or Peor, a deity worshipped at a very early period by the Midianites and Moabites, and probably by all the other tribes which then inhabited Syria. Much has been said concerning the functions of this god, and the rank which he held among the Pagan divinities (see Baal-Peor); and many conjectures have been formed concerning the origin of his name. Most of these seem to have no better foundation than the senseless dreams of the Jewish rabbis. Phegor, or Peor, is undoubtedly the same with the Hebrew word pechor, which signifies aperut, and probably refers to the prophetic influence always attributed to the solar deity, by which he opened or discovered things to come. Accordingly we find Phegov or Peor generally joined to Baal, which was the Syrian and Chaldean name of the sun after he became an object of worship; hence Baal-Phegor must have been the sun worshipped by some particular rites, or under some particular character. What these were, a refutation of Pechor into its component parts may perhaps inform us. As this word, wherever it occurs in Scripture, has some relation to dilating or opening the mouth wide, it is probably compounded of phah the mouth or face, and ehar naked. In those countries we know that the women wore veils; but it would appear, that in celebrating the rites of this deity they were unveiled. It seems even not improbable, that on these occasions the sexes danced promiscuously without their clothes; a practice which would naturally give birth to the licentious amours mentioned in the 25th chapter of the book of Numbers. If this be admitted, it will follow that Phegor was the sun presiding over the mysteries of Venus.

PELLANDRIUM, water-hemlock; a genus of the digynia order, belonging to the pentandria class of plants. There are two species, one of which, viz., the aquaticum, is a native of Britain. This grows in ditches and ponds, but is not very common. The stalk is remarkably thick and dichotomous, and grows in the water. It is a poison to horses, bringing upon them, as Linnæus informs us, a kind of palsy; which, however, he supposes to be owing not so much to the noxious qualities of the plant itself, as to those of an