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of powders for drying rheums are notfo ftrongas perfumes; 
you may have them continually in your hand, whereas 
perfumes you can take but at times. Bacon, — Perfumes, 
though grofs bodies that may be fenfibly wafted, yet fill 
the air, fo that we can put our nofe in no part of a room 
where a perfume is burned, but we fmell it. Digby .— 
Sweet odour; fragrance.—And in fome perfumes is there 
more delight. ShakeJ'peare's Sonnets. 
Even the rough rocks with tender myrtle bloom, 
And trodden weeds fend out a rich perfume. Addifon. 
Perfumes are generally made up of mulk, ambergris, 
civet, rofe and cedar woods, orange-flowers, jeflamines, 
jonquils, tuberofes, and other odoriferous flowers. 
Thofe drugs commonly called aromatics, fuch as ftorax, 
frankincenfe, benzoin, cloves, mace,'&c. enter the com- 
pofition of a perfume; fome are alfo compofed of aroma¬ 
tic herbs or leaves, as lavender, marjoram, fage, thyme, 
by flop, See. 
The ufe of perfumes was frequent among the Hebrews, 
and among the orientals in general, before it was known 
to the Greeks and Romans. In the time of Mofes, per¬ 
fumes muft have been known in Egypt, fince he fpeaks 
of the art of the perfumer, and gives the compofition of 
two kinds of perfumes, (Exod. xxx. 25.) of which one 
was to be offered to the Lord upon the golden altar 
which was in the holy place; and the other was appointed 
for the anointing of the high prieft and his fons, (ver. 34, 
3 rc.) as alfo of the tabernacle, and all the veffels that were 
ufed in divine fervice. 
The Hebrews had alfo perfumes which they made ufe 
of in embalming their dead. The compofition is not 
known ; but it is certain that they generally made ufe of 
myrrh, aloes, and other ftrong and aftringent drugs, pro¬ 
per to prevent putrefaction. (John xix. 49.) Befides 
the perfumes for thefe purpofes, the Scripture mentions 
other occafions whereon the Hebrews ufed perfumes. 
The fpoufe in the Canticles (i. 3.) commends the feent 
of the perfumes of her lover; and her lover in return fays, 
that the feent of the perfumes of his fpoufe furpafles the 
1110ft excellent odours; (iv. 10—14.) He names par¬ 
ticularly the fpikenard, the calamus, the cinnamon, the 
myrrh, and the aloes, as making a part of thefe perfumes. 
The voluptuous woman deferibed by Solomon (Prov. vii. 
17.) fays, that flie had perfumed her bed with myrrh, 
aloes, and cinnamon. The epicures in the book of Wif- 
dom (ii. 7.) encourage one another to the luxuriant ufe 
of odours andcoftly perfumes. Ifaiah (1 vii. 9.) reproaches 
Judea, whom he deferibes as a fpoufe faithlefs to God, 
with being painted and perfumed to pleafe ftrangers: 
“ Thou wenteft to the king with ointment, and didft in- 
creafe thy perfumes.” Ezekiel (xxiii. 41.) feems to ac- 
cufe the Jews with having profaned the odours and per¬ 
fumes, the ufe of which was referved to facred things, by 
applying them to their own ufe. 
Perfumes came afterwards to be very common among 
the Greeks and Romans, efpecially thofe compofed of 
mulk, ambergris, and civet. The nardus and malobath- 
rum were held in much eftimation, and were imported 
from Syria. The unguentum nardinum was varioufiy pre¬ 
pared, and contained many ingredients. Malobathrum 
was an Indian plant. Perfumes were alfo ufed at facri- 
fices to regale the gods; at feafts, to increafe the pleafures 
of fenfation ; at funerals, to overpower cadaverous fmells, 
and pleafe the manes of the dead; and in the theatres, to 
prevent the offenfive effluvia, proceeding from a crowd, 
from being perceived. 
Since people are become fenfible of the harm they do 
to the head, perfumes are generally difufed among us ; 
however, they are ftill common in Spain and Italy. 
To PERFU'ME, v. a. To feent; to impregnate with 
fweet feent.—Thediftilled water of wild poppy, mingled 
at half with rofe-water, take with fome mixture of a few 
doves in a perfuming pan. Bacon's Nat. Hift, —Smells ad- 
P E R 
hereto hard bodies; as in perfuming of gloves, which 
(howeth them corporeal. Bacon's Nat. Hift. 
Why rather, fleep, lieft thou in fmoky cribs, 
And hufh’d with buzzing night-flies to thy (lumber. 
Than in the pbfum'd chambers of the great, 
Under the canopies of coftly ftate, 
And lull’d with founds of fweeteft melody ? Shahefpeare. 
Then will I raife aloft the milk-white rofe, 
With whofe fweet fmell the air (hall be perfum'd. ShakeJ'p. 
See fpicy clouds from lowly Sharon rife. 
And Carmel’s flowery toy perfumes the (kies ! Pope. 
PERFU'MER, f. One whofe trade is to fell things 
made to gratify the feent.—A mofs the perfumers have 
out of apple-trees, that hath an excellent (cent. Bacon's 
Nat. Hift. 
Firft ifl’ued from perfumers' (hops 
A croud of falhionable fops. Sivift. 
PERFU'MING, f. The aft of communicating a per¬ 
fume. 
PERFUNC'TION, f. [from the Lat. per. through, and 
fungor, to difeharge.] The accomplifliment of a defign ; 
the difeharge of an office. Cole. 
PERFUNC'TORILY, adv. Carelefsly; negligently; 
in fuch a manner as to fatisfy external form.—His majefty, 
calling his eye perfunElorily upon it, and believing it had 
been drawn by mature advice, no fooner received it, than 
he delivered it to the lord keeper. Clarendon. —Lay fe- 
rioufly to heart the clearnefs and evidence of thefe proofs, 
and not perfunCtorily pafs over all the paffages of the gof- 
pel, which are written on purpofe that we may believe, 
without weighing them. Lucas. —Whereas all logic is re¬ 
ducible to the four principal operations of the mind, the 
two firft of thefe have been handled by Ariftotle very 
perfunCtorily; of the fourth he has faid nothing at all. 
Balter on Learning. 
PERFUNC'TORINESS, /. Negligence ; careleffnefs. 
—Nothing more frequent than comparative openings of 
one another; their deferts, with the nimble perfunCtori- 
nefs of fome commentators that fkip over hard places ; 
but their faults, infirmities, or mifearriages, with def- 
cants no lefs tedious than malicious. Whitlock's Mann, of 
the Englijh. 
PERFUNC'TORY, adj. [ perfunClore , Lat. from per- 
funCtus, “having done his talk;” becaufe, after a man 
has done his work, he performs any other duty (lightly, 
or carelefsly.] Slight; carelefs ; negligent.—A tranfient 
and perfundory examination of things leads men into 
confiderable miftakes, which a more correft and rigo¬ 
rous ferutiny would have detefted. Woodward. 
To PERFU'SE, v. a. [from the Lat. per, through, and 
fundo, to pour.] To tinfture ; to overfpread.—Thefe 
dregs immediately perfufe the blood with melancholy, 
and caufe obftruftions. Harvey on Confumptions. 
PERFU'SION, f. The aft of pouring out upon any 
thing. 
PERG, a town of Auftria : fix miles fouth-fouth-eaft 
of Aigen.—A town of Auftria : twelve miles eaft ofStey- 
regg. 
PER'GA, in ancient geography, an inland city of Pam- 
phylia, on the river Cayftrus, near to which, on an emi¬ 
nence, ftood a temple of Diana. It was famed for the 
birth of Apollonius, the renowned geometrician. Here 
Paul and Barnabas preached oftener than once; (Afts 
xiii. 14. xiv. 25.) and to the end of the eighth century we 
find a Chriftian church here, fometimes not a little emi¬ 
nent. It is now called Karahijfar; but is at prefent of 
little or no importance.—There was another Perga in 
Epirus, or Albania ; as to which, fee Parca. 
PERGAMAR', a town of European Turkey, in Roma¬ 
nia; the fee of a biffiop : (ixty miles fouth-weft of Adria- 
nople, and fixty five north-weft of Galipoli. 
PERGA- 
