PROPHECY. 455 PROPORTION. The view of propliecy above uiifoliled makes it doubtful whether the tt-nii pru|ihet is applicable to such personages as Elijah and Elisha, or even to Samuel and JMoses. That in the Old Testa- ment the name iiabV is distinctly applied to them is simply due to that projection of later condi- tions into the remote past which is a distinguish- ing feature of the theory controlling historical compilation in the Old Testament collection. According to this theory, the religious views and ideas of the later prophets are but special ex- pressions of a faith lirst promulgated by Abra- iiaiii and given a definite shape by Jloses. As a matter of fact the historical njle of Moses and Samuel, so far as this can be determined, was so essentially different from that of the prophets from the eighth century on, that it is only a source of confusion to apply the term ndbV to those who flourished before the beginning of the religious movement that takes its rise with Amos. Elijah and Elisha are in a measure fore- runners of this movement, but the religious prob- lem in their days, involving mainl.y the conflict between the Yahweh cult and the C'anaanitish Baal cults, is so entirely diflercnt from the one encountered when we come to the prophets in the real sense that we ought likewise to avoid the extension of nCibV to individuals of whom Elijah and Elisha are types; or, if the term 'prophet' is to be extended to them, it should at least be I'ecognized that they are prophets of a totally ditl'erent character, standing far closer to the old Semitic kdJi'ms, who, more or less closely organ- ized into a guild, ditler from the ordinary repre- sentatives of the gods — the priests — only in not being attached to any particular sanctuary, but, jjassing from ])lace to ])lace, furnish oracles to those who seek them out, and engage in religious practices that are the outcome of primitive re- . ligious beliefs. BiBLiooRAPiiY. Out of the large mass of lit- erature the following works are .selected: Smith, The Prophets of Is7-<tcl (London, 1S82) ; Kuenen, The Prvjilicts of Israel (Eng. trans., London, 1877) ; Didim, Die Theologie tier Propheten (Bonn, 1875) ; Ewald, The Prophets of the Old Testament (Eng. trans., London, 187.5) ; Kittel, I'rophetie und ' Weissagung (Freiburg, 1899); Richm, Die ilessianische Weissaguitg (2d ed., Gotha, 1885; Eng. trans., Edinburgh, 1891 ) ; Cornill, Der israelitische Prophet ismiis (Strass- burg, 1894; Eng. trans., Chicago, 1897) ; Dar- mesteter, "The Prophets of Israel," in Selected Essays (Boston^ 1895) ; Briggs, Messiaiiie Proph- ecy (Xew York, 188(5); and the Old Testament theologies of Dillmann, Smend, Oehler, and Schultz. See Elljaii ; Elisha ; Moses ; Sam- uel; and the articles, on the different prophets of the Old Testament and their books. PRO'POLIS (Lat.. from Gk. Trpbiro'Ki.s, bee glue, suburbs, from irp6, pro, before -|- 7r6Xi5, poUs, city). A substance commonly known as 'bee glue.' which is obtained by the domestic honey- bee from the buds and crevices of trees, and is carried by the workers to the hive in the basket- like cavities on the tibial joints of the hind legs. It is resinous in its chemical composition, and differs with the tree from which it is collected. It is used at once to stop ui> crevices in the hives, and to varnish the wliole interior surface as well as to glue movable portions fast; also in strengthening the attachments of combs, and if the latter are designed exclusively for honey the edges of the completed cells receive a thin coat- ing. The flight-hole is often made smaller by filling a part of it with masses of propolis, some- times mi.xed with old wax. Bees of the Carnio- lan race gather the smallest quantities of pro- polis and those of the Tunisian race the greatest amount; on this account the former are better suited to tile production of white-comb honey. PROPON'TIS. The ancient name of the"Sea of ibirniora. See Marmora, Sea of. PROPORTION (Lat. proportio, proportion, symmetry, analogy, from pro, before, for -f portio, share; connected with pars, part). In mathe- matics, an equality of ratios. Thus the ratio of 12 to 3 equals the ratio of 8 to 2; hence 12:3= 8:2 is a ])roporti(>n. In general if «:i* = c;(/, a, b, c, d are said to be in proportion. An equal- ity of several ratios, as 1:2=4:8 = 9:18, is called a eontiiuicd proportion. An equality between the products of ratios, as j-5^i-y, is called a coitipoiind proportion. In the proportion a:6 = c:d, a, b, c, d are called the terms, a and d the cjctremes, and b and c the menus. The term d is called the fourth proportional to a, b, c. In the pi'oportion a:b = ():c, b is called the mean pro- portional between a and c, and c is called the third proportional to a and b. If one quantity varies directly as another, the two are said to be directly proportional, or simply proportional. E.g. the price of a given quality of sugar varies directly as the weight; the price is then propor- tional to the weight. Thus at 4 cents a pound, 12 pounds cost 48 cents, and 4 cents : 48 cents = 1 pound : 12 potinds. If one quantity varies inversely as another, the two are said to be itwersely proportional. E.g. in general, the temperature being constant, the volume of a gas varies inversely as the pressure, and the volume is therefore said to be inversely proportional to the pressure. A proportion, being an equation, can be solved so as to express any term by means of the other three. Some of the fundamental properties of proportion are: (1) The product of the extremes equals the product of the means; (2) the terms ai'e in proportion bv composition, i.e. if «:6^ c:d, {a+b) -.a—ic+d) -.c or (f/+6) :fc= (c+d)
- (/; (3) the terms. are in proportion by division,
i.e. if a:b=c:d, (a — b):a=i( — </) :c or (« — b)
- 6=(c — d) id; (4) the terms are in proportion
by composition and division, i.e. if a:b^^c:d, {a--b):(u — b) = {c+d):(c — d) ; (5) in a con- tinued proportion, a__<: e_ _ (»ia° -f pc^ ■¥ qe^ - 1 " b^ d —f — ^ *■' — 1 mi-4-jx?"4-o/"H j The theory of proportion, often calied the 'rule of three' or 'golden rule.' is as old as Plato's time and was called by the Greeks avoKoyta. Euclid in the fifth, eighth, and ninth books of the Elements gives a rigorous treatment of the sub- ject, in which the magnitudes are regarded as either commensurable or incommensurable. See Ratio. Proportion in Fine Art. This has to do with the relative sizes of things represented or embodied in a design : and, in a secondary sense, with the relative iiii])ortance of certain passages of light and dark, or of color more or less powerful and effective. Tims, the composition (q.v.) may be marred by a disagreeable rela- tion between the heights or the bulks of two figures, trees, rocks, buildings in a picture or in
