PAS

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PAS

and the passage in Vitruvius , which was considered to alludeto this temple, has been shown to be a corruption of thatauthor's text. There were no columns in the cella of thetemple. The roof was unquestionally of timber, and coveredwith marble, sculptured so as to represent large tiles, afterthe mode observed in the temple of Jupiter at Olympia.

“ Some of the blocks of stone, of which the Parthenon iscomposed, are so closely fitted, that no separation is visible;and in some instances, where the adjoining fragments of twocontiguous stones have broken off, they adhere almost asfirmly as though they had never been disjoined ; this cohesionis, however, only observable in the vertical joints, the separa-tion between the horizontal beds of the blocks, is far moreconspicuous. The want of cement was amply supplied bythe liberal use of iron cramps; in a block of four feet inlength, three cramps are sometimes found connecting it withthe next adjoining. One set of cramps being used for con-necting the stones of the same bed together, and the otherfor connecting the superincumbent courses; the first, whichunited both the end and at the sides, resembled the letter H,protracted so as to be from 11 to 15 inches in length. Theothers were plates of iron, 5 inches in depth, 3 in width,and £ of an inch thick. They are usually inserted half theirdepth into the stones beneath the vertical joints of the nextsuperior course, the other remaining to be received into agroove made across the common joint of the two blocksmeeting above it. Holes of the same form, but of greaterdimensions, were sunk for the reception of the first sort ofcramps, the space being filled around with melted lead ; leadwas also used in fixing the second sort of cramps in thehorizontal courses, but no means appear to have beenemployed for its introduction at the angles of two blockswhose vertical joint is immediately above them. The stonescomposing the shaft of each column, were held together byround pins of wood ; square sockets of the same materialwere first sunk in the centre of two adjoining blocks, thesocket of the lower course received half the pin, and the otherhalf projected into the socket in the upper stone. The pinswhich have been found, appear to have shrunk very con-siderably ; besides these, there were usually two metal platesof the kind already mentioned, inserted in those blockscomposing the column, as in the other part of the building.

PARTITION, (from the Latin , partitio, to divide,) a wallwhich divides and separates one apartment from another. Itmay be either of brick, stone, or timber. When a partitiont wall has no support from below, it ought to be so constructed] | as to lay no stress upon the floor ; and therefore a trusspartition should be employed to discharge the weight. SeeTruss.

PARTY WALLS, in building, partitions of brick madebetween buildings in separate occupations, for preventing thespread of fire. For the regulations prescribed by act of Par-liament , see House.

] PARVIS, or Papvise, a name formerly given to the porchof a church, but now applied to the area round a church. Oflate, it has been used to signify the room often found abovethe porch of a church. It is supposed to be a corruption ofparadise.

PASCAL, BLAISE, a celebrated mathematician and phi-losopher, born at Clermont, in Auvergne , in the year 1623.His father, who was a man of great consideration in his pro-vince, was also illustrious as a general scholar, as well as anable mathematician. To promote the studies of his only sonBlaise, he relinquished his official situation, settled at Paris,and undertook the employment of being his tutor. The pupilwas, from a very early period, remarkably inquisitive, anddesirous of knowing the principles of things; and when good

His father soon discovered , j c )i

reasons were not given to him, he would search fo^nor would he rest contented with any that did not ahis mind well founded. His father soon discovebent of Ids genius was decidedly to mathematics,he was determined, if possible, to keep him, lestby this pursuit, be prevented from learning the h geo'He accordingly locked up all the books that treate ^ gVe nmetry and the sciences, properly so called, and reti# ca gioi'>from speaking of them in his presence. On one ie puthowever, the youth asked, with an importunity not ngtJ 0 'off, what was geometry ? to which the father re P e* aC ,imetry is a science which teaches the way ot nia jijeif ’figures, and of finding out the proportions between^ 0 f th ebut at the same time, he forbade him to speak or t* 11 ”.^ rtffsubject any more ; which was perhaps the veryi ea jto excite in him an earnest desire to become acq® 1 ‘’nas?!' 1 ?'

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it. Accordingly the science soon occupied all h' s , jo t* 1and though but twelve years of age, he was f° uhours of recreation, making figures on the ch 11 ®^ 0 ut ’]with charcoal, the proportions of which he soug ^ Jemeans of a regular, though perhaps uncouth, set ^ppai'®ldtions, axioms, and demonstrations. It is said; v viupon unquestionable authority, that he had P r ?^ gt the sil ^his inquiries so far as to have come to what was J ^ J5u alwith the thirty-second proposition of the first boo .and that without any assistance either from living yoiyor the works of the illustrious dead. From this ] ien i a ®Pascal had full liberty to indulge his genius in S uC lid’s . e ,pursuits, and was furnished by his father with ' g | l0 rtmerits, of which he made himself master in a veiy ^ tl> e 1 jpSo great was his proficiency in the sciences, th! : \ v ii' cl1

kju gicai wu» ma jjruuuiciicj' ill me »cicnv.v/«> . ,y

of sixteen, he wrote a Treatise on Conic Sections ^ efithe judgment of the most learned men of the tun j. u j„et asidered as a great effort of genius. At the age j' lJ ri | ' s ^, 1 |-he contrived his admirable arithmetical machine* j c: d oan easy and expeditious method of making arlt .i, e r 1 j|lculations, in the fundamental rules, without any o t° |l9

that of the eye and the hand. About this t,uie ’] 1 j C li ^health, he was obliged to suspend his studies, w n wh 1 , 1 uunable to renew for four years ; when, having ^to the famous Torricellian experiment respect 111 ®^ eS jOof air, he instantly directed his attention to dis® 1 ^ 0 (science of pneumatics. He made a vast num ^ments, of which he circulated a printed accoun t jie g -

L . 1 , 1 . „ iut'X

whole of Europe W

nii pressure of the «m„!T ascertaill ed the fact oi

ln which he fullv e t P lere » and composed a large j ih e

objections which w P a '!' e,i tile subject, and ans' v «wards, thinking ? 1C !l(,Vil nced against in's theory-treatises, one of L ^ P , r ° lix ’ lie divided it into t»o ftEquilibrium of pivf} W e,uitIe(! > A Dissertate ft

Weight of theAtm d t ! ^ the other, An p A

Wished , -these treatises were B °

The iti^h r 1 ; !u Uti) °' 8 death. . , ^

him to be JooJ-Pd f ,0n wl,ieh M - Pascal had acquired’ r

ticians and IL, 7 ‘ he most ^nsideralde b i>

Stance t P £Z?r' S ° f th * *B*> " ho

* « icsoiut.on of various difficult

on which Ids 1 » j h/

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problems. Among other subjects - , , 0 .-

was employed, was the solution of a P r0 . e all "^ued 1 *

Mersenne , which had baffled the penetration o ^ eS ciW

attempted it; this was to determine the cu 1 fl'A 6

the air by the nail of a coach-wheel, whi■ ® by 11in motion ; which curve was at that time R ..Aoid-of the roullette, but is now designated the Y B ut B ^ ,el 'f’ eBefore this time he had drawn up a table o ge d, 11 e n 11from the form in which the figures were h aVt!his Arithmetical Triangle. He might pet