Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 16.djvu/573

* PSALTERY. 503 PSILOMELANE. family out of which tlie pianoforte ultimately developed, it was especially important in this respect since, in the fourteenth century, a key- board mechanism was attached to the horizontal psaltery, and this kej'ed psaltery became the direct parent of the spinet, harpsichord, and virginal (q.v.). It was popular in the Middle Ages for its sweetness of tone and purity of intonation. The Hebrew kinnor is rendered psaltery in the Authorized Version of the Bible wherever it is used, except in a few passages in Isaiah and in Amos, where it is translated viol. PSAMMETICHUS, sam-met'i-kus (Lat., from Gk. 'J'a/i|injTtxos. Egyptian I'scDitck). The name of three kings of Egypt of the Twenty-sixth or Saitic Dpiasty. Psammeticiius I. (B.C. 003- 609), son of Necho, Prince of Memphis and Sais, succeeded his father in B.C. 663 as a vassal of Ashurbanijial, King of Assyria, but a few years later (perhaps about 600) he renounced his allegiance, and. subduing the petty rulers who divided the country, made himself master of all Egypt. He strengthened his title to the throne by marrying a daughter of Queen Amenerdas, and established his capital at Sais, in the Delta. His military success was due to the aid of Greek and Carian mercenaries furnished, it is said, by Gyges, King of Lydia, and he subsequently in- troduced considerable numbers of these troops into the Egyptian army. Psanunctichus pro- tected the country by establishing strong gar- risons on the frontiers, and promoted commerce by encouraging foreigners to settle in the Delta. His flourishing reign was marked by a very extra- ordinary renaissance in art. — Ps.mmetichus II. { B.C. 094-5S8 ) was the .son of King Necho and the grandson of Psammetichus I. His name is found in the quarries at Silsileh, Wadi Hammamat, and Tura. and during his reign building opera- tions appear to have been carried on in many of the sanctuaries of Egypt. — PsAiurETiciiLs III. (B.C. 526-52.5), the last King of this dvnasty, was conquered by Cambyses in B.C. 525, and Egvpt thus became a Persian province. PSARA, psii'rii, or IPSARA. An island in the -Kgean Sea belonging to Turkey and situated ten miles west of the northern end of Chios (Map: Balkan Peninsula, E 5). Area. 34 square miles. Previous to the Greek War of Independ- ence it had a population of nearly 30.000 and considerable commerce. In 1824 it was captured by the Turks after a stubborn resistance, and since then it has declined, having now a popula- tion of onlv 4500, chiefly Greeks. PSCHTITT, pshut. A slang term which came into vogue in Paris about ISSO to designate the highest degree of the fashionable elegance, which had Ix'pn known as chic (q.v. ). PSEUDEPIGRAPHA. See Apocetpha; Apoc.m.yptic Literatvre. PSEUDO-CLEMENTINES, su'd6-. See Clemextixa. PSETJDO-DEME'TRIUS. Th(f name fre- quently given in Russian history to several pretenders to the throne during the early years of the seventeenth century. See DEJrETRIUS. PSETTDO-ISIDORIAN DECRETALS, or False Decret.ls. A collection of canon law which was made, probably, about the middle of the ninth centiiry. It purports to be the work of Saint Isidore of Seville (q.v.), to whom the name Mercator is here given. The first part of this collection contains fifty of the Apostolic Cauons and some sixty decretals, purporting to be of the popes from Clement I. (101) to Melchiades (314), arranged in chronological or- der. The second part consists chiefly of a body of canons which can be traced to the Hispana, a collection made late in the seventh century. The third part consists of thirty-five supposed decretals. This collection continued to be re- garded as of miquestioned authority until the fifteenth century, when Cardinal S'icholas of Cusa first expressed doubts of their authenticity. A similar adverse judgment was rendered by scholars of the Reformation, and has been con- firmed by modern historical criticism. These false decretals are thought to have been compiled for the purpose of developing the powers of the episcopate in opposition to the rights of metro- politans and of provincial synods. The critical edition of this collection is by Hinschius, Decrc- tales Pseiido-Isidoriaixe et Capitula Angilramni (Leipzig, 1S03). There is also a partial English translation in the Ante-yicene Fathers, vol. viii. PSETJDOLtrS (Lat., the liar). A somewhat loosely constructed comedy of Plautus, performed in i!.c. 1!)1. PSEUDOMORPH. See Cbtstaixogbaphy. PSEUDONEUROPTERA (Xeo-Lat. nom. pi., from Gk. (/ev5-ns. psriidis. false + veSpov, neuron, nerve -|- irrepSii. ptcron, wing). An order of in- sects including those groups of the older order Neuroptera of Linmeus in which the metamor- phoses are incomplete. As an ordinal term it is not now in use. Erichson, who originally founded the group as a suborder, include<l in it the Termitids or white ants, the Psocid* or book-lice, the EpliemeridiP or May-flies, and the LibellulidiE or dragon-flies (qq.v.). These groups now fonn the orders Isoptera. Corrodentia, Ephemerida. and Odonata. Sharp retains the term Pseudoneuroptora as a 'division' of the Neuroptera. and includes in it only the families Embiid.T. Termitida', and Psocida5. PSEUDONYM (Fr. pseiuloiujme, from Gk. 'p(vd<im/iOi. pseiidonjnnos, having a false name, from ^tuSiJs, psciidcs, false + Svvfm, onyma, ipo/ia, ononia, name). A name assumed by an author for veiling his identity or for other rea- sons. A common equivalent is pen-name. Xom dc plume, an expression often used in English speech and writing, is not employed by the French. For contemporary pseudonyms, consult ir/io'.? Who. publislied annually. The standard works are Ilalkett and T.aing's Diclionarii of the Anonymou-t and T'.teiidoiiyiiious Litcralure of Great Britain (4 vols., Edinburgh, 1882-88) ; Cushing's Initials and Pseudonyms (2 vols.. New York; 1st series, 1885; 2d series, 1888); and Barbier. Dictionnaire des ourrages anonymcs (4 vols.. Paris, 1872-70; supplement by Brunet, 1880). See AxoxYSiors. PSEUDO-PHILO. See Apocrypha, section on 0/(7 Testament. PSILOM'ELANE (from Gk. fiUs. psilos, bare -- ^Aos, melns, black). A hydrous man- ganese manganate that is found massive, has a submetallic lustre, and is dark gray to black in color. It occurs in botrvoidal and stalactitic forms in the Ilarz. in Tliuringia, Hungary. Enir- land. and in the United States in Vermoiit. Vir- ginia, and Arkansas. Psilomclane is the com-