ABIES. See FIR. ABILA, a city of ancient Syria, the capital of the tetrarchy of Abilene, a territory whose limits and extent it is impossible now to define. The site of Abila is indicated by some ruins and inscriptions on the banks of the river Barada, between Baalbec and Damascus, about twelve miles from the latter city. Though the names Abel and Abila differ in derivation and in meaning, their similarity has given rise to the tradition that this was the scene of Abel's death. ABILDGAARD, NIKOLAJ, called "the Father of Danish Painting," was born in 1744. He formed his style on that of Claude and of Nicolas Poussin, and was a cold theorist, inspired not by nature but by art. As a technical painter he attained remarkable success, his tone being very harmonious and even, but the effect, to a foreigner's eye, is rarely interesting. His works are scarcely known out of Copenhagen, where he won an immense fame in his own generation, and where he died in 1809. He was the founder of the Danish school of painting, and the master of Thorwaldsen and Eckersberg. ABIMELECH (s, father of the king, or rather perhaps king father), occurs first in the Bible as the name of certain kings of the Philistines at Gerar (Gen. xx. 2, xxi. 22, xxvi. 1). From the fact that the name is applied in the inscription of the thirty-fourth psalm to Achish, it has been inferred with considerable probability that it was used as the official designation of the Philistinian kings. The name was also borne by a son of Gideon, judge of Israel, by his Shechemite concubine (Judges viii. 31). On the death of Gideon, who had refused the title of king both for himself and his children, Abimelech set himself to obtain the sovereignty through the influence of his mother's relatives. In pursuance of his plan he slew seventy of his brethren " upon one stone at Ophrah, Jotham, the youngest of them, alone contriving to escape. This is one of the earliest recorded instances of a practice exceedingly common on the accession of Oriental despots. Abimelech was eventually made king, although his election was opposed by Jotham, who boldly appeared on Mount Gerizim and told the assembled Shechemites the fable of the trees desiring a king. At the end of the third year of his reign the Shechemites revolted, and under the leadership of Gaal made an unsuccessful attempt to throw off the authority of Abimelech. In Judges ix. there is an account of this insurrection, which is specially interesting owing to the full details it gives of the nature of the military operations. After totally destroying Shechem, Abimelech proceeded against Thebez, which had also revolted. Here, while storming the citadel, he was struck on the head by the fragment of a millstone thrown from the wall by a woman. To avoid the disgrace of perishing by a woman's hand, he requested his armour-bearer to run him through the body. Though the immediate cause of his death was thus a sword-thrust, his memory was not saved from the ignominy he dreaded (2 Sam. xi. 21). It has been usual to regard Abimelech's reign as the first attempt to establish a monarchy in Israel. The facts, however, seem rather to support the theory of Ewald (Gesch. ii. 444), that Shechem had asserted its independence of Israel, when it chose Abimelech as its king. ABINGDON, a parliamentary and municipal borough and market town of England, in Berkshire, on a branch of the Thames, 7 miles south of Oxford, and 51 miles W.N.W. of London. It is a place of great antiquity, and was an important town in the time of the Heptarchy. Its name is derived from an ancient abbey. The streets, which are well paved, converge to a spacious area, in which the market is held. In the centre of this area stands the market-house, supported on lofty pillars, with a large hall above, appropriated to the summer assizes for the county, and the transaction of other public business. The town contains two churches, which are said to have been erected by the abbots of Abingdon, one dedicated to St Nicholas and the other to St Helena; several charitable institutions, and a free grammar school, with scholarships at Pembroke College, Oxford. In 1864 a memorial of Prince Albert was erected at Abingdon, a richly ornamented structure, surmounted by a statue of the Prince. Abingdon was incorporated by Queen Mary. It sends one member to Parliament, and is governed by a mayor, four aldermen, and twelve councillors. In the beginning of the century it manufactured much sail-cloth and sacking; but its chief trade now is in corn and malt, carpets, and coarse linen. It is a station on a branch of the Great Western Railway. Population (1871), 6571. ABIOGENESIS, as a name for the production of living by not-living matter, has of late been superseding the less accurate phrase "Spontaneous Generation." Professor Huxley, who made use of the word in his presidential address to the British Association in 1870, distinguished Abiogenesis from "Xenogenesis" or "Heterogenesis," which occurs, or is supposed to occur, not when dead matter produces living matter, but when a living parent gives rise to offspring which passes through a totally different series of states from those exhibited by the parent, and does not return into the parent's cycle of changes. When a "living parent gives rise to offspring which passes through the same cycle of changes as itself," there occurs "Homogenesis." Biogenesis" includes both of these. Other names for Abiogenesis are Generatio Equivoca, Generatio Primaria, Archigenesis (Urzeugung), Archebiosis, &c. The question of Abiogenesis-whether under certain conditions living matter is produced by notliving matter-as it is one of the most fundamental, is perhaps also the oldest in Biology; but within recent yearspartly because the means of accurate experimentation have been increased and the microscope improved, and partly because the question has been recognised in its important bearings on evolution, the correlation of forces, and the theory of infectious diseases-naturalists have been led to bestow more attention upon it than at any previous period. While, therefore, the doctrine of Abiogenesis cannot be said to be either finally established or refuted, it is at least reasonable to believe that we are gradually advancing to a solution. Among the older observers of phenomena bearing on the question may be named Aristotle, who, with the ancients generally, favoured Abiogenesis; Redi, the founder of the opposite view; Vallisnieri; Buffon; Needham; and Spallanzani; among later observers, Schwann and Schulze, Schroeder and Dusch, Pasteur, Pouchet, Haeckel, Huxley, Bastian, and many others. The experiments and observations made by these naturalists, and their results-the ingenious expedients employed to prevent inaccuracy-the interesting and often marvellous transformations which microscopists declare they have witnessed-will be discussed in the article HISTOLOGY; here it will be enough to note the general nature of the reasonings with which the opponents and defenders of Abiogenesis support their views. The opponents maintain that all trustworthy observations have hitherto shown living matter to have sprung from pre-existing living matter; and that the further we search and examine, the smaller becomes the number of those organisms which we cannot demonstrate to have arisen from living parents. They hold that seeming instances of spontaneous generation are usually to be explained by the germ-theory-the presence of invisible gerins in the air; and they call to their aid such high authorities as Pasteur and Tyndall. The defenders of Abiogenesis, on the other | hand, while interpreting the results of past observation ABKHASIA, or ABASIA, a tract of Asiatic Russia, on and experiment in their own favour, are yet less disposed the border of the Black Sea, comprehending between lat. to rest on these, rather preferring to argue from those 42° 30′ and 44° 45′ N. and between long. 37° 3′ and 40° 36′ wide analogies of evolution and correlation which seem to E. The high mountains of the Caucasus on the N. and support their doctrine. Thus Haeckel expressly embraces N.E. divide it from Circassia; on the S.E. it is bounded Abiogenesis as a necessary and integral part of the theory by Mingrelia; and on the S.W. by the Black Sea. Though of universal evolution; and Huxley, in the same spirit, the country is generally mountainous, there are some deep though from the opposite camp, confesses that if it were well-watered valleys, and the climate is mild. The soil given him to look beyond the abyss of geologically is fertile, producing grain, grapes, and other fruits. recorded time to the still more remote period when the Some of the inhabitants devote themselves to agriculture, earth was passing through physical and chemical con- some to the rearing of cattle and horses, and not a few ditions, he should expect to be a witness of the evolution support themselves by piracy and robbery. Honey is of living protoplasm from not-living matter. (Critiques | largely produced, and is exported to Turkey; and excellent and Addresses, p. 239.) From this point of view, of arms are made. Both in ancient and in modern times course, any microscopic observations that have been made there has been considerable traffic in slaves. This country seem very limited and comparatively unimportant. The was early known to the ancients, and was subdued by the Abiogenists, indeed, are not without arguments to oppose Emperor Justinian, who introduced civilisation and Christhe results of past observation that seem unfavourable to tianity. Afterwards the Persians, then the Georgians, and their views; they argue that, as yet, all the forms more recently the Turks, ruled over the land. Under observed and shown to be produced by Biogenesis are the Turks Christianity gradually disappeared, and Mohamforms possessing a certain degree of organisation, which medanism was introduced in its stead. By the treaties of in their case makes Abiogenesis unlikely, from the first; Akerman and Adrianople, Russia obtained possession of whereas it has not been shown that the simplest struc- the fortresses of this territory; but till the insurrection of tures-the Monera-do not arise by Abiogenesis. But 1866, the chiefs had almost unlimited power. The prinit is not so much on grounds of fact and experiment the cipal town is Sukumkaleh. The population of Abkhasia defenders of the Abiogenesis theory are convinced of is variously stated at from 50,000 to 250,000. See Palits truth, as because it seems to gain confirmation from grave's Essays on Eastern Questions, 1872. reasonings of much wider scope; because Abiogenesis aids the theory of evolution by tracing the organic into the inorganic; because it fosters the increasing unpopularity of the hypothesis of a special "vital force;" and because, if this theory of the "perpetual origination of low forms of life, now, as in all past epochs," were established, it would agree well with the principle of uniformity, and by disclosing the existence of unknown worlds of material for development, would relieve natural selection with its assisting causes from what many consider the too Herculean labour of evolving all species from one or a very few primary forms. The fullest discussion of the subject of Abiogenesis, from the Abiogenist's point of view, is to be found in Dr Bastian's Beginnings of Life. Professor Huxley's address, already referred to, contains an interesting historical survey, as well as a masterly summary of facts and arguments in favour of Biogenesis. For many interesting experiments, see Nature, 1870-73. ABIPONES, a tribe of South American Indians, inhabiting the territory lying between Santa Fé and St Iago. They originally occupied the Chaco district of Paraguay, but were driven thence by the hostility of the Spaniards. According to M. Dobrizhoffer, who, towards the end of last century, lived among them for a period of seven years, they have many singular customs and characteristics. They seldom marry before the age of thirty, are chaste and otherwise virtuous in their lives, though they practise infanticide, and are without the idea of God. "With the Abipones," says Darwin, "when a man chooses a wife, he bargains with the parents about the price. But it frequently happens that the girl rescinds what has been agreed upon between the parents and bridegroom, obstinately rejecting the very mention of marriage. She often runs away and hides herself, and thus eludes the bridegroom." The Abiponian women suckle those infants that are spared for the space of two years,-an onerous habit, which is believed to have led to infanticide as a means of escape. The men are brave in war, and pre-eminently expert in swimming and horsemanship. Numerically the tribe is insignificant. M. Dobrizhoffer's account of the Abiponians was translated into English by Sara Coleridge, at the suggestion of Mr Southey, in 1822. ABJURATION. See ALLEGIANCE, OATH OF. ABLUTION, a ceremonial purification, practised in nearly every age and nation. It consisted in washing the body in whole or part, so as to cleanse it symbolically from defilement, and to prepare it for religious observances, Among the Jews we find no trace of the ceremony in patriarchal times, but it was repeatedly enjoined and strictly enforced under the Mosaic economy. It denoted either— (1.) Cleansing from the taint of an inferior and less pure condition, and initiation into a higher and purer state, as in the case of Aaron and his sons on their being set apart to the priesthood; or (2.) Cleansing from the soil of common life, in preparation for special acts of worship, as in the case of the priests who were commanded, upon pain of death, to wash their hands and feet before approaching the altar; or (3.) Cleansing from the pollution occasioned by particular acts and circumstances, as in the case of the eleven species of uncleanness mentioned in the Mosaic law; or (4.) The absolving or purifying one's self from the guilt of some particular criminal act, as in the case of Pilate at the trial of the Saviour. The sanitary reasons which, in a warm climate and with a dry sandy soil, rendered frequent ablution an imperative necessity, must not be allowed to empty the act of its symbolic meaning. In the Hebrew different words are used for the washing of the hands before meals, which was done for the sake of cleanliness and comfort, and for the washing or plunging enjoined by the ceremonial law. At the same time it is impossible to doubt that the considerations which made the law so suitable in a physical point of view were present to the mind of the Lawgiver when the rite was enjoined. Traces of the practice are to be found in the history of nearly every nation. The customs of the Mohammedans, in this as in other matters, are closely analogous to those of the Jews. With them ablution must in every case precede the exercise of prayer, and their law provides that in the desert, where water is not to be found, the Arabs may perform the rite with sand. Various forms of ablution practised by different nations are mentioned in the sixth book of the Æneid, and we are told that Æneas washed his ensanguined hands after the battle before touching his Penates. Symbolic ablution finds a place under the New Testament dispensation in the rite of baptism, which is observed, though with some variety of form and circum stances, throughout the whole Christian Church. By Roman Catholics and Ritualists, the term ablution is applied to the cleansing of the chalice and the fingers of the celebrating priest after the administration of the Lord's Supper. ABNER (, father of light), first cousin of Saul (1 Sam. xiv. 50) and commander-in-chief of his army. The chief references to him during the lifetime of Saul are found in 1 Sam. xvii. 55, and xxvi. 5. It was only after that monarch's death, however, that Abner was brought into a position of the first political importance. David, who had some time before been designated to the throne, was accepted as king by Judah alone, and was crowned at Hebron. The other tribes were actuated by a feeling hostile to Judah, and, as soon as they had thrown off the Philistinian yoke, were induced by Abner to recognise Ishbosheth, the surviving son of Saul, as their king. One engagement between the rival factions under Joab and Abner respectively (2 Sam. ii. 12) is noteworthy, inasmuch as it was preceded by an encounter between twelve chosen men from each side, in which the whole twenty-four seem to have perished. In the general engagement which followed, Abner was defeated and put to flight. He was closely pursued by Asahel, brother of Joab, who is said to have been "light of foot as a wild roe." As Asahel would not desist from the pursuit, though warned, Abner was compelled to slay him in self-defence. This originated a deadly feud between the leaders of the opposite parties, for Joab, as next of kin to Asahel, was by the law and custom of the country the avenger of his blood. For some time afterwards the war was carried on, the advantage being invariably on the side of David. At length Ishbosheth lost the main prop of his tottering cause by remonstrating with Abner for marrying Rizpah, one of Saul's concubines, an alliance which, according to Oriental notions, implied pretensions to the throne. Abner was indignant at the rebuke, and immediately transferred his allegiance to David, who not only welcomed him, but promised to give him the command of the combined armies on the re-union of the kingdoms. Almost immediately after, however, Abner was slain by Joab and his brother Abishai at the gate of Hebron. The ostensible motive for the assassination was a desire to avenge Asahel, and this would be a sufficient justification for the deed according to the moral standard of the time. There can be little doubt, however, that Joab was actuated in great part by jealousy of a new and formidable rival, who seemed not unlikely to usurp his place in the king's favour. The conduct of David after the event was such as to show that he had no com plicity in the act, though he could not venture to punish its perpetrators. The dirge which he repeated over the grave of Abner (2 Sam. iii. 33-4) has been thus translated: Should Abner die as a villain dies?— Thy feet-not brought into fetters: As one falls before the sons of wickedness, fellest thou. ABO, a city and seaport, and chief town of the district of the same name in the Russian province of Finland, is situated in N. lat. 60° 26', E. long. 22° 19', on the Aurajoki, about 3 miles from where it falls into the Gulf of Bothnia. It was a place of importance when Finland formed part of the kingdom of Sweden, and the inhabitants of the city and district are mostly of Swedish descent. By the treaty of peace concluded here between Russia and Sweden on 17th August 1743, a great part of Finland was ceded to the former. Abo continued to be the capital of Finland till 1819. In November 1827, nearly the whole city was burnt down, the university and its valuable library! being entirely destroyed. Before this calamity Abo contained 1100 houses, and 13,000 inhabitants; and its university had 40 professors, more than 500 students, and a library of upwards of 30,000 volumes, together with a botanical garden, an observatory, and a chemical laboratory. The university has since been removed to Helsingfors. Abo is the seat of an archbishop, and of the supreme court of justice for South Finland; and it has a cathedral, a town-hall, and a custom-house. Sail-cloth, linen, leather, and tobacco are manufactured; shipbuilding is carried on, and there are extensive saw-mills. There is also a large trade in timber, pitch, and tar. Vessels drawing 9 or 10 feet come up to the town, but ships of greater draught are laden and discharged at the mouth of the river, which forms an excellent harbour and is protected. Population in 1867, 18,109. ABOLITIONIST. See SLAVERY. ABOMASUM, caillette, the fourth or rennet stomach of Ruminantia. From the omasum the food is finally deposited in the abomasum, a cavity considerably larger than either the second or third stomach, although less than the first. The base of the abomasum is turned to the omasum, It is of an irregular conical form. It is that part of the digestive apparatus which is analogous to the single stomach of other Mammalia, as the food there undergoes the process of chymification, after being macerated and ground down in the three first stomachs. ABOMEY, the capital of Dahomey, in West Africa, is situated in N. lat. 7°, E. long. 2° 4', about 60 miles N. of Whydah, the port of the kingdom. It is a claybuilt town, surrounded by a moat and mud walls, and occupies a large area, part of which is cultivated. The houses stand apart; there are no regular streets; and the place is very dirty. It has four larger market-places, and trade is carried on in palm-oil, ivory, and gold, Mohammedan traders from the interior resorting to its markets. The town contains the principal palace of the king of Dahomey. It is the scene of frequent human sacrifices, a "custom" being held annually, at which many criminals and captives are slain; while on the death of a king a 'grand custom" is held, at which sometimes as many as 2000 victims have perished. The slave-trade is also prosecuted, and the efforts of the British Government to induce the king to abolish it and the "customs" have proved unsuccessful. Population, about 30,000. See DAHOMEY. 66 ABORIGINES, originally a proper name given to an Italian people who inhabited the ancient Latium, or country now called Campagna di Roma. Various derivations of this name have been suggested; but there can be scarcely any doubt that the usual derivation (ab origine) is correct, and that the word simply indicated a settled tribe, whose origin and earlier history were unknown. It is thus the equivalent of the Greek autochthones. It is therefore, strictly speaking, not a proper name at all, although, from being applied to one tribe (or group of tribes), it came to be regarded as such. Who the Aborigines were, or whence they came, is uncertain; but various traditions that are recorded seem to indicate that they were an Oscan of Opican tribe that descended from the Apennines intc Latium, and united with some Pelasgic tribe to form the Latins. The stories about Æneas's landing in Italy repre sent the Aborigines as at first opposing and then coalescing with the Trojans, and state that the united people then assumed the name of Latins, from their king Latinus. These traditions clearly point to the fact that the Latins were a mixed race, a circumstance which is proved by the structure of their language, in which we find numerous words closely connected with the Greek, and also numerous words that are of an entirely different origin. These nonGreck words are mostly related to the dialects of the Opican tribes. In modern times the term Aborigines has been extended in signification, and is used to indicate the inhabitants found in a country at its first discovery, in contradistinction to colonies or new races, the time of whose introduction into the country is known. ABORTION, in Midwifery (from aborior, I perish), the premature separation and expulsion of the contents of the pregnant uterus. When occurring before the eighth lunar month of gestation, abortion is the term ordinarily employed, but subsequent to this period it is designated premature labour. The present notice includes both these terms. As an accident of pregnancy, abortion is far from uncommon, although its relative frequency, as compared with that of completed gestation, has been very differently estimated by accoucheurs. It is more liable to occur in the earlier than in the later months of pregnancy, and it would also appear to occur more readily at the periods corresponding to those of the menstrual discharge. Abortion may be induced by numerous causes, both of a local and general nature. Malformations of the pelvis, accidental injuries, and the diseases and displacements to which the uterus is liable, on the one hand; and, on the other, various morbid conditions of the ovum or placenta leading to the death of the foetus, are among the direct local causes of abortion. The general causes embrace certain states of the system which are apt to exercise a more or less direct influence upon the progress of uterogestation. A deteriorated condition of health, whether hereditary or as the result of habits of life, certainly predisposes to the occurrence of abortion. Syphilis is known to be a frequent cause of the death of the foetus. Many diseases arising in the course of pregnancy act as direct exciting causes of abortion, more particularly the eruptive fevers and acute inflammatory affections. Prolonged irritation in other organs may, by reflex action, excite the uterus to expel its contents. Strong impressions made upon the nervous system, as by sudden shocks and mental emotions, occasionally have a similar effect. Further, certain medicinal substances, particularly ergot of rye, borax, savin, tansy, and cantharides, are commonly believed to be capable of exciting uterine action, but the effects, as regards at least early pregnancy, are very uncertain, while the strong purgative medicines sometimes employed with the view of procuring abortion have no effect whatever upon the uterus, and can only act remotely and indirectly, if they act at all, by irritating the alimentary canal. In cases of poisoning with carbonic acid, abortion has been observed to take place, and the experiments of Dr Brown Sequard show that anything interfering with the normal oxygenation of the blood may cause the uterus to contract and expel its contents. Many cases of abortion occur without apparent cause, but in such instances the probability is that some morbid condition of the interior of the uterus exists, and the same may be said of many of those cases where the disposition to abort has become habitual. The tendency, however, to the recurrence of abortion in persons who have previously miscarried is well known, and should ever be borne in mind with the view of avoiding any cause likely to lead to a repetition of the accident. Abortion resembles ordinary labour in its general phenomena, excepting that in the former hemorrhage often to a large extent forms one of the leading symptoms. The treatment of abortion embraces the means to be used by rest, astringents, and sedatives, to prevent the occurrence when it merely threatens; or when, on the contrary, it is inevitable, to accomplish as speedily as possible the complete removal of the entire contents of the uterus. The artificial induction of premature labour is occasionally resorted to by accoucheurs under certain conditions involving the safety of the mother or the foetus. For Criminal Abortion, see MEDICAL JURISPRUDENCE. ABOUKIR, a small village on the coast of Egypt, 13 miles N.E. of Alexandria, containing a castle which was used as a state prison by Mehemet Ali. Near the village, and connected with the shore by a chain of rocks, is a small island remarkable for remains of ancient buildings. Stretching to the eastward as far as the Rosetta mouth of the Nile is the spacious bay of Aboukir, where Nelson fought "the Battle of the Nile," defeating and almost destroying the French fleet that had conveyed Napoleon to Egypt. It was near Aboukir that the expedition to Egypt, under Sir Ralph Abercromby, in 1801, effected a landing in the face of an opposing force. ABRABANEL, ISAAC (called also Abravanel, Abarbanel, Barbanella, and Ravanella), a celebrated Jewish statesman, philosopher, theologian, and commentator, was born at Lisbon in 1437. He belonged to an ancient family that claimed descent from the royal house of David, and his parents gave him an education becoming so renowned a lineage. He held a high place in the favour of King Alphonso V., who intrusted him with the management of important state affairs. On the death of Alphonso in 1481, his counsellors and favourites were harshly treated by his successor John; and Abrabanel was, in consequence, compelled to flee to Spain, where he held for eight years (1484-1492), the post of a minister of state under Ferdinand and Isabella. When the Jews were banished from Spain in 1492, no exception was made in Abrabanel's favour. He afterwards resided at Naples, Corfu, and Monopoli, and in 1503 removed to Venice, where he held office as a minister of state till his death in 1508. Abrabanel was one of the most learned of the rabbis. His writings are chiefly exegetical and polemical; he displays in them an intense antipathy to Christianity, though he lived on terms of friendship with Christians. He wrote commentaries on the greater part of the Old Testament, in a clear but somewhat diffuse style, anticipating much that has been advanced as new by modern theologians. ABRACADABRA, a meaningless word once supposed to have a magical efficacy as an antidote against agues and other fevers. Ridiculously minute directions for the proper use of the charm are given in the Præcepta de Medicina of Serenus Sammonicus. The paper on which the word was written had to be folded in the form of a cross, suspended from the neck by a strip of linen so as to rest on the pit of the stomach, worn in this way for nine days, and then, before sunrise, cast behind the wearer into a stream running to the east. The letters of this word were usually arranged to form a triangle in one or other of the following ways:— course with men far advanced in civilisation taught him much. Later tradition speaks of his communicating to the Egyptians the sciences of arithmetic and astronomy (Josephus i. 7); but this is founded upon the notion entertained at the time of the civilised Chaldeans of Babylon, whereas Ur of the Chaldees was a district remote from the subsequent centre of recondite knowledge. Abram received more than he imparted, for the Egyptians were doubtless his superiors in science. He found the rite of circumcision in use. There, too, he acquired great substance-flocks and herds, male and female slaves. After returning to Canaan, to his former locality, Abram and Lot separated, because of disputes between their herdsmen, there not being sufficient room for all their cattle in common. After this separation the possession of Canaan was again assured to Abram and to his seed, who should be exceedingly numerous. This is the third theocratic promise he received. He is also commanded by Jehovah to walk through it in its length and breadth as a token of inheritance, a later Jehovistic tradition that must be judged according to its inherent verisimilitude. Abram settled again at the oak of Mamre near Hebron. This was his headquarters. After Lot had been taken prisoner in the expedition of the kings of Shinar, Ellasar, Elam, and Goyim, against the old inhabitants of Basan, Ammonitis, Moabitis, Edomitis, and others besides, Abram gave chase to the enemy, accompanied by his 318 slaves and friendly neighbours, rescuing his nephew at Hobah, near Damascus. On his return, the royal priest Melchizedek of Salem came forth to meet him with refreshments, blessed the patriarch, and received from him the tithe of the spoils. The king acted generously towards the victor, and was still more generously treated in return. peoples, and among the Hebrews themselves at least before | The manifold wisdom of Egypt impressed him. InterMoses. The cause of Terah's removing from his native country is not given. Having come to Haran, he abode there till his death, at the age of 205. According to Genesis xii., Abram left Haran when he was 75 years of age, that is, before the death of his father, in consequence of a divine command, to which was annexed a gracious promise, “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee; and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" (xii. 2, 3). Another tradition makes him leave Haran only after Terah's decease (Acts vii. 4). The later account is that Abram's departure was the result of religious considerations, because he had already become emancipated from surrounding idolatry. Perhaps the desire of a nomadic life, the love of migration natural to an Oriental, had more to do with his pilgrimage than a spiritual impulse from within; but it is likely that his culture advanced in the course of his sojournings, and that he gradually attained to purer conceptions of duty and life. Traditions subsequent to the Jehovistic represent him as driven forth by the idolatrous Chaldeans (Judith v. 6, &c.) on account of his monotheistic doctrines, and then dwelling in Damascus as its king (Josephus's Antiquities, i. 7). The true cause of departure may be suggested by Nicolaus of Damascus saying that he came out of Chaldea with an army. The leader of a horde, worsted in some encounter or insurrection, he emigrated at the head of his adherents in quest of better fortunes. The word redeemed, in Isaiah xxix. 22, out of which Ewald conjectures so much, as if Abram had been rescued from great bodily dangers and battles, does not help the portrait, because it means no more than the patriarch's migration from heathen Mesopotamia into the Holy Land. Journeying south-west to Canaan with his wife and nephew, he arrived at Sichem, at the oak of the seer or prophet, where Jehovah appeared to him, assuring him for the first time that his seed should possess the land he had come to. He travelled thence southward, pitching his tent east of Bethel. Still proceeding in the same direction, he arrived at the Negeb, or most southern district of Palestine, whence a famine forced him down to Egypt. His plea that Sarai was his sister did not save her from Pharaoh ; for she was taken into the royal harem, but restored to her husband in consequence of divine chastisments inflicted upon the lawless possessor of her person, leading to the discovery of her true relationship. The king was glad to send the patriarch away under the escort and protection of his men. A similar thing is said to have subsequently happened to Sarai at Gerar with the Philistine king Abimelech (Genesis xx.), as also to Rebekah, Isaac's wife (xxvi.) The three narratives describe one and the same event in different shapes. But the more original (the junior Elohistic)1 is that of the 20th chapter, so that Gerar was the scene, and Abimelech the offender; while the later Jehovistic narrative (xii.) deviates still more from verisimilitude. Though this occurrence, however, belongs to the southern borders of Palestine, we need not doubt the fact of Abram's sojourn in Egypt, especially as he had an Egyptian slave (Genesis xvi.) How long the patriarch remained there is not related; nor are the influences which the religion, science, and learning of that civilised land had upon him alluded to. That they acted beneficially upon his mind, enlightening and enlarging it, can scarcely be doubted. His religious conceptions were transformed. 1 Three documents at least are traceable in the Pentateuch; the Elohistic, the junior Elohistic, and the Jehovistic. These were put together by a redactor. Nearly the whole of the fifth book was edded by the Deuteronomist. Jehovah again promised to Abram a numerous offspring, with the possession of Canaan. He also concluded a covenant with him in a solemn form, and revealed the fortunes of his posterity in Egypt, with their deliverance from bondage. In consequence of the barrenness of Sarai, she gave her handmaid Hagar to Abram, who, becoming pregnant by him, was haughtily treated by her mistress, and fled towards Egypt. But an angel met her in the desert and sent her back, telling of a numerous race that should spring from her. Having returned, she gave birth to Ishmael, in the 86th year of Abram's age. Again did Jehovah appear to the patriarch, promising as before a multitudinous seed, and changing his name in conformity with such promise. He assured him and his posterity of the possession of Canaan, and concluded a covenant with him for all time. At the institution of circumcision on this occasion, Sarai's name was also changed, because she was to be the maternal progenitor of the covenant people through Isaac her son. Abram, and all the males belonging to him, were then circumcised. He had become acquainted with the rite in Egypt, and transferred it to his household, making it a badge of distinction between the worshippers of the true God and the idolatrous Canaanites-the symbol of the flesh's subjection to the spirit. Its introduction into the worship of the colony at Mamre indicated a decided advance in Abram's religious conceptions. He had got beyond the cruel practice of human sacrifice. The gross worship of the Canaanites was left behind; and the small remnant of it which he retained comported with a faith approaching monotheism. Amid prevailing idolatry this institution was a protection to his family and servants-a magic circle drawn around them. But, though powerful and respected wherever his name was known, he confined the rite to his own domestics, without attempting to force it on the inhabitants of the land where he sojourned. The punishment of death |