PERIGYNOUS
1453
PERISTOME
he entered public life, although his family did not rank among the highest in wealth or influence, so great was his ability, so noble his character, that he soon rose to the highest power as leader of the popular party. Pericles seems to have clearly grasped and firmly held the modern idea that, as the state is supported by the great body of citizens, its laws should be so framed and administered as to secure the greatest good to the greatest number, rather than to promote the interests of any special class or classes. About 463 B. C. Pericles struck a great blow at the Athenian oligarchy by the introduction of a system whereby the poorer classes could serve on juries and take a more active part in public life. Shortly after this, Cimon, the leader of the oligarchy, was banished. By sheer force of talents and character Pericles became ruler. In 457 B. C. he magnanimously proposed the recall of Cimon, with the agreement between them, it is said, that Cimon should command the army on its expedition abroad and not oppose Pericles in administration at home.
Pericles earnestly sought to unite the Hellenic states in a grand federation, to end their domestic difficulties and make Greece a powerful nation, able to defend itself against all the powers by which it was surrounded. Had the idea of Pericles been carried out, Athens in later years might have proved herself more than a match for Philip and Alexander of Macedon, and possibly might even have resisted Rome. But there already was that smothered hostility between Athens and Sparta that rendered the Peloponnesian War inevitable. Pericles warded off this conflict by diplomacy and bribery; but it came at last in 431 B. C. The plague ravaged Athens next year, and in 429 B. C. Pericles died after a lingering fever. It is well-nigh impossible to relate all that Pericles did to make Athens the most glorious city in the ancient world. Under his patronage Greek architecture and sculpture reached their highest development. To him Athens owed the Parthenon, the Odeum and the Propylaeum, that most stupendous of all architectural constructions of Greece. He also encouraged music and the drama; and during his rule industry and commerce were in so flourishing a condition that there was universal prosperity in Attica. Although he had many enemies who denounced him for the expenditure of so much public money upon buildings and amusements, the truthful pen of Thucydides records that he did not act unworthily of his high position, that he never oppressed or persecuted his adversaries and that, although he had unlimited command of the public purse, he personally was above corruption. Plutarch records that, when Pericles lay dying and the friends around his bed were reviewing the grand achievements of his life, he quietly interrupted them by saying: "What you praise in my life belongs partly to good fortune, and at best is common to me with many others; but the thing of which I am proudest is that no Athenian has ever put on mourning on account of me."
Perigynous (pe-rij'i-nus) Flowers, those in which the sepals, petals and stamens are borne on the rim of a cup-like body which rises around the pistil or pistils, as in certain members of the rose family. The noun form is perigyny, and the contrasting terms are hypogyny, in which the other floral parts arise from beneath the ovary, and epigyny, in which they seem to arise from the summit of the ovary.
Perip'atus, an interesting animal connecting worms and insects. About 20 species are known, inhabiting South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, South America and the West Indies. They have a long body like a worm or caterpillar, but the segments or joints do not show on the outside. Internally, however, they are well-marked. There is no division into thorax and abdomen. The head bears antennae and jaws. The body is provided with short, jointed feet (14 to 42 pairs), like a thousand-legged worm. Like the myriapods, they are found under stones and in rotting wood, and feed on insects and the like. Their internal structure is noteworthy. They possess a pair of looped tubes in each segment of the body, like those of worms, and, in addition, have breathing tubes like those of insects and myriapods. Structural peculiarities of two different subkingdoms of animals unite in peripatus. It is a sort of generalized form bridging the gap between worms and myriapods, and the myriapods connect with the lowest insects. Peripatus is of much interest to zoologists as a survivor of a very ancient family of animals and as a link between the worms and arthropods.
Per'isperm, the nutritive tissue which occurs in seeds outside of the embryo-sac. Within the embryo-sac the nutritive tissue is called endosperm. Perisperm is derived from the nucellus of the ovule, while endosperm is a part of the female gametophyte. In most seeds perisperm does not exist, all the nutritive tissue being endosperm.
Per'istome (in plants), the set of tooth-like processes found at the open mouth of the capsules of mosses. They arise from the rim and extend radially toward the
