594 
PAR 
by their own fuperftitious credulity ; but, on behalf of 
others, whole fagacity, learning, and good fenfe, were 
abundantly difcovered in other matters, no fuch plea can 
be admitted. With Dr. Moflieitn we fay, that “we can 
ealily account for the delufions of weak enthufiafts, or the 
tricks of egregious impolfors; but, when we fee men of 
piety and judgment appearing in defence of fuch mira¬ 
cles as thole now under confideration, we mud conclude, 
that they look upon fraud as lawful in the fupport of a 
good caufe, and make no fcruple of deceiving the people, 
when they propofe, by this delufion, to confirm and pro¬ 
pagate what they take to be the truth.” 
PAR'IS (Matthew). See Matthew, vol. xiv. p. 545. 
PARISCAT'TY, a town of Hindooftan, in Oude: 
twenty-five miies ealt of Goorackpour. 
PAR'ISI-I, f. [parochia , low Lat. paroijfe, Fr. from the 
Greek vrafoix tx, habitation ; of rnzpx, with, and oiy.su, to 
dwell.] The particular charge of a fecular prielt.—Our 
realm was firlt divided into parifhes by Honorius, arch- 
bilhop of Canterbury, in the year of our Lord 636. Cowel. 
—By the catholic church is meant no more than the com¬ 
mon church, into which all fuch perfons as belonged to 
that parijh, in which it was built, were wont to congregate. 
Peaijhn. 
The tythes his parijh freely paid he took ; 
But never fu’d, or curs’d with bell or book. Dryden. 
In the ancient church there was one large edifice in 
each city for the people to meet in ; and this they called 
parochia, parilh. But the fignification of the word was 
afterwards enlarged ; and by aparifh was meant a diocefe, 
or the extent of the jurifdiCtion of a bilhop, confining of 
feveral churches, unlefs we will fuppofe, as fome do, that 
thole bilhops were only pallors of Angle churches. Du- 
pin ohlerves, that country parifhes had not their origin 
before the 4th century; but thofe of cities are more an¬ 
cient. The city ol Alexandria is faid to have been the 
firlt that was divided into parilhes. 
Of the firlt divifion of parifhes, indeed, there is no 
certain information; for, in the early ages of Chriltian- 
ity in this illand, parilhes were unknown, or at 1 ealt fig- 
nified the fame that a diocefe now does. There was then 
no appropriation of ecclelialtical dues to any particular 
church, but every man was at liberty to contribute his 
tithes to any prielt or church he pleafed ; but he was 
obliged to do it to fome; or, if he made no fpecial appro¬ 
priation thereof, they were paid to the bilhop, whofeduty 
it was to dillribute them among the clergy, and for other 
pious purpofes, according to his own difcretion. Cam¬ 
den fays, England was divided into parifhes by archbilhop 
Honorius about the year 630. Sir Henry Hobart main¬ 
tains that parilhes were firlt eredted by the council of La- 
teran, held A.D. 1179. But Selden proves, that the 
clergy lived in common, without any divifion of parifhes, 
long after the time mentioned by Camden ; and it appears 
from the Saxon laws, that parilhes were in being long be¬ 
fore the council of Lateran. The diftinftion of parilhes 
occurs in the laws of king Edgar, about the year 970. 
It feems pretty clear and certain, fays Blackltone, (1 Com. 
112.) that the boundaries of parilhes were firlt ascertained 
by thofe of a manor or manors; becaufe it very feldotn 
happens that a manor extends itfelf over more than one 
parilh, though one parilh often includes many manors. 
The lords, he adds, as Chriftianity fpread, began to build 
churches upon their own demefnes or waltes, in order to 
accommodate their tenants in one or two adjoining lord- 
Ihips; and, that they might have divine fervice regularly 
performed therein, obliged all their tenants to appropri¬ 
ate their tithes to the maintenance of the one officiating 
minifter, inltead of leaving them at liberty to dillribute 
them among the clergy of the diocefe in general; and 
this traft of land, the tithes of which were fo appropri¬ 
ated, formed a diltindt parilh. And this accounts for the 
frequent intermixture of parifhes one with another : for, 
if a lord had a parcel of land detached from the main of 
PAR ^ 
his eltate, but not fufficient to form a parilh of itfelf, it 
was natural for him to endow his newly-eredted church 
with the tithes of fuch lands. 
Camden reckons 9284 parilhes in England ; and Cham- 
berlayne makes 9913. They are now generally reckoned 
about 10,000. 
Extra-parochial waltes and marfh-lands, when improved 
and drained, are, by 17 Geo. II. cap. 37. to be altelTed to 
all parochial rates in the parilh next adjoining. 
PAR'ISH, adj. Belonging to the parilh ; having the 
care of the parilh.—The parijh allowance to poor people, 
is very feldom a comfortable maintenance. Law. 
A parijh prielt was of the pilgrim train, 
An awful, reverend, and religious, man. Dryden. 
Maintained by the parilh.—The gholt and the parijh girl 
are entire new charafters. Gay. 
PARISH-CLER'K, f. See vol. iv. p.665. The fol¬ 
lowing description of a parifh-clerk, which appeared in 
the Examiner of Sunday, Augult the 22d, 1819, we 
think fufficiently witty without being offenfive. “The 
office of parifh-clerk is one of extreme venerablenefs and 
antiquity. Next in dignity to the clergy, faith Leland ; 
femi-ecclelialtic, according to Camden. Witty Fuller 
likeneth him, in his Church Hiftory, to the bat, half¬ 
bird half-beaft, yet fo as there is more in him of the for¬ 
mer than of the latter; his clergy wings do outweigh the 
laic or moufe part of h im. He is the mouth-piece of the 
congregation, faith Hooker. Mouth of mouths, accor¬ 
ding to bilhop Bull; the connecting link between the 
minifter and people. Coufin, twice removed, to the vicar, 
faith another; note, that the curate is betwixt. Bell- 
weather to the flock, faith bilhop Andrews, fpeaking it 
in honour. Spelman doubteth whether he be not enti¬ 
tled to a portion of the lefler tythes, fay a tenth. From 
all which exprefiions, though fome of them leem run up 
into a height of metaphor and allegory greater peradven- 
ture than the matter foberly confidered will bear, we may 
yet gather in what kind of eftimation antiquity hath held 
the function.” 
The Company of Parish-Clerks is the moll ancient 
in the city of London; yet they Hand at the bottom of 
the lift, we cannot tell why; (fee vol. xiii. p. 602, 615.) 
and have neither livery, nor the privilege ot making their 
members free of the city. 
PARISH-OF'FICERS, f. Churchwardens, overfeers, 
and conftables. Divers perfons are exempted from fer- 
ving parilh-offices on account of their profeflions; viz. 
phyficians, furgeons, and apothecaries; dillenting teach¬ 
ers ; perfons having profecuted certain felons to convic¬ 
tion, &c. 
PARISH PRIE'ST, f. The parfon or minifter who 
holds a parilh as a benefice. If the predial tithes are ap¬ 
propriated, the parfon is called redtor. It they are impro¬ 
priated, he is called vicar. 
As to the fituation and emoluments of the parilh-priefts 
in the city of London, fee that article, p. 600, 1. 
PARISH-REG'ISTERS, J. See Bills of Mortality, 
vol: xvi. p. 18 & feq. > 
PARISH'IONER,/ One that belongs to the parilh. 
—I praife the Lord for you, and fo may my parijhioners ; 
for their fons are well tutor’d by you. Shaliejpeare. 
Hail bilhop Valentine, whofe day this is. 
All the air is thy diocefe ; 
And all the chirping chorilters 
And other birds are thy parijhioners. Donne. 
Parishioners are a body politic to many purpofes ; as, 
to vote at a vellry if they pay feat and lot; and they have 
a foie right to raife taxes for their own relief, without 
the interpofition of any fuperior court; may make bye¬ 
laws to mend the highways, and to make banks to keep 
out the fea, and for repairing the church, and making a 
bridge, &c. or any fuch thing for the public good 4 and, 
by flat. 3 & 4 W. III. c. 11, to tax and levy poor-rates, 
4 and 
