Chapter 30

P.D. An abbreviation of _Philosophiæ Doctor_, Doctor of Philosophy. "In the German universities," says Brande, "the title 'Doctor Philosophiæ' has long been substituted for Baccalaureus Artium or Literarium."

PEACH. To inform against; to communicate facts by way of accusation.

It being rather advisable to enter college before twelve, or to stay out all night, bribing the bed-maker next morning not to _peach_.--_Alma Mater_, Vol. I. p. 190.

When, by a little spying, I can reach The height of my ambition, I must _peach_. _The Gallinipper_, Dec. 1849.

PEMBROKER. At the University of Cambridge, Eng., a member of Pembroke College.

The _Pembroker_ was booked to lead the Tripos.--_Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ._, Ed. 2d, p. 158.

PENE. Latin, _almost, nearly_. A candidate for admission to the Freshman Class is called a _Pene_, that is, _almost_ a Freshman.

PENNILESS BENCH. Archdeacon Nares, in his Glossary, says of this phrase: "A cant term for a state of poverty. There was a public seat so called in Oxford; but I fancy it was rather named from the common saying, than that derived from it."

Bid him bear up, he shall not Sit long on _penniless bench_. _Mass. City Mad._, IV. 1.

That everie stool he sate on was _pennilesse bench_, that his robes were rags.--_Euphues and his Engl._, D. 3.

PENSIONER. French, _pensionnaire_, one who pays for his board. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., and in that of Dublin, a student of the second rank, who is not dependent on the foundation for support, but pays for his board and other charges. Equivalent to COMMONER at Oxford, or OPPIDANT of Eton school.--_Brande. Gent. Mag._, 1795.

PERUVIAN. At the University of Vermont, a name by which the students designate a lady; e.g., "There are two hundred _Peruvians_ at the Seminary"; or, "The _Peruvians_ are in the observatory." As illustrative of the use of this word, a correspondent observes: "If John Smith has a particular regard for any one of the Burlington ladies, and Tom Brown happens to meet the said lady in his town peregrinations, when he returns to College, if he meets John Smith, he (Tom) says to John, 'In yonder village I espied a _Peruvian_'; by which John understands that Tom has had the very great pleasure of meeting John's Dulcinea."

PETTY COMPOUNDER. At Oxford, one who pays more than ordinary fees for his degree.

"A _Petty Compounder_," says the Oxford University Calendar, "must possess ecclesiastical income of the annual value of five shillings, or property of any other description amounting in all to the sum of five pounds, per annum."--Ed. 1832, p. 92.

PHEEZE, or FEEZE. At the University of Vermont, to pledge. If a student is pledged to join any secret society, he is said to be _pheezed_ or _feezed_.

PHI BETA KAPPA. The fraternity of the [Greek: Phi Beta Kappa] "was imported," says Allyn in his Ritual, "into this country from France, in the year 1776; and, as it is said, by Thomas Jefferson, late President of the United States." It was originally chartered as a society in William and Mary College, in Virginia, and was organized at Yale College, Nov. 13th, 1780. By virtue of a charter formally executed by the president, officers, and members of the original society, it was established soon after at Harvard College, through the influence of Mr. Elisha Parmele, a graduate of the year 1778. The first meeting in Cambridge was held Sept. 5th, 1781. The original Alpha of Virginia is now extinct.

"Its objects," says Mr. Quincy, in his History of Harvard University, "were the 'promotion of literature and friendly intercourse among scholars'; and its name and motto indicate, that 'philosophy, including therein religion as well as ethics, is worthy of cultivation as the guide of life.' This society took an early and a deep root in the University; its exercises became public, and admittance into it an object of ambition; but the 'discrimination' which its selection of members made among students, became an early subject of question and discontent. In October, 1789, a committee of the Overseers, of which John Hancock was chairman, reported to that board, 'that there is an institution in the University, with the nature of which the government is not acquainted, which tends to make a discrimination among the students'; and submitted to the board 'the propriety of inquiring into its nature and designs.' The subject occasioned considerable debate, and a petition, of the nature of a complaint against the society, by a number of the members of the Senior Class, having been presented, its consideration was postponed, and it was committed; but it does not appear from the records, that any further notice was taken of the petition. The influence of the society was upon the whole deemed salutary, since literary merit was assumed as the principle on which its members were selected; and, so far, its influence harmonized with the honorable motives to exertion which have ever been held out to the students by the laws and usages of the College. In process of time, its catalogue included almost every member of the Immediate Government, and fairness in the selection of members has been in a great degree secured by the practice it has adopted, of ascertaining those in every class who stand the highest, in point of conduct and scholarship, according to the estimates of the Faculty of the College, and of generally regarding those estimates. Having gradually increased in numbers, popularity, and importance, the day after Commencement was adopted for its annual celebration. These occasions have uniformly attracted a highly intelligent and cultivated audience, having been marked by a display of learning and eloquence, and having enriched the literature of the country with some of its brightest gems."--Vol. II. p. 398.

The immediate members of the society at Cambridge were formerly accustomed to hold semi-monthly meetings, the exercises of which were such as are usual in literary associations. At present, meetings are seldom held except for the purpose of electing members. Affiliated societies have been established at Dartmouth, Union, and Bowdoin Colleges, at Brown and the Wesleyan Universities, at the Western Reserve College, at the University of Vermont, and at Amherst College, and they number among their members many of the most distinguished men in our country. The letters which constitute the name of the society are the initials of its motto, [Greek: Philosophia, Biou Kubernaetaes], Philosophy, the Guide of Life.

A further account of this society may be found in Allyn's Ritual of Freemasonry, ed. 1831, pp. 296-302.

PHILISTINE. In Germany this name, or what corresponds to it in that country, _Philister_, is given by the students to tradesmen and others not belonging to the university.

Und hat der Bursch kein Geld im Beutel, So pumpt er die Philister an.

And has the Bursch his cash expended? To sponge the _Philistine's_ his plan. _The Crambambuli Song_.

Mr. Halliwell, in his Dictionary of Archaic and Provincial Words, says of this word, "a cant term applied to bailiffs, sheriffs' officers, and drunkards." The idea of narrowmindedness, a contracted mode of thinking, and meanness, is usually connected with it, and in some colleges in the United States the name has been given to those whose characters correspond with this description.

See SNOB.

PHRASING. Reciting by, or giving the words or phraseology of the book, without understanding their meaning.

Never should you allow yourself to think of going into the recitation-room, and there trust to "skinning it," as it is called in some colleges, or "_phrasing_," as in others.--_Todd's Students Manual_, p. 115.

PIECE. "Be it known, at Cambridge the various Commons and other places open for the gymnastic games, and the like public amusements, are usually denominated _Pieces_."--_Alma Mater_, London, 1827, Vol. II. p. 49.

PIETAS ET GRATULATIO. On the death of George the Second, and accession of George the Third, Mr. Bernard, Governor of Massachusetts, suggested to Harvard College "the expediency of expressing sympathy and congratulation on these events, in conformity with the practice of the English universities." Accordingly, on Saturday, March 14, 1761, there was placed in the Chapel of Harvard College the following "Proposal for a Celebration of the Death of the late King, and the Accession of his present Majesty, by members of Harvard College."

"Six guineas are given for a prize of a guinea each to the Author of the best composition of the following several kinds:--1. A Latin Oration. 2. A Latin Poem, in hexameters. 3. A Latin Elegy, in hexameters and pentameters. 4 A Latin Ode. 5. An English Poem, in long verse. 6. An English Ode.

"Other Compositions, besides those that obtain the prizes, that are most deserving, will be taken particular notice of.

"The candidates are to be, all, Gentlemen who are now members of said College, or have taken a degree within seven years.

"Any Candidate may deliver two or more compositions of different kinds, but not more than one of the same kind.

"That Gentlemen may be more encouraged to try their talents upon this occasion, it is proposed that the names of the Candidates shall be kept secret, except those who shall be adjudged to deserve the prizes, or to have particular notice taken of their Compositions, and even these shall be kept secret if desired.

"For this purpose, each Candidate is desired to send his Composition to the President, on or before the first day of July next, subscribed at the bottom with, a feigned name or motto, and, in a distinct paper, to write his own name and seal it up, writing the feigned name or motto on the outside. None of the sealed papers containing the real names will be opened, except those that are adjudged to obtain the prizes or to deserve particular notice; the rest will be burned sealed."

This proposal resulted in a work entitled, "Pietas et Gratulatio Collegii Cantabrigiensis apud Novanglos." In January, 1762, the Corporation passed a vote, "that the collections in prose and verse in several languages composed by some of the members of the College, on the motion of his Excellency our Governor, Francis Bernard, Esq., on occasion of the death of his late Majesty, and the accession of his present Majesty, be printed; and that his Excellency be desired to send, if he shall judge it proper, a copy of the same to Great Britain, to be presented to his Majesty, in the name of the Corporation."

Quincy thus speaks of the collection:--"Governor Bernard not only suggested the work, but contributed to it. Five of the thirty-one compositions, of which it consists, were from his pen. The Address to the King is stated to have been written by him, or by Lieutenant-Governor Hutchinson. Its style and turn of thought indicate the politician rather than the student, and savor of the senate-chamber more than of the academy. The classical and poetic merits of the work bear a fair comparison with those of European universities on similar occasions, allowance being made for the difference in the state of science and literature in the respective countries; and it is the most creditable specimen extant of the art of printing, at that period, in the Colonies. The work is respectfully noticed by the 'Critical' and 'Monthly' Reviews, and an Ode of the President is pronounced by both to be written in a style truly Horatian. In the address prefixed, the hope is expressed, that, as 'English colleges have had kings for their nursing fathers, and queens for their nursing mothers, this of North America might experience the royal munificence, and look up to the throne for favor and patronage.' In May, 1763, letters were received from Jasper Mauduit, agent of the Province, mentioning 'the presentation to his Majesty of the book of verses from the College,' but the records give no indication of the manner in which it was received. The thoughts of George the Third were occupied, not with patronizing learning in the Colonies, but with deriving revenue from them, and Harvard College was indebted to him for no act of acknowledgment or munificence."--_Quincy's Hist. of Harv. Univ._, Vol. II. pp. 103-105.

The Charleston Courier, in an article entitled "Literary Sparring," says of this production:--"When, as late as 1761, Harvard University sent forth, in Greek, Latin, and English, its congratulations on the accession of George the Third to the throne, it was called, in England, a curiosity."--_Buckingham's Miscellanies from the Public Journals_, Vol. I. p. 103.

Mr. Kendall, an English traveller, who visited Cambridge in the year 1807-8, notices this work as follows:--"In the year 1761, on the death of George the Second and the accession of his present Majesty, Harvard College, or, as on this occasion it styles itself, Cambridge College, produced a volume of tributary verses, in English, Latin, and Greek, entitled, Pietas et Gratulatio Collegii Cantabrigiensis apud Novanglos; and this collection, the first received, and, as it has since appeared, the last to be received, from this seminary, by an English king, was cordially welcomed by the critical journals of the time."--_Kendall's Travels_, Vol. III. p. 12.

For further remarks, consult the Monthly Review, Vol. XXIX. p. 22; Critical Review, Vol. X. p. 284; and the Monthly Anthology, Vol. VI. pp. 422-427; Vol. VII. p. 67.

PILL. In English Cantab parlance, twaddle, platitude.--_Bristed_.

PIMP. To do little, mean actions for the purpose of gaining favor with a superior, as, in college, with an instructor. The verb with this meaning is derived from the adjective _pimping_, which signifies _little, petty_.

Did I not promise those who fished And _pimped_ most, any part they wished. _The Rebelliad_, p. 33.

PISCATORIAN. From the Latin _piscator_, a fisherman. One who seeks or gains favor with a teacher by being officious toward him.

This word was much used at Harvard College in the year 1822, and for a few years after; it is now very seldom heard.

See under FISH.

PIT. In the University of Cambridge, the place in St. Mary's Church reserved for the accommodation of Masters of Arts and Fellow-Commoners is jocularly styled the _pit_.--_Grad. ad Cantab._

PLACE. In the older American colleges, the situation of a student in the class of which he was a member was formerly decided, in a measure, by the rank and circumstances of his family; this was called _placing_. The Hon. Paine Wingate, who graduated at Harvard College in the year 1759, says, in one of his letters to Mr. Peirce:--

"You inquire of me whether any regard was paid to a student on account of the rank of his parent, otherwise than his being arranged or _placed_ in the order of his class?

"The right of precedence on every occasion is an object of importance in the state of society. And there is scarce anything which more sensibly affects the feelings of ambition than the rank which a man is allowed to hold. This excitement was generally called up whenever a class in college was _placed_. The parents were not wholly free from influence; but the scholars were often enraged beyond bounds for their disappointment in their _place_, and it was some time before a class could be settled down to an acquiescence in their allotment. The highest and the lowest in the class was often ascertained more easily (though not without some difficulty) than the intermediate members of the class, where there was room for uncertainty whose claim was best, and where partiality, no doubt, was sometimes indulged. But I must add, that, although the honor of a _place_ in the class was chiefly ideal, yet there were some substantial advantages. The higher part of the class had generally the most influential friends, and they commonly had the best chambers in College assigned to them. They had also a right to help themselves first at table in Commons, and I believe generally, wherever there was occasional precedence allowed, it was very freely yielded to the higher of the class by those who were below.

"The Freshman Class was, in my day at college, usually _placed_ (as it was termed) within six or nine months after their admission. The official notice of this was given by having their names written in a large German text, in a handsome style, and placed in a conspicuous part of the College _Buttery_, where the names of the four classes of undergraduates were kept suspended until they left College. If a scholar was expelled, his name was taken from its place; or if he was degraded (which was considered the next highest punishment to expulsion), it was moved accordingly. As soon as the Freshmen were apprised of their places, each one took his station according to the new arrangement at recitation, and at Commons, and in the Chapel, and on all other occasions. And this arrangement was never afterward altered, either in College or in the Catalogue, however the rank of their parents might be varied. Considering how much dissatisfaction was often excited by placing the classes (and I believe all other colleges had laid aside the practice), I think that it was a judicious expedient in Harvard to conform to the custom of putting the names in _alphabetical_ order, and they have accordingly so remained since the year 1772."--_Peirce's Hist. of Harv. Univ._, pp. 308-811.

In his "Annals of Yale College," Ebenezer Baldwin observes on the subject: "Doctor Dwight, soon after his election to the Presidency [1795], effected various important alterations in the collegiate laws. The statutes of the institution had been chiefly adopted from those of European universities, where the footsteps of monarchical regulation were discerned even in the walks of science. So difficult was it to divest the minds of wise men of the influence of venerable follies, that the printed catalogues of students, until the year 1768, were arranged according to respectability of parentage."--p. 147.

See DEGRADATION.

PLACET. Latin; literally, _it is pleasing_. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., the term in which an _affirmative_ vote is given in the Senate-House.

PLUCK. In the English universities, a refusal of testimonials for a degree.

The origin of this word is thus stated in the Collegian's Guide: "At the time of conferring a degree, just as the name of each man to be presented to the Vice-Chancellor is read out, a proctor walks once up and down, to give any person who can object to the degree an opportunity of signifying his dissent, which is done by plucking or pulling the proctor's gown. Hence another and more common mode of stopping a degree, by refusing the testamur, or certificate of proficiency, is also called plucking."--p. 203.

On the same word, the author in another place remarks as follows: "As long back as my memory will carry me, down to the present day, there has been scarcely a monosyllable in our language which seemed to convey so stinging a reproach, or to let a man down in the general estimation half as much, as this one word PLUCK."--p. 288.

PLUCKED. A cant term at the English universities, applied to those who, for want of scholarship, are refused their testimonials for a degree.--_Oxford Guide_.

Who had at length scrambled through the pales and discipline of the Senate-House without being _plucked_, and miraculously obtained the title of A.B.--_Gent. Mag._, 1795, p. 19.

O what a misery is it to be _plucked_! Not long since, an undergraduate was driven mad by it, and committed suicide.--The term itself is contemptible: it is associated with the meanest, the most stupid and spiritless animals of creation. When we hear of a man being _plucked_, we think he is necessarily a goose.--_Collegian's Guide_, p. 288.

Poor Lentulus, twice _plucked_, some happy day Just shuffles through, and dubs himself B.A. _The College_, in _Blackwood's Mag._, May, 1849.

POKER. At Oxford, Eng., a cant name for a _bedel_.

If the visitor see an unusual "state" walking about, in shape of an individual preceded by a quantity of _pokers_, or, which is the same thing, men, that is bedels, carrying maces, jocularly called _pokers_, he may be sure that that individual is the Vice-Chancellor. _Oxford Guide_, 1847, p. xii.

POLE. At Princeton and Union Colleges, to study hard, e.g. to _pole_ out the lesson. To _pole_ on a composition, to take pains with it.

POLER. One who studies hard; a close student. As a boat is impelled with _poles_, so is the student by _poling_, and it is perhaps from this analogy that the word _poler_ is applied to a diligent student.

POLING. Close application to study; diligent attention to the specified pursuits of college.

A writer defines poling, "wasting the midnight oil in company with a wine-bottle, box of cigars, a 'deck of eucre,' and three kindred spirits," thus leaving its real meaning to be deduced from its opposite.--_Sophomore Independent_, Union College, Nov., 1854.

POLL. Abbreviated from POLLOI.

Several declared that they would go out in "the _Poll_" (among the [Greek: polloi], those not candidates for honors).--_Bristed's Five Years in an Eng. Univ._, Ed. 2d, p. 62.

At Cambridge, those candidates for a degree who do not aspire to honors are said to go out in the _poll_; this being the abbreviated term to denote those who were classically designated [Greek: hoi polloi].--_The English Universities and their Reforms_, in _Blackwood's Magazine_, Feb. 1849.

POLLOI. [Greek: Hoi Polloi], the many. In the University of Cambridge, Eng., those who take their degree without any honor. After residing something more than three years at this University, at the conclusion of the tenth term comes off the final examination in the Senate-House. He who passes this examination in the best manner is called Senior Wrangler. "Then follow about twenty, all called Wranglers, arranged in the order of merit. Two other ranks of honors are there,--Senior Optimes and Junior Optimes, each containing about twenty. The last Junior Optime is termed the Wooden Spoon. Then comes the list of the large majority, called the _Hoy Polloi_, the first of whom is named the _Captain of the Poll_, and the twelve last, the Apostles."--_Alma Mater_, Vol. I. p. 3.

2. Used by students to denote the rabble.

On Learning's sea, his hopes of safety buoy, He sinks for ever lost among the [Greek: hoi polloi]. _The Crayon_, Yale Coll., 1823, p. 21.

PONS ASINORUM. Vide ASSES' BRIDGE.

PONY. A translation. So called, it may be, from the fleetness and ease with which a skilful rider is enabled to pass over places which to a common plodder present many obstacles.

One writer jocosely defines this literary nag as "the animal that ambulates so delightfully through all the pleasant paths of knowledge, from whose back the student may look down on the weary pedestrian, and 'thank his stars' that 'he who runs may read.'"--_Sophomore Independent_, Union College, Nov. 1854

And stick to the law, Tom, without a _Pony_.--_Harv. Reg._, p. 194.

And when leaving, leave behind us _Ponies_ for a lower class; _Ponies_, which perhaps another, Toiling up the College hill, A forlorn, a "younger brother," "Riding," may rise higher still. _Poem before the Y.H. Soc._, 1849, p. 12.

Their lexicons, _ponies_, and text-books were strewed round their lamps on the table.--_A Tour through College_, Boston, 1832, p. 30.

In the way of "_pony_," or translation, to the Greek of Father Griesbach, the New Testament was wonderfully convenient.--_New England Magazine_, Vol. III. p. 208.

The notes are just what notes should be; they are not a _pony_, but a guide.--_Southern Lit. Mess._

Instead of plodding on foot along the dusty, well-worn McAdam of learning, why will you take nigh cuts on _ponies_?--_Yale Lit. Mag._, Vol. XIII. p. 281.

The "board" requests that all who present themselves will bring along the _ponies_ they have used since their first entrance into College.--_The Gallinipper_, Dec. 1849.