Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/678

 658 POLE POLEMO numerous animals have been observed almost as far north as man has penetrated. But the sea is inhabited by numerous seals and ceta- ceans, and birds, particularly penguins, have been found in astonishing numbers. Fishes and lower animals must of course abound cor- respondingly. POLE, Reginald, an English cardinal, born at Stowerton castle, Staffordshire, in 1500, died Nov. 18, 1558. On his mother's side he was related to Henry VIII. He was sent when sev- en years old to the Carthusian monastery of Shene, near Richmond in Surrey, and gradua- ted at Magdalen college, Oxford, in 1515. In 1517 he became prebendary of Salisbury, and in 1519 dean of Wimborne and Exeter. About 1520 he went to Padua to finish his studies. Returning to England in 1525, he was received with great favor by the king ; but preferring to spend his time in study, he retired to Shene. He had been here about two years when Henry began to question the legality of his marriage with Catharine of Aragon ; and Pole, foresee- ing trouble, obtained from the king permission to visit Paris. Returning after a year, his retirement was again disturbed by the deter- mination of the king to throw off the pope's supremacy, and his desire to gain the approba- tion of his relative. As Pole refused his con- sent, to avoid the anger of Henry he passed over to the continent and dwelt successively at Avignon, Padua, and Venice. Meanwhile Hen- ry had married Anne Boleyn, and caused a de- fence of his title of head of the English church to be written by Dr. Sampson, bishop of Chi- chester. This was sent to Pole, who wrote in reply Pro Unitate Ecclesiastic^ in which he compared the king to Nebuchadnezzar. Henry discontinued Pole's pension, deprived him of his preferments, arid caused an act of attainder to be passed against him. Paul III., who was then pope, created him a cardinal, and sent him as nuncio to France and Flanders, and afterward as legate to Viterbo. Here he re- mained until the opening of the council of Trent, which he attended as a papal legate, and in which he is said to have maintained the doctrine, of justification by faith. Al- though suspected on this account of a lean- ing toward Protestantism, he was neverthe- less employed by Paul in the affairs of the papal court, and on the death of that pon- tiff came near being chosen his successor. On the accession of Pope Julius III., he retired to the convent of Maguzano near Verona, and there remained until called to England by Queen Mary. He was made archbishop of Canterbury after the burning of Cranmer, and was elected chancellor of Oxford and subse- quently of Cambridge. In the cruel measures which were taken at that time for the extirpa- tion of Protestantism, it has been a matter of debate how far the primate was censurable ; but the weight of evidence seems to favor the conclusion that he was inclined rather to lenient than to harsh proceedings. He died | 16 hours after the death of the queen. His life was written by T. Phillips (2 vols., 1764). POLECAT (putorim communis, Cuv.), a well known animal of the weasel family, spread over Europe and temperate Asia. It is about 15 in. long, the tail 6 in. additional, and 6 or 7 in. high ; the general color is dark brown, fading into yellowish below, the legs and tail black, and the face whitish with a brown mask across the region of the eyes ; the colors vary considerably. The form is elongated, the head short and rounded, the teeth the same as in the ferret, the feet five-toed with sharp claws, the mammsB four and ventral, and the fur soft and thick. It is very active, pursuing living prey upon the ground, and rarely ascending trees ; it is very sanguinary, but its size limits its depredations to small animals, such as do- mestic fowls, ground birds, squirrels, rabbits, and other rodents ; it is strictly nocturnal, re- maining concealed during the day in some Polecat (Putorius communis). outbuilding, as it generally lives in the neigh- borhood of man, and committing its havoc at night in the hen roost and dove cot ; it is so wary as generally to escape traps. When alarmed or irritated, it emits a very disagree- able odor in the secretion of the anal glands, which attaches itself even to the fur, prevent- ing that use of it to which its fineness entitles it. The female generally makes her nest in a rabbit burrow, having killed or driven away the rabbit. Its habits and manner of killing its prey are the same as in the ferret. The common fur called fitch is that of the polecat, one of whose popular names is fitchet. POLEMO. I* A Greek philosopher, born in Athens about 340 B. C., died about 273. In his youth he gave himself up to sensuality ; but becoming a disciple of Xenocrates, he went to the other extreme of rigid and austere tem- perance. He succeeded to the chair of Xeno- crates, and was the teacher of Arcesilas, Crates, and Zeno. II. A Greek geographer of the