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* PKECOCITY. Bibliography. Chamberlain. The Child: A {^tuilij in the Evolution of Man (London. 1000) ; Donaldson, The Growth of the Brain (ib., 1895) ; Ellis. Man and Woman (ib., 1894) ; F. Galton, Hereditary Genius (ib., 1892) ; Lang, '"Genius in Children," Xorth American Review, vol. clxiv. (Xew York, 1897). PRECOGNITION (Lat. prwcognitio. fore- know ledjre. from itra-cognoscere, to know before- hand, from prce, before -|- cognoscere, to know). In Scotch law, an examination before a judge ordinary or justice of the peace, corresponding to a preliminary examination under penal stat- utes and the taking of depositions in the United States. In Scotch practice the term is also applied to an examination of witnesses by a solicitor before the trial of a civil cause, at which time it is customary for him to write down the substance of their testimony, the writing itself being sometimes called a precognition. PKEDESTINATION (Lat. prwdesiinatio. from jtradistinare. to determine beforehand, from prw, before -|- destinare. to determine). A theo- logical term signifying the eternal decree of God whereby certain men are appointed unto salva- tion. The opposite decree is called that of repro- bation. The two ideas of an eternal God who works by plan in governing the world, and of such a sinful condition among men as demands the active interference of God by grace if any are to be saved, logically lead to the idea of pre- destination. This connection of thought is found in Saint Paul, was elaborated by Augustine, and established in the Reformed theologv' by Calvin. The tenn, by its connection with the word des- tiny, conveys an unfortunate implication, as if predestination had to do with fate. Theo- logians have always, however, maintained that predestination did not destroy the freedom of the will. With Augustine, predestination is an affair of grace, and concerns chiefly what God will Himself do, the persuasives He will employ to elicit the good choice of the will. He made no attempt to exhibit the reasons why some are brought to faith and salvation and others not. It was a matter of the inscrutable wisdom and mercy of God. In this reticence he has been imitated by most of his followers. Xegatively, the Eeformcd theology emphasized with great force the position that the predestination of God did not depend upon the divine foreknowledge of faith which would be exercised by the elected individual, for that faith, as the entrance into the kingdom of God and the condition of salva- tion, is the result of the election. They did not, however, exclude all foreknowledge of the indi- vidual. The Amiinians were sometimes thought to condition predestination upon foreknowledge of faitli, bit no creed states this (except certain creeds of the Greek Church ). The main conten- tion of Augustine, that salvation begins in the initiative of God, is generally accepted by evan- gelical Christians; but the adjustment of this position to human freedom is a point in refer- ence to which much diversity prevails. In recent times the drift of opinion has been against efforts to make such an adjustment, and the current of discussion has carried theological interests into other departments of thought. Present tenden- cies are to emphasize the known, the facts of consciousness, and avoid inferences of a preca- rious nature as to the unknown. Consult: the 357 PREDIS. »■ treatises on systematic theology, particularly Hodge (Xew York, 1871-72) ; Mozley, A Treatise on the Augustinian Doctrine of Predestination (London. 1878); Forbes. Predestination and Free Will ( Edinburgh, 1879 ). See Arotxiax- I.SM: AUGLSTIXE, Saixt; Cal^xisji; Election; Free Will. PKEDICABLE (Lat. prcedicahilis, what may be spoken of, from prcedicare, to declare, from prw, before -f- dicare, frequentative of dicerv, to say). A term in the scholastic logic connected with the scheme of classification. There were five designations employed in classifying objects on a systematic plan — genus, species, dif- ference, (difTerentia), property (proprium). and accident (accidens). Genus is the name of any class — marked oft" by some attribute or attri- butes, called generic — subdivided into further classes, which are called the species of the genus. The other three designations — differ- ence, property, accident — are names given to attributes, other than the generic, possessed by objects classified. The difference, or more fre- quently the specific difference, is what distin- guishes classes which are called species of the same genus; as, for example, the peculiarities wherein the cat diflfers from the tiger, lion, and other species of the genus felis. The property designates any mark peculiar to a class but not used as a basis of classification. Thus, 'the use of tools' was regarded as a property of man, for it was thought to be an exclusively human char- acteristic, and, yet was not used as the basis for classifying man as a species distinct from apes, etc. The accident is any feature which is neither a generic attribute, a specific difference, nor a property. For instance, the high value of gold is an accident; gold would still be gold though it were plenty and cheap. There is much confusion of thought and conflict of usage in connection with the terms property and accident. It would lie well to omit the term property from considera- tion altogether. Then accident would be an in- clusive term comprehending all the qualities which are neither generic nor specific. Consult the logical works mentioned under Logic. PREDICATE. See .Judgment. PREDIS, pra'des, Ambrogio de (e.l455- c.1.51.5). An Italian painter, born probably in ^lilan. He is supposed to have been first taught by Christophorus de Predis, the miniature painter, and was afterwards influenced by Vin- cenzo Foppa and Leonardo, to the extent that his works have been confounded with theirs for many years. He was the favorite painter of Ludovico Sforza, il Jloro, and probably went to Innsbruck in 1499 with the Duke and his family. The portrait by him of the Emperor ilaxiniilian (dated 1.502). who married Bianca Sfoiza. is in the Vienna Gallery. De Predis was rescued from oblivion by Giovanni ilorelli, the great art critic, who credits him with the following por- traits: a female portrait in the Ambrosiana, Milan, hitherto ascribed to Leonardo: Gian Galeazzo llaria Sforza. belonging to Count Porro at ^lilan ; Francesco de Bartolomnieo Archinto. in the collection of FuUer-ilaitland, London ; two profile portraits in the Libro del Jesus, belonging to Prince Trivulzio. Milan : two portraits of youths, in the Bergamo galleiy. and another in the Poldi collection in Milan. De Predis is one of the most interesting painters of the Milanese