PELAGIANS 162 PELARGONIUM the top. That of the imperial city is 40 feet high. The principal streets are very wide and regular, running between op- posite gates. These are mostly filled with shops, extravagantly gilded and ornamented with blue and gold, flags, etc. The houses are generally one story high, and built of brick. Of the orna- mental buildings, the most conspicuous are those commonly called triumphal arches. They consist of a large central gateway, with small ones on each side, all covered with narrow roofs, and like the houses are splendidly gilded, varnished, and painted. Besides these, there are numerous pagodas, a beautiful mosque, Greek church, and convent. Peking is the seat of government and is not dis- tinguished by any peculiar manufacture; nor has it any foreign commerce or trade other than that directed to the supply of its own wants. This, however, is neces- sarily very considerable. The country round the city being sandy and poor, a large portion of its supplies are brought from a distance — partly from the sea by the Pei-ho, but principally by the Grand canal and the Eu-ho, which connect it with Nankin and most of the E. prov- inces. The early history of Peking is in- volved in obscurity. It was besieged and taken by the Mongols, led by Zinghis Khan. Kublai Khan rebuilt it, and made it his capital in 1260. The Mongol dy- nasty, founded by Kublai Khan, con- tinued to occupy this city till it was ex- pelled from China, in 1367. In 1421, the third emperor of the Chinese dynasty of Ming transferred his residence thither from Nankin, since which it has been the capital. It surrendered to the allied armies of France and England in 1860, on which occasion the Yueng-ming, or summer palace of the emperor, situated in the vicinity of the city, was destroyed. During the "Boxer" uprising of 1900 the various foreigners in Peking were be- sieged in the English legation. For weeks they were given up as lost, but they m.anaged to hold out till the arrival of the foreign troops. See Boxers; China. Pop. about 2,000,000. PELAGIANS, a sect of heretics that arose in the Church about the beginning of the 5th century. Their founder was Pelagius, a monk, a native of Britain, whose original name was Morgan. He was greatly scandalized by the gross sensualities and immoralities that pre- vailed in the Church, and was of opinion that they arose from a belief in the efficacy of the sacraments and the suf- ficiency of faith. The remedy for all, he thought, would be a creed holding man's salvation to be dependent on his own exertions. Pelagius went to Rome, and afterward to Carthage, where he was condemned by a council as holding the following heresies : ( 1 ) That Adam was by nature mortal, and would have died whether he had sinned or not; (2) that the consequences of Adam's sin were confined to himself, and did not affect the human race; (3) that new-bom in- fants are in the same condition as Adam was before his fall; (4) that the law qualified man for heaven, as well as the Gospel; and that before Christ some men had lived without sin; (5) that a man may keep the commandments of God without difficulty, and preserve himself in a state of perfect innocence; and that the grace of God is given in proportion to our merits. These are the chief errors which are generally reckoned under the name of Pelagianism. Augustine and Pope Innocent I., in 417, anathemized the rising heresy. His successor, Zosi- mus, also condemned the obnoxious doc- trine, and the emperor promulgated de- crees of confiscation and banishment against them. Pelagius retired into ex- ile, where he died. The ninth article of the English Church is directed against the Pelagian error respecting original sin. PELAGIC SEALING, the taking of seal in the open sea. By the Paris award of 1893, pelagic sealing within a zone of 60 miles off the Pribilof islands was forbidden. See Bering Sea. PELAGIUS, the author of the system of doctrine which goes by his name. See Pelagians. PELAGIUS, Pope; a native of Rome; ascended the papal chair in succession to Virgilius, in 555. He endeavored to re- form the clergy; and when Rome was besieged by the Goths, he obtained from Totila, their general, many concessions in favor of the citizens. He died in 560. PELAGIUS, II., Pope; ascended the papal chair, in succession to Benedict I., in 587. He opposed John, Patriarch of Constantinople, who had assumed the title of oecumenic or universal bishop. He died of the plague in 590. PELAEGONIC ACID. Nononic Acid. CHs (CH,), COOH. Contained in the oil from Pelargonmm roseum, melting point 12.5° C, boiling point 253° C.; spe- cific gravity 0.907. The peculiar odor of the quince is stated to be due to the presence of ethyl pelargonate. It may be prepared artificially by oxidizing oil of rue. PELARGONIUM, a large genus of Geraniacea?, divided into about 15 sub-
