A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

PELAGIUS. PELAGIUS. 175
PEITHO (IsL0cd). 1. The personification of tity had preceded him, for upon his arrival he was
Persuasion (Sueada or Suadela among the Romans), received with great warmth by Jerome, and many
was worshipped as a divinity at Sicyon, where she other distinguished fathers of the church. Although
was honoured with a temple in the agora. (Herod. it must have been evident to every close observer
viii. 111; Paus. ii. 7. ~ 7.) Peitho also occurs as that the speculative views of Pelagius differed
a surname of other divinities, such as Aphrodite, widely from those advocated with so much applause
whose worship was said to have been introduced by the bishop of Hippo, no one had as yet ventured
at Athens by Theseus, when he united the coun- openly to impugn the orthodoxy of the former.
try communities into towns (Paus. i. 22. ~ 3),and But when Orosius, upon his arrival in the East
of Artemis (ii. 2]. ~ 1). At Athens the statues [ORosIvs], brought intelligence that the opinions
of Peitho and Aphrodite Pandemos stood closely of Coelestius had been formally reprobated by Autogether, andat Megara, too, the statue of Peitho relius and the African Church (A. D. 412), whose
stood in the temple of Aphrodite (Paus. i. 43. condemnation extended to the master from whose
~ 6), so that the two divinities must be conceived instructions these opinions were derived, a great
as closely connected, or the one, perhaps, merely commotion arose throughout Syria, in which Jeas an attribute of the other. rome, instigated probably by Augustine, assumed
2. One of the Charites. (Paus. ix. 35. ~ 1; an attitude of most active, not to say virulent, hosSuid. s. v. Xapires; comp. CHARITES.) tility towards Pelagius, who was formally im3. One of the daughters of Oceanus and Thetis. peached first before John of Jerusalem, secondly
(Hes. Theog. 349.) before the Synod of Diospolis (A. D. 415), sum4. The wife of Phoroneus, and the mother of moned specially to judge this cause, and fully
Aegialeus and Apia. (Schol. ad Eurip. Orest. acquitted by both tribunals. Soon afterwards,
920.) [L. S.] however, the Synods of Carthage and of Mileum,
PEITHON (Ilelc'wv). i. Son of Sosicles, was while they abstained from denouncing any indiplaced in command at Zariaspa, where there were vidual, condemned unequivocally those principles
left several invalids of the horseguard, with a small which the followers of Pelaaius and Coelestius were
body of mercenary cavalry. Arrian styles him the supposed to maintain, and at length, after much
governor of the royal household at Zariaspa. When negotiation, Pope Innocentius was induced to anaSpitamenes made an irruption into Bactria, and thematize the two leaders of what was now termed
advanced to the neighbourhood of Zariaspa, Peithon, a deadly heresy, by a decree issued on the 27th of
collecting all the soldiers he could muster, made a January, A. D. 417, about six weeks before his
sally against the enemy, and having surprised death; and this sentence, although at first reversed,
them, recovered all the booty that they had taken. was eventually confirmed by Zosimus [ZosIMus].
He was, however, himself surprised by Spitamenes Of the subsequent career of Pe!agius nothing has
as he was returning; most of his men were cut to been recorded. Mercator indeed declares that he
pieces, and he himself, badly wounded, fell into the was brought to trial before a council in Palestine,
hands of the enemy. (Arrian, iv. 16.) found guilty, and sentenced to banishment; but
2. Son of Agenor. [See PYTHON.] [C. P.M.] this narrative is confirmed by no collateral evidence.
PELA'GIUS. Of the origin and early life of So great however was the alarm excited by the
this remarkable man we are almost entirely igno- progress of the new sect, that an appeal was made
rant. We know not the period of his birth, nor to the secular power, in consequence of which an
the precise date of his death, nor the place of his imperial edict was promulgated at Constantinople
nativity, although the epithet Brito applied by his in 418, threatening all who professed attachment
contemporaries has led to the belief that he was an to such errors with exile and confiscation, and the
Englishman, nor do we even know his real desig- impression thus made was strengthened by the
nation of -which Pelagius (IErXayos) is supposed to resolutions of a very numerous council, which nlet
be a translation, since the tradition that it was at Carthage in the course of the same year.
Morgan seems to be altogether uncertain. He first WVe need feel no surprise at the profound sensaappears in history about the beginning of the fifth tion created by the doctrines usually identified with
century, when we find him residing at Rome, not the name of Pelagius, since unlike many of the
attached to any coenobitical fraternity, but adher- frivolous subtleties which from time to time caused
ing strictly to the most stringent rules of monkish agitation and dissension in the Church, they in
self-restraint. By the purity of his life and by reality affect the very foundation of all religion,
the fervour with which he sought to improve the whether natural or revealed. He is represented as
morals of both clergy and laity, at that epoch sunk denying predestination, original sin, and the necesin the foulest corruption, he attracted the attention sity of internal Divine Grace, and as asserting the
and gained the respect of all who desired that re- absolute freedom of the will and the perfectibility
ligion should exhibit some better fruits than mere of human nature by the unaided efforts of man
empty professions and lifeless ceremonies, while he himself; in other words as refusing to acknowledge
dauntlessly disturbed the repose of the supine, and the transmission of corruption from our first paprovoked the hostility of the profligate by the rents, the efficacy of baptism as the seal of regeenergy with which he strove to awaken them to a neration, the operation of the Holy Spirit as indissense of their danger, and to convince them of their pensable in our progress towards holiness, and the
guilt. In the year 409 or 410, when Alaric was insufficiency of our natural powers to work out
threatening the metropolis, Pelagius accompanied salvation. But although the eager and probably
by his disciple, friend, and ardent admirer Coeles- ignorant Coelestius may have been hurried headtins [COELESTIUS] passed over along with many long forward in the heat of discussion into these or
other fugitives to Sicily, from thence proceeded to similar extravagant propositions, it is difficult to
Africa, where he held personal friendly communi- determine whether Pelagius ever really entertained
cation with Augustine, and leaving Coelestius at or intended to inculcate such extreme views. JeCarthage, sailed for Palestine. The fame of his sanc- rome and Augustine boldly charge him with co