conditions. 

 In the Egyptian court he excited general admiration by his 

 amiable and correft behaviour, and his dexterity in martial 

 «xercifes ; and he obtained from the king his daughter 

 Antigone in marriage. The next ftep was to reftorc him 

 to his throne, which was eft'efted by an armament fupplied 

 by Ptolemy, with the aid of which he defeated Neopto- 

 lemus. That prince, however, being fupported by his 

 allies, P)Trhus confented to allot him a fhare of his domi- 

 .nions ; but fuch a partnerihip was not likely to be durable, 

 and Neoptolemus, it was laid, attempted to poifon Pyr- 

 rhus, which gave the latter a pretence to order his death. 

 He being fettled on the tiirone of Epirus, began to ex- 

 ecute thoie fchemes of ambition, in which the remainder of 

 his life was fpent. A civil war raging between the two 

 fons of Callander, in Macedonia, one of them, Alexander, 

 applied to Pyrrhus for afiillance. He gladly took occafion 

 of interfering in the affairs of that kingdom, and being 

 put in poflefhon of all its maritime towns, proceeded to 

 conquer the rell for Alexander. A peace was made, by 

 which Macedonia was divided between the two brothers, 

 and Pyrrhus feems to have withdrawn his troops to his own 

 country. Shortly after, Demetrius made himfelf mailer 

 of the kingdom, and notwithftanding their former friend- 

 Ihip, hoflilities enfued between him and Pyrrhus, who 

 harafl'ed him by incurfions into Thell'aly. They mutually 



invaded each other's kingdoms ; and in one inftancf, Pyr- 

 rhus gained lo complete a viftory over the principal general 

 of his antagouitl, and difplayed fo much courage, that he 

 ilruck with admiration the Macedonians whom he had de- 

 feated, who deferted their own king, and chofe Pyrrhus for 

 their fovereign. This occurred in the year B.C. 287. He 

 held this crown, however, a fhort time ; for Lyfimachus, 

 in the following year, entering the country with a power- 

 ful army, and remonllrating againft the injuitice of confer- 

 ring the kingdom on a foreigner, in prejudice to him, a 

 native and commander under Alexander the Great, the 

 allegiance of the Macedonians feemed to Pyrrhus fo little 

 to be relied on, that he witiidrew from the conteit, and re- 

 turned to Epirus. The Romans, engaged in a war with 

 the Tarentines, looked for afiillance to Pyrrhus. This 

 prince eagerly liftened to the propofal, and communicated 

 his determination to his prime-miniiter Cyneaa, who, being 

 more prudent than his mailer, endeavoured to dilTuade him 

 from it. The enterprize was, however, refolved on, and 

 Cyneas was fent with a body of troops to Tarentum, 

 where he fubverted the Roman influence, which was begin- 

 ning to prevail, and obtained the command of the citadel 

 for an Epirot officer. Pyrrhus followed, and having left 

 his fon Ptolemy regent of Epirus, lauded in Italy, in the 

 year 280 B.C., bringing with him an army of about 25,000 

 men, of whom 7000 were Macedonians, the veteran foldiers 

 of Alexander the Great. He alfo brought a number of 

 war-elephants, which was the firft: time that thefe animals 

 were feen, in that charafter, in Italy. He was greatly en- 

 dangered in his pafTage by a ftorm, which difperfed his 

 fleet, and deftroyed fome of the fhips that kept company 

 with him. On his arrival at Tarentum, he began to correft 

 the licentious manners of the inhabitants, and enure them 

 to military difcipline. At length he marched out to meet 

 the Roman conful Valerius Lasvinus, who was waiting for 

 him on the bank of the Siris, in Lucania. The engage- 

 ment was extremely obflinate, and Pyrrhus, who exerted 

 himfelf in a manner worthy of his high reputation, was in 

 great perfonal danger. Viftory, however, decided in hi» 

 favour, and he took pofiefiion of the enemy's camp. In 

 interring the dead he made no diflinftion between his own 

 men and the foldiers of his antagonift, but bellowed due 

 encomia upon the bravery of his fallen foes. He followed 

 up his viftory, and had proceeded fo far as to obtain a dif- 

 tant view of Rome. Tlie advance of the other conful 

 obliged him to retire, and he finifhed his campaign by re- 

 turning to Tarentum. Senfible that he had engaged in 

 no eafy tafl<, he was delighted to receive an embaffy from 

 the Romans, which he imagined was to folicit peace, but 

 it was only to negociate an exchange of prifoners. In 

 this embally was included the virtuous Fabricius, whom he 

 in vain attempted to gain to his intereft by large offers. 

 He then attempted to make a treaty, and fent his miniller, 

 Cyneas, to Rome for that purpofe, but was unfuccefsful. 



In the next campaign, two confuls with their armies 

 marched againft the king of Epirus ; the battle was ex- 

 tremely bloody, and the viftory fo indecifive, that both par- 

 ties claimed it : one of the confuls was killed, and Pyrrhus 

 was feverely wounded ; and fuch was the lofs of mea, that 

 to one who congratulated him as having been the conqueror, 

 he frankly replied, " fuch another viftory will ruin me." 

 Both the confuls of the next year, one of whom was 

 Fabricius, were employed to oppofe Pyrrhus, who had re- 

 ceived frefti reinforcements from Epirus. They advanced to 

 the Tarentine territory, where, while they were feeking an 

 opportunity to engage, an offer was made them by the 

 phyfician of Pyrrhus, to take him off by poifon. Deteft- 



ing 



