PET 
PET 
9 
for, from the feeds which Dr. Houftoun fent to England, 
there were but two plants raifed, though the feeds were 
diftributed to feveral perfons ; and this is a fort of con¬ 
firmation of the fpikes of flowers being of different fexes, 
and that the feeds gathered by the doftor were taken 
either from trees at fome diftance from the male, or fuel) 
parts of the fame tree as were remote from the male 
flowers. The feeds muft be fown in a good hot-bed, and, 
when the plants come up, they (hould be each planted 
in a feparate fmall pot filled with light loamy earth, and 
plunged into a hot-bed of tanners bark, and afterwards 
placed in the bark-bed of tile ftove, where they fltould 
conftantly remain, and be treated like other plants of the 
fame country. 
PETRE'IUS, a Roman foldier who killed his tribune 
during the Cimbrian wars, becaufe he hefitated to attack 
the enemy. He was rewarded for his valour with a crow n 
of grafs. 
PETRE'IUS, a lieutenant of C. Antonins who de¬ 
feated the troops of Catiline. He took the part of Pom- 
pey againft Julius Caefar. When Caefar had been victo¬ 
rious in every part of the world, Petreius, who had re¬ 
tired into Africa, attempted to deftroy himfelf by fighting 
with his friend king Juba in fingle combat. Juba was 
killed firft, and Petreius obliged one of his flaves to run 
him through. Sallufi. 
PET'REL. See Peterel. 
PETREL I'SLAND, a fmall ifland in Dufky Bay, near 
thecoaftof New Zealand, a little to the north of the har¬ 
bour in Anchor-ifland. 
PETREL'LA, a town of Naples, in the county of Mo- 
life : eleven miles eaft of Molife. 
PETREL'LA, a town of European Turkey, in Alba¬ 
nia: twenty-fix miles fouth-eaft of Durazzo. 1 
PETREL'LA, a town of the duchy of Urbino: twenty 
miles north-weft of Urbino. 
PETRES'CENT, arlj. [ petrefeens , Lat.] Growing- 
ftone ; becoming ftone.— A cave, from whole arched roof 
there dropped down a petrefcentUquor, which oftentimes, 
before it could fall to the ground, congealed. Boyle. 
PE'TRI (Bartholomew), a celebrated profeffor of phi- 
lofophy and divinity in the Low Countries, was a native 
of Brabant, and born about the year 1545. He filled the 
chair of philofophy in the univerfity of Louvain, for ten 
years, with high reputation; but in 1580, being com¬ 
pelled by the civil w'ars to relinquifh his appointment, 
he removed to the univerfity of Douay in Flanders, where 
he parted the remainder of his life. In this feminary he 
had the degree of doftor of divinity conferred upon him, 
and was appointed profeffor in that faculty. He was alfo 
promoted to a canonry of St. Amatus. His death took 
place in 1630, when he was about 85 years of age. He 
publifhed, 1. Commentaria in Aftus Apoftolorum, 1622, 
4to. 2. Gulielmi Eftii Opus pofthumum in Paulinas ce- 
terafque Canonicas Epiftolas: with additions, fupplying 
what Eftius had left unfinifhed. 3. Apoftolicae Sedis 
Definitiones Veteres de Gratia, cum Annotationibus in 
Epiftolam S. Caeleftini Papae pro B. Auguftino/ &c. 1616, 
8vo. 4. Prasceptiones Logics?, fuperiorum Difciplinai um 
ac praefertim S. Theologias Exemplis illuftrata?, lib. ii. 
1625, 8vo. 5. Vincentii Lirinenfis contra Hasrefes Libel- 
lumaureum; with notes, and a Differtation on the au¬ 
thor and his waitings prefixed; 1611; i2mo. Gen. 
Bing. 
PE'TRI (Chriftiern), a learned Danifli divine and va¬ 
rious writer in the 16th century, was born under the 
reign of king John, but we are not furnilhed with the 
date either of his birth or of his death. He purfued his 
ftudies during feveral years at Paris, where he was ad¬ 
mitted to the degree of A. M. Upon his return to his 
native country, he was made canon of Lunden, and alio 
chancellor of that fee. Afterwards he took a fecond 
journey to Paris, where he was entrufted with the care of 
editing “ Danica Hiftoria, lib. xvi. Autcre Saxone 
Grammatico,” in folio, which made its appearance in the 
Vol. XX. No. 1346. 
year 1514. It fhould feem that he was in Denmark at the 
time when Chriftiern II. was compelled to fly from that 
country, fince he was one who followed him into exile. 
Soon after that event, and until the time when that prince 
was imprifoned and his affairs became defperate, Petri 
took up his refidence in Flanders, where he renounced 
the communion of Rome, and embraced the principles 
of the reformation. Upon this change in his religious 
creed, he became very zealous and aftive in propagating 
the opinions which he had adopted ; and with this view 
wrote and publifhed various works at Antwerp, in the 
Danifli language, from 1528 to 1531, both years inclufive. 
Among others he publifhed, in 1529, the NewTeftament 
tranflated into Danifh. Nor was he lefs zealous in ma¬ 
king converts from popery, after his return to his native 
country in 1532. Like Luther, and many other of the 
leading Proteftant divines, he ftiowed his condemnation 
of that law of the Romifli church, which impofes on the 
clergy a life of celibacy, by entering into the matrimonial 
connexion. He is faid to have died at a very advanced 
age under the reign of Chriftiern III. who permitted him 
to retain to the laft the emoluments of his canonry at 
Lunden. Befides the articles already mentioned, he pub¬ 
lifhed a colleftion of Sermons in Danifli, which made 
their firft appearance at Paris in 1515, and were afterwards 
printed at Leipfic in 1518; the Pfalter of David, tranf¬ 
lated into Danifli ; De Familia et Pofteritate Dani, primi 
Regis Dania;; See. and many other works, chiefly on the¬ 
ological fubjefts and on the education of youth, for the 
titles of which tee Gen. Biog. 
PE'TRI, or Petie'ri, a town of Africa, on the Ivory 
Coaft. 
PET'RICOW, a town of Bohemia, in the circle of 
Chrudim : nine miles f’outh of Chrudim. 
PETRIFAC'TION, f. [from petrifacio, Lat.] The aft 
of turning to ftone ; the ftate of being turned to ftone.— 
Its concretive fpirit has the feeds of petrifaClion and gor- 
gon within itfelf. Brown. —That which is made ftone.— 
Look over the variety of beautiful fliells, petrifa&ions, 
ores, ftones, and other natural curiofities. Cheyne. 
Petrifactions form the 5th clafs of the article Mi¬ 
neralogy. See vol. xv. p. 517 &feq. 
PETRIFAC'TIVE, adj. Having the power to form 
ftone.—There are many to be found, which are but the 
lapidefcences and petrfaSlive mutation of bodies. Brown. 
PETRIF'IC, adj. [petrificus, Lat.] Having the power 
to change to ftone.—Death with his mace petrific, cold, 
and dry. Milton's P. L. 
Winter’s breath, 
A nitrous blaft that itrikes petrific death. Savage. 
To PETRIF'ICATE, v.a. To petrify. Sot notv in ufe. 
Though our hearts petificated were, 
Yetcaufed’ft thou thy law be graven there, 
And let a guardian o’er’t, that never dies, 
J. Hall's Poems, 1646. 
PETRIFICA'TION, f. A body formed by changing 
other matter to ftone.—111 thefe ft range petrific at ions, the 
hardening of the bodies feems to be effefted principally, 
if not only, as in the induration of the fluid fubftances of 
an egg into a chick., by altering the difpofition of their 
parts. Boyle. —Obduracy ; calloufnefs.—It was obferved 
long ago by Epifletus, that there were fome perfons that 
would deny the plaineft and molt evident truths; and 
this ftate and condition he terms a petrification or morti¬ 
fication of the mind. Hallywclls Melampron. 
To PETRIFY, v. a. [petrifier, Fr. from petra and fio, 
Lat.] To change to ftone.—A few refemblepct/v)W wood. 
Woodward. —To make callous; to make obdurate. 
—Schilm is markt out by the Apoftle to the Hebrews, as 
a kind of petrifying crime, which induces induration. 
Decay of Chr. Piety. —Though their fouls be not yet 
wholly petrified, yet every aft of fin makes gradual ap¬ 
proaches to it. Decay of Chr. Piety, 
D 
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