or Epistles of St Peter, two canonical books of the New Testament written by the apostle St Peter, and addressed to those Jewish converts who were scattered throughout Pontus and Galatia, not only upon the persecution raised at Jerusalem, but upon former dispersions of the Jews into those places. The first of these epistles is principally designed to comfort and confirm them under those fiery trials they were then subject to, and to direct them how to behave in the several states and relations both in the civil and Christian life. In the second epistle, the apostle prosecutes the same subject, to prevent their apostasy from the faith, and guard them against the corrupt principles of the Gnostics, and those who scoffed at the promise of Christ's coming.

Peter (St), one of the apostles, was born at Bethsaida in Galilee, and was named Simon; but Christ having called him to be an apostle, changed his name into that of Cephas, which is the same with Peter: for as he was fishing on the lake of Genazereth with Andrew his brother, the Son of God ordered them to leave their nets and to follow him; and from that time they continued his disciples. He was a witness to our Lord's transfiguration on the mount. He was present at the last supper; and was in the garden when the soldiers came to seize Jesus, where, being transported with zeal, he drew his sword and cut off the high-priest's servant's ear. But he soon after denied his knowing his Lord; and perished in it three times, till the cock-crowing reminded him of Jesus's having foretold this instance of his weakness; on which he shewed his repentance by his tears. St Peter was likewise a witness of Christ's resurrection and ascension, and of the descent of the Holy Ghost. He afterwards preached the gospel with great zeal, converted 3000 persons at his first sermon, and performed many surprising miracles in proof of his divine mission. Some time after, Herod Agrippa caused him to be put in prison at Jerusalem, whence he was delivered by an angel. Dr Pearson has proved, that this apostle was at Rome, where he met with Philo the Jew, with whom he contracted an intimate acquaintance. When Claudius banished the Jews, he returned to Jerusalem; and, some say, travelled thence into Africa, or, according to others, preached in Britain: that toward the latter end of Nero he returned to Rome, where he was crucified, and buried in the Vatican. Constantine the Great rebuilt and enlarged the Vatican in honour of St Peter, which at this day is one of the wonders of the world. He wrote two epistles, addressed to the converted Jews dispersed throughout Asia; but the other works attributed to St Peter are spurious.

Peter of Blois, a learned man of the 12th century, was born about the year 1120, at the city of Blois in France, from whence he derived his name. His parents being opulent, gave him a learned education. In his youth, when he studied in the university of Paris, he was excessively fond of poetry; and when he was a little further advanced in life, he became no less fond of rhetoric, to the study of which he applied with the greatest ardour. From Paris he removed to Bologna in Italy, to acquire the civil and canon law; in the knowledge of both which he very much excelled. He appears from his writings to have cultivated medicine, and several branches of the mathematics, with no little care and success. The study of theology was the chief delight and business of his life, in which he spent the greatest part of his time, and made the greatest progress. But unfortunately it was that scholastic theology, which consisted in vain attempts to prove and explain the many absurd opinions which then prevailed in the church, by the subtleties of Aristotelian logic. In attempting to explain in this manner the most absurd of all opinions that ever existed amongst mankind, he was the very first person who employed the famous word transubstantiation, which was soon after adopted by the church of Rome, and hath ever since made so great a noise. Being appointed preceptor to William II, king of Sicily in 1167, he obtained the custody of the privy seal; and, next to the archbishop of Palermo, the prime minister, had the greatest influence in all affairs. But his power was not of long duration; for the archbishop being banished in 1168, our... our author soon after left the court of Sicily, and returned into France. He was not long, however, without a royal patron, being invited into England by Henry II. who employed him as his private secretary, made him archdeacon of Bath, and gave him some other benefices. When he had spent a few years at court, he conceived a disgust at that way of life, (of which he hath drawn a very unpleasing picture in one of his letters), and retired into the family of Richard archbishop of Canterbury, who had made him his chancellor about the year 1176. In this station he continued to the death of the archbishop in 1183, enjoying the highest degree of favour with that prelate, though he used much freedom in reproving him for his remissness in the government of the church. Our author remained in the same station in the family of archbishop Baldwin, who succeeded Richard, acting both as his secretary and chancellor. He was also sent by that prelate on an embassy to Rome in 1187, to plead his cause before Pope Urban III. in the famous controversy between him and the monks of Canterbury about the church of Hackington. After the departure of his friend and patron Baldwin for the Holy Land in 1190, our author was involved in various troubles in his old age, the causes of which are not distinctly known; and died about the end of the 12th century. He appears from his works, which may be justly reckoned among the most valuable monuments of the age in which he flourished, to have been a man of great integrity and sincere piety, as well as of a lively inventive genius and uncommon erudition. His printed works consist of 134 letters, which he collected together at the desire of Henry II.; of 65 sermons, delivered on various occasions; and of 17 tracts on different subjects.

Peter the Hermit. See Crusade.

Peter I. justly styled Peter the Great, czar, and afterwards emperor, of Russia, founder of the Russian empire; for though the country was well known, and of great antiquity, yet it had no extent of power, of political influence, or of general commerce in Europe, till his time. He was born in 1672; and was proclaimed czar when but ten years of age, in exclusion of John his elder brother, who, being of a fickle constitution, was at the same time very weak in his understanding. The princess Sophia, his half-sister, made an insurrection in favour of John; and to put an end to the civil war, it was at last agreed that the two brothers should jointly share the imperial dignity. Peter had been very ill brought up, not only through the general defects of the Russian education, but likewise through the arts of the princess Sophia, who surrounded him with every thing that might stifle his natural desire of knowledge, deprave his mind, and enervate it with pleasures. Notwithstanding this, his inclination for military exercises discovered itself in his tenderest years. He formed a company of 50 men, commanded by foreign officers, clothed and exercised after the German manner. He entered himself into the lowest post, that of a drummer; and never rose otherwise than as a folder of fortune. Herein his design was to teach his nobility, that merit, not birth, was the only title to military employments. He reinforced his company with several others, till at last he had got together a considerable body of soldiers. As he then had no war on his hands, he exercised them in all sorts of mock-engagements, and by this means secured to himself a body of well-disciplined troops. The flight of a Dutch vessel, which he had met with on a lake belonging to one of his pleasure-houses, made such an impression on his mind, that he conceived the almost impracticable design of forming a navy. His first care was to get some Hollanders to build some small vessels at Moscow; and he passed two successive summers on board English or Dutch ships, which set out from Archangel, that he might instruct himself in every branch of naval affairs. In 1696 czar John died, and Peter was now sole master of the empire. In 1698, he sent an embassy to Holland; and went incognito in the retinue, and visited England as well as Holland, in order to inform himself fully in the art of ship-building. At Amsterdam he worked in the yard as a private ship carpenter, under the name of Peter Michaeloff; but he has been often heard to say, that if he had never gone to England, he had still remained ignorant of that art. In 1700 he had got together a body of standing forces, consisting of 30,000 foot, and now the vast project he had formed displayed itself in all its parts. He opened his dominions, which till then had been shut up, having first sent the chief nobility of his empire into foreign countries to improve themselves in knowledge and learning. He invited into Russia all the foreigners he could meet with, who were capable of instructing his subjects in any manner, and offered them great encouragement to settle in his dominions. This raised many discontented; and the despotic authority he exerted on that occasion was scarcely powerful enough to suppress them. In 1700, being strengthened by the alliance of Augustus king of Poland, he made war on Charles XII. king of Sweden. His first ill success did not deter him: for he used to say, I know that my armies must be overcome for a great while; but even this will at last teach them to conquer. He afterwards gained considerable advantages, and founded Petersburg in 1703. In 1709 he gained a complete victory over the Swedes at Poltava. In 1712, he was inclosed by the Turks on the banks of the Pruth; and seemed inevitably lost, had not the Czarina Catherine bribed the grand vizier, and the czar's prudence completed his deliverance. In 1716, he made a tour through Germany and Holland, and visited the royal academy of sciences at Paris. It would be endless to enumerate all the various establishments for which the Russians are obliged to him: He formed an army according to the manner of the politest and most experienced nations; he fitted out fleets in all the four seas which border upon Russia; he caused many strong fortresses to be raised after the best plans; and made convenient harbours; he introduced arts and sciences into his dominions, and freed religion from many superstitious abuses: he made laws, built cities, cut canals, &c.; was generous in rewarding, impartial in punishing; faithful, laborious, and humble; yet was not free from a certain roughness of temper natural to his nation. He had indeed cured himself of excess in drinking; but he has been branded with several other vices, particularly cruelty. He published the unfortunate history of his son prince Alexei; towards whom some blame his severity, while others think it no more than was necessary. He perfectly knew Peterpence knew the honour due to persons of merit; and not only heaped honours upon them during their life, but gave them marks of esteem even after their death. He died of the strangury in 1725, and left the world with the magnanimity of a hero and the piety of a Christian.

Peterpence, an ancient tax of a penny on each house paid to the pope.—It was called Peterpence, because it was collected on the day of St Peter ad vincula, and sent to Rome; whence it was also called Rome-foot and Rome-penny.