PARK, MUNGO (1771-1806).—Traveller,b.near Selkirk, studied medicine at Edin. As a surgeon in the mercantile marine he visited Sumatra, and on his return attracted the attention of various scientific men by his botanical and zoological investigations. In 1795 he entered the service of the African Association, and made a voyage of discovery on the Niger. His adventures werepub.inTravels in the Interior of Africa(1799), which had great success. Hem.and set up in practice in Peebles; but in 1805 accepted an invitation by Government to undertake another journey in Africa. From this he never returned, having perished in a conflict with natives. His narratives, written in a straightforward and pleasing style, are among the classics of travel.
PARKER, THEODORE (1810-1860).—Theologian,b.at Lexington, Massachusetts,ed.at Harvard, was an indefatigable student, and made himself master of many languages. In 1837 he was settled at West Roxbury as a Unitarian minister, but the development of his views in a rationalistic direction gradually separated him from the more conservative portion of his co-religionists. He lectured on theological subjects in Boston in 1841, travelled in Europe, and in 1845 settled in Boston, where he lectured to large audiences, and exercised a wide influence. He took a leading part in the anti-slavery crusade, and specially in resisting the Fugitive Slave Act. In 1859 his health, which had never been robust, gave way; he went to Italy in search of restoration, butd.at Florence. Although he was a powerful theological and social influence, his writings are not of corresponding importance: it was rather as a speaker that he influenced his countrymen, and he left no contribution to literature of much permanent account, though hiscoll.works fill 14 vols. Among the most outstanding of his writings areA Discourse of Matters Pertaining to Religion, andSermons for the Times.
PARKMAN, FRANCIS (1823-1893).—Historian,s.of a Unitarian minister in Boston, Massachusetts, graduated at Harvard, and qualified as a lawyer, but never practised, and though hampered by a state of health which forbade continuous application, and by partial blindness, devoted himself to the writing of the history of the conflict between France and England in North America. This he did in a succession of works—The Conspiracy of Pontiac(1851),The Pioneers of France in the New World(1865),The Jesuits in North America(1867),La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West(1869),The Old Regime in Canada(1874),Count Frontenac and New France(1877),Montcalm and Wolfe(1884), andA Half Century of Conflict(1892). In these the style, at first somewhat turgid, gradually improved, and became clear and forcible, while retaining its original vividness. P. spared no labour in collecting and sifting his material, much of which was gathered in the course of visits to the places which were the scenes of his narrative, and his books are the most valuable contribution in existence to the history of the struggle for Canada and the other French settlements in North America. He also wrote two novels, which had little success, and a book upon rose-culture.
PARNELL, THOMAS (1679-1718).—Poet,b.anded.in Dublin, took orders in 1700, and was Vicar of Finglas and Archdeacon of Clogher. The death of his young wife in 1706 drove him into intemperate habits. He was a friend of Swift and Pope, a contributor to theSpectator, and aided Pope in his translation of theIliad. He wrote various isolated poems showing a fine descriptive touch, of which the most important areThe Hermit,The Night Piece, andThe Hymn to Contentment. P. was a scholar, and had considerable social gifts. His Life was written by Goldsmith.
PARR, DR. SAMUEL (1747-1825).—Scholar,s.of an apothecary at Harrow, where and at Camb. he wased.He was successively an assistant-master at Harrow and headmaster of schools at Colchester and Norwich, and having taken orders, finally settled down at Hatton, Warwickshire, where he took private pupils. He was undoubtedly a great Latinist, but he has left no work to account for the immense reputation for ability which he enjoyed during his life. His chief power appears to have been in conversation, in which he was bold, arrogant, and epigrammatic. He was nicknamed "the Whig Johnson," but fell very far short of his model. His writings, including correspondence, werepub.in 8 vols.
PATER, WALTER HORATIO (1839-1894).—Essayist and critic,s.of Richard G.P., of American birth and Dutch extraction, a benevolent physician,b.at Shadwell, anded.at the King's School, Canterbury, and at Queen's Coll., Oxf., after leaving which he made various tours in Germany and Italy where, especially in the latter, his nature, keenly sensitive to every form of beauty, received indelible impressions. In 1864 he was elected a Fellow of Brasenose, and in its ancient and austere precincts found his principal home. As a tutor, though conscientious, he was not eminently successful; nevertheless his lectures, on which he bestowed much pains, had afit audience, and powerfully influenced a few select souls. He resigned his tutorship in 1880, partly because he found himself not entirely in his element, and partly because literature was becoming the predominant interest in his life. In 1885 he went to London, where he remained for 8 years, continuing, however, to reside at Brasenose during term. The reputation as a writer which he had gained made him welcome in whatever intellectual circles he found himself. Leaving London in 1893 he settled in a house in St. Giles, Oxf. In the spring of 1894 he went to Glasgow to receive the honorary degree of LL.D., a distinction which he valued. In the summer he had an attack of rheumatic fever, followed by pleurisy. From these he had apparently recovered, but he succumbed to an attack of heart-failure which immediately supervened. Thus ended prematurely in its 55th year a life as bare of outward events as it was rich in literary fruit and influence.
P. is one of the greatest modern masters of style, and one of the subtlest and most penetrating of critics. Though not a philosopher in the technical sense, he deeply pondered the subjects with which philosophy sets itself to deal; but art was the dominating influence in his intellectual life, and it was said of him that "he was a philosopher who had gone to Italy by mistake instead of to Germany." He may also be called the prophet of the modern æsthetic school. His attitude to Christianity, though deeply sceptical, was not unsympathetic. As a boy he came under the influence of Keble, and at one time thought of taking orders, but his gradual change of view led him to relinquish the idea. Among his works may be mentioned an article on Coleridge, and others on Winckelmann, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli, etc., which werecoll.andpub.asStudies in the History of the Renaissance(1873);Appreciations(1889) contained his great essays onÆsthetic PoetryandStyle, various Shakespearian studies and papers on Lamb and Sir T. Browne;Imaginary Portraits, andGreek Studies(1894);Plato and Platonism(1893). His masterpiece, however, isMarius the Epicurean(1885), a philosophical romance of the time of Marcus Aurelius. The style of P. is characterised by a subdued richness, and complicated, but perfect structure of sentences. In character he was gentle, refined, and retiring, with a remarkable suavity of manner and dislike of controversy.
PATMORE, COVENTRY KERSEY DIGHTON (1823-1896).—Poet,s.of Peter George P., also an author,b.at Woodford, Essex, was in the printed book department of the British Museum. Hepub.Tamerton Church Tower(1853), and between 1854 and 1862 the four poems which, combined, form his masterpiece,The Angel in the House, a poetic celebration of married love. In 1864 he entered the Church of Rome. Thereafter hepub.The Unknown Eros(1877),Amelia(1878), andRod, Root, and Flower(1895), meditations chiefly on religious subjects. His works are full of graceful and suggestive thought, but occasionally suffer from length and discursiveness. He was successful in business matters, and in character was energetic, masterful, and combative. He numbered Tennyson and Ruskin among his friends, was associated with the pre-Raphaelites, and was a contributor to their organ, theGerm.
PATTISON, MARK (1813-1884).—Scholar and biographer,b.at Hornby, Yorkshire,s.of a clergyman,ed.privately and at Oxf., where in 1839 he became Fellow of Lincoln Coll., and acquired a high reputation as a tutor and examiner. At first strongly influenced by Newman and the Tractarian movement, he ultimately abandoned that school. In 1851, failing to be elected head of his coll., he threw up his tutorship, and devoted himself to severe study, occasionally writing on educational subjects in various reviews. In 1861, however, he attained the object of his ambition, being elected Rector of Lincoln Coll. In 1883 he dictated a remarkable autobiography, coming down to 1860. In 1875 he hadpub.aLife of Isaac Casaubon, and he left materials for a Life of Scaliger, which he had intended to be hismagnum opus. He also wroteMiltonfor the English Men of Letters Series, and produced an ed. of his sonnets.
PAULDING, JAMES KIRKE (1779-1860).—Novelist, etc.,b.in the state of New York, was chiefly self-educated. He became a friend of W. Irving, and was part author with him ofSalmagundi—a continuation of which by himself proved a failure. Among his other writings areJohn Bull and Brother Jonathan(1812), a satire,The Dutchman's Fireside(1831), a romance which attained popularity, aLife of Washington(1835), and some poems.
PAYN, JAMES (1830-1898).—Novelist,s.of an official in the Thames Commission,ed.at Eton, Woolwich, and Camb. He was a regular contributor toHousehold Wordsand toChambers's Journal, of which he was ed. 1859-74, and in which several of his works first appeared; he also ed. theCornhill Magazine1883-96. Among his novels—upwards of 60 in number—may be mentionedLost Sir Massingberd,The Best of Husbands,Walter's Word,By Proxy(1878),A Woman's Vengeance,Carlyon's Year,Thicker than Water,A Trying Patient, etc. He also wrote a book of poems and a volume of literary reminiscences.
PEACOCK, THOMAS LOVE (1785-1866).—Novelist,b.at Weymouth, the only child of a London merchant, was in boyhood at various schools, but from the age of 13 self-educated. Nevertheless, he became a really learned scholar. He was for long in the India Office, where he rose to be Chief Examiner, coming between James Mill and John Stuart Mill. He was the author of several somewhat whimsical, but quite unique novels, full of paradox, prejudice, and curious learning, with witty dialogue and occasional poems interspersed. Among them areHeadlong Hall(1816),Nightmare Abbey(1818),Maid Marian(1822),Misfortunes of Elphin(1829),Crotchet Castle(1831), andGryll Grange(1860). He was the intimate friend of Shelley, memoirs of whom he contributed toFraser's Magazine.
PEARSON, CHARLES HENRY (1830-1894).—B.at Islington,ed.at Rugby and King's Coll., London, at the latter he became Prof. of Modern History. Owing to a threatened failure of sight he went to Australia, where he remained for 20 years, and was for a time Minister of Education of Victoria. Returning to England in 1892he wrote hisNational Life and Character: a Forecast, in which he gave utterance to very pessimistic views as to the future of the race. He also wrote aHistory of England during the Early and Middle Ages(1867).
PEARSON, JOHN (1613-1686).—Theologian,s.of an archdeacon of Suffolk,b.at Great Snoring, Norfolk,ed.at Eton and Camb., took orders, and after holding various preferments, including the archdeaconry of Surrey, the mastership of Jesus Coll., and of Trinity Coll., Camb., was made, in 1673, Bishop of Chester. HisExposition of the Creed(1659) has always been regarded as one of the most finished productions of English theology, remarkable alike for logical argument and arrangement, and lucid style. He was also the author of other learned works, including a defence of the authenticity of the epistles of Ignatius. In his youth P. was a Royalist, and acted in 1645 as a chaplain in the Royal army. He was one of the commissioners in the Savoy Conference.
PECOCK, REGINALD (1395?-1460?).—Theologian,b.in Wales, entered the Church, and rose to be successively Bishop of St. Asaph 1444, and of Chichester 1450. He was a strenuous controversialist, chiefly against the Lollards; but his free style of argument, and especially his denial of the infallibility of the Church, led him into trouble, and on being offered the choice of abjuration or death at the stake, he chose the former, but nevertheless was deprived of his bishopric, had his books burned, and spent his latter days in the Abbey of Thorney, Cambridgeshire. His chief work isThe Repressor of overmuch blaming of the Clergy(1455), which, from its clear, pointed style, remains a monument of 15th century English.The Book of Faith(1456) is another of his writings.
PEELE, GEORGE (1558?-1597?).—Dramatist and poet,s.of a salter in London,ed.at Christ's Hospital and Oxf., where he had a reputation as a poet. Coming back to London about 1581 he led a dissipated life. He appears to have been a player as well as a playwright, and to have come into possession of some land through his wife. His works are numerous and consist of plays, pageants, and miscellaneous verse. His best plays areThe Arraignment of Paris(1584), andThe Battle of Alcazar(1594), and among his poemsPolyhymnia(1590), andThe Honour of the Garter(1593). Other works areOld Wives' Tale(1595), andDavid and Fair Bethsabe(1599). P. wrote in melodious and flowing blank verse, with abundance of fancy and brilliant imagery, but his dramas are weak in construction, and he is often bombastic and extravagant.
PENN, WILLIAM (1644-1718).—Quaker apologist,s.of Sir William P., a celebrated Admiral, wasb.in London, anded.at Oxf., where he became a Quaker, and was in consequence expelled from the Univ. His change of views and his practice of the extremest social peculiarities imposed by his principles led to a quarrel with hisf., who is said to have turned him out of doors. Thereafter he began to write, and one of his books,The Sandy Foundation Shaken(c.1668), in which he attacked the doctrines of the Trinity, the atonement, and justification by faith, led to his being, in 1668,imprisoned in the Tower, where he wrote his most popular work,No Cross, No Crown(1668), and a defence of his own conduct,Innocency with her Open Face(1668), which resulted in his liberation. Shortly after this, in 1670, on the death of hisf., who had been reconciled to him, P. succeeded to a fortune, including a claim against the Government amounting to £15,000, which was ultimately in 1681 settled by a grant of the territory now forming the state of Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, however, he had again suffered imprisonment for preaching, and employed his enforced leisure in writing four treatises, of which one,The Great Cause of Liberty of Conscience(c.1671), is an able defence of religious toleration. In 1682, having obtained the grant above referred to, he set sail for America, with the view of founding a community based upon the principles of toleration. Having established a Constitution and set matters in working order there, P. returned to England in 1684 and busied himself in efforts for the relief of those Quakers who had remained at home. The peculiar position of affairs when James II. was endeavouring to use the Dissenters as a means of gaining concessions to the Roman Catholics favoured his views, and he was to some extent successful in his efforts. His connection with the Court at that time has, however, led to his conduct being severely animadverted upon by Macaulay and others. In 1690 and for some time thereafter he was charged with conspiring against the Revolution Government, but after full investigation was completely acquitted. His later years were embittered by troubles in Pennsylvania, and by the dishonesty and ingratitude of an agent by whose defalcations he was nearly ruined, as a consequence of which he was imprisoned for debt. Hed.soon after his release in 1718.
PENNANT, THOMAS (1726-1798).—Naturalist and traveller,b.in Flintshire, anded.at Oxf., was one of the most distinguished naturalists of the 18th century, andpub., among other works on natural history,British Zoology(1768), andHistory of Quadrupeds(1781). In literature he is, however, best remembered by hisTours in Scotland(1771-75), which did much to make known the beauties of the country to England. He also travelled in Ireland and Wales, and on the Continent, andpub.accounts of his journeys. Dr. Johnson said of him, "he observes more things than any one else does."
PEPYS, SAMUEL (1633-1703).—Diarist,s.of John P., a London tailor, but of good family and connected with Sir E. Montague, afterwards Earl of Sandwich, wased.at St. Paul's School and at Camb. After leaving the Univ. he entered the household of Montagu, who became his life long patron. He held various Government posts, including that of Surveyor-General of the Victualling Office, in which he displayed great administrative ability and reforming zeal, and in 1672 he became Sec. of the Admiralty. After being imprisoned in the Tower on a charge in connection with the Popish plot, and deprived of his office, he was in 1686 again appointed Sec. of the Admiralty, from which, however, he was dismissed at the Revolution. Thereafter he lived in retirement chiefly at Clapham. P. was a man of many interests, combining the characters of the man of business, man of pleasure, andvirtuoso, being skilled inmusic and a collector of books, manuscripts, and pictures, and he was Pres. of the Royal Society for two years. He wroteMemoirs of the Royal Navy(1690), but his great legacy to literature is his unique and inimitableDiary, begun January 1, 1660, and coming down to May 31, 1669, when the failure of his sight prevented its further continuance. As an account by an eye-witness of the manners of the Court and of society it is invaluable, but it is still more interesting as, perhaps, the most singular example extant of unreserved self-revelation—all the foibles, peccadilloes, and more serious offences against decorum of the author being set forth with the most relentlessnaïvetéand minuteness, it was written in a cypher or shorthand, which was translated into long-hand by John Smith in 1825, and ed. by Lord Braybrooke, with considerable excisions. Later and fuller ed. have followed. P. left his books, MSS., and collections to Magdalene Coll., Camb., where they are preserved in a separate library.
PERCIVAL, JAMES GATES (1795-1854).—Poet,b.at Berlin, Conn., was a precocious child, and a morbid and impractical, though versatile man, with a fatal facility in writing verse on all manner of subjects and in nearly every known metre. His sentimentalism appealed to a wide circle, but his was one of the tapers which were extinguished by Lowell. He had also a reputation as a geologist. His poetic works includePrometheusandThe Dream of a Day(1843).
PERCY, THOMAS (1729-1811).—Antiquary and poet,s.of a grocer at Bridgnorth, where he wasb.,ed.at Oxf., entered the Church, and became in 1778 Dean of Carlisle, and in 1782 Bishop of Dromore. Hepub.various antiquarian works, chiefly with reference to the North of England; but is best remembered for his great service to literature in collecting and ed. many ancient ballads,pub.in 1765 asReliques of Ancient Poetry, which did much to bring back interest in the ancient native literature, and to usher in the revival of romanticism.
PHILIPS, AMBROSE (1675?-1749).—Poet,b.in Shropshire anded.at Camb., wrote pastorals and dramas, was one of the Addison circle, and started a paper, theFreethinker, in imitation of theSpectator. He also made translations from Pindar and Anacreon, and a series of short complimentary verses, which gained for him the nickname of "Namby Pamby." HisPastorals, though poor enough, excited the jealousy of Pope, who pursued the unfortunate author with life-long enmity. P. held various Government appointments in Ireland.
PHILIPS, JOHN (1676-1709).—Poet,s.of an archdeacon of Salop, anded.at Oxf. HisSplendid Shilling, a burlesque in Miltonic blank verse, still lives, andCyder, his chief work, an imitation of Virgil'sGeorgics, has some fine descriptive passages. P. was also employed by Harley to write verses on Blenheim as a counterblast to Addison'sCampaign. Hed.at 33 of consumption.
PHILLIPS, SAMUEL (1814-1854).—Novelist, of Jewish descent, studied for the Church at Göttingen and Camb., but hisf.dying, he was obliged to give up his intention and take to business,in which, however, he was unsuccessful, and fell into great straits. He then tried writing, and produced some novels, of which the best known wasCaleb Stukely, which appeared inBlackwoodin 1842. He was latterly a leader-writer for theTimes.
PICKEN, ANDREW (1788-1833).—Miscellaneous writer,b.in Paisley, was in business in the West Indies, and in Glasgow and Liverpool, but not being successful, went to London to try his fortunes in literature. His earlier writings,Tales and Sketches of the West of ScotlandandThe Sectarian(1829), gave offence in dissenting circles: his next,The Dominie's Legacy(1830), had considerable success, and a book onTravels and Researches of Eminent Missionaries(1830) did something to rehabilitate him with those whom he had offended. His last work,The Black Watch(1833), had just appeared when hed.of an apoplectic seizure. His best work is somewhat like that ofGalt(q.v.).
PIERPONT, JOHN (1785-1860).—Poet,b.at Litchfield, Conn., was first a lawyer, then a merchant, and lastly a Unitarian minister. His chief poem isThe Airs of Palestine.
PIKE, ALBERT (1809-1891).—Poet,b.at Boston, Mass., was in his early days a teacher, and afterwards a successful lawyer. His now little-remembered poems were chiefly written under the inspiration of Coleridge and Keats. His chief work,Hymns to the Gods, which appeared inBlackwood's Magazine, closely imitates the latter. He also wrote prose sketches.
PINDAR, PETER, (seeWOLCOT, J.).
PINKERTON, JOHN (1758-1826).—Historian and Antiquary,b.in Edin., was apprenticed to a lawyer, but took to literature, and produced a number of works distinguished by painstaking research, but disfigured by a controversial and prejudiced spirit. His first publication wasSelect Scottish Ballads(1783), some of which, however, were composed by himself. A valuableEssay on Medals(1784) introduced him to Gibbon and Horace Walpole. Among his other works areAncient Scottish Poems(1786),Dissertation on the Goths(1787),Medallic History of England(1790),History of Scotland(1797), and his best work,Treatise on Rocks(1811). One of his most inveterate prejudices was against Celts of all tribes and times. Hed.in obscurity in Paris.
PINKNEY, EDWARD COATE (1802-1828).—B.in London, where hisf.was U.S. ambassador. He wrote a number of light, graceful short poems, but fell a victim to ill-health and a morbid melancholy at 25. His longest poem isRudolph(1825).
PIOZZI, HESTER LYNCH (SALUSBURY) (1741-1821).—Miscellaneous writer,m.Henry Thrale, a wealthy brewer, and, after his death, Gabriel Piozzi, an Italian musician. Her chief distinction is her friendship with Dr. Johnson, who was for a time almost domesticated with the Thrales. Her second marriage in the year of Johnson's death, 1784, broke up the friendship. She wroteAnecdotes of Dr. Johnson, a work which had a favourable reception, and gives a lifelike picture of its subject, and left anAutobiography. Her poem,The Three Warnings, is supposed to have been touched up by Johnson. Many details of her friendship with J. are given in theDiaryofMadame D'Arblay(q.v.).
PLANCHÉ, JAMES ROBINSON (1796-1880).—Dramatist and miscellaneous writer,b.in London of Huguenot descent, was in the Herald Office, and rose to be Somerset Herald, in which capacity he was repeatedly sent on missions to invest foreign princes with the Order of the Garter. He produced upwards of 90 adaptations, and about 70 original pieces for the stage. He also wrote aHistory of British Costumes,The Pursuivant of Arms(1852), andThe Conqueror and his Companions(1874), besides autobiographicalRecollections(1872).
POE, EDGAR ALLAN (1809-1849).—Poet and writer of tales, wasb.at Boston, where his parents, who were both actors, were temporarily living. He was left an orphan in early childhood in destitute circumstances, but was adopted by a Mr. Allan of Richmond, Virginia. By him and his wife he was treated with great indulgence, and in 1815 accompanied them to England, where they remained for five years, and where he received a good education, which was continued on their return to America, at the Univ. of Virginia. He distinguished himself as a student, but got deeply into debt with gaming, which led to his being removed. In 1829 hepub.a small vol. of poems containingAl AraafandTamerlane. About the same time he proposed to enter the army, and was placed at the Military Academy at West Point. Here, however, he grossly neglected his duties, and fell into the habits of intemperance which proved the ruin of his life, and was in 1831 dismissed. He then returned to the house of his benefactor, but his conduct was so objectionable as to lead to a rupture. In the same year P.pub.an enlarged ed. of his poems, and in 1833 was successful in a competition for a prize tale and a prize poem, the tale being theMS. found in a Bottle, and the poemThe Coliseum. In the following year Mr. Alland.without making any provision for P., and the latter, being now thrown on his own resources, took to literature as a profession, and became a contributor to various periodicals. In 1836 he entered into a marriage with his cousin Virginia Clemm, a very young girl, who continued devotedly attached to him notwithstanding his many aberrations, until her death in 1847.The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pymappeared in 1838, and in 1839 P. became ed. of theGentleman's Magazine, in which appeared asTales of the Arabesque and Grotesquemany of his best stories. In 1845 his famous poem,The Raven, came out, and in 1848Eureka, a Prose Poem, a pseudo-scientific lucubration. The death of his wife gave a severe shock to his constitution, and a violent drinking bout on a visit to Baltimore led to his death from brain fever in the hospital there. The literary output of P., though not great in volume, limited in range, and very unequal in merit, bears the stamp of an original genius. In his poetry he sometimes aims at a musical effect to which the sense is sacrificed, but at times he has a charm and a magic melody all his own. His better tales are remarkable for their originality and ingenuity of construction, and in the best of them he rises to a high level of imagination, as inThe House of Usher, whileThe Gold BeetleorGolden Bugis one of the first examples of the cryptogram story; and inThe Purloined Letters,The Mystery of Marie Roget, andThe Murders in the Rue Morguehe is the pioneer of the modern detective story.
Life, Woodberry (American Men of Letters).Worksed. by Woodberry and Stedman (10 vols.), etc.
POLLOK, ROBERT (1789-1827).—Poet,b.in Refrewshire, studied for the ministry of one of the Scottish Dissenting communions. After leaving the Univ. of Glasgow hepub.anonymouslyTales of the Covenanters, and in 1827, the year of his untimely death from consumption, appeared his poem,The Course of Time, which contains some fine passages, and occasionally faintly recalls Milton and Young. The poem went through many ed. in Britain and America. Hed.at Shirley, near Southampton, whither he had gone in search of health.
POMFRET, JOHN (1667-1702).—Poet,s.of a clergyman, entered the Church. He wrote several rather dull poems, of which the only one remembered, though now never read, isThe Choice, which celebrates a country life free from care, and was highly popular in its day.
POPE, ALEXANDER (1688-1744).—Poet, wasb.in London, of Roman Catholic parentage. Hisf.was a linen-merchant, whom.as his second wife Edith Turner, a lady of respectable Yorkshire family, and of some fortune, made a competence, and retired to a small property at Binfield, near Windsor. P. received a somewhat desultory education at various Roman Catholic schools, but after the age of 12, when he had a severe illness brought on by over-application, he was practically self-educated. Though never a profound or accurate scholar, he had a good knowledge of Latin, and a working acquaintance with Greek. By 1704 he had written a good deal of verse, which attracted the attention ofWycherley(q.v.), who introduced him to town life and to other men of letters. In 1709 hisPastoralswerepub.in Tonson'sMiscellany, and two years laterThe Essay on Criticismappeared, and was praised by Addison. TheRape of the Lock, which came out in 1714, placed his reputation on a sure foundation, and thereafter his life was an uninterrupted and brilliant success. His industry was untiring, and his literary output almost continuous until his death. In 1713Windsor Forest(which won him the friendship of Swift) andThe Temple of Fameappeared, and in 1715 the translation of theIliadwas begun, and the workpub.at intervals between that year and 1720. It had enormous popularity, and brought the poet £5000. It was followed by theOdyssey(1725-26), in which he had the assistance ofBroomeandFenton(q.v.), who, especially the former, caught his style so exactly as almost to defy identification. It also was highly popular, and increased his gains to about £8000, which placed him in a position of independence. While engaged upon these he removed to Chiswick, where he lived 1716-18, and where he issued in 1717 acoll.ed. of his works, including theElegy on an Unfortunate Ladyand theEpistle of Eloisa to Abelard. In 1718, hisf.havingd., he again removed with his mother to his famous villa at Twickenham, theadornment of the grounds of which became one of his chief interests, and where, now the acknowledged chief of his art, he received the visits of his friends, who included the most distinguished men of letters, wits, statesmen, and beauties of the day. His next task was his ed. of Shakespeare (1725), a work for which he was not well qualified, though the preface is a fine piece of prose. TheMiscellanies, the joint work of Pope and Swift, werepub.in 1727-28, and drew down upon the authors a storm of angry comment, which in turn led to the production ofThe Dunciad, firstpub.in 1728, and again with new matter in 1729, an additional book—the fourth—being added in 1742. In it he satirised with a wit, always keen and biting, often savage and unfair, the small wits and poetasters, and some of a quite different quality, who had, or whom he supposed to have, injured him. Between 1731 and 1735 he produced hisEpistles, the last of which, addressed to Arbuthnot, is also known as thePrologue to the Satires, and contains his ungrateful character of Addison under the name of "Atticus;" and also, 1733, theEssay on Man, written under the influence of Bolingbroke. His last, and in some respects best, works were hisImitations of Horace,pub.between 1733 and 1739, and the fourth book ofThe Dunciad(1742), already mentioned. A naturally delicate constitution, a deformed body, extreme sensitiveness, over-excitement, and overwork did not promise a long life, and P.d.on May 30, 1744, aged 56.
His position as a poet has been the subject of much contention among critics, and on the whole is lower than that assigned him by his contemporaries and immediate successors. Of the higher poetic qualities, imagination, sympathy, insight, and pathos, he had no great share; but for the work which in his original writings, as distinguished from translations, he set himself to do, his equipment was supreme, and the medium which he used—the heroic couplet—he brought to the highest technical perfection of which it is capable. He wrote for his own age, and in temper and intellectual and spiritual outlook, such as it was, he exactly reflected and interpreted it. In the forging of condensed, pointed, and sparkling maxims of life and criticism he has no equal, and in painting a portrait Dryden alone is his rival; while in theRape of the Lockhe has produced the best mock-heroic poem in existence. Almost no author except Shakespeare is so often quoted. His extreme vanity and sensitiveness to criticism made him often vindictive, unjust, and venomous. They led him also into frequent quarrels, and lost him many friends, including Lady M. Wortley Montagu, and along with a strong tendency to finesse and stratagem, of which the circumstances attending the publication of his literary correspondence is the chief instance, make his character on the whole an unamiable one. On the other hand, he was often generous; he retained the friendship of such men as Swift and Arbuthnot, and he was a most dutiful and affectionate son.
SUMMARY.—B.1688,ed.at various Romanist schools, introduced to Wycherley 1704,pub.Pastorals1709,Essay on Criticism1711,Rape of the Lock1714,Windsor ForestandTemple of Fame1713, translation ofIliad1715-20,Odyssey1725-26,coll.Works1717, buys villa at Twickenham 1718,pub.ed. ofShakespeare1725,Miscellanies1727-28,Dunciad1728 (fourth book 1742),Epistles1731-35,Essay on Man1733,Imitations of Horace1733-39,d.1744.
The best ed. of theWorksis that of Elwin and Courthope, withLifeby Courthope (10 vols., 1871-89).
PORDAGE, SAMUEL (1633-1691?).—Poet,s.of a clergyman in Berks,ed.at Merchant Taylor's School, studied law at Lincoln's Inn, and made various translations, wrote some poems, two tragedies,Herod and Mariamne(1673), andThe Siege of Babylon(1678), and a romance,Eliana. He is best known by hisAzaria and Hushai(1682), in reply to Dryden'sAbsalom and Achitophel, distinguished from the other replies by its moderation and freedom from scurrility.
PORSON, RICHARD (1759-1808).—Scholar,s.of the parish clerk of E. Ruston, Norfolk, was distinguished from childhood by a marvellous tenacity of memory which attracted the attention of the curate of the parish, whoed.him, after which he was sent by a gentleman to Eton. Subsequently a fund was collected for the purpose of maintaining him at Camb., where he had a brilliant career, and became a Fellow of Trinity Coll. This position he lost by refusing to take orders. In 1792 he was appointed Prof. of Greek in the Univ., but resided for the most part in London, where he was much courted by literary men, but unfortunately fell into extremely intemperate habits. P. was one of the very greatest of Greek scholars and critics; but he has left little permanent work of his own. He ed. four plays of Euripides, viz.,Hecuba, Orestes, Phœnissæ, andMedea. His most widely read work was hisLettersto Archdeacon Travis on the disputed passage, 1 John v. 7, which is considered a masterpiece of acute reasoning. He is buried in the chapel of Trinity Coll.
PORTER, ANNA MARIA (1780-1832), PORTER, JANE (1776-1850).—Novelists, were thedau.of an Irish army surgeon, and sisters of Sir Robert Ker P., the painter and traveller. After the death of thef.the family settled in Edin., where they enjoyed the friendship of Scott. ANNA at the age of 12pub.Artless Tales, the precursor of a series of tales and novels numbering about 50, the best beingDon Sebastian(1809). JANE, though the elder by four years, did notpub.until 1803, when her first novel,Thaddeus of Warsaw, appeared.The Scottish Chiefsfollowed in 1810. Both of these works, especially the latter, had remarkable popularity, theChiefsbeing translated into German and Russian. She had greater talent than her sister, but like her, while possessed of considerable animation and imagination, failed in grasping character, and imparting local verisimilitude. Both were amiable and excellent women. A romance,Sir Edward Seaward's Diary(1831), purporting to be a record of actual circumstances, and ed. by Jane, is generally believed to have been written by a brother, Dr. William Ogilvie P.
POWELL, FREDERICK YORK (1850-1904).—Historian,ed.at Rugby and Oxf., called to the Bar at the Middle Temple 1874, became an ardent student of history, and succeeded Froude as Prof. of Modern History at Oxf. in 1894. Absorbed in study, he wrote less than his wide and deep learning qualified him for. Among his works areA History of England to1509, and he also wrote on Early England up to the Conquest, and on Alfred and William the Conqueror.
PRAED, WINTHROP MACKWORTH (1802-1839).—Poet,s.of a sergeant-at-law, wasb.in London,ed.at Eton and Camb., and called to the Bar 1829. He sat in Parliament for various places, and was Sec. to the Board of Control 1834-35. He appeared to have a brilliant career before him, when his health gave way, and hed.of consumption in 1839. His poems, chiefly bright and witty skits and satirical pieces, werepub.first in America 1844, and appeared in England with a memoir by Derwent Coleridge in 1864. His essays appeared in 1887.
PRESCOTT, WILLIAM HICKLING (1796-1859).—Historian,b.at Salem, Massachusetts, thes.of an eminent lawyer, wased.at Harvard, where he graduated in 1814. While there he met with an accident to one of his eyes which seriously affected his sight for the remainder of his life. He made an extended tour in Europe, and on his return to America hem., and abandoning the idea of a legal career, resolved to devote himself to literature. After ten years of study, hepub.in 1837 hisHistory of Ferdinand and Isabella, which at once gained for him a high place among historians. It was followed in 1843 by theHistory of the Conquest of Mexico, and in 1847 by theConquest of Peru. His last work was theHistory of Philip II., of which the third vol. appeared in 1858, and which was left unfinished. In that year he had an apoplectic shock, and another in 1859 was the cause of his death, which took place on January 28 in the last-named year. In all his works he displayed great research, impartiality, and an admirable narrative power. The great disadvantage at which, owing to his very imperfect vision, he worked, makes the first of these qualities specially remarkable, for his authorities in a foreign tongue were read to him, while he had to write on a frame for the blind. P. was a man of amiable and benevolent character, and enjoyed the friendship of many of the most distinguished men in Europe as well as in America.