P M D 
P JE D 
poetry; fo called, as commonly fuppofed, becaufe appro¬ 
priated to the hymn Paan; though Quintilian derives 
the name from its inventor Pceon, a phyfician.—There 
were four kinds of feet called pecans. The firft confifts of 
four fyllables, one of which is long, and the reft (hort, as 
colligere; the (econd is compofed of a (hort, a long, and 
two Ihorts, as refolvere; the third, of two long, a (hort, 
and a long, as communicant; and the fourth, of three (hort 
and one long, as temeritas. Chambers. 
P-SsCIL'IA, ./I in ichthyology, a name given by Scho- 
neveldt to the Cobitis foftilis. 
PFEDARE'TUS, a Spartan who, on not being defied 
in the number of the 300 fent on an expedition, See. de¬ 
clared, that, inftead of being mortified, he rejoiced that 
300 men better than himfelf could be found in Sparta. 
Plutarch. 
PFEDE'RI A, f. [fo called by Linnaeus from pcetleros, 
an opal, in allufion to the tranfparency and changeable 
colour of its berry.] Opal-berry; in botany, a genus 
of the clafs pentandria, order monogynia, natural order 
of contortoe, (rubiacese, Jnjf. ) Generic characters—Ca¬ 
lyx perianthium one-leafed, turbinate, five-toothed, per¬ 
manent. Corolla : one-petalled, funnel-form, hirfute 
within ; border five-parted, fmall. Stamina : filaments 
five, awl-fliaped, very fhort, from the middle of the tube ; 
antherae oblong, (liorter than the corolla. Piftillum : ger- 
men roundifli; ftyle capillary, bifid, the length of the co¬ 
rolla; ftigmas fimple. Pericarpium : berry brittle, ovate, 
inflated. Seeds: two, ovate.— EJJential Charader. Con¬ 
torted ; berry void, brittle, two-feeded ; ftyle bifid. There 
are two diftinCt fpecies. 
1. Pasderia feetida, or (linking opal-berry : ftamens in¬ 
cluded. Stem twining, filiform, fmooth, and even. Leaves 
oppofite,petioled, cordate, acuminate, quite entire, nerved, 
fpreading a little, paler underneath, an inch long, very 
fmooth, and even. When the plant is young the leaves 
are lanceolate; but, in its more advanced ftate, they are 
ovate. Flowers axillary, in brachiate panicles, coming 
out fucceflively. Calyx (uperior, fmooth ; fegments acute, 
ereCt, feveral times (liorter than the corolla. Tube of the 
corolla inflated, white-tomentofe on the outfide, within 
purple, white-villofe at top. Fruit, a berry crowned with 
the calyx, globular, when unripe green, very fmooth and 
brittle, commonly two celled, fometimes, but rarely, three- 
celled. Seeds two or three. Frequently the calyx is feven- 
leaved, and the corolla feven-cleft; fometimes the calyx is 
fix-leaved. It is now-and-then found with feven ftamens. 
In drying the plant turns black. It is a native of China, 
the Eart Indies, and the ifland of Mauritius. It is a climb¬ 
ing fhrub, with long, fmooth, (lender, twining, com¬ 
pound, leafy, branches, fpreading to a great extent over 
the neighbouring bullies and trees. Rumphius fays the 
leaves are very foetid when rubbed, or when the fun fliines 
upon them, infomuch that thole who pafs by where the 
plant grows are greatly annoyed with the fmell. This 
plant is faid to have been brought to Kew in 1806, but 
has not yet flowered. One of Linnaeus’s fpecimens from 
China, on which the (hining berries, though dried, are 
very beautiful, has heart-fhaped leaves, exaCtly like 
Kasmpfer’s plate, with very-downy (talks both to the 
leaves and flower. Molt fpecimens accord with the figures 
of Rumphius and Lamarck; yet we do not fee fuffleient 
grounds to diftinguifti theirs, as a fpecies, from that of 
Ksempfer. 
2. Pasderia fragrans, or fragrant opal-berry : ftamens 
not included ; leaves elliptical; panicles corymbofe; ger¬ 
med downy; tube of the corolla fmooth. Gathered in 
woods in the ifland of Mauritius by Commerfon, who, 
taking it for a new genus, named it Danais, in allufion to 
the hiftory of the Danaides, who murdered their hufbands ; 
“ becaufe,” lays he, “ where, the flowers of this plant are 
luxuriant, the male or the female organs are rendered 
abortive.” This is abundantly diftinCt from the firft 
fpecies, in its more-elliptical and brighter-coloured leaves; 
but more efpecially in its corymbofe downy panicles, 
c VoL. XVIII. No. 1 a34. 
181 ? 
downy germen and calyx, and longer more-flender co¬ 
rolla, vvhofe tube is quite fmooth, even though the limb 
be fometimes (lightly hairy at the back. The flowers are 
faid to have the feent of a Narciflus, but even more de¬ 
lightful; their colour is red. 
PFEDERO'TA, f. [derivation unknown.] In botany, 
a genus of the clafs diandria, order monogynia, natural 
order of perfonatae, (fcrophularias, Ja/f.) Generic cha¬ 
racters—Calyx: perianthium five-parted; leaflets linear, 
equal, fpreading, permanent. Corolla: one-petalled, fome- 
what wheel-fhaped, four-cleft, blunt; upper lobe wider, 
generally emarginate. Stamina: filaments two, filiform, 
attending, (horter than the corolla; antherse converging, 
ovate, acute, two-valved. Piftillum : germen ovate ; ftyle 
awl-(haped, bent down, the length of the ftamens, perma¬ 
nent. Pericarpium : capfule ovate, longer than the calyx, 
two-celled, opening at top. Seeds: very many, roundifh. 
— EJJential Character. Corolla four-cleft; calyx five- 
parted ; capfule two-celled. There are three fpecies. 
1. Pasderota Ageria: leaves ovate-acuminate; helmet 
of the corollas bifid. Stems fimple; the lower leaves al¬ 
ternate, dry, wrinkled, not fhining; helmet bifid and en¬ 
tire, afeending. Native of Italy and Carniola. It has the 
trivial name from Agerius, who firft found it near Vicenza- 
2. Pasderota Bonarota: leaves roundiflr-ovate ; helmet 
of the corollas entire. Root branched, fibrous, perennial. 
Stems round, fimple, villofe, erect. Leaves oppofite, 
acutely-ferrate. Coroila yellow', four lines in length, with 
the lip equally trifid. The cells of the capfule feparate in 
fuch a manner, that they might be taken for two capfules,. 
if it were not for the Angle receptacle. Seeds rufous, 
tw'enty-five at mod in a cell. 
p. Micheli’s N°2. t. 15-. f. 2. with a rounder leaf, is a 
variety of this. Scopoli has given eight varieties. Thefe 
are natives of the mountains of Aultria, Carniola, and 
Italy. Micheli named thefe plants Bonarota, from Filippo 
Bonarota, fenator of Florence, fellow of the Botanic Aca¬ 
demy there, &c. 
3. Paederota minima, a doubtful fpecies : leaves oblong, 
entire, oppofite: flowers axillary, oppofite; teeth of the 
calyxes hirfute within. This has the appearance of Ela- 
tine hydropiper. Stems an inch and a half high, feldom 
branched, rooting at the bafe. Leaves blunt, quite en¬ 
tire, naked. Flowers feflile, folitary. Calyx five-cornered, 
bell-ftiaped, with the teeth hirfute within. Native of the 
Eaft Indies, where it was found by Koenig, on whofe au¬ 
thority it is placed in this genus. 
4. Paederota racemofa. See Hemimeris montana. 
PFE'DO-BAP'TISM, f. [from the Gr. mi?, Trail'd)-, 
infant, and baptifm.] Infant-baptifm, or that conferred 
on children. Hence, 
PjEDO-Baftists are thofe who maintain that baptifm 
fliould be adminiftered to infants, as praCtifed in the 
church of England. In fupport of this -opinion, they 
plead, that if infants, under the Chriltian difpenfation, 
were excluded from the privilege of baptifm, the Chriftian 
inftitution mult appear, in this refpeCt, to be lefs complete 
and perfect than that of the jews ; and it is not likely, by 
arguing a priori, that God wouldappoint an external iign 
of peculiar diftinCtion and benefit for children under the 
patriarchal and Jewifli conftitution, without any (imilar 
appointment under the Chriftian difpenfation, more ef¬ 
pecially as the firft profelytes to Chrillianity, and thofe 
in particular who were converted from among the Jews, 
would naturally expeCt fome token of diftinCtion and pri¬ 
vilege, comprehending their children, and refembling in 
its defign, though milder in its nature, that which Chrif-. 
tianity had abrogated. This expectation was farther en¬ 
couraged by the very condefcending and affectionate man¬ 
ner in which our Lord expreflfes himfelf concerning in¬ 
fants; particularly when he fays, Mark x. 14. Of fuch is 
the kingdom of God; which fome underftand to fignify,' 
that the rights and privileges of the Chriftian church be-; 
long to fuch. 
Mr. Wall has endeavoured to (how, from the books of, 
3 C ' the 
