P Y R 



P Y R 



iiig the treachery, they informed the king of his danger, 

 which fo affected him, that he immediately liberated all his 

 Roman prifoners without a raniom. He now fent Cyneas 

 to Rome to renew the attempt at negociation, but was 

 again nnfuccefsful. During the ilate of perplexity which 

 a refufal had thrown him into, he was invited by the Syra- 

 cufans and others to lend his aid againft the Carthaginians, 

 who had eftablilhed themfelves in Sicily. He accordingly 

 i'eizcd the pretext for'changing the field of adlion, and em- 

 barked the whole army for that idand, leaving only a llrong 

 garrifon in Tarentum. On his arrival he was received with 

 general acclamations, and all the public force of Syracufe 

 was put into his hands. He was foon fo completely fuc- 

 cefsful, that the Carthaginians fent deputies to Pyrrhus to 

 treat for peace, but he refufed to lillen to any other con- 

 dition, than that of their entirely evacuating the idand. 

 In confidence of fuccefs, he caufed a fon to be proclaimed 

 king of Sicily, and then made preparations to crofs over 

 into Africa, and carry tlie war into the Carthaginian terri- 

 tories. Thefe projefts were not agreeable to the Sicilians, 

 who became alienated froni him, and whom he treated not 

 as friends, but as a conquered people. After this he 

 quitted Sicily, and embarked for Italy ; in his voyage he 

 was encountered at fea by a Carthaginian fleet, which funk 

 a number of his veflels and difperfed the reft, fo that he 

 reached a port in Italy with no more than twelve fail. Six 

 years did he confume in Italy and Sicily, inflifting and fuffer- 

 ing all the evils of war, and finally exhaufted in force, and with 

 diminifhed reputation. Hisreftlefs fpirit was not fubdued ; 

 and for the purpofe of employing and paying his foldiers, 

 in conjunftion with a body of Gauls, he made an irruption 

 into iVIaccdonia, where Antigonus Gonatus then reigned. 

 His fuccefs was beyond his expeftations, for he not only 

 obtained the pillage of many cities, but defeated Antigonus 

 in battle, and wrelled from him almoft the whole kingdom. 

 He now marched with a powerful army into the Pelopon- 

 nefus, at the requeft of Cleonymus, and appearing before 

 Sparta, required the inhabitants to "receive his friend as 

 their king. Upon their determination to refill this mandate, 

 he attacked the city, but was repulfed with the lofs of 

 many men : he now retired to Argos, where, through the 

 treachery of Arilleas, a bloody conflift enfued, during 

 which, a woman, who faw Pyrrhus juft going to kill her 

 fon, hurled a tile from the top of the houfe, which brought 

 the king to the ground. In this ftate a Macedonian 

 dragged him to a porch, and was going to cut off his head, 

 when Pyrrhus opened his eyes, and gave him fo fierce a 

 look, that his trembling hand failed in its office, and it was 

 not till after repeated ftrokes, that he could execute his 

 purpofe. Thus in the year 272 B.C. terminated the life 

 and exploits of this great warrior, whofe career of reitlefs 

 enterprize death alone could ftop. His military fl<ill was 

 held in the higheft eftimation by the Romans, who were 

 fo well able to judge of it by experience. Hannibal con- 

 fidered Pyrrhus as fecond only to Alexander, as a great 

 general. He is faid to have been the firft who underllood 

 the art of encampments, and of properly drawing up an 

 army, and fome treatifes wliich he wrote on thefe fubjefts 

 are mentioned by the ancients. He was brave to the bor- 

 ders of rafhnefs, and fometimes loft the commander in the 

 foldier. He had unbounded ambition, and a difpofitiou 

 perpetually to engage in new enterprizes, for which, as we 

 have feen, he readily abandoned fuch as proved more diffi- 

 cult than he had expetted. He was fond of glory, but 

 was poftisned of generofity, which difpofed him to aifts of 

 kindnefs, and to a grateful acknowledgment of obligations. 

 All his fons were wai-like, and he encouraged the difpofi- 



tion by the declaration, that he would leave the kingdom 

 of Epirus to him who had the fliarpcft fword. 



PvuKllUS Campus, or Pyrrhon Pedium, in Ancient Geo- 

 graphy, a canton of Africa, in Mauritania Tingitana, in 

 the country of the Neftiberes, according to Ptolemy. 



Pyhkiiu.s Campus, a canton of Alrica, in Interior Libya, 

 between the country of the Leucaethiopes and that of the 

 Perorfi, according to Ptolemy. 



Pykbhus Mons, a mountain of India, on the fea-coaft, 

 on this fide of the Ganges, accordnig to the Periplus of 

 Arrian. 



PYRRSTEIN, iR Geography, a town of Auftria ; 10 

 miles N.W. of Lintz. 



PYRSEPHORUS, Ili-fTn^ofo-, in the Athenian feftival, 

 Hephasftia, the fame with Lampadiphorus. 



PYRULARIA, in Botany, fo called, as it feems, be- 

 caufe the fruit relembles a little pear, Michaux Boreali- 

 Amer. v. 2. 231 ; has recciv d a new appellation from 

 Willdenow in his v. 4. 1 1 14, Hamillonia, which Mr. Purfh 

 adopts, in his Flora, 178. — This genus, referred by Mi- 

 chaux and Willdenow to Dioecia Pentandria, is placed by 

 Purfti in Pentandria Monogynia, though he allows it to be 

 dioecious. It is faid to be allied to Nvssa. See that 

 article. 



Eft. Cli. Calyx fuperior, five-cleft. Corolla none. 

 Neclary a five-toothed difk. Drupa. Flowers dioecious. 



I. Hamlhonia oleifcra of Purfli, Pyrularia pubera of Mi- 

 chaux, is the only known fpecies, a native ot Ihady woods, 

 on the mountains of Pennfylvania, in Virginia, near the 

 fweet fprings, and in Carohna, flowering in May and June. 

 This is -d JJiritb, from four to fix feet high, very downy, 

 with alternate, oblong, pointed, entire leaves. Stipulas 

 none. Flsiucrs very Imall, greenifti-yellow, in terminal 

 clujlers. Fruit known in North America by the name of 

 Oil-nut. The root is faid by Michaux to have an unpleafant 

 fmell. 



PYRUS, an ancient Latin name, which botanifts have 

 adopted, but of which the moft correfl. orthography per- 

 haps would be Plrus. This will appear as we trace its 

 etymology, but more trouble than good would now arife 

 from fuch a correftion. The generality of critics have 

 given rather a forced derivation of this word, from its 

 Greek fynonym, airi. , the a being fuppofed cutoff, and 

 an r introduced ; but De Theis has propofed a much more 

 probable one, from the Celtic peren, whence the Anglo- 

 Saxons have taken pere, the Englifh pear, and the French 

 poire. According to the fame writer, api, the Celtic name 

 of a fruit of the fame kind, is the origin of the Greek ktio,-, 

 the German apfel, and our apple. Api is even the particular 

 name of one fort of apple, in the French language. — Linn. 

 Gen. 251. Schreb. 339. Willd. Sp. PI. v. 2. 1012. 

 Mart. Mill. Dia. v. 3. Sm. Fl. Brit. 531. Prodr. Fl. 

 Grac. Sibth. v. I. Ait. Hort. Kew. v. 3. 207. Purfh 

 339. Jufi. 335. Tourn. t. 404. Lamarck Illuftr. t. 435. 

 Gaertn. t. 87. (Mains j Jufl. 334. Tourn. t. 406. Cy- 

 donia; JufT. 335. Tourn. t. 405. Sorbus ; Linn. Gen. 

 250. Schreb. 338. Juff. 335. Lamarck Illuftr. t. 434. 

 Crataegus ; Linn. Gen. 250. Schreb. 338. Jufl. 335. 

 Lamarck Illuftr. t. 433.) — Clafs and order, Icofandrta Pen- 

 tagynia. Nat. Ord. Pomacete, Linn. Rofacex, JufT. 



Gen. Ch. Cal. Perianth fuperior, of one leaf, concave, 

 with five fpreading fegments, permanent. Cor. Petals five, 

 roundifli, concave, inferted by their claws into the calyx. 

 Stam. Filaments twenty, awl-fhaped, fhorter than the co- 

 rolla, inferted into the calyx ; anthers fimple, roundifh. 

 Pijl. Germen inferior, roundifh ; ityles from two to five, 

 thread-fhaped, the length of the Itamens ; ftigmas bluntifh. 



Peric. 



