Switzerland. The cantonal constitution dates mainly from
1885, but since 1904 the election of the executive council
of five members is made by a direct vote of the people. The
legislature consists of members elected in the proportion of
one to every 1100 inhabitants. The ``obligatory referendum''
exists in the case of all laws, while 5000 citizens have the
right of ``initiative'' in proposing bills or alterations
in the cantonal constitution. The canton sends 10 members
to the federal Nationalrat, being one for every 20,000,
while the two Standerate are (since 1904) elected by
a direct vote of the people. The canton is divided into
eleven administrative districts, and contains 241 communes.
1415 the Aargau region was taken from the Habsburgs by the Swiss
Confederates. Bern kept the south-west portion (Zofingen,
Aarburg, Aarau, Lenzburg, and Brugg), but some districts,
named the Freie Amter or ``free bailiwicks'' (Mellingen,
Muri, Villmergen, and Bremgarten), with the county of Baden,
were ruled as ``subject lands'' by all or certain of the
Confederates. In 1798 the Bernese bit became the canton of
Aargau of the Helvetic Republic, the remainder forming the
canton of Baden. In 1803, the two halves (plus the Frick
glen, ceded in 1802 by Austria to the Helvetic Republic)
were united under the name of Kanton Aargau, which was then
admitted a full member of the reconstituted Confederation.
See also Argovia (published by the Cantonal Historical
Society), Aarau, from 1860; F. X. Bronner, Der Kanton Aargau,
2 vols., St Gall and Bern, 1844; H. Lehmann, Die argauische
Strohindustrie, Aarau, 1896; W. Merz, Die mittelalt.
Burganlagen und Wehrbauten d. Kant. Argau (fine illustrated
work on castles), Aarau, 2 vols., 1904--1906; W. Merz and
F. E. Welti, Die Rechtsquellen d. Kant. Argau, 3 vols.,
Aarau, 1898--1905; J. Muller, Der Aargau, 2 vols., Zurich,
1870; E. L. Rochholz, Aargauer Weisthumer, Atarau, 1877; E.
Zschokke, Geschichte des Aargaus, Aarau, 1903. (W. A. B. C.)
AARHUS, a seaport and bishop's see of Denmark, on the
east coast of Jutland, of which it is the principal port;
the second largest town in the kingdom, and capital of
the amt (county) of Aarhus. Pop. (1901) 51,814. The
district is low-lying, fertile and well wooded. The town
is the junction of railways from all parts of the country.
The harbour is good and safe, and agricultural produce is
exported, while coal and iron are among the chief imports.
The cathedral of the 13th century (extensively restored) is
the largest church in Denmark. There is a museum of art and
antiquities. To the south-west (13 m. by rail), a picturesque
region extends west from the railway junction of Skanderborg,
including several lakes, through which flows the Gudenaa,
the largest river in Jutland, and rising ground exceeding
500 ft. in the Himmelbjerg. The railway traverses this
pleasant district of moorland and wood to Silkeborg, a modern
town having one of the most attractive situations in the
kingdom. The bishopric of Aarhus dates at least from 951.
AARON, the traditional founder and head of the Jewish
priesthood, who, in company with Moses, led the Israelites
out of Egypt (see EXODUS; MOSES) . The greater part of
his life-history is preserved in late Biblical narratives,
which carry back existing conditions and beliefs to the
time of the Exodus, and find a precedent for contemporary
hierarchical institutions in the events of that period.
Although Aaron was said to have been sent by Yahweh (Jehovah)
to meet Moses at the ``mount of God'' (Horeb, Ex.iv.27),he
plays only a secondary part in the incidents at Pharaoh's
court. After the ``exodus'' from Egypt a striking account
is given of the vision of the God of Israel vouchsafed to
him and to his sons Nadab and Abihu on the same holy mount
(Ex. xxiv. 1 seq. 9-11), and together with Hur he was at the
side of Moses when the latter, by means of his wonder-working
rod, enabled Joshua to defeat the Amalekites (xvii. 8-16).
Hur and Aaron were left in charge of the Israelites when
Moses and Joshua ascended the mount to receive the Tables of
the Law (xxiv. 12-15), and when the people, in dismay at the
prolonged absence of their leader, demanded a god, it was at
the instigation of Aaron that the golden calf was made (see
CALF, GOLDEN). This was regarded as an act of apostasy
which, according to one tradition, led to the consecration
of the Levites, and almost cost Aaron his life (cp. Deut.
ix. 20). The incident paves the way for the account of the
preparation of the new tables of stone which contain a series
of laws quite distinct from the Decalogue (q.v.) (Ex. xxxiii.
seq.). Kadesh, and not Sinai or Horeb, appears to have been
originally the scene of these incidents (Deut. xxxiii. 8
seq. compared with Ex. xxxii. 26 sqq.), and it was for some
obscure offence at this place that both Aaron and Moses were
prohibited from entering the Promised Land (Num. xx.). In
what way they had not ``sanctified'' (an allusion in the
Hebrew to Kadesh ``holy'') Yahweh is quite uncertain, and
it would appear that it was for a similar offence that the
sons of Aaron mentioned above also met their death (Lev. x. 3;
cp. Num. xx. 12, Deut. xxxii. 51). Aaron is said to have
died at Moserah (Deut. x. 6), or at Mt. Hor; the latter is
an unidentified site on the border of Edom (Num. xx. 23,
xxxiii. 37; for Moserah see ib. 30-31), and consequently
not in the neighbourhood of Petra, which has been the
traditional scene from the time of Josephus (Ant. iv. 4. 7).
Several difficulties in the present Biblical text appear to
have arisen from the attempt of later tradition to find a
place for Aaron in certain incidents. In the account of the
contention between Moses and his sister Miriam (Num. xii.),
Aaron occupies only a secondary position, and it is very doubtful
whether he was originally mentioned in the older surviving
narratives. It is at least remarkable that he is only thrice
mentioned in Deuteronomy (ix. 20, x. 6, xxxii. 50). The
post-exilic narratives give him a greater share in the plagues of
Egypt, represent him as high-priest, and confirm his position
by the miraculous budding of his rod alone of all the rods of
the other tribes (Num. xvii.; for parallels see Gray comm.
ad loc., p. 217). The latter story illustrates the growth
of the older exodus-tradition along with the development of
priestly ritual: the old account of Korah's revolt against the
authority of Moses has been expanded, and now describes (a)
the divine prerogatives of the Levites in general, and (b)
the confirmation of the superior privileges of the Aaronites
against the rest of the Levites, a development which can
scarcely be earlier than the time of Ezekiel (xliv. 15 seq.).
Aaron's son Eleazar was buried in an Ephraimite locality
known after the grandson as the ``hill of Phinehas'' (Josh.
xxiv. 33). Little historical information has been preserved of
either. The name Phinehas (apparently of Egyptian origin)
is better known as that of a son of Eli, a member of the
priesthood of Shiloh, and Eleazar is only another form of
Eliezer the son of Moses, to whose kin Eli is said to have
belonged. The close relation between Aaronite and Levitical
names and those of clans related to Moses is very noteworthy,
and it is a curious coincidence that the name of Aaron's
sister Miriam appears in a genealogy of Caleb (1 Chron. iv.
17) with Jether (cp. JETHRO) and Heber (cp. KENITES). In
view of the confusion of the traditions and the difficulty of
interpreting the details sketched above, the recovery of the
historical Aaron is a work of peculiar intricacy. He may
well have been the traditional head of the priesthood, and
R. H. Kennett has argued in favour of the view that he was
the founder of the cult at Bethel (Journ. of Theol. Stud.,
1905, pp. 161 sqq.), corresponding to the Mosaite founder
of Dan (q.v.). This throws no light upon the name, which
still remains quite obscure: and unless Aaron (Aharon) is
based upon Aron, ``ark'' (Redslob, R. P. A. Dozy, J. P.
N. Land), names associated with Moses and Aaron, which are,
apparently, of South Palestinian (or North-Arabian) origin.
For the literature and a general account of the Jewish
priesthood, see the articles LEVTTES and PRIEST. . (S. A. C.)
AARON'S ROD, the popular name given to various tall flowering
plants (``hag taper,', ``golden rod,'' &c.). In architecture
the term is given to an ornamental rod with sprouting leaves,
or sometimes with a serpent entwined round it (from the
Biblical references in Exodus vii. 10 and Numbers xvii. 8).
AARSSENS, or AARSSEN, FRANCIS VAN (1572-1641), a
celebrated diplomatist and statesman of the United Provinces.
His talents commended him to the notice of Advocate Johan
van Oldenbarneveldt, who sent him, at the age of 26 years,
as a diplomatic agent of the states-general to the court of
France. He took a considerable part in the negotiations of
the twelve years' truce in 1606. His conduct of affairs having
displeased the French king, he was recalled from his post by
Oldenbarneveldt in 1616. Such was the hatred he henceforth
conceived against his former benefactor, that he did his
very utmost to effect his ruin. He was one of the packed
court of judges who in 1619 condemned the aged statesman to
death. For his share in this judicial murder a deep stain
rests on the memory of Aarssens. He afterwards became the
confidential counsellor of Maurice, prince of Orange, and
afterwards of Frederick Henry, prince of Orange, in their
conduct of the foreign affairs of the republic. He was sent
on special embassies to Venice, Germany and England, and
displayed so much diplomatic skill and finesse that Richelieu
ranked him among the three greatest politicians of his time.
AASEN, IVAR (1813-1896), Norwegian philologist and
lexicographer, was born at Aasen i Orsten, in Sondmore,
Norway, on the. 5th of August 1813. His father, a small
peasant-farmer named Ivar Jonsson, died in 1826. He was
brought up to farmwork, but he assiduously cultivated all
his leisure in reading, and when he was eighteen he opened an
elementary school in his native parish. In 1833 he entered
the household of H. C. Thoresen the husband of the eminent
writer Magdalene Thoresen, in Hero, and here he picked up
the elements of Latin. Gradually, and by dint of infinite
patience and concentration, the young peasant became master
of many languages, and began the scientific study of their
structure. About 1841 he had freed himself from all the
burden of manual labour, and could occupy his thoughts with
the dialect of his native district, the Sondmore; his
first publication was a small collection of folk-songs in
the Sondmore language (1843) . His remarkable abilities now
attracted general attention, and he was helped to continue his
studies undisturbed. His Grammar ofthe Norwegian Dialects
(1848) was the result of much labour, and of journeys taken
to every part of the country. Aasen's famous Dictionary
of the Norwegian Dialects appeared in its original form in
1850, and from this publication dates all the wide cultivation
of the popular language in Norwegian, since Aasen really did
no less than construct, out of the different materials at his
disposal, a popular language or definite folke-maal for
Norway. With certain modifications, the most important of which
were introduced later by Aasen himself, this artificial language
is that which has been adopted ever since by those who write in
dialect, and which later enthusiasts have once more endeavoured
