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in the same way as the deviations of two astigmatic image surfaces of the image plane of the axis point are represented as functions of the angles of the field of view.

confusion is proportional to the linear aperture, and independent of the focal length (vide supra, “ Monochromatic Aberration of the Axis Point "); and since this disk becomes the less harmful with an increasing image of a given object, or with increasing focal length, it follows that the deterioration of the image is proportional to the ratio of the aperture to the focal length, i.e. the., relative aperture." (This explains the gigantic focal lengths in vogue before the discovery of achromatism.)

Examples. (a) In a very thin lens, in air, only one constant of reproduction is to be observed, since the focal length and the distance of the focal point are equal. If the refractive index for one colour be n, and for another n+dn, and the powers, or reciprocals of the focal lengths, be and o+do, then (1) do/o =dn/(n−1)=1/v; dn is called the dispersion, and the dispersive power of the glass.

The final form of a practical system consequently rests on compromise; enlargement of the aperture results in a diminution of the available field of view, and vice versa. The following may be regarded as typical:-(1) Largest aperture; necessary" corrections are for the axis point, and sine condition; errors of the field of view are almost disregarded; 'example-highpower microscope objectives. (2) Largest field of view; necessary corrections are-for astigmatism, curvature of field and distortion; errors of the aperture only slightly regarded; examples-photographic widest angle objectives and oculars. Between these extreme examples stands the ordinary photographic objective: the portrait objective is corrected more with regard to aperture; objectives for groups more with regard to the field of view. (3) Telescope objectives have usually not very large apertures, and small fields of view; they should, however, possess zones as small as possible, and be built in the simplest manner. They are the best for analytical computation. (b) Chromatic or Colour Aberration.

In optical systems composed of lenses, the position, magnitude and errors of the image depend upon the refractive indices of the glass employed (see LENS, and above," Monochromatic Aberration"). Since the index of refraction varies with the colour or wave length of the light (see DISPERSION), it follows that a system of lenses (uncorrected) projects images of different colours in somewhat different places and sizes and with different aberrations; i.e. there are "chromatic differences" of

the distances of intersection, of magnifications, and of mono-
chromatic aberrations. If mixed light be employed (e.g. white
light) all these images are formed; and since they are all ulti-
mately intercepted by a plane (the retina of the eye, a focussing
screen of a camera, &c.), they cause a confusion, named chro-
matic aberration; for instance, instead of a white margin on a
dark background, there is perceived a coloured margin, or
narrow spectrum. The absence of this error is termed achroma-
tism, and an optical system so corrected is termed achromatic.
A system is said to be
chromatically under-corrected" when it
shows the same kind of chromatic error as a thin positive lens,
otherwise it is said to be “over-corrected.".

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If, in the first place, monochromatic aberrations be neglected -in other words, the Gaussian theory be accepted-then every reproduction is determined by the positions of the focal planes, and the magnitude of the focal lengths, or if the focal lengths, as ordinarily happens, be equal, by three constants of reproduction. These constants are determined by the data of the system (radii, thicknesses, distances, indices, &c., of the lenses); therefore their dependence on the refractive index, and consequently on the colour, are calculable (the formulae are given in Czapski-Eppenstein, Grundzüge der Theorie der optischen Instrumente (1903, p. 166). The refractive indices for different wave lengths must be known for each kind of glass made use of. In this manner the conditions are maintained that any one constant of reproduction is equal for two different colours, i.e. this constant is achromatized. For example, it is possible, with one thick lens in air, to achromatize the position of a focal plane of the magnitude of the focal length. If all three constants of reproduction be achromatized, then the Gaussian image for all distances of objects is the same for the two colours, and the system is said to be in "stable achromatism."

In practice it is more advantageous (after Abbe) to determine the chromatic aberration (for instance, that of the distance of intersection) for a fixed position of the object, and express it by a sum in which each component contains the amount due to each refracting surface (see Czapski-Eppenstein, op. cit. p. 170; A. König in M. v. Rohr's collection, Die Bilderzeugung, p. 340). In a plane containing the image point of one colour, another colour, produces a disk of confusion; this is similar to the confusion caused by two "zones" in spherical aberration. For infinitely distant objects the radius of the chromatic disk of

(b) Two thin lenses in contact: let 1 and 2 be the powers corresponding to the lenses of refractive indices m1 and n and radii r'1, 1, and r'2, r"2 respectively; let denote the total power, and do, dm, dn, the changes of o, ni, and n2 with the colour. Then the following relations hold:

(2) · 0=41+02= (m − 1)(1/r'ı−1/r′′1)+(n2−1)(1/r′2− 1 /r′′2) = ·(m − 1)k1 + (n-1)ka; and (3) do from (3),

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kidni + kądną. For achromatism doo, hence,

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must have different algebraic signs, or the system must be com(4) kı/k2= −dn2/dn1, or $1/$2= -V1/v2. Therefore 1 and 2 posed of a collective and a dispersive lens. Consequently the powers of the two must be different (in order that be not zero (equation 2)), and the dispersive powers must also be different (according to 4).

Newton failed to perceive the existence of media of different dispersive powers required by achromatism; consequently he constructed large reflectors instead of refractors. James Gregory and Leonhard Euler arrived at the correct view from a false conChester More Hall in 1728, Klingenstierna in 1754 and by Dollond ception of the achromatism of the eye; this was determined by in 1757, who constructed the celebrated achromatic telescopes. (See TELESCOPE.)

66

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Glass with weaker dispersive power (greater v) is named crown glass"; that with greater dispersive power, flint glass." For the construction of an achromatic collective lens ( positive) it follows, by means of equation (4), that a collective lens I. of crown glass and a dispersive lens II. of flint glass must be chosen; the latter, although the weaker, corrects the other chromatically by its greater dispersive power. For an achromatic dispersive lens the converse must be adopted. This is, at the present day, the ordinary type, e.g., of telescope objective (fig. 10); the values of the four radii must satisfy the equations (2) and (4).. Two other conditions may also be postulated; one is always the elimination of the aberration on the axis; the second either the "Herschel" or "Fraunhofer condition," the latter being the best (vide supra, " Monochromatic Aberration "). In practice, however, it is often more useful to avoid the second condition by making the lenses have contact, i.e. equal radii. According to P. Rudolph (Eder's Jahrb. f. Photog., 1891, 5, p. 225; 1893, 7, p. 221), cemented objectives of thin lenses permit the elimination of spherical aberration on the axis, if, as above, the collective lens has a smaller refractive index; on the other hand, they permit the elimination of astigmatism and curvature of the field, if the collective lens has a greater refractive index (this follows from the Petzval equation; see L. Seidel, Astr. Nachr., 1856, p. 289). Should the cemented system be positive, then the more powerful lens must be positive; and, according to (4), to the greater power belongs the weaker dispersive power (greater v), that is to say, crown glass; consequently the crown glass must have the greater refractive index for astigmatic and plane images. In all carlier kinds of glass, however, the dispersive power increased with the refractive index; that is, decreased as n increased; but some of the Jena glasses by E. Abbe and O. Schott were crown

FIG. IO.

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glasses of high refractive index, and achromatic systems from | F and violet mercury lines are united. This artifice is specially such crown glasses, with flint glasses of lower refractive index, are called the new achromats," and were employed by P. Rudolph in the first "anastigmats (photographic objectives). Instead of making do vanish, a certain value can be assigned to it which will produce, by the addition of the two lenses, any desired chromatic deviation, e.g. sufficient to eliminate one present in other parts of the system. If the lenses I. and II. be cemented and have the same refractive index for one colour, then its effect for that one colour is that of a lens of one piece; by such decomposition of a lens it can be made chromatic or achromatic at will, without altering its spherical effect. If its chromatic effect (dø/p) be greater than that of the same lens, this being made of the more dispersive of the two glasses employed, it is termed " hyper-chromatic."

For two thin lenses separated by a distance D the condition for achromatism is D= (vifi+V2ƒ2) (V1+V2); if v1=v2 (e.g. if the lenses be made of the same glass), this reduces to D= (f1+f2), known as the "condition for oculars."

1

If a constant of reproduction, for instance the focal length, be made equal for two colours, then it is not the same for other colours, if two different glasses are employed. For example, the condition for achromatism (4) for two thin lenses in contact is fulfilled in only one part of the spectrum, since dn2 /dn1 varies within the spectrum. This fact was first ascertained by J. Fraunhofer, who defined the colours by means of the dark lines in the solar spectrum; and showed that the ratio of the dispersion of two glasses varied about 20% from the red to the violet (the variation for glass and water is about 50%). If, therefore, for two colours, a and b, fa=fb =f, then for a third colour, c, the focal length is different, viz. if c lie between a and b, then ƒ. <f, and vice versa; these algebraic results follow from the fact that towards the red the dispersion of the positive crown glass preponderates, towards the violet that of the negative flint. These chromatic errors of systems, which are achromatic for two colours, are called the secondary spectrum," and depend upon the aperture and focal length in the same manner as the primary chromatic errors do.

10 O 10 20

800,

A'

700

C

600

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30 +40

In fig. 11, taken from M. von Rohr's Theorie und Geschichte des photographischen Objectivs, the abscissae are focal lengths, and the ordinates wave-lengths; of the latter the Fraunhofer lines used areA' C D Green Hg. F G' Violet Hg. 767.7 656.3 589.3 546.1 486.2 434 I 405.1 μμ, and the focal lengths are made equal for the lines C and F. In the neighbourhood of 550 μ the tangent to the curve is parallel to the axis of wave-lengths; and the focal length varies least over a fairly large range of colour, therefore in this neighbourhood the colour union is at its best. Moreover, this region of the spectrum is that which appears brightest to the human eye, and consequently this curve of the secondary spectrum, obtained by making fc-fr, is, according to the experiments of Sir G. G. G. G. Stokes (Proc. Roy. Soc., 1878), the most suitable for visual FIG. 11.-Secondary Spectrum of instruments (" optical achrothe combination O. 1726, O. 108. Optical correction fc=fr matism"). In a similar man100 mm. The ordinates give the ner, for systems used in photowave-lengths in μμ. The ab- graphy, the vertex of the scissae give fλ-fc in 0.01 mm., colour curve must be placed commencing at fc fr in the position of the maximum sensibility of the plates; this is generally supposed to be at G'; and to accomplish this the

Gr.Hg.

500

F

G

Viol. Hg. 400

DCF Α' Ο

(From M. v. Rohr, op. cit.)

Viol

=

adopted in objectives for astronomical photography ("pure actinic achromatism"). For ordinary photography, however, there is this disadvantage: the image on the focussing-screen and the correct adjustment of the photographic sensitive plate are not in register; in astronomical photography this difference is constant, but in other kinds it depends on the distance of the objects. On this account the lines D and G' are united for ordinary photographic objectives; the optical as well as the actinic image is chromatically inferior, but both lie in the same place; and consequently the best correction lies in F (this is known as the "actinic correction" or "freedom from chemical focus"). Should there be in two lenses in contact the same focal lengths for three colours a, b, and c, i.e. f.=fƒbƒc=f, then the relative partial dispersion (n−n ¿) (n−n ь) must be equal for the two kinds of glass employed. This follows by considering equation (4) for the two pairs of colours ac and bc. Until recently no glasses were known with a proportional degree of absorption; but R. Blair (Trans. Edin. Soc., 1791, 3, p. 3), P. Barlow, and F. S. Archer overcame the difficulty by constructing fluid lenses between glass walls. Fraunhofer prepared glasses which reduced the secondary spectrum; but permanent success was only assured on the introduction of the Jena glasses by E. Abbe and O. Schott. In using glasses not having proportional dispersion, the deviation of a third colour can be eliminated by two lenses, if an interval be allowed between them; or by three lenses in contact, which may not all consist of the old glasses. In uniting three colours an achromatism of a higher order " is derived; there is yet a residual "tertiary spectrum," but it can always be neglected.

The Gaussian theory is only an approximation; monochromatic or spherical aberrations still occur, which will be different for different colours; and should they be compensated for one colour, the image of another colour would prove disturbing. The most important is the chromatic difference of aberration of the axis point, which is still present to disturb the image, after par-axial rays of different colours are united by an appropriate combination of glasses. If a collective system be corrected for the axis point for a definite wave-length, then, on account of the greater dispersion in the negative components-the flint glasses, over-correction will arise for the shorter wavelengths (this being the error of the negative components), and under-correction for the longer wave-lengths (the error of crown glass lenses preponderating in the red). This error was treated by Jean le Rond d'Alembert, and, in special detail, by C. F. Gauss. It increases rapidly with the aperture, and is more important with medium apertures than the secondary spectrum of par-axial rays; consequently, spherical aberration must be eliminated for two colours, and if this be impossible, then it must be eliminated for those particular wave-lengths which are most effectual for the instrument in question (a graphical representation of this error is given in M. von Rohr, Theorie und Geschichte des photographischen Objectivs).

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The condition for the reproduction of a surface element in the place of a sharply reproduced point-the constant of the sine relation-must also be fulfilled with large apertures for several colours. E. Abbe succeeded in computing microscope objectives free from error of the axis point and satisfying the sine condition for several colours, which therefore, according to his definition, were aplanatic for several colours "; such systems he termed "apochromatic." While, however, the magnifi cation of the individual zones is the same, it is not the same for red as for blue; and there is a chromatic difference of magnification. This is produced in the same amount, but in the opposite sense, by the oculars, which are used with these objectives ("compensating oculars "), so that it is eliminated in the image of the whole microscope. The best telescope objectives, and photographic objectives intended for three-colour work, are also apochromatic, even if they do not possess quite the same quality of correction as microscope objectives do. The chromatic differences of other errors of reproduction have seldom practical importances.

AUTHORITIES. The standard treatise in English is H. D. Taylor, A System of Applied Optics (1906); reference may also be made to R. S. Heath, A Treatise on Geometrical Optics (2nd ed., 1895); and L. A. Herman, A Treatise on Geometrical Optics (1900). The ideas of Abbe were first dealt with in S. Czapski, Theorie der optischen Instrumente nach Abbe, published separately at Breslau in 1893, and as vol. ii. of Winkelmann's Handbuch der Physik in 1894; a second edition, by Czapski and O. Eppenstein, was published at Leipzig in 1903 with the title, Grundzüge der Theorie der optischen Instrumente nach Abbe, and in vol. ii. of the 2nd ed. of Winkelmann's Handbuch der Physik. The collection of the scientific staff of Carl Zeiss at Jena, edited by M. von Rohr, Die Bilderzeugung in optischen Instrumenten vom Standpunkte der geometrischen Optik (Berlin, 1904), contains articles by A. König and M. von Rohr specially dealing with aberrations. (0. E.) ABERSYCHAN, an urban district in the northern parliamentary division of Monmouthshire, England, 11 m. N. by W. of Newport, on the Great Western, London and North-Western, and Rhymney railways. Pop. (1901) 17,768. It lies in the narrow upper valley of the Afon Lwyd on the eastern edge of the great coal and iron mining district of Glamorganshire and Monmouthshire, and its large industrial population is occupied in the mines and ironworks. The neighbourhood is wild and mountainous.

ABERTILLERY, an urban district in the western parliamentary division of Monmouthshire, England, 16 m. N.W. of Newport, on the Great Western railway. Pop. (1891) 10,846; (1901) 21,945. It lies in the mountainous mining district of Monmouthshire and Glamorganshire, in the valley of the Ebbw Fach, and the large industrial population is mainly employed in the numerous coal-mines, ironworks and tinplate works. Farther up the valley are the mining townships of NANTYGLO and BLAINA, forming an urban district with a population (1901) of 13,489.

ABERYSTWYTH, a municipal borough, market-town and seaport of Cardiganshire, Wales, near the confluence of the rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol, about the middle of Cardigan Bay, Pop. (1901) 8013. It is the terminal station of the Cambrian railway, and also of the Manchester and Milford line. It is the most popular watering-place on the west coast of Wales, and possesses a pier, and a fine sea-front which stretches from Constitution Hill at the north end of the Marine Terrace to the mouth of the harbour. The town is of modern appearance, and contains many public buildings, of which the most remarkabie is the imposing but fantastic structure of the University College of Wales near the Castle Hill. Much of the finest scenery in mid-Wales lies within easy reach of Aberystwyth.

The history of Aberystwyth may be said to date from the time of Gilbert Strongbow, who in 1109 erected a fortress on the present Castle Hill. Edward I. rebuilt Strongbow's castle in 1277, after its destruction by the Welsh. Between the years 1404 and 1408 Aberystwyth Castle was in the hands of Owen Glendower, but finally surrendered to Prince Harry of Monmouth, and shortly after this the town was incorporated under the title of Ville de Lampadarn, the ancient name of the place being Llanbadarn Gaerog, or the fortified Llanbadarn, to distinguish it from Llanbadarn Fawr, the village one mile inland. It is thus styled in a charter granted by Henry VIII., but by Elizabeth's time the town was invariably termed Aberystwyth in all documents. In 1647 the parliamentarian troops razed the castle to the ground, so that its remains are now inconsiderable, though portions of three towers still exist. Aberystwyth was a contributory parliamentary borough until 1885, when its representation was merged in that of the county. In modern times Aberystwyth has become a Welsh educational centre, owing to the erection here of one of the three colleges of the university of Wales (1872), and of a hostel for women in connexion with it. In 1905 it was decided to fix here the site of the proposed Welsh National Library.

ABETTOR (from "to abet," O. Fr. abeter, à and beter, to bait, urge dogs upon any one; this word is probably of Scandinavian crigin, meaning to cause to bite), a law term implying one who instigates, encourages or assists another to commit an offence. An abettor differs from an accessory (q.v.) in that he must be present at the commission of the crime; all abettors

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| (with certain exceptions) are principals, and, in the absence of specific statutory provision to the contrary, are punishable to the same extent as the actual perpetrator of the offence. A person may in certain cases be convicted as an abettor in the commission of an offence in which he or she could not be a principal, e.g. a woman or boy under fourteen years of age in aiding rape, or a solvent person in aiding and abetting a bankrupt to commit offences against the bankruptcy laws.

ABEYANCE (O. Fr. abeance, " gaping"), a state of expectancy in respect of property, titles or office, when the right to them is not vested in any one person, but awaits the appearance or determination of the true owner. In law, the term abeyance can only be applied to such future estates as have not yet vested or possibly may not vest. For example, an estate is granted to A for life, with remainder to the heir of B, the latter being alive; the remainder is then said to be in abeyance, for until the death of B it is uncertain who his heir is. Similarly the freehold of a benefice, on the death of the incumbent, is said to be in abeyance until the next incumbent takes possession. The most common use of the term is in the case of peerage dignities. If a peerage which passes to heirs-general, like the ancient baronies by writ, is held by a man whose heir-at-law is neither a male, nor a woman who is an only child, it goes into abeyance on his death between two or more sisters or their heirs, and is held by no one till the abeyance is terminated; if eventually only one person represents the claims of all the sisters, he or she can claim the termination of the abeyance as a matter of right. The crown can also call the peerage out of abeyance at any moment, on petition, in favour of any one of the sisters or their heirs between whom it is in abeyance. The question whether ancient earldoms created in favour of a man and his "heirs " go into abeyance like baronies by writ has been raised by the claim to the earldom of Norfolk created in 1312, discussed before the Committee for Privileges in 1906. It is common, but incorrect, to speak of peerage dignities which are dormant (i.e. unclaimed) as being in abeyance. (J. H. R.)

era.

ABGAR, a name or title borne by a line of kings or toparchs, apparently twenty-nine in number, who reigned in Osrhoene and had their capital at Edessa about the time of the Christian According to an old tradition, one of these princes, perhaps Abgar V. (Ukkāmā or Uchomo, "the black "), being afflicted with leprosy, sent a letter to Jesus, acknowledging his divinity, craving his help and offering him an asylum in his own residence, but Jesus wrote a letter declining to go, promising, however, that after his ascension he would send one of his disciples. These letters are given by Eusebius (Eccl. Hist. i. 13), who declares that the Syriac document from which he translates them had been preserved in the archives at Edessa from the time of Abgar. Eusebius also states that in due course Judas, son of Thaddaeus, was sent (in 340=A.D. 29). In another form of the story, derived from Moses of Chorene, it is said further that Jesus sent his portrait to Abgar, and that this existed in Edessa (Hist. Armen., ed. W. Whiston, ii. 29-32). Yet another version is found in the Syriac Doctrina Addaei (Addaeus = Thaddaeus), edited by G. Phillips (1876). Here it is said that the reply of Jesus was given not in writing, but verbally, and that the event took place in 343 (A.D. 32). Greek forms of the legend are found in the Acta Thaddaei (C. Tischendorf, Acta apostolorum apocr. 261 ff.).

These stories have given rise to much discussion. The testimony of Augustine and Jerome is to the effect that Jesus wrote nothing. The correspondence was rejected as apocryphal by Pope Gelasius and a Roman Synod (c. 495), though, it is true. this view has not been shared universally by the Roman church (Tillemont, Mémoires, i. 3, pp. 990 ff.). Amongst Evangelicals the spuriousness of the letters is almost generally admitted. Lipsius (Die Edessenische Abgarsage, 1880) has pointed out anachronisms which seem to indicate that the story is quite unhistorical. The first king of Edessa of whom we have any trustworthy information is Abgar VIII., bar Ma'nu (A.D. 176– 213). It is suggested that the legend arose from a desire to trace the christianizing of his kingdom to an apostolic source.

J

Eusebius gives the legend in its oldest form; it was worked up in the Doctrina Addaei in the second half of the 4th century; and Moses of Chorene was dependent upon both these sources. BIBLIOGRAPHY.-R. Schmidt in Herzog-Hauck, Realencyklopädie; Lipsius, Die Edessenische Abgarsage kritisch untersucht (1880); Matthes, Die Edessenische Abgarsage auf ihre Fortbildung untersucht (1882); Tixeront, Les Origines de l'église d'Edesse et la légende d'A. (1888); A. Harnack, Geschichte d. allchristlichen Litteratur, i. 2 (1893); L. Duchesne, Bulletin critique, 1889, pp. 41-48; for the Epistles see APOCRYPHAL LITERATURE, sect. "New Testament (c). ABHIDHAMMA, the name of one of the three Pitakas, or baskets of tradition, into which the Buddhist scriptures (see BUDDHISM) are divided. It consists of seven works: 1. Dhamma Sangani (enumeration of qualities). 2. Vibhanga (exposition). 3. Katha Vatthu (bases of opinion). 4. Puggala Paññatti (on individuals). 5. Dhatu Katha (on relations of moral dispositions). 6. Yamaka (the pairs, that is, of ethical states). 7. Patthana (evolution of ethical states). These have now been published by the Pali Text Society. The first has been translated into English, and an abstract of the third has been published. The approximate date of these works is probably from about 400 B.C. to about 250 B.C., the first being the oldest and the third the latest of the seven. Before the publication of the texts, when they were known only by hearsay, the term Abhidhamma was usually rendered "Metaphysics." This is now seen to be quite erroneous. Dhamma means the doctrine, and Abhidhamma has a relation to Dhamma similar to that of bylaw to law. It expands, classifies, tabulates, draws corollaries from the ethical doctrines laid down in the more popular treatises. There is no metaphysics in it at all, only psychological ethics of a peculiarly dry and scholastic kind. And there is no originality in it; only endless permutations and combinations of doctrines already known and accepted. As in the course of centuries the doctrine itself, in certain schools, varied, it was felt necessary to rewrite these secondary works. This was first done, so far as is at present known, by the Sarvästivādins (Realists), who in the century before and after Christ produced a fresh set of seven Abhidhamma books. These are lost in India, but still exist in Chinese translations. The translations have been analysed in a masterly way by Professor Takakusu in the article mentioned below. They deal only with psychological ethics. In the course of further centuries these books in turn were superseded by new treatises; and in one school at least, that of the Maha-yāna (great vehicle) there was eventually developed a system of metaphysics. But the word Abhidhamma then fell out of use in that school, though it is still used in the schools that continue to follow the original seven books.

See Buddhist Psychology by Caroline Rhys Davids (London, 1900), a translation of the Dhamma Sangani, with valuable introduction; "Schools of Buddhist Belief," by T. W. Rhys Davids, in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1892, contains an abstract of the Katha Vatthu; "On the Abhidhamma books of the Sarvästivādins," by Prof. Takakusu, in Journal of the Pali Text Society, 1905.

(T. W. R. D.)

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ABIATHAR (Heb. Ebyathar, "the [divine] father is preeminent"), in the Bible, son of Ahimelech or Ahijah, priest at Nob. The only one of the priests to escape from Saul's massacre, he fled to David at Keilah, taking with him the ephod (1 Sam. xxii. 20 f., xxiii. 6, 9). He was of great service to David, especially at the time of the rebellion of Absalom (2 Sam. xv. 24, 29, 35, xx. 25). In 1 Kings iv. 4 Zadok and Abiathar are found acting together as priests under Solomon. In 1 Kings i. 7, 19, 25, however, Abiathar appears as a supporter of Adonijah, and in ii. 22 and 26 it is said that he was deposed by Solomon and banished to Anathoth. In 2 Sam. viii. 17 "Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech" should be read, with the Syriac, for "Ahimelech, the son of Abiathar." For a similar confusion see Mark ii. 26. ABICH, OTTO WILHELM HERMANN VON (1806-1886), German mineralogist and geologist, was born at Berlin on the 11th of December 1806, and educated at the university in that city. His earliest scientific work related to spinels and other minerals, and later he made special studies of fumaroles, of the mineral deposits around volcanic vents and of the structure of volcanoes. In 1842 he was appointed professor of mineralogy in the university of Dorpat, and henceforth gave attention to the geology and mineralogy of Russia. Residing for some time at Tiflis he investigated the geology of the Caucasus. Ultimately he retired to Vienna, where he died on the 1st of July 1886. The mineral Abichite was named after him.

PUBLICATIONS.-Vues illustratives de quelques phénomènes géologiques, prises sur le Vésuve et l'Etna, pendant les années 1833 et 1834 (Berlin, 1836); Ueber die Natur und den Zusammenhang der vulcanischen Bildungen (Brunswick, 1841); Geologische Forschungen in den Kaukasischen Ländern (3 vols., Vienna, 1878, 1882, and 1887). ABIGAIL (Heb. Abigayil, perhaps "father is joy"), or ABIGAL (2 Sam. iii. 3), in the Bible, the wife of Nabal the Carmelite, on whose death she became the wife of David (1 Sam. xxv.). By her David had a son, whose name appears in the Hebrew of 2 Sam. iii. 3 as Chileab, in the Septuagint as Daluyah, and in 1 Chron. iii. I as Daniel. The name Abigail was also borne by a sister of David (2 Sam. xvii. 25; 1 Chron. ii. 16 f.). From the former (self-styled "handmaid" 1 Sam. xxv. 25 f.) is derived the colloquial use of the term for a waiting-woman (cf. Abigail, the "waiting gentlewoman," in Beaumont and Fletcher's Scornful Lady).

ABIJAH (Heb. Abiyyah and Abiyyahu, "Yah is father"), a name borne by nine different persons mentioned in the Old Testament, of whom the most noteworthy are the following. (1) The son and successor of Rehoboam, king of Judah (2 Chron. xii. 16-xiii.), reigned about two years (918-915 B.C.). The accounts of him in the books of Kings and Chronicles are very conflicting (compare 1 Kings xv. 2 and 2 Chron. xi. 20 with 2 Chron. xiii.2). The Chronicler tells us that he has drawn his facts from the Midrash (commentary) of the prophet Iddo. This is perhaps sufficient to explain the character of the narrative. (2) The second son of Samuel (1 Sam. viii. 2; 1 Chron. vi. 28 [13]). He and his brother Joel judged at Beersheba. Their misconduct was made by the elders of Israel a pretext for demanding a king (1 Sam. viii. 4). (3) A son of Jeroboam I., king of Israel; he died young (1 Kings xiv. 1 ff., 17). (4) Head of the eighth order of priests (1 Chron. xxiv. 10), the order to which Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, belonged (Luke i. 5).

The alternative form Abijam is probably a mistake, though it is upheld by M. Jastrow.

ABHORRERS, the name given in 1679 to the persons who expressed their abhorrence at the action of those who had signed petitions urging King Charles II. to assemble parliament. Feeling against Roman Catholics, and especially against James, duke of York, was running strongly; the Exclusion Bill had been passed by the House of Commons, and the popularity of James, duke of Monmouth, was very great. To prevent this bill from passing into law, Charles had dissolved parliament in ABILA, (1) a city of ancient Syria, the capital of the tetrarchy July 1679, and in the following October had prorogued its suc- of Abilene, a territory whose extent it is impossible to define. cessor without allowing it to meet. He was then deluged with It is generally called Abila of Lysanias, to distinguish it from petitions urging him to call it together, and this agitation was (2) below. Abila was an important town on the imperial highopposed by Sir George Jeffreys (q.v.) and Francis Wythens, who way from Damascus to Heliopolis (Baalbek). The site is indipresented addresses expressing "abhorrence" of the "Peti-cated by ruins of a temple, aqueducts, &c., and inscriptions on tioners," and thus initiated the movement of the abhorrers, who the banks of the river Barada at Sūk Wādi Baradā, a village supported the action of the king. "The frolic went all over called by early Arab geographers Ābil-es-Sūk, between Baalbek England," says Roger North; and the addresses of the Ab- and Damascus. Though the names Abel and Abila differ in horrers which reached the king from all parts of the country derivation and in meaning, their similarity has given rise to the formed a counterblast to those of the Petitioners. It is said tradition that this was the place of Abel's burial. According to that the terms Whig and Tory were first applied to English poli-Josephus, Abilene was a separate Iturean kingdom till A.D. 37, tical parties in consequence of this dispute.

when it was granted by Caligula to Agrippa I.; in 52 Claudius

granted it to Agrippa II. (See also LYSANIAS.) (2) A city in | destroying Shechem, proceeded against Thebez, which had also Perea, now Ābil-ez-Zeit.

ABILDGAARD, NIKOLAJ ABRAHAM (1744-1809), called "the Father of Danish Painting," was born at Copenhagen, the son of Sören Abildgaard, an antiquarian draughtsman of repute. 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. He was the founder of the Danish school of painting, and the master of Thorwaldsen and Eckersberg.

ABIMELECH (Hebrew for "father of [or is] the king "). (1) A king of Gerar in South Palestine with whom Isaac, in the Bible, had relations. The patriarch, during his sojourn there, alleged that his wife Rebekah was his sister, but the king doubting this remonstrated with him and pointed out how easily adultery might have been unintentionally committed (Gen. xxvi.). Abimelech is called "king of the Philistines," but the title is clearly an anachronism. A very similar story is told of Abraham and Sarah (ch. xx.), but here Abimelech takes Sarah to wife, although he is warned by a divine vision before the crime is actually committed. The incident is fuller and shows a great advance in ideas of morality. Of a more primitive character, however, is another parallel story of Abraham at the court of Pharaoh, king of Egypt (xii. 10-20), where Sarah his wife is taken into the royal household, and the plagues sent by Yahweh lead to the discovery of the truth. Further incidents in Isaac's life at Gerar are narrated in Gen. xxvi. (cp. xxi. 22-34, time of Abraham), notably a covenant with Abimelech at Beer-sheba (whence the name is explained "well of the oath "); (see ABRAHAM). By a pure error, or perhaps through a confusion in the traditions, Achish the Philistine (of Gath, 1 Sam. xxi., xxvii.), to whom David fled, is called Abimelech in the super>scription to Psalm xxxiv.

(2) A son of Jerubbaal or Gideon (q.v.), by his Shechemite concubine (Judges viii. 31, ix.). On the death of Gideon, Abimelech set himself to assert the authority which his father had earned, and through the influence of his mother's clan won over the citizens of Shechem, Furnished with money from the treasury of the temple of Baal-berith, he hired a band of followers and slew seventy (cp. 2 Kings x. 7) of his brethren at Ophrah, his father's home. This is one of the earliest recorded instances of a practice common enough on the accession of Oriental despots. Abimelech thus became king, and extended his authority over central Palestine. But his success was short-lived, and the subsequent discord between Abimelech and the Shechemites was regarded as a just reward for his atrocious massacre. Jotham, the only one who is said to have escaped, boldly appeared on Mount Gerizim and denounced the ingratitude of the townsmen towards the legitimate sons of the man who had saved them from Midian, "Jotham's fable" of the trees who desired a king may be foreign to the context; it is a piece of popular lore, and cannot be pressed too far: the nobler trees have no wish to rule over others, only the bramble is self-confident. The "fable" appears to be antagonistic to ideas of monarchy. The origin of the conflicts which subsequently arose is not clear. new-comer, took the opportunity at the time of the vintage, when there was a festival in the temple, to head a revolt and seized Shechem. Abimelech, warned by his deputy Zebul, left his residence at Arumah and approached the city. In a fine bit of realism we are told how Gaal observed the approaching foe and was told by Zebul," You see the shadow of the hills as men," and as they drew nearer Zebul's ironical remark became a taunt, "Where is now thy mouth? is not this the people thou didst despise? go now and fight them!" This revolt, which Abimelech successfully quelled, appears to be only an isolated episode. Another account tells of marauding bands of Shechemites which disturbed the district. The king disposed his men (the whole chapter is specially interesting for the full details it gives of the nature of ancient military operations), and after totally

Gaal, a

revolted. Here, while storming the citadel, he was struck on the head by a fragment of a millstone thrown from the wall by a woman. To avoid the disgrace of perishing by a woman's hand, he begged his armour-bearer to run him through the body, but his memory was not saved from the ignominy he dreaded (2 Sam. xi. 21). It is usual to regard Abimelech's reign as the first attempt to establish a monarchy in Israel, but the story is mainly that of the rivalries of a half-developed petty state, and of the ingratitude of a community towards the descendants of its deliverer. (See, further, JEWS, JUDGES.) (S. A. C.)

ABINGDON, a market town and municipal borough in the Abingdon parliamentary division of Berkshire, England, 6 m. S. of Oxford, the terminus of a branch of the Great Western railway from Radley. Pop. (1901) 6480. It lies in the fiat valley of the Thames, on the west (right) bank, where the small river Ock flows in from the Vale of White Horse. The church of St Helen stands near the river, and its fine Early English tower with Perpendicular spire is the principal object in the pleasant views of the town from the river. The body of the church, which has five aisles, is principally Perpendicular. The smaller church of St Nicholas is Perpendicular in appearance, though parts of the fabric are older. Of a Benedictine abbey there remain a beautiful Perpendicular gateway, and ruins of buildings called the prior's house, mainly Early English, and the guest house, with other fragments. The picturesque narrow-arched bridge over the Thames near St Helen's church dates originally from 1416. There may be mentioned further the old buildings of the grammar school, founded in 1563, and of the charity called Christ's Hospital (1583); while the town-hall in the marketplace, dating from 1677, is attributed to Inigo Jones. The grammar school now occupies modern buildings, and ranks among the lesser public schools of England, having scholarships at Pembroke College, Oxford. St Peter's College, Radley, 2 m. from Abingdon, is one of the principal modern public schools. It was opened in 1847. The buildings lie close to the Thames, and the school is famous for rowing, sending an eight to the regatta at Henley each year. Abingdon has manufactures of clothing and carpets and a large agricultural trade. The borough is under a mayor, four aldermen and twelve councillors. Area, 730 acres.

Abingdon (Abbedun, Abendun) was famous for its abbey, which was of great wealth and importance, and is believed to have been founded in A.D. 675 by Cissa, one of the subreguli of Centwin. Abundant charters from early Saxon monarchs are extant confirming various laws and privileges to the abbey, and the earliest of these, In the reign of from King Ceadwalla, was granted before A.D. 688. Alfred the abbey was destroyed by the Danes, but it was restored by Edred, and an imposing list of possessions in the Domesday survey evidences recovered prosperity. William the Conqueror in 1084 celebrated Easter at Abingdon, and left his son, afterwards Henry I., to be educated at the abbey. After the dissolution in 1538 the town sank into decay, and in 1555, on a representation of its pitiable condition, Queen Mary granted a charter establishing it as a free borough corporate with a common council consisting of a mayor, two bailiffs, twelve chief burgesses, and sixteen secondary burgesses, the mayor to be clerk of the market, coroner and a justice of the peace. The council was empowered to elect one burgess to parliament, and this right continued until the Redistribution of Seats Act of 1885. A town clerk and other officers were also appointed, and the town boundaries described in great detail. Later charters from Elizabeth, James I., James II., George II. and George III. made no considerable change. James II. changed the style of the corporation to that of a mayor, twelve aldermen and twelve burgesses. The abbot seems to have held a market from very early times, and charters for the holding of markets and fairs were granted by various sovereigns from Edward I. to George II. In the 13th and 14th centuries Abingdon was a flourishing agricultural centre with an extensive trade in wool, and a famous weav-. ing and clothing manufacture. The latter industry declined before the reign of Queen Mary, but has since been revived.

The present Christ's Hospital originally belonged to the Gild of the Holy Cross, on the dissolution of which Edward VI. founded the hospital under its present name.

See Victoria County History, Berkshire; Joseph Stevenson, Chronicon Monasterii de Abingdon, A.D. 201-1189 (Rolls Series, 2 vols., London, 1858).

ABINGER, JAMES SCARLETT, IST BARON (1769-1844),

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