PLE
(Mi)
PLE
feme future Good, or confufed Senfation of a prefent one. See Mind.
For an inftance of either. A Man frequently finds Plea- fure in eating a Fruit he was before unacquainted withal f This is anticipating Pleafure, which he feels e'er he knows the Fruit to be good.
On the other hand, a hungry Hunter experts, or perhaps actually finds, Victuals^, where' the Joy he conceives, is a Pleafure that follows from the Knowledge of his prefent or future Good. See Pain.
Pleafure and Pain feem to be no other than Engines in Nature's Hand-, whereby we are directed to confult our
own Prefervation, and avoid our Ruin To things that may
contribute to the one, as Food, Venery, &c. fhe has anne- xed Pleafure; and to thofe that may conduce to the other, as Hunger, Difeafes, &c. Pain : She durft not leave it to our Difcretion, whether we'd preferve and propagate the Species or not} but, as it were, conftrains us to both : Were there no Pleafure in eating, nor Pain in Hunger, what Num- bers would be ftarved, thro' Negligence, Forgetfulnefs, or Slothfulnefs. What is it induces People to the Office of Generation, but Pleafure ? without this the World had fcarce fnbfifted to this Time.
Among the Multiplicity of things to be done, and to be avoided for the Prefervation of animal Life, &c. how mould we have diftinguifhed between the one and the other, but for the Senfations of Pleafure and Pain ? Thefe are not on- ly Spurs, to urge us on, but alio Guides to direct us whi- ther we are to go. Wherever Nature has fix'd a Pleafure, we may take it for granted, (he there enjoins a Duty ; and fomething is to be there done, either for the Individual or the Species.
Hence it is that our Pleafurei vary at different Stages of life j the Pleafures, e. gr. of a Child, a Youth, a grown Man, an old Man, &c. all tending to thofe particular things required by Nature in that particular State of Life, either for the Prefervation, (imply, or for that and Propagation, &c.
Hence, from the different Confiitutions of the Body, at different Ages, it were very eafy to account for all the par- ticular Taftesand Pleafures thereof: Not by deducing the Tleafures" mechanically from the Difpofition of the Organs in that State*, but by confidering what is neceffary for the Perfection, and well-being of the Individual in that State,
and what it is to contribute to that of the Species. In a
Child, e. gr. mere Prefervation in the prefent State is not enough ; it muft likewife grow : to bring this to pafs, Nature has made the Returns of Hunger, &c. more frequent, as well as more acute - , and the Pleafures of feeding more ex- quifite. And that the Excefs of Aliment in Proportion to the Bulk of the Body may be difpens'd withal, fhe has made one of the great Plcafureso? that State, to confifl in a Series offportive Exercifes, by means whereof the Parts of the Bo- dv come to be opened and expanded, and arrive at Maturity. This done, the Pleafures that conduced thereto difappear ", and others fuited to the new State, fucceed. See Natural Inclination'-, fee alfo Passion.
For the Pleafures of Beauty, Mafic, &c. See Beauty, Mu- sic, &c.
PLEBEIAN, Plebeius, a Perfon of the Rank of the Populace, or Common People. See Populace, and Common.
The Term is chiefly ufed in (peaking of the ancient Romans., who were divided into Senators, Knights, and Plebeians. See Senator, Knight, &c.
Plebands, was anciently the Title of a Rural Dean. See Rural Dean.
The Denomination arofe hence, that thefe Deaneries were then affixed to the Plel/ania, or chief Mother-Church with- in fuch a Diftricl, which at firft was ufually ten Parifhes.
The Term feems alfo to have been ufed for a Parilh- Prieft, of fuch a large Mother-Church, as was exempt from the Jurifdiition of the Ordinary, fo that he had the Autho- rity of a Rural Dean committed to him by the Archbilhop, to whom the Church was immediately fubject.
PLEB1SCITUM, among the Romans, a Law enacted by the Common People, at the Requefl of the Tribune, or fome other Plebeian Magiftrate. See Law.
The Word Plebifcitum is particularly applied to the Law which the People made, when upon a Mifunderftanding with the Senate, they retired to the Aveatine Mount. See Civil Law.
PLEDGE, Plegius, orPLEGGs,in Common- Law, a Surety, or Gage, either real or perfonal, which the Plaintiff finds to profecute his Suit. See Gage and Sure- ty.
The Word is fometimes alfo ufed for Frank Pledge, which .fee. See alfo Pledgery.
To Pledge, in Drinking, denotes to warrant, or be Surety to one that he {hall receive no harm while he is taking his Draught.
The Phrafe is referr'd by our Antiquaries, to the Practice of the Danes, heretofore in England, who frequently ufed to
ftab, or cut the Throats of the Natives while they were drinking.
PL.EGERY, orPLEGGERY, Suretifhip, or an Un- dertaking, or anfwering, lor another. See Surety and ' Pledge.
The Appellant fhall require the Conftable and Marefchal to deliver his Pleggs, and to difcharge them of their Pieeoe- ry; and the Conftable and Marefchal (hall a<k leave of the King to acquit his Pleggs, after that the Appellant is come into the Lifts to do his Devoir. Orig. fur. ex fat. Cod. MS. in Bibl. Selden.
P L E G 1 1 S acqiuctandis, a Writ that lies for a Surety againft him for whom he is Surety, in cafe he pay not the Money at the Day. Fitz.. Nat. Brev.
PLEDGET, in Chirurgerv, a kind of flit Tent, made not to enter a Wound, but to be laid upon it, to imbibe the fuperfluous Humours, and keep it clean and dry. See TtNr and Wound.
PLEIADES, in Aftronomv, an Affemblage of (even Stars, in the Neck of the Conftellation Taurus See Star.
They are thus call'd from the Greek vt.Sv, navigare, to fail ■ as being terrible to Mariners, by re.ifon of the Rains and Storms that frequently rife with theni.
The £«fi»jcall them VergillU, from For, Spring-, becaufe of their riling about the Vernal Equinox. See Vergil He.
The Lirgeft is of the third Magnitude, and call'd Lucida Pleiadum. See their feveral Longitudes, Latitudes, Magni- tudes, &c. under the Article Taurus.
Poetical Pleiades, is a Name which the Greeks gave to feven celebrated Poets, flourifliing under the Reign of Ptole- my Philadelphia,
In Imitation oUhzGrceks, Ronfard fiirm'd a Pleiades of the
French Poets, under the Reia;n of Henry II It confilted
of Daurat, Ronfard, dit Bel/ay, Bellea:,, Baif, Tyard, and fodelle.
On the fame Model, fome of their Authors are projecting a new Pleiades of the Latin Poets of the prefent time ; But they are not yet agreed about the Names of thofe that are tocompofe if, much lefs on him who (hall be the Lucida Pleiadum— M. Bail/et has named F. Rapin, F. Commire, F. de la Rue, M.de Sameuil, M. Menage, M. du Perier, andM Petit.
PLENARTY, in Law, a Term ufed in Matters of Benefices, in oppofition to Vacancy. See Vacancy, Va- cation, &c.
Inltitution is a good Plenarty againft a common Perfon, but not againft the King, without Induction. See Institu- tion. Coke on Litt.
PLENA RY, fomething compleat, or full.— Thus we fay the Pope grants Plenary Indulgences,!, e. full and entire Re- miffions of the Penalties due to all Sins. See Indul- ge n c e.
The Word is fbrm'd of the Latin Plenarius, csi plenus full.
P L E N i L U N I U M, in Aftronomy, that Phafis or ftate of the Moon popularly call'd the Full-Moon. See Moon.
The Word is a Compound of the Latin plenus, and Luna.
PLENIPOTENTIARY', a Perfon who has full Power and Conmidion to do any thing.
The Word is chiefly underftood of the Minifters or Embaf- fidors lent from Princes or States, to treat of Peace, Marri- ages, and other important Matters. See Minister, Em- bassador, &c.
The firft thing done in Conferences of Peace, b, to exa- mine the Powers of the Plenipotentiaries. See Treaty.
The Word is compounded of plenus full, and Pote'ntia Power.
P L E N I T U D E, the Quality of a thing that is full : or that fills another.
In Phyfic, it is chiefly ufed for a Redundancy of Blood and Humours. See Repletion.
Phyficians reckon two kinds of Plenitude.— The one call'd ad fares, when the Abundance of the Blood opprefles the Patient's Strength.
The other ad Vafa, when it fills the Veffels too much ; fwelling to a Degree of burfting. See Plethora.
PLENUM, in Phyfics, a Term ufed to fignifj- that ftate of things, wherein every Part of Space, or Extenlion, is lup-
pofed to be full of Matter In oppofition to a faicuum,
which is a Space fuppofed devoid of all Matter. See Va- cuum.
The Cartefians adhere firmly to the Doctrine of an abso- lute Plenum. This they do on this Principle, that the
Effence of Matter conlifts in Extenlion •, from whence, in- deed, the Confequence is very eafy, that where«er there is Space or Extenfion, there is Matter. See Extension.
But this Principle we have (hewn to be falfe; and there- fore the Confequence drawn from it falls to the Ground. See Matter.
But
