Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 16.djvu/36

* PILES. 20 PILGRIM. ways be observed. When inllamed, in addition to the al)Ovc precautions, piles should lie treated by absolute rest, warm tdnicnlalions. and the injection of cold water into the rectum .several times a day. As the acute .symptoms subside, astringent and sedative lotions, .such as lead water and laudanum, and extract of hamamelis, may be applied. Internal piles that protrude must be pushed back: if tbey become stran- gulated, hot applications are to be used until reduction is possible. For the bleeding, which is sometimes severe, cold applications and injections usually sullice. Hcmdrrhoids occasionally be- come so troulilcsonie as to make life a burden. and operation is the only measure that will bring relief. The tumors, if external, may be simply tied with ligatures at the base and cut off. In- ternal piles may be drawn down with forceps and treated in the same manner. In persistent cases the w hole pile-bearing area of mucous mem- brane may be dissected off and removed, and healthy membrane brought down to take its place. PILETJS, pi'le-iis (Lat., cap). The cap-like top of a toadstool. See Basioiomycetes. PILEWORT. An herb. See Ranunculus. PILGRIM (OF. pfllcf/riii, pclerin, peregrin. Ft. prlerin. jiilgrim, from 1-at. prrriirinus, foreigner, pilgrim, from pcrerjer. being in foreign lands, from prr, through -f aijcr, field ). One who visits some distant place for a religious purpose. The notiim that particular localities possess special sanctity is widespread. The gods of primitive religions arc local and can only be approached within their proper boundaries or at their peculiar sanctuaries. Hence, when their worshipers become scattered, a journey is neces- sary to offer devotion or ask for favors. A place where a thcophany is supposed to liave occurred is naturally considered as consecrated by the divine presence and particularly favorable for answer to ])rayer. Localities of importance in the history of a religion or in the lives of persons specially reverenced attract the interest and de- votion of the faithful. In religions where self- mortilicatiim is considered meritorinis or obliga- tory, the trouble and pains involved in a journey, particularly in times and places where travel is neither easy nor secure, have ma<le of pilgrimage a meritorious act and pious duty. On the otlicr hand, the journey affords opportunity to see the world, satisfies the love of adventure, and provides an outing, and this element is not to be overlooked in tracing the history of pil- grimage. Pilgrimages are characteristic of many relig- ions, as those of ancient Egjpt. Persia in the Mithraic period, Syria, ilexico. and Peru. India, China, and .Japan. The Greek and Roman custom of consulting the gods at local oracles, like Dodo- na and Deljihi, is well known. In the early period of Hebrew history there were many local sanctu- aries, and pilgrimages to some of them are clearly indicated, as Shiloh (I. Sam. i. 4), Ophrah (Judges viii. 27), Ban and Bethel (I. Kings xii. SO-.^.S j . The great Mohammedan pilgrimage to Mecca (see Hajj ; Mohammedanism) is a sur- vival of pagan times. Besides this, which is obligatory on every Mussulman, there are numer- ous devotional pilgrimages, particularly to the tombs of saints. Kairwan (q.v. ) in Tunis, Wazan in .Miuocco, Kerliela ii|.v. ) in Mesopo- tamia, and .Masjid Ali in Irak are sacred cities, the last two in the estimation of the Shiilea hardly second to Mecca. The early Christians regarded certain places with special religious interest; above all. the Holy Land, and particularly the .scenes of the passion of the Lord at .Jerusalem. Other sacred places, too, were held to be fit objects of the same visits of religious veneration. The tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul, and of the mar- tyrs in the catacombs at Rome, are so dcscril)e<l by Saint .Jerome (Vomimnliiry on K:<kiil). The that to the Holy Land: and even after Jerusalem had been occupied by the Mohanniicdans, the lib- erty of pilgrimage, on jiayment of a tax. was formally secured by treaty; and it was from the necessity of protecting pilgrims from outrage that the well-known military orders (see Order.s) had their origin. The Crusades (q.v.) may be regarded as a pilgrimage on a great scale, the direct object being to secure for the Latin Chris- tians inuiuinity of pilgrimage. On the other hand, the final abandonment of the Crusades led to a great extension of what may be called do- mestic pilgrimage, and drew into religious notice and veneration nuiny shrines in Europe, which, after the lapse of time, became celelirated places of ]dous resort. The chief places of pilgrimage in the West were: in Italy — Rome. Loreto (q.v.), Genazzano. Assisi; in Sjiain — Compostda. Gua- dalupe. Montserrat: in France — Fourvif res. Puy, Saint-Denis: in Germany — Oetting. Zell. Cologne, Treves; in Switzerland — Einsiedeln: in England — Walsinghani. Canterbury, and many others of minor note. The pilgrim conunonly bound him- self only by a temporary vow of chastity and other .iscctic observances, terminating with the actual visit to the place of pilgrimage, or at least with the return home. He wore a broad hat, a black or gray cloak, girt with a cincture, and carried a long stair. Those who had c(miplcted the jjilgrimage to the Holy Land bmught away a palm leaf and hence were called palmers. A string of scallop shells was the badge of a pilgrim from Com- postcla. a bottle or bell from Canterbury. Pil- grims had many i)rivileges. They were consid- ered holy men whose person was sacred, and were entitled to entertainment and assistance on their way. Hospices for their accommodation were established in many places, notably in Rome, and are a prominent feature of .Jerusalem at the jjresent day. In the course of time many un- worthy persons joined the number and brought pilgrimages into disrepute. They have always been maintained in Italy. Spain. Southern Ger- many, and Sw itzerland ; in France they fell into disfavor during and after the Revolution. In late years, however, pilgrimages on a very large scale, even from the Cnitcd States, have visited the sanctuaries of Lourdes (q.v.). La Salcttc. and Paray-le-Monial (q.v.). Another popular Euro- pean place of pilgrimage is Czenstochowa. in Russian Poland. A famous shrine of the New World is Saint Anne de Beaupr^. near Quebec; and large numbers annually visit the place con- secrated by the death of the .Jesuit nuirtyrs Father -Togues (q.v.) and hi.s companions at Auriesville. X. Y. The Holy Land is visited still by many pilgrims from the Eastern churches, par- ticularly Russian peasants, and a smaller number from Western Europe. For the history of Chris-
 * )ilgriniage, however, prct-minently so called, was