PRISCILLIAN. 411 PRISONER OF CHILLON. charged with holding Gnostic, Manichsan, and other heresies, although he himself disavowed the opinions of Manes. He seems, however, to have held peculiar views respecting the influ- ence of the heavenly bodies upon men. He be- lieved that the Church still possessed the gift of propliecy, and he gathered his followers into private assemblies, which lent color to the charge of sectarianism, later brought against him. A council at Saragossa (.380) reproved the ascetic and separatist tendencies of the day, although without mentioning Priscillian by name, and a controversy ensued. His views were soon carried over into the Gallic Church, and within eight or ten years of its first appearance the party included several bishops and a large number of the clergy. In the course of the controversy Priscillian appealed to Pope Dama.sus (c.382), and further appeals to the Emperor were made by both parties. After Priscillian had protested against the jurisdiction of a synod convened at Bordeaux (384), he was tried before a civil tribunal, condemned for sorcery, and put to death, along with six others, by the Emperor's command. The Priseillianists continued for some time longer in a state of schism, and are found even as late as the sixth century. The literaiy remains of Priscillian are published in the Corpus ficriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum, vol. xviii. (Vienna, 18S9). PRISHTINA, presh'te-na. A to^Mi of Euro- pean Turkey. See Pbistina. PRISM (Lat. prisma, from Gk. Trp£<r^«i. prism, something sawed, from irpluv, priein, irpit^to-, prizcin, to saw). A polyhedron (q.v.) two of whose faces (the bases) are equal polygons and whose lateral faces are parallelograms. When the lateral edges are perpendicular to its bases, the prism is called a rir/ht prism, otherwise oblique. A rcgtilnr prism iS a right prism whose bases are regular polygons. A prism whose bases are parallelograms is called a paraUeiepi- ped (q.v.). The volume of any prism equals the profluct of the base and the altitude. Con- sult Holzmiiller, Elemente der Stereometric (Leipzig. 1902). PRISM, Dispeksit; Effect of. See Light; DiSl'EESloX. PRISMATOID (from Gk. irpfir^a, prisma, prism -|- eiSos, eidos, form). A polyhedron (q.v.) which has for bases any two polygons in parallel planes, and for lateral faces' triangles or trape- zoids which have one side in conmion with one base, and the opposite vertex or side in common with the other base. Consult Holzmiiller, Ele- mente ilrr Htereometrie (Leipzig. 19021. PRISON ASSOCIATION OF THE UNIT- ED STATES, Xatioxal. An organization of prominent philanthropists interested in the sub- ject of prison discipline reform, founded in Cin- cinnati, Ohio, in 1870, under the presidency of Covernor Rutherford B. Hayes. The association was incorporated in Xew York State in April, 1871, the charter being granted to Governor Horatio SeTnour (then and until his death presi- dent of the association) and twenty-four asso- ciate members. The management is in the hands of a board of directors, from which an executive committee of seven members is chosen annually, which discharges the active duties of the board Vol. XVI— 27. between the annual meetings. The other stand- ing committees are on criminal law reform, po- lice, prison discipline, discharged prisoners, juvenile delinquency. There is also a volunteer committee of correspondence for leform and aid of discharged prisoners in the various States. PRISON BREACH, or Prisox Bbeaking. The act by which a jM^rson escajies by force and violence from a place where he is confined in lawful custody. The act is a misdemeanor, and to constitute it there must be a lawful commit- ment, an actual breaking of the prison bj' force and violence by the prisoner or by others in his behalf and by his procurement, and he must fully escape, although, of course, subsequent re- capture does not affect his act of breach. Similar escape by the violence of others without his pro- curement is a rescue. Consult the authorities referred to under Criminal Law. PRISONER. Any person who is confined, or restrained in his liberty, against his will; a person subjected to imprisonment. The term is ordinarily used to designate persons whose bodies have been attached or seized in criminal or quasi-criminal proceedings and persons who are captured in war. For further information as to prisoners in the general and ordinary legal usage, see such titles as Imprison mext; Fal.se Im- pblsoxmext; Escape; Prison Breach; At- tachment; Bail; Recognizance, etc. The rights of prisoners of war have changed greatly for the better within comparatively recent historical times. Among the Greeks and Romans, and for many centuries before and since, prisoners of war were the pro]>erty of those by whom they were captured, and might l)e slain, kept as slaves, or sold, at the ca- price of their captors. This is still the case among savage races and among some of the semi- civilized races of the Orient. A mind picture of the treatment accorded to prisoners of war in early antiquity among all the races of the East is given by the accounts of the Jewish victories in the Old Testament. The custom of ransom- ing together with the use of mercenaries and professional soldiers mitigated the hardships of the prisoners. The modern humane doctrine as to the rights of prisoners of war is laid down in the rules mad^ by the Brussels Conference in 1874, which have been generally accepted. Under these a prisoner of war is a lawful combatant captured in war, and such non-combatants as guides, balloonists, telegraph operators, and others who are identified with the army and rendering it direct service, and important public officials. Surgeons and chaplains, ami. now. the hospital attendants of the Red Cross Society are exempt as such from being prisoners of war. A prisoner of war has no protection from the laws of the State and civil remedy; but he is protected by the rules of war against unlawful acts against his person. For further information consult such titles as War; Ransom; Geneva Convention; Brussels Conference; Alien; Iniolabilitt ; etc. Consult the authorities re- ferred to under International Law. PRISONER OF CHILLON, The. A poem by Byron (1816), founded on the history of Francois de Bonnivard, a Genevese imprisoned by Charles, Duke of Savoy, in the Castle of Chil- lon, on the Lake of Geneva, from 1530 to 1536.
