Papias

Papias, an early Christian writer, bishop of Hierapolis in Phrygia. He wrote an " Explication of the Speeches of the Lord," of which only a few fragments remain. He entertained the idea that there will be for 1,000 years after the resurrection from the dead a bodily reign of Christ on earth; and from him millenarians were sometimes called Papianists. According to the Alexandrian chronicle, he suffered martyrdom in Pergamus in A. D. 163. For the fragments of his writings see the Reliquioe Sacra of Routh (8vo, Oxford, 1814).

Paradoxurus

Paradoxurus, a carnivorous mammal, allied to the ichneumons, inhabiting Asia and the neighboring southern islands. It has the habit of tightly coiling in a spiral manner its long tail, which however is not prehensile, whence the generic name given by Cuvier; the claws are retractile and cat-like, and the teeth like those of the civets. In the best known species, the luwack (P. typus), about the size of a cat, the general color is yellowish black, with three longitudinal rows of dark spots on each side of the back; it is plantigrade, and quick in its movements both on the ground and in trees; it is nocturnal in habit, and preys upon small mammals and birds and eggs. The musang of Java (P. musanga) is an allied species, which does much mischief in the coffee plantations.

Luwack (Paradoxurus typus).

Paraguay Tea

See Mate.

Paramatta

Paramatta, a town of Australia, in New South Wales, on the Paramatta river (an arm of the sea), 14 m. N. W. of Sydney; pop. in 1871, 6,103. Among the notable public buildings are the government house, the benevolent asylum, the schools, the court house and town hall, several places of worship, among which the new Gothic Congregational church is prominent, and a school of arts. Its observatory has been transferred to Sydney. There are two orphan schools and two lunatic asylums, two woollen factories, and two flour mills. The walks are planted with oaks, the largest in Australia. The vicinity is famous for its orangeries and orchards. Paramatta is next to Sydney the oldest town in the colony, and has been under municipal government since 1861.

Parasitic Animals

See Entozoa, and Epizoa.

Parasitic Plants

See Epiphytes.

Paregoric Elixir

Paregoric Elixir (Gr. , soothing), or camphorated tincture of opium, a preparation of opium and benzoic acid, each 1 drachm; oil of anise, 1 fluid drachm; honey, 2 ounces; camphor, 2 scruples; diluted alcohol, 2 pints; macerated for seven days and filtered through paper. This is a popular medicine, used as an anodyne and antispasmodic. It allays cough in cases of asthma and catarrh, and relieves slight pains in the stomach and bowels. It is especially used for children, on account of the weakness of the preparation permitting a more accurate graduation of the dose; but it should be administered with the same caution as any other preparation of opium.