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 122 PARMIGIANO PAROPAMISAN MOUNTAINS spiring against Alexander's life, and when put to the torture implicated his father. Alexan- der caused the veteran to be assassinated. PARMIGIANO, or Parmigianino, an Italian paint- er, whose real name was Francesco Mazzuola, or Mazzola, born in Parma in 1503 or 1504, died in Casal Maggiore, Aug. 24, 1540. In his 16th year he produced a picture of the " Bap- tism of Christ." His first works were in the style of Oorreggio. In his 20th year he went to Rome, where Clement VII., Cardinal Ip- polito de' Medici, and others employed him, and in 1527 he painted his "Vision of St. Jerome," now in the British national gallery. In the same year, after the sack of Rome by the constable de Bourbon, he took refuge in Bologna, where his best works were produced. Among these were the Madonna delta, rosa, in the Dresden gallery ; the Madonna del collo lungo, in the Pitti palace ; and the famous al- tarpiece, now in the gallery at Bologna, called the Santa MargJierita. In 1531 Parmigiano returned to his native city, and was commis- sioned to execute a series of frescoes in the church of Santa Maria della Steccata, which after a delay of several years he began but never finished. Among the figures completed is a celebrated one of Moses breaking the tables of the law. For his failure to execute these frescoes, for which he had received a sum in advance, he was thrown into prison, but he escaped into the neighboring territory of Cre- mona, where he died. PARNASSUS, in ancient geography, a moun- tain range of central Greece, which com- menced near (Eta and Corax, and, traversing Doris and Phocis in a S. E. direction, termi- nated at the Corinthian gulf. In a more re- stricted sense the name is applied only to the highest part of the range, which lies a few miles N. of Delphi in Phocis, and culminates in Mt. Lycorea (now Liakura, 8,068 ft. high). Its sides are well wooded and abound in cav- erns and picturesque ravines. Snow lies on the summit the greater part of the year. Apollo and the Muses were said to make this mountain their favorite haunt, and the latter held here their assemblies. The Castalian spring, in which the Pythia used to bathe, sprang from a cleft in the rocks between two of the summits. The Corycian cave, sacred to Pan and the Muses, was on Mt. Lycorea. Par- nassus was also sacred to Bacchus, and the thea- tre of the Bacchanalian revels of the Thyades. PARNELL, Sir Henry Brooke. See CONGLETON. PARNELL, Thomas, an Irish poet, born in Dublin in 1679, died in Chester in July, 1717. He was educated in the college of Dublin, took holy orders in 1700, and was created archdeacon of Clogher in 1705. He spent most of his time in England. With Pope, Swift, Arbuthnot, and Gay he was united in the clo- sest friendship, and was a member of the fa- mous Scriblerus club. He assisted Pope in his translation of Homer, and wrote the life of Homer prefixed to the Iliad. His only other considerable prose composition was a satire on Dennis and Theobald, under the title of " A Life of Zoilus." Archbishop King gave him a prebend in 1713, and in May, 1716, presented him to the vicarage of Finglass, in the diocese of Dublin. A selection from his poems was published by Pope in 1722, and a supplemen- tary volume, the authenticity of which is ques- tioned, appeared in 1758. The "Allegory on Man," " The Hermit," " A Fairy Tale, in the ancient English Style," "Hesiod, or the Rise of Women," and a translation of Homer's " Battle of the Frogs and Mice," are among his happiest productions. His life was writ- ten by Goldsmith. PARM, Evariste Desire Desforges, chevalier de, a French poet, born in St. Paul, island of Bourbon, Feb. 6, 1753, died near Paris, Dec. 5, 1814. He went to France to study for the church, but became a soldier. In 1773, return- ing to his native island, he fell in love with Esther de Baif, whom he celebrated under the name of Eleonore. His father opposing the marriage, he went to Paris and devoted him- self to literature. In 17T7 he published his Voyage ^en Bourgogne, and a semi-satirical poem, Epitre aux insurgents de Boston. This was followed in 1778 by his first collection of erotic poems. In 1785 he went to India as aide-de-camp to M. de Souillac, governor general of the French possessions. Return- ing with despatches, he retired to Feuillan- court, near Paris, where he wrote Les fleur*, Lajournee champetre, Les dome tableaux, and other poems. In 1795 he was appointed to a subordinate office in the department of pub- lic instruction, and for one year held the post of administrator of the theatre des arts. His later poems were remarkable for their wit and obscenity. He was admitted to the French academy in 1803. Frangais de Nantes gave him an office in the administration of the droits reunis, and Napoleon bestowed upon him a pension of 3,000 francs. His complete works were published in Paris (5 vols. 18mo, 1808) and Brussels (2 vols. 8vo, 1826) ; selec- tions, with notice of his life and writings by Tissot (Paris, 1826) ; and Elegies et poesies di- verses, with preface by Sainte-Beuve (1862). PAROL (Norman Fr., a spoken word), as an adjective, in law, by word of mouth, not writ- ten. (See CONTRACT, EVIDENCE, and FEAUDS, STATUTE OF.) PAROPAMISAN MAINTAINS, or Paropamisns, a name formerly generally applied to a western portion of the Hindoo Koosh range in central Asia. (See HINDOO KOOSH.) It is of very an- cient origin, having been used before the time of Alexander; but its application in ancient works is very indefinite, and there is a consid- erable difference of opinion among modern geographers as to what part of the western Hindoo Koosh it properly designated. On the best maps it appears as the name of the range along the N. boundary of Cabool, the N. E. district of Afghanistan, and extending from