Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 16.djvu/411

* PRAXITELES. 34» PRAYEB. Mausoleum at Ilalicarnassus. about n.c. 353. The former date seems connected with the battle of Mantinea, and the activity of Praxiteles. Ccphis- odotus (q.v. ), i^erhaps an elder brother, and other Athenian artists at this period in the Pelopon- nesus There is nothing in the statements about Praxiteles that indicates artistic activity after B.C. 330. His most famous works have perished, and are known to us, if at all, only through Ro- man copies. The most famous was the Aphrodite of Cnidus, which Pliny calls the finest statue in the world. In it the goddess was represented as having just laid aside her clothing to enter the bath ; she was naked, but, while conscious of her beauty, showed plainly her reluctance at display- ing it even to herself. The only good complete copy is a statue in the Vatican,' which has been disfigured for a hundred years or more b.v a mass of tin drapery about the" lower limbs. The best head is in private possession in Berlin. The statue shows how the ideals of the fifth-century art had been modified. The gods and goddesses of this period have lost the superhuman element, and are little more than idealized men and wo- men. Praxiteles himself seems to have avoided the sensuous and weak, but lus copyists and imitators were not so fortunate. Another famous statue was the Eros of Thespia-, dedicated by the hetajra Phryne, the mistress of Praxiteles' and the most famous beauty of her time, who was said to have served as amodel for the Aphrodite. This statue is by some thought to be the original of the Eros of Centocelli in the Vatican, though this is doubtful. The artist was celebrated for his satyrs, and two very frcciuent types may with probability be referred to his originals. One is the youthful satyr who pours wine from a pitcher in his raised right hand into a bowl in liis left, well represented by the Palermo copy; the other is the resting satyr, best known fro'm the Capi- toline statue immortalized by Hawthorne in his "ilarble Faun." Another work is one reproduced in the statues which represent the youthful Apollo playfully threatening with an arrow a lizard crawling toward him on a tree-trunk, which must be Praxiteles's Apollo Sauroctonos. or Lizard Slayer, ilore fortunate than other artists of antiquity, Praxiteles is known to us bv one un- doubted original, the Hermes of Olvmpia, which was found May 8. 1877, during the excavation of the Her.Timi, where it was seen by the traveler Pausanias. The youthful god is here represented as the protector of his baby brother Dionysus. He rests his left elbow on a tree-trunk, over which his cloak is hung, while on the lower arm sits the baby stretching one hand toward some object (probaldy a bmich of grapes held in the extended right liand of the god). The attitude is easy and the pose graceful, giving opjiortunity for a variety of contrasting curves, while the technical execution is beyond praise. But the chief beauty of the work is in the wonderful head, which i's strong and thoughtful yet full of sensitiveness and delicacy. The lines are finely curved, and in the modeling every part receives equal attention, so that the eft'ect is produced by an infinite num- ber of details, without giving undue prominence to any part, thus contrasting somewhat strongly with the methods of Scopas (q.v.K Another work which makes strong claim to being an orig- inal of this artist, and is almost certainly exe- cuted from his drawings, is the Basis' from Mantinea, where on three slabs is reproduced the strife of Apollo and Marsyas in presence of the .Muses. The figures are in low relief, and full of grace, though without the perfection which char- acterizes the Hermes. A fine marble bust found at Eleusis is also regarded by many comijetent judges as the original of a Eubuleus by Praxi- teles. It certainly shows strong resemblance to the Satyr and other works of this artist, but the identification cannot be regarded as certain. In addition to the histories of Greek art (q.v. ), con- sult: Furtwiingler, Masterpieces of Greek ticulp- ?!/re, trans, by E. Sellers (London and New York, 1895). Klein, Praxiteles. (Leipzig. 18118), both to be used with caution : Kekulc. Dcr Kopf des I'rax- itelisclicn Hermes (Stuttgart, 1881); Amelung, Die H(wis des Praxiteles aus Mantinea (Munich, 1895). See Plate of PoLYCUTUS and Praxitele.s. PRAY, Georg (1723-1801). An Hungarian scholar and historian, born at XeuhUusel. In 1741 he entered the Jesuit Order, subsequently was an instructor in various educational institu- tions, including the Theresianum at Vienna and academies at Tyrnau and Buda. and was per- mitted by his superiors to transfer his activities to historical research. Upon the suppression of the Jesuits by Clement XIV. he was appointed royal historiographer of Hungary, and in 1777 custodian of the library of the University of Buda (removed in 178-1 to Pesth). He also" received otherwise from the Crown assistance and distinc- tions. He is to be ranked w^ith Stephen Katona (1732-1811), also a Jesuit, as a founder of sci- entific Hungarian history. His publications, strongly patriotic in tone, include Annates Tetcres Hunnoriim, Avarorum et Hiinrmroruni (1701), Annates Regum Bunyariw (17G4-70), and Speci- men Bierarchiw Hiingaricw (1776-79). PRAY, I.s.v.c Cl.rk (1813-60). An Ameri- can journalist, playAvright, and actor. He was born in Boston and graduated at Amherst Col- lege in 1833. He began newspaper work in his native city, but shortly afterwards produced in New York his plays of Giiitietta Gordoni and The Old Clock, the latter based on a story of his own. In England, in 1840, he appeared as an actor in Hamlet and Othello. In 18.50 he became dramatic critic for the Xew York Herald, and later for a time he edited the Philadelphia Inquirer. He also engaged successfully in theatrical manage- ment, besides being the author of Viryinius and other plays. Among his works are Prose and Verse (1836), Poems (1837), Book of the Drama (1851), and Memoirs of James Gordon Bennett (1855). PRAYER (OF. prierc, Fr. priere, from ML. prcearia. ]>rayer, from Lat. prccari, to entreat; connected with OChureh Slav, prositi. Skt. prach, to ask, Goth, frah, I asked, OHG. frtlflcn. Ger. fraflen. AS. frignan, prov. Eng. frain. to ask). In its broadest sense, a verbal address made to a spiritual being. Such a ccmimunication usually embodies a petition, but may also contain con- fession, apology, thanksgiving, tidings, explana- tion, or meditation. From the point of view of comparative religion the main characteristics of prayer may be arranged under several heads. ( I ) Unirersalit!/. — It would seem that the act of prayer must be as general as belief in spirits, that is to say common to humanity, but this view has been contested. Lubbock maintained that lower forms of religion are almost independent of prayer, which, in his opinion, involves a belief