Par'nach (Heb. ParnaV , ~3"iB, perhaps swift; Sept <t>api'ax), the father of Elizaphan, which latter was prince of the tribe of Zebulun at the close of the Exodus (Numb, xxxiv, 25). B.C. ante 1(518.
Parnasun (n'^D3~iS = Troip'tvic, she2)hei-ds') is a name by which the rulers of the synagogue in the time of Christ were called. A place that had at least " ten men of leisure" {batlanim), as they were technically called, i.e. men who could devote the whole of their time to the requirements of the synagogue, enjoyed the privilege of erecting a synagogue. These men filled the diftercnt offices required for the administration of the affairs of the synagogue, and were called presbyters or elders - Trpinjii'Tf put (l)ecause old men were generally selected for those offices), or parnasim or shepherds (because they had both the ecclesiastical and civil af- fairs of their respective communities in charge). The term parnas, of which ])arnasim is the plural, is Ara- maic, and is used in the Chaldee paraphrase for the Hebrew ?wA (n"-i), "shepherd" (comp. Ezek. xxxiv, 5, 8, 23; Zech. xi, 15, 16, etc.). This appellation was in the Old Test:mient already given to God, w Iio per- forms the ofllce of tending and caring for his people in the highest sense (Psa. xxiii, 1 ; Ixxx, 1 [2]), and then to his representatives, who exercised religious and civil care over the community (e. g. Jer. iii, lb). As these rulers had to feed the poor with bread, and their respec- tive congregations witli knowledge and understanding, the title "shepherd" was appropriated to them. The
PARNASSIDES
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Talmud declares that " everj- shepherd (D3^S) who leads his congregation in gentleness has the merit of leading them in the path for the world to come" {San- hedr. 92 a); and that "the Holy One, blessed be he, mourns over the congregation which has a shepherd who conducts himself haughtily towards his tiock" Char/ic/a, 5 b). From this custom of calling the ad- ministrators of the synagogue "shepherds" came the application of the name to those who bear office in the Church. See Pastor. (B. P.)
Parnassides, a name given to the Muses (q. v.), from Mount Parnassus (q. v.).
Parnassus, a mountain greatly celebrated among the ancients, and regarded by the Greeks as the central point of their country. It was in Phocis. It has three steep peaks, almost always covered with snow, and seen from a great distance, the highest being fullv 8000 feet above the level of the sea ; but as onl}' two of them are visible from Delphi, it was customarj' among the Greeks to speak of the two-peaked Parnassus. On its south- ern slope lay Delphi, the seat of the famous oracle, and the fountain of Castalia. The highest peak of Mount Parnassus was the scene of the orgies of the worship of Dionysus (Bacchus) ; all the rest of the mountain was sacred to Apollo and the Muses, whence poets were said to "climb Parnassus," a phrase still thus em- ployed.
Parnell, Thomas, D.D., an English divine, noted however rather in the field of belles-lettres than in the- ology, was born at Dublin in 1079. He was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, where he was passed as mas- ter in 1700. In the same j'ear, though under canonical age, he was ordained deacon by dispensation from the bishop of Derr}'. About three years later he took or- ders and became archdeacon of Clogher. He received also other preferments through the interest of Swift, when he deserted the Whig party on their fall in the latter part of the reign of queen Anne. Parnell was a contributor to the S2)ect(itor and Guardian, and, after flying to London from his Irish parsonage, became in- timate with the leading men of letters. His poetry comjs nearer to Pope's, in sweetness of versification, than do any other verses of the time ; and he has not only much felicit}' of diction, but also a very pleasing seriousness of sentiment, shown in such pieces as his popular allegorj', The llennit. His death, which oc- curred in 1718, is said to have been hastened by intem- perate habits, and these his friends have attributed to the grief he felt for the loss of his wife. See Allibone, Diet, of Brit, and Amer. Authors, ii, s. v. ; English Cy- clop, s. v., for further details and references.
Parnethius, a surname oi Zeus (Jupiter), derived from Mount Parnes in Attica.
Parnopius, a surname of Ajjnllo, under which he was worshipped at Athens. The word signifies cm ex- peller of locusts.
Parny, Evariste-Dksirk-Desforges, Chevalier, and afterwards Vicomie de Parny, a French writer, needs mention here for liis proHniity, immoral tendency, and vile blasphemy of the Bible and its teachings. He was born in the Isle of Bourbon Feb. G, 1753. At the age of nine he was sent to France and placed at the Ciillege of Rennes; but he appears to have shown con- siderable indifference to the course of studies which was followed there. His imagination, which even at an early age had taken the almost entire guidance of his conduct, impressed him as he grew up with the belief that he was called upon to embrace the ecclesiastical profession, and it is said that he attempted to join the brotherhood of La Trappe. An eft'ort of imprudent zeal, however, on the part of the confessor whom he had chosen as his spiritual guide, produced a rapid change in the mind of the young convert, and he is re- lated to have fallen into an opposite extreme of conduct, and soon after, entering uito all the dissipations of