Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 16.djvu/249

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POLYBIUS. 213 POLYCLITUS. There he remained ^c-.ciitoen years. Through some good fortune he soon gained the friendship of ^-Emilius Paulus and his sons, with whom he resided during a large portion of liis exile. The voung Scipio .Emilianus became strongly at- tached to him and took him as companion on his journeys in Xorthern Italy and also in his mili- tary expeditions against the Celtiberians in Spain. In 1.50, together with his fellow-exiles, he was allowed to return to his home, but during the Third Punie War he rejoined Scipio, accom- panied him <m his African campaign, and was present at the destruction of Carthage in 14G. The outbreak of war between the Achjeans and Romans called him again to Greece, where he was of the greatest service through his influence with the Romans in' procuring favorable terras for the vanquished. So giateful were his country- men for his services in their behalf that Mega- lopolis, ilantinea. and many other towns erected statues in his honor. It is said that he met his deatli by a fall from a horse. Polybius's chief work is his Histories in 40 books, of which the first five have come down to us complete; we also have considerable portions of the first 18 books, preseried in a codex of Urbino and also the important excerpts of Con- stant inns Porphyrogenitus. The subject of this history was the gradual exteijsion of the Roman Empire from B.C. 266. Polybius devoted the first two books of his work to an introductory sketch of Rome and Carthage from 266 to 221. From this point it is a general history of the times, including the important events in Greece, Asia, and Libya, as well as in the West. The history to 168 B.C. occupied books 3-30, while the last ten books brought the history down to the year 146. Polybius seems to have begun his work as early as 1.50. and the composition of it appa- rently extended over some 25 years. Polybius is the first great example of a writer of histoi-y on the pragmatic method. He endeav- ored not simply to present facts, but also to as- certain the causes of these facts, and to draw from them lessons valuable for the future. On the other hand, his tone is too didactic in general, and the continuity of his narrative is too often interrupted by digressions. His style is clear, but without grace or charm: he incurred the censure of later Greek critics for carelessness in the choice of words and in the structure of sentences. His work, however, marked an epoch in the his- tory of Greek literary' style, for with it begins the period of the so-called 'common' dialect, a slightly modified Attic. The best annotated edition is by Schweighliuser in S vols. (Leipzig, 1789-95): critical editions by Bekker (Berlin, 1844), Dindorf (last edition,' Leipzig, 1882-89), and also by Hultsch (2d ed., ib., 1888; English translation by Shuckburgh. London, 1889). Con- sult: Scala. Die •^tiidien des Polybius (Leipzig, 1890) : Cuntz, Poh/biKS und sein Werk (ib.. 1902). POL'YBO'TES (Lat., from Gk. XIoIv^uttic). A giant pursued by Poseidon after the struggle with the gods, and buried under a portion of the i.sland of Cos, which Poseidon tore away and hurled upon him. POLTTBUS ( Lat.. from Gk. HoXu/Sos. Pohjbos). A king ul Corinth, foster-father of ffidipus ( q.v. ) . POLYCARP (Lat. Polycarpus. from Gk. no'.i'rapTTOf, Polukarpos) (c.69-155). Bishop of Smyrna and one of the most celebrated early Christian martyrs. Such meagre information as we have about his life is drawn chiefly from Iremeus, Eusebius, and the anonymous Martyrdom of Polycnrp. As a youth he came in contact with the Apostle .John, and thus he constitutes an important link between him and Irenaeus (q.v.). When Ignatius pas.sed through Asia Minor on his way to death in Rome early in the second century, he visited Polycarp, then already Bishop of Smyrna, and to him he afterwards addressed a letter. (See Ioatus of AxTiocn.) So far as we know, most of Polycarp's life was passed in the peaceful administration of his see. One of his last acts was to visit Anicetus, Bishop of Rome, to confer with him respecting the time of celebrating Easter (q.v.). Soon after his re- turn to Smyrna Polycarp was arrested by the officers of the Roman Government, tried on the charge of being 'a Christian, and condemned to death by burning. He suffered martyrdom on February 23, 155 (not 166. as was formerly sup- posed ) . at the advanced age of eighty-six years, and perhaps older. Such was the sanctity of his life and .such his heroism in martyrdom, that his memory and his relics were alwaj-s held in the deepest veneration. Polycarp is said to have written several letters, only one of which, how- ever, that to the Philippians, has come down to us. Its authenticity has been doubted, but on insufficient grounds. The Epistle is extant pait- ly in the original Greek, and as a whole in a loose Latin translation. The Martyrdom of Poly, cfirp is an early document, giving a probably authentic account of his trial and death. Both these works are included among the Apostolic Fathers, and may be read, in English translation, in Harmer's one-volume edition of Lightfoot's Apostolic Fathers (London. 1898). Consult: Lightfoot, The Apostolic Fathers, part ii.. Igiui- tiiis and Polycarp (2d ed., London, 1889) ; Cruttwell. Literary History of Early Christian- ity (London. 1893): Funk, Patres Apostolici (Tubingen. 1901): Harnack, Chronoloyie der altchrisllichen Litteratur (Leipzig. 1897). POLYCHROME BIBLE (fromGk. TroUxt}(^ fior, polychromos, many-colored, from tto'^Xx, polys, much, many -|- ;fptj/ia, c/iro(»«. color). An edi- tion of the books of the Old Testament printed in dift'erent colors, to show the various literary sources represented, according to the view of modern scholars. The series has been issued in both Hebrew and Euglish under the general edi- torship of Prof. Paul Haupt of Johns Hopkins University, with the help of some of the foremost scholars of Europe and America. POLYCHRONICON (Xeo-Lat., from Gk. iroXi/j, polys, much, many -f- xP*"'"". chronikos, ■ relating to time, from xP'^'O'i ehronns, time). A history of the world from the creation down to the year 1342 by Ranulf Higden, a Benedictine monk, who died about 1363. It was very popular as late as the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. POL-YCLI'TtrS (Lat.. from Gk.no>w?.<r/rof, Polykleitos) . A Greek sculptor iH bronze. He is called by Plato and other ancient writers an .r- give, and was certainly the representative of that school in Greek art. The only authority for his birth at Sicyon is Pliny, who seems to have drawn on a history by a Sieyonian, who claimed for his native city the honor of the greatest Argive artist. The onlv certain date in his life