(Sir William), son of Anthony Petty a clothier, was born at Rumsey, a little haven-town in Hampshire, in 1623; and while a boy took great delight in spending his time among the artificers there, whose trades he could work at when but twelve years of age. Then he went to the grammar-school there: at 15, he was master of the Latin, Greek, and French tongues, and of arithmetic and those parts of practical geometry and astronomy useful to navigation. Soon after, he went to Caen in Normandy, and Paris, where he studied anatomy, and read Vesalius with Mr Hobbes. Upon his return to England, he was pre- ferred in the king's navy. In 1643, when the war between the king and parliament grew hot, he went into the Netherlands and France for three years; and having vigorously prosecuted his studies, especially in physic, at Utrecht, Leyden, Amsterdam, and Paris, he returned home to Rumsey. In 1647, he obtained a patent to teach the art of double-writing for seventeen years. In 1648, he published at London "Advice to Mr Samuel Hartlib, for the advancement of some particular parts of learning." At this time he adhered to the prevailing party of the kingdom; and went to Oxford, where he taught anatomy and chem- istry, and was created a doctor of physic. In 1650, he was made professor of anatomy there; and soon after, a member of the college of physicians in London. The same year he became physician to the army in Ireland; where he continued till 1659, and acquired a great fortune. After the Restoration he was intro- duced to king Charles II. who knighted him in 1661. In 1662, he published "A treatise of taxes and contributions." Next year he was greatly applauded in Ireland for his invention of a double-bottomed ship. He died at London of a gangrene in the foot, occasioned by the swelling of the gout, in 1687. Besides the works above-mentioned, he wrote a vast many others.

**Petty**, any thing little or diminutive, when compared with another.

**Petty-Bag**, an office in chancery; the three clerks of which record the return of all inquisitions out of every county, and make all patents of comptrollers, gaugers, cutlers, &c.

**Petty-Fogger**, a little tricking solicitor or attorney, without either skill or conscience.

**Petty**, or Petit, Larceny. See Larceny.

**Petty-Pates**, among confectioners, a sort of small pies, made of a rich crust filled with sweet-meats.

**Petty-Singles**, among falconers, are the toes of a hawk.

**Petty-Tally**, in the sea-language, a competent allowance of victuals, according to the number of the ship's company.

**Petty**, or Petit, Treason. See Treason.

**Petunse**, in natural history, one of the two substances whereof porcelain or china-ware is made. The petunse is a coarse kind of flint or pebble, the surface of which is not so smooth when broken as that of our common flint. See Porcelain.

**Pecucedanum**, or sulphur-wort; a genus of the digynia order, belonging to the pentandria class of plants. There are three species; none of which have any remarkable properties excepting the officinale, or common hogs-fennel, growing naturally in the English salt-marshes. This rises to the height of two feet, with channelled stalks, which divide into two or three branches, each crowned with an umbel of yellow flowers, composed of several small circular umbels. The roots, when bruised, have a strong fetid scent like sulphur, and an acrid, bitterish, unctuous taste. Wounded in the spring, they yield a considerable quantity of yellow juice, which dries into a gummy resin, and retains the strong smell of the root. This should seem to be possessed of some medicinal virtues, but they have never been ascertained with any precision. The expressed juice was used by the ancients in lethargic disorders.

**Pewit**, sea-crow, or Mire-crow, in ornithology. See Larus.

**Pewter**, a factitious metal used in making domestic utensils, as plates, dishes, &c.—The basis of the metal is tin; which is converted into pewter, by mixing at the rate of an hundred weight of tin with 15 pounds of lead and five pounds of brass.—Besides this composition, which makes the common pewter, there are other kinds, compounded of tin, regulus of antimony, bismuth, and copper, in several proportions.

**Pezron** (Paul), a very learned and ingenious Frenchman, born at Hennebon in Brittany in 1639, and admitted into the order of Citeaux in 1660. He was a great antiquary, and was indefatigable in tracing the origin of the language of the Goths; the result of which was, that he was led to espouse a system of the world's being much more ancient than modern chronologers have supposed. This he communicated to the public in a treatise printed at Paris in 1687, Phæacia 4to, intitled The antiquity of Time, restored and defended against the Jews and modern chronologers. This book of Pezron's was extremely admired for the ingenuity and learning in it; yet caused no small alarm among the religious, against whom he nevertheless defended his opinions. He went through several promotions, the last of which was the abbey of Charmoye, to which he was nominated by the king; and died in 1706.

**Phæacia**, one of the names of the island Corcyra, (Homer, Stephanus). Phœaces the people, (Ovid), noted for their indolence and luxury; hence Horace uses Phæax for a person indolent and sleek; and hence arose their insolence and pride, (Aristotle). The island was famous for producing large quantities of the finest flavoured apples, (Ovid, Juvenal, Propertius).

**Phædrus**, an ancient Latin writer, who composed five books of fables, in Iambic verse. He was a Thracian; and was born, as there is reason to conclude, some years before Julius Caesar made himself master of the Roman empire. How he came into the service of Augustus is not known; but his being called Augustus's freedman in the title of the book, shows that he had been that emperor's slave. The fables of Phædrus are valued for their wit and good sense, expressed in very pure and elegant language; and it is remarkable that they remained buried in libraries altogether unknown to the public, until they were discovered and published by Peter Pithou, or Pitheus, a learned French gentleman, toward the close of the 16th century.

**Phænomenon**, in philosophy, denotes any remarkable appearance, whether in the heavens or earth, and whether discovered by observation or experiment.

**Phaeton**, in fabulous history, was the son of Apollo and of the nymph Clymene. He had a dispute with Epaphus, the son of Jupiter and Io; when the latter, upbraiding him, said, that he was not the son of Phœbus, but that his mother artfully made use of that pretence to cover her infamy. Phaeton, fired at this reproach, flew to his mother, and by her advice carried his complaint to Apollo, who received him with great tenderness, and swore by Styx to grant whatever he requested, as a proof of his acknowledging him for his son. The youth boldly asked the direction of the chariot of the sun for one day. His father, grieved and surprized at this demand, used all his arguments to dissuade him from the rash attempt; but all was in vain, and, being by his oath reduced to submit to his obstinacy, entrusted him with the reins, after he had directed him how to use them. The young adventurer was however soon sensible of his misdeeds. He was unable to guide the fiery steeds; and loosing the reins, Jupiter, to prevent his confining the heavens and earth, struck him with a thunder-bolt, and hurled him from his seat into the river Eridanus or Po. His sisters Phaethusa, Lambetia, and Phæbe, lamenting his loss upon its banks, were changed by the gods into black poplar trees; and Cyenus, king of Liguria, also grieving at his fate, was transformed into a swan.

**Phagedena**, in medicine, denotes a corroding ulcer.

**Phagedenic medicines**, those used to eat off proud