P 1 u 
571 
he never would declare that they were the enemies of the 
church. Napoleon caufed him to be feized by night, and 
dragged, at nearly 70 years of age, from Rome to Fon¬ 
tainebleau, where he was kept as a ltate prifoner until the 
downfall of the emperor in 1814, when he was rettored to 
his dominions, and proceeded to revifit them without 
delay. His proclamation at Cefena, on the 24th of May, 
on his return, is highly interefting, and exhibits a mind 
of great ftrength at fo late a period of life. The fame 
day he once more re-entered Rome, in the tnidft of a po¬ 
pulation delighted at his reftoration. He immediately 
employed himfelf in re-organizing all the public inftitu- 
tions, and devoted himfelf unceaiingly to the affairs of 
the church, leaving the direction of civil and temporal 
affairs almoft wholly to his minilter, cardinal Gonfalvi. 
In adverfity as well as profperity, he had given the 
(trongeft proofs of his fincere attachment to the religion 
or which he was the head, mainly oppofing the doctrines 
and inttitutions of what they denominate hereticks. On 
the 29th. of June 1816, he iffued a bull to the arChbifhop 
ot Gnezn, primate of Poland, againlt Bible Societies, 
which he termed in this bull “a crafty device, by which 
the very foundations of religion are undermined,”—a 
“defilement of the faith, moll imminently dangerous to 
fouis, and a new fpecies of tares which an enemy is low¬ 
ing fo abundantly.” The original Latin bull, together 
with a tranflation, may be feen in the Gentleman’s Ma¬ 
gazine for April 1817. 
Many of the popes evinced fo much partiality to their 
nephews (as their natural children were called) and other 
relations, that this habit became a fubjeft of cenfure un¬ 
der the defignation of “ nepotifm.” Pius VII. however, 
carried his (crupulous abltinence from nepotifm fo far, 
that.lie-would not permit one of his relations to fet foot 
in Rome. His nephew, Prince Scipio Chiaramonte, was 
very defirous of vifiting the eternal city, and had once 
nearly reached the gates of Rome, when a pofitive order 
from the pontiff compelled him to retrace his Heps. The 
prince has now fixed his refidence at Rome. 
Pius VII. died at Rome on the aotli of Augutt la IF, 
(1823.) after an eventful life of 83 years and fix days, 
having governed the church for the long period of 25 
years, 5 months, and 6 days, unlefs we except from this 
time about five years that the emperor Napoleon go¬ 
verned it for bun. 
The election of a new pope was begun and terminated 
fo quickly, that there was fcarcely time for thofe in¬ 
trigues wiiich are ufually carried on upon fuch important 
occafions. Pius died on the 20th of Augufl, the opera¬ 
tions of the fcrutiny commenced on the 3d of September, 
and on the 27th of the fame month the elettion was de¬ 
clared. Few conclaves have been fo fpeedily clofed. The 
Italian cardinals underftood that it was neceffary to make 
hafte, if they wiihed to efcape the effedls of foreign influ¬ 
ence, which might have prolonged the day of decifion. 
The fuccefsful candidate was Cardinal Annibal della 
Genga, who immediately affumed the name of 
Leo XII. This prefent pontiff was born on the 2d of 
Augufl, 1760, at the cattle of Genga, the property of his 
family, and fituated between Urbino and the March of 
Ancona. He entered the church very early, and foon 
obtained very confiderable preferment. It was about the 
period of the firft invaficn of Italy by the French, how¬ 
ever, that he entered into a confpicuous public lituation. 
He was then fent as nuncio to the court of Bavaria, and 
the ftates of a fecond rank in Germany, which high of¬ 
fice he filled for feveral years. In 1807 he was lent to 
Pans, on a million to Napoleon, by the pope; and on his 
return to Rome he was obliged, when the French took 
pofl'elhon of that city, as well as the other prelates who 
were not natives of the Roman ftates, to go away. In 
1814 he was again fent to Paris to compliment Louis 
XVIII. and in 1816 he was elevated to the dignity of a 
cardinal. At the time of his election to the popedom, 
he was cardinal vicar, or adminiflrator, as regards the 
P 1 X 
ritual affairs, of the diocefe of Rome. He is tall, and 
well-made ; a patron of the arts, and accuftomed to bull— 
nefs. He is faid to be of a firm and independent cha¬ 
racter, having a will of his own, and addrefs fufficient 
to accomplifh his plans. He belongs rather to the Italian 
party than any other ; and afpires not only to be pope, 
but to be a fovereign. In the diplomatic ftations lie has 
filled, he has fhown a great deal of knowledge, and a per¬ 
fect acquaintance with men and with bufinefs. During 
his laft refidence at Paris he was attacked with a fevere 
diforder, from which he has never perfeftly recovered, 
and has been ever fince in a feeble ftate ot health ; a cir- 
cumftance which has probably not been without influence 
on the minds of his electors. He has founded a School 
of Arts and Manufactures at the town of Itocca Contrada, 
the place of his ufual refidence, and has added fomething 
to the hofpital. 
Few popes from the great age at which it has been the 
policy of the conclave to raife one of their brethren to that 
dignity, have reigned more than ten years: the average 
is below that period. The two laft popes, indeed, held 
the keys for above 20 years each; hut fuch prolonged 
reigns have only two parallels in the courfe of upwards of 
two centuries, viz. Urban VIII. and Clement XI. In the 
interval of 84 years between Leo X. and Leo XI. fourteen 
popes reigned ; each pope, on an average, reigning for 
iix years. The average from that time to the prefent 
lias been about ten years. Taking a period fomewhat 
more than the three laft centuries, namely, from 1503 till 
the year 1823, there have been 37 popes, making an ave¬ 
rage of fix years to each pope. The increafed longevity 
of late years may he owing to two caufes; the inconve¬ 
nience of very fliort reigns may have been found to have- 
outweighed the advantage of frequent elections ; and the 
ancient mode of getting rid of troublefome pontiff’s at a 
feaft, or the facrament, has been difcontinued under the 
influence of better principles. 
PIUZA'NO, a town of Italy, in Friuli: fourteen miles 
weft of Gemona. 
PIX, f. [pixis , Lat.] A little cheft or box, in which the 
confecrated holt is kept in Roman-catholic countries.— 
Your holy father made a lawe, that you fhould fliyfte the 
pijxe every moneth, putting into it newe confecrated 
cakes. Cunfut. of N. S/iaxton, 1546.—Crofles, veftmems, 
pixes, paxes, and fuch like. Stowe s C/tron. —A box ufed 
for the trial'of gold aiid filver coin.—By this indenture 
the trial oraffay ot t hspix was eftablilhed, as a check upon 
the matter of the mint. Leake. See the article London, 
vol. xiii. p. 444. 
PIX (Mrs. Mary), a dramatic writer of confiderable 
genius and abilities, horn at Nettlebed, in Oxfordfhire; 
her maiden name was Griffith, the daughter of a clergy¬ 
man. By the date of her writings <he flourilhed in Wil¬ 
liam Ill’s reign ; but in what year (he was born, or when 
the died, are particulars which feem buried in cbfcnrity. 
She was contemporary with Mrs. Manley and Mrs. Trot¬ 
ter, afterwards Mrs. Cockburne; and is ridiculed in 
company with tbefe ladies in a little dramatic piece, called 
The Female Wits; but her works will fpeak in her com¬ 
mendation; they are eleven in number, and their titles 
as follow : 1. The Spanitti Wives, a farce, 4to. 1696. 2. 
Ibrahim, Emperor of the Turks, a tragedy, 1696. 3. 
The Innocent Miltrefs, comedy, 1697. 4. TheDeceiver 
deceived, comedy, 410. 1698. 5. Queen Catharine; or, 
The Ruins of Love, tragedy, 1698. 6. The Falfe Friend ; 
or, the Fate of Difobedience, tragedy, 1699. 7. The 
Beau defeated; or, The lucky younger Brother, comedy, 
1700. This is in fome catalogues alcribed to M r. Barker. 
8. The Czar of Mufcovy, tragedy, 1701. 9. The Double 
Diftrefs, tragedy, 1701. 10. The Cor.quelt of Spain, tra¬ 
gedy, 1705. 11. Adventures in Madrid, comedy, 1709. 
p IX'ENDORFF, a town of Aullria: three miles fouth- 
foutl. - welt of Tulin. 
PIXI'TES, in ancient geography, a river of Alia, in the 
Colchide, towards the north of the town called Trapezus. 
PIXOT'TO, 
