Pricks (Numb, xxxiii, 55 ; Acts ix, 5). See Goad ; Thorn.
Pridden, John, an English clergyman, was born in the year 1758 in London, and was educated at Queen's College, Oxford. After filling various appointments, he finally became rector of St. George's, Botolph Lane, London. He died in 1825. His publications are of a secular character only, and those interested may consult Allibone, Diet, of Brit, and A mer. Authors, ii, 1681.
Pride is inordinate and unreasonable self-esteem, attended with insolence and rude treatment of others. 1. " It is sometimes," says a good writer, " confounded with vanity, and sometimes with dignity; but to the former passion it has no resemblance, and in many circum- stances it differs from the latter. Vanity is the parent of loquacious boasting, and the person subject to it, if his pretences be admitted, has no inclination to insult the company. The proud man, on the other hand, is naturally silent, and wrapped up in his own importance, seldom speaks but to make his audience feel their infe- riority." Pride is the high opinion that a poor, little, contracted soul entertains of itself. Dignity consists in just, great, and uniform actions, and is the opposite to meanness. 2. Pride manifests itself by praising our- selves, adoring our persons, attempting to appear before others in a superior light to what we are ; contempt and slander of others ; envy at the excellences others pos- sess; anxiety to gain applause; distress and rage when slighted; impatience of contradiction, and opposition to God himself. 3. The evil effects of pride are beyond computation. It has spread itself universally in all na- tions, among all characters ; and as it was the first sin, as some suppose, that entered into the world, so it seems the last to be conquered. It may be considered as the parent of discontent, ingratitude, covetousness, poverty, presumption, passion, extravagance, bigotry, war, and persecution. In fact, there is hardly an evil perpetrated but pride is connected with it in a prox- imate or remote sense. 4. To suppress this evil, we should consider what we are. "If we could trace our descents," says Seneca, "we should find all slaves to come from princes, and all princes from slaves. To be proud of knowledge is to be blind in the light; to be proud of virtue is to poison ourselves with the anti- dote ; to be proud of authority is to make our rise our downfall." The imperfection of our nature, our scanty knowledge, contracted powers, narrow conceptions, and moral inability are strong motives to excite us to hu- mility. We should consider, also, what punishments this sin has brought on mankind. See the cases of Pharaoh, Haman, Nebuchadnezzar, Herod, and others; how particularly it is prohibited (Prov. xvi, 18; 1 Pet. v, 5; James iv, 6 ; Prov. xxix, 23) ; what a torment it is to its possessor (Esther v, 13); how soon all things of a sublunary nature will end ; how disgraceful it ren- ders us in the sight of God, angels, and men ; what a barrier it is to our felicity and communion with God; how fruitful it is of discord; how it precludes our usefulness, and renders us really contemptible.— Buck, Theol. Diet. s. v. Comp. Blackle, Morals, p. 244 ; Ed- wards, Works; Robert Hall, Works; Bates, Works; Brown, Philosophy of the Mind; Wesl. Mag. 1846, p. 1113 ; 1847, p. 548 sq. ; Malcom, Theol. Index, s. v. See Humility.
Prideaux, Humphrey, D.D., a learned English
divine, noted as a historian, was born at Padstow, in Cornwall, May 3, 1648. He was educated first at West- minster School and later at Christ Church, Oxford, where he took his degree in 1672. While at the university he published the ancient inscriptions from the Arun- delian Marbles, under the title of Marmora Oxoniensia, which recommended him to the patronage of the lord- chancellor Finch, afterwards earl of Nottingham, who gave him in 1679 a living near Oxford, and afterwards a prebend in Norwich cathedral. While there he be- came engaged in some severe contests with the Roman Catholics, the result of which was the publication of his work The Validity of the Orders of the Church of Eng- land made out (1688). He also took an active part in resisting the arbitrary proceedings of James II which affected the interests of the Established Church. In 1688 he was promoted to the archdeaconry of Suffolk ; but it was not without much consideration that he could bring himself to take the oath of allegiance to William and Mary. But when once decided, he acted in good faith, and treated all non-jurors with kindness and respect. In 1691, upon the death of Dr. Pococke, the Hebrew professorship at 0<xford was offered to Dr. Prideaux, but he refused it, though he afterwards re- pented of his refusal. In 1697 he published The Life of Mahomet, which was so well received that three editions of it were sold the first year. This Life was only a part of a greater work which he had long de- signed to write, and that was A History of the Saracen Empire, and with it The Decay and Eall of Chris- tianity in the East ; but, for certain reasons, he dropped this design, and only published that part which con- tained The Life of Mahomet, to which he annexed A letter to the Deists, wherein he undertook to prove the truth of Christianity by contrasting it with the impostures of Mohammedanism. In 1702 he was made dean of Norwich. He died Nov. 1, 1724. He pub- lished, The Original Right of Tythes :— Directions for Church-ioardens, and other small pieces for the service of the Church; also two tracts of Maimonides, with a Latin version and notes, under the title of De Jure Pauperis et Peregrini apud Judwos, as an introduction for Hebrew students to Rabbinical language. But Dr. Prideaux's great work was The Connection of the History of the Old and Neio Testament, the first part of which was published in 1715, the second in 1718. Both parts were received with the greatest approbation, and went through eight editions in London, besides two or three in Dublin, before the end of 1720. The best of the many excellent editions which have appeared of this work since the death of its author are probably the 22d, with An Account of the Rabbinical Authorities by Rev. A. M'Caul, D.D. (1845, 2 vols. 8vo), and the 25th, which, in addition, has An Account, etc., with notes and analysis, and Introductory Revieiv by J. Talboys Wheeler (Lond. 1858, 2 vols. 8vo). The last named is by far the most desirable of all, as it contains, in addi- tion to the excellent work done by M'Caul, the notes, etc., by Wheeler, who also edited Shuckford's Connection of Sacred and Profane History (1858, 2 vols. 8vo) and Russell's Connection of Sacred and Profane History (1865, 2 vols. 8vo), the three embracing the entire period from the Creation to the time of Christ. Prideaux's Connection was translated into French (Amst. 1728, 6 vols. 12mo), and, with John Dierberghe's annotations, into Dutch. Le Clerc published a critical examination of it, which appeared in English (Lond. 1722, 8vo). "The Connection," says Orme, "contains a large mass of erudition, and accurate information on every topic of Jewish history and antiquities, and on all the links which connected that peculiar people with the sur- rounding nations. It is indispensable to the Biblical and interesting to the general scholar. . . . Le Clerc's exceptions are not of great importance" (Bibl.Bib.s.v.). This history takes in the affairs of Egypt, Assyria, and all the other Eastern nations, as well as of the Jews; and likewise those of Greece and Rome, so far as was neces-