PEN 
that facrainent were made of white linen ; and from this 
caufe enfued the fynonymous names of Whit-Sunday, 
White-Sunday, Whitin-Sunday, or Dominica Alba. Much 
ingenuity, however, has been exerted to prove that Whit* 
Sunday is derived from the French word knit, which fig- 
nifies eight, thereby making the affirmed original name 
Eighth Sunday , which Whit-Sunday Hands from Eafter, 
reckoning Eafter-Sunday as one of them. Some authors 
ftate that it was a cuftom of former times, for the rich to 
bellow upon the poor, on this day, all the milk of their 
kine, in order to qualify thetnfelves to receive the gift of 
the Holy Ghoft 5 and, that milk having been denominated 
white meat , the day was from that caufe called White 
Sunday. Other authorities contend that the original name 
of this feafon of the year was Wittentide, or the time of 
choofing the wits, or wife men , to the wittehagemote of our 
Saxon anceftors; that the day was confecrated to Hertha, 
the goddefs of peace and feftivity ; that, when Paganiftn 
gave way to Chriftianity, the period ftill kept its primitive 
title, as well as that given to it of Pentecoft 1 and that 
moll of the feftivities of the Wittentide were continued to 
the people, which they yet enjoy in a manner not much 
furpaffing, in a religious point of view, tfaofe they before 
indulged in. Some writers again fuppofe the word to 
have been corrupted from Wied, the Saxon word for 
filtered ; but they do not offer any good arguments for 
fuch title being bellowed upon this Sunday, in preference 
to others at lead as facred in their objefl, Pencas and 
Penkaji in the Cornilh language, now totally loft, figni- 
fied Whitfuntidej both evidently corruptions of Pente¬ 
coft. Brady's Clavis Calendaria. 
PENTECOS'TAL, adj. Belonging to Whitfuntide.— 
I have compofed fundry colle£ls, made up out of the 
church-collefls with fome little variation 5 as the collefls 
adventual, quadragefimal, palchal, or pentecojlal. Sander - 
Jon. 
PENTECOS'TALS, f. Oblations formerly made at the 
fealt of Pentecoft by parifhioners to their parilh-priell, 
and fome times by inferior churches to the mother church. 
A- payment of this kind yet remains as a charge upon 
fome particular churches; otherwife called Whitfun-far- 
things. 
PEN'TECOSTE, a river of Canada, which runs into 
the river St. Laurence in lat. 49. 45. N. Ion. 66. 45. W. 
PEN'TECOSTE. See Whitsunday Island. 
PENTEKE'LIS, or Pent Ekelis, a town of Afiatic 
Turkey, on the fouth coaft of Natolia : thirty miles welt- 
fouth-weft of Macri. 
PENTEL'ICUS, a mountain of Greece: fix miles 
north-north-eall of Athens. 
PEN'TEMAN (Peter), a Dutch painter, born at Rot¬ 
terdam in 1650. Nothing is recorded of him except the 
caufe of his death. Being requelled to paint an emble¬ 
matical picture of mortality, reprefenting human Ikuils 
and bones, furrounded with rich gems and mufical inftru- 
ments, to exprefs the vanity of this world’s pleafures, 
amufements, of poffeflions ; that he might imitate nature 
with the greater exa£lnefs, he went into an anatomical 
room, where feveral Ikeletons hung by wires from the 
ceiling, and bones and fkulis lay fcattered about, and pre¬ 
pared to make his defigns. While he was thus employ¬ 
ed, owing either to fatigue or to intenfe ftudy, he fell 
afleep; but was fuddenly roufed by the (liock of an earth¬ 
quake, which happened at that inftant, on the 18th of 
September, 169a. The moment he awoke, he obferved 
the Ikeletons move, as they were ftiaken, in different di¬ 
rections, and the fkulis roll from one fide of the room to 
the other 1 being totally ignorant of the caufe, he was 
ftruek with fuch horror, that he threw himfelf down 
flairs, and fell into the llreet half dead. His friends took 
all pofiible pains to efface the impreffion made on his 
mind by this unlucky event, and acquainted him with 
the real caufe of the agitation of the Ikeletons; but in 
vain 5 for this tranfaftion affefled his fpirits in fo violent 
Vol. XIX. No. 1346. 
PEN 571 
a manner, that it brought on a diforder, which in a fhort 
time ended his days. 
PENTEPHAR'MACUM, f [from the Gr. mm, five, 
and <pa.gy.cx.KOii, a remedy.] Any medicine confiding of five 
ingredients. 
PENTE'RIS, f. [Lat.] A veffel made with five benches 
of oars on a fide. 
PENTESYRIN'GUS, Ji in antiquity, a fort of pillory 
with five holes 1 wherein were faftened the legs, arms, and 
heads, of criminals, to prevent their ftirring. 
PENTHEMIM'ERIS, /. [from the Gr. wim, five, 
vpiarvq, half, and yegoq, a part.] A part of a verfe confid¬ 
ing of two feet and one long fyllable ; a kind of csefura. 
PENTHESILE'A,.a queen of the Amazons, daughter 
of Mars. She came to affift Priam in the lall years of the 
Trojan war, and fought again ft Achilles, by whom {he 
was (lain. The hero was fo ftruek with the beauty of 
Penthefilea, when he ftripped her of her arms, that he even 
died tears for having too violently facrificed her to his 
fury. Therfites laughed at the partiality of the hero, for 
which- ridicule he was inftantly killed. The death of 
Therfites fo offended Diomedes, that he dragged the body 
of Penthefilea out of the camp, and threw it into the Sca- 
mander. Pliny fays that Penthefilea invented the battle- 
axe. 
PEN'THEUS, in fabulous hiftory, a fon of Echion and 
Agave, was king of Thebes in Boeotia. His refufal to 
acknowledge the divinity of Bacchus was attended with 
the moft fatal confequences. He forbad his fubjedts to 
pay adoration to this new god ; and, when the Theban 
women had gone out of the city to celebrate the orgies 
of Bacchus, Pentheus, apprized of the debauchery which 
attended the foletnnity, ordered the god himfelf, who 
conduced the religious multitude, to be feized. His 
orders were obeyed with reluctance ; but, .when the doors 
of the prifon in which Bacchus had been confined opened 
of their own accord, Pentheus became more irritated, and 
commanded .his foldiers to deltroy the whole baud of the 
bacchanals. This, however, was not executed ; for Bac¬ 
chus infpired the monarch with the ardent defire of feeing 
the celebration of the orgies. Accordingly he hid him¬ 
felf in a wood on mount Cifhseron, from whence he could 
fee all the ceremonies unperceived. But here his curiofity 
foon proved fatal; he was deferied by the bacchanals, 
and they all rufhed upon him. His mother was the fir ft 
who attacked him, and her example was inftantly follow¬ 
ed by her two fillers, Ino and Autonoe, and his body 
was torn to pieces. 
PENTHI'ER POI'NT, a cape on the weft coaft of 
France: fix miles fouth-eaft of Point St. Matthew. Lat. 
48.15. N. Ion. 3. 17. W. 
PENTHIE'VRE, a fort of France, in the department 
of the Morbihan, fituated on the peninfula of Quiberon, 
on the eaft and weft fides wafhed by the fea: feven miles 
north of Quiberon, and nine fouth-weft of Auray. 
PENTHO'RUM, f [appears to have been fo called, 
by Grovonius, from onvU, five, and o^oj, a column or poll, 
in allufion to the figure of the fruit, which he fays refem- 
bles five turrets.] In botany, a genus of the clafs decan- 
dria, order pentagynia, natural order of fucculentae, (fem- 
pervivse, JuJJ.) Genericcharafters—Calyx: perianthium 
one-leafed, five or ten cleft, acute, permanent. Corolla: 
petals often five (feldom none), linear, very final!, between 
the fegments of the calyx. Stamina: filaments ten, 
brittle, fliaped, equal, twice as long as the calyx, permanent; 
antherae roundilh, deciduous. Piftillum : germen colour¬ 
ed, ending in five conical upright flyles, the fame length 
with the ftamens, and diftant; ftigmas blunt. Pericar- 
pium : capfule fimple, five-cleft, with conical diftant an¬ 
gles, five-celled. Seeds numerous, very ftnall, a little 
compreffed. It differs from Sedum in having no nedlaries. 
• —EJfential Character. Calyx five (or ten) cleft; petals 
none, or five; capfule five-cufped, five-celled j (com¬ 
pound, five-beaked, Gartner.) 
Pen- 
