560 P I 
Thus, when divilions, &c. are fuccefiively wheeled, with¬ 
out being firft halted, the pivot upon which they wheel is 
faid to be moveable. In the drill, lingle ranks are fre¬ 
quently wheeled on a moveable pivot. In which cafe, 
both flanks are moveable, and defcribe concentric circles 
round a point, which is a few paces diftant from that 
which otherwife would be the Handing flank ; and all eyes 
are turned towards the direffing pivot-man, whether he 
is on the outward flank, or on the flank to which the 
wheel is made. 
PIU'RA, a river of Peru, which runs into the Pacific 
Ocean in lat. 5. 33. S. 
PIU'RA, a town of Peru, and capital of a jurifdidtion 
of the fame name, in the intendency of Truxillo. This 
was the firft Spanilh fettlement in that country, and was 
founded in the year 1531, by Don Francilco Pirrano, who 
alfo built the firft church in it. It was originally called 
St. Miguel de Piura, and flood in the valley of Targafala, 
from whence it was removed, on account of the badnefs 
of the air, to its prefent fituation, which is on a fandy 
plain. The houfes are built either of a brick dried in the 
fun, or a kind of cane called guineas, and few of them 
have any upper ftory. The climate is hot and very dry, 
rains being feldom known here ; notwithftanding which 
it is very healthy. It has a river of great advantage to 
the inhabitants, as well as to the adjacent country, the 
foil of which is fandy, and therefore penetrated with 
greater eafe by the water; and, the country being level, 
the water is eafily conveyed to different parts by canals. 
But in fummer the river is dry, the little water that then 
defeends from the mountains being ablorbed by the foil 
before it reaches the city; when the inhabitants have no 
other method of procuring water than by digging wells 
in the bed of the river, the depth of which mull; be pro¬ 
portioned to the length of time the drought has conti¬ 
nued. See the article Peru, vol. xix. p. 753. It is 
twenty-five miles fouth-fouth-eaft of Payta. Lat. 5. 15. 
S. Ion. 80. 40. W. 
PI'US, a furname given to the emperor Antoninus, on 
account of his piety and virtue.—A furname given to a 
fon of Metellus, becaufe he interefted himfelf io warmly 
to have his father recalled from banilhment. 
PI'US I. Pope, or Bilhop of Rome, in the fecond 
century, is faid to have been a native of Aquileia. If 
we take Irenasus, Hegefippus, and Eufebius, for our 
guides, he was the fucceffor of Hyginus, and muft have 
commenced his pontificate about the year 143. The laft- 
mentioned hiftorian places his death in the year 157. 
On the other hand. Cave feems difpofed to adopt the 
opinion of Pearfon and Dodwell, that he prefided over 
the fee of Rome from the year 127 to 1425 while Bel- 
Jarmine and Baronius date his elevation to the pontifical 
dignity in the year 158. We conceive it, however, to be 
of little importance how the queftion is determined, fince 
no eventsappear to have taken place during his pontificate 
which were worthy of being recorded. In the Roman 
Martyrology he is faid to have differed death for his 
religion under the reign of the emperor Antoninus Pius ; 
but the authors have produced no evidence of the fadt 
from antiquity, and the title of martyr is not given him 
by Irenseus. Two “Letters of Julius of Vienne,” 
which were formerly attributed to Pius, may be feen in 
the 2d vol. of the Orthodoxogr. and in all the editions of 
the Bibl. Patr. but that they are manifeftly fuppofititious, 
and the produdtion of a much later age, has been long 
very generally allowed by Catholic as well as Pro- 
teftant critics. 
PIUS II. (Pope), whofe original name w’as /Eneas- 
Sylvius Piccolomini, was defeended from one of the 
moft illuftrious families of Sienna in Tufcany, which had 
been expelled from the city, together with the reft of the 
nobility by the popular faction, and fettled at the fmall 
town of Corfignano within the diocefe of Sienna. At 
this place, which he afterwards eredled into an epifcopal 
city, giving it the name of Pienza, /Eneas was born in 
U S. 
the year 1405. He was initiated in the rudiments of 
grammar-learning at his native town ; but his father, 
having had his eftate confilcated by the prevailing party, 
was not in circumftances to beftow upon him an aca¬ 
demical education; and our young fcholar was obliged, as 
far as he had ability, to affift in the labour which fup- 
ported the family. His love of learning, however, and 
the evidence which he difeovered of talents deferving of 
cultivation, engaged fome of his relations and friends, 
in the year 1428, to fend him to the univerfity of Sienna, 
where he was maintained at their expenfe. The ad¬ 
vantages of this fituation he improved with the greateft 
afliduity, and during the courfe of his ftudies afforded 
many proofs that he pofleffed a very extraordinary genius. 
At his firft coming to Sienna, he applied with ardour 
to the ftudy of the belles-lettres, making himfelf par¬ 
ticularly acquainted with the writings of the poets and 
orators; and while he continued at the univerfity he 
publilhed feveral poems, fome in Latin and fome in 
Italian, which were received with great applaul’e. 
Afterwards he diligently ftudied the civil law. In the 
year 1431, his learning and accomplifliments recom¬ 
mended him to Cardinal Capranica, whom he accom¬ 
panied to the council of Bafil, in the capacity of his 
fecretary. This feene was admirably adapted to his 
talents, and he gained the confidence of the fathers by 
the zeal with which he efpoufed their caufe againft Pope 
Eugenius, and the many learned and elegant fpeeches 
which he made to prove the fuperiority of general 
councils over the bilhops of Rome. He was therefore 
made fecretary to the council, clerk of the ceremonies, 
abbreviator of the letters, and one of the collaters to 
benefices. He was alfo employed by the council on 
millions of importance to Trent, Conftance, Frankfort, 
Swabia, Stralburg, Savoy, and the Grifons; and, by way 
of compenfation for his fervices, he was prefented to the 
provoftlhip of the collegiate church of St. Lawrence at 
Milan. About the year 1437, when an open fchifm had 
taken place between Eugenius and the fathers at Bafil, 
and the pope thundered his anathemas and excommu¬ 
nications againft them, while through fear fome of the 
members privately withdrew, and others openly deferted 
their pofts, /Eneas continued Heady in his adherence to 
the council, and by his example as well as advice pre¬ 
vented the defection of fome wavering minds. On 
account of the firmnefs which he difplayed, and his long- 
tried capacity for bufinefs, when the council palled 
fentence of depofition againft pope Eugenius, in the year 
1439, an d elected Amadeus duke of Savoy in his room, 
./Eneas was made fecretary to the latter. Not long after¬ 
wards, lie was fent to promote the interefts of Felix at 
the court of the new emperor Frederic III. where he ren¬ 
dered himfelf fo acceptable to that prince, that he 
honoured him with the title of poet-laureate, and 
admitted him into the number of his friends.. 
In the year 1442, /Eneas was prevailed upon by the em¬ 
peror to refign the pofts which he held at Bal'd, and to enter 
into his fervice;on which occafion he was madeprothonotary 
or fecretary of the empire, and diftinguilhed with the 
dignity of fenator. From this time he appears to have 
had higher objects of ambition than he had before con¬ 
ceived; and he omitted no means of (Lengthening his 
own intereft, by adopting all the fentiments ot his 
imperial mailer. When, therefore, the emperor embraced 
a neutrality between the council of Bal'd and pope 
Eugenius, /Eneas, notwithftanding what he had before 
done, followed his mafter’s example. Afterwards, when 
the emperor feemed inclined to the caufe of Eugenius, in 
oppofition to that of the council and Felix, /Eneas con¬ 
formed himfelf to his fentiments, and reprefented his 
perfon at the diet of Ratilbon, where the means of 
putting an end to the fchifm in the church were taken 
into confideration. At length, in 1447, he was fent by 
Frederic to Rome, to negociate the fubmiflion of 
Germany to Eugenius ; of which opportunity he availed 
himfelf 
/ 
