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.)
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 era. According to an old tradition, one of
these princes, perhaps Abgar V. (Ukkama 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 apostoloruiu apocr. 261 ff.).
These stories have given rise to much discussion. The testi-
mony 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, Memoires, 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. 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 Herzoe-Hauck, Realencyklopadie;
Die Edessenische Abgarsage kritisch untersucht (1880);
Matthes, Die Edessenische Abgarsage auf ihre Fortbildung
untersucht (1882); Les Origines de l'eglise d'Edesse
et la legende d'A. (1888); A. Harnack, Geschichte d.
altchristlichen 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 Pannatti (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 Pah 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 by-law 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 atnall, 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 Sarvastivadins (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 hooks in turn were superseded
by new treatises; and in one school at least, that of the
Maha-yana (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),
translation of the Dhamma Sangani, with valuable introduction;
or the Royal Asiatic Society, 1892, contains an abstract of the
Katha ``On the Abhidhamma books of the Sarvastivadins,'' by
Prof. Takakusu, in Journal of the Pali Text Society, 1905.
(l'. W. R. D.)
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. Feel ing 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 July 1679, and in the following
October had prorogued its successor without allowing it to
meet. He was then deluged with petitions urging him to
call it together, and this agitation was opposed by Sir
George Jeffreys (q.v.) and Francis Wythens, who presented
addresses expressing ``abhorrence'' of the ``Petitioners,''
and thus initiated the movement of the abhorrers, who
supported the action of the king. ``The frolic went all
over England,'' says Roger North; and the addresses of
the Abhorrers which reached the king from all parts of the
country formed a counterblast to those of the Petitioners.
It is said that the terms Whig and Tory were first applied
to English political parties in consequence of this dispute.
ABIATHAR (Heb. Ebyathar, ``the [divine] father is
pre-eminent''), 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 phenomenes
geologiques, prises sur le Vesuve et l'Etna, pendant
les annees 1833 et 1834 (Berlin, 1836); Ueber die
Natur und den Zusammenhang der vulcanischen Bildungen
(Brunswick, 1841); Geologische Forschungen in den
Kaukasischen Landern (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. 1 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. (i)
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
