terrible morrow. For his own personal part he lost the loved
home near Saverne in Alsace, which he had purchased in 1858
out of the fruits of his earlier literary successes. With
the fall of the empire he became a republican, and, always an
inveterate anti-clerical, he threw himself with ardour into
the battle against the conservative reaction which made head
during the first years of the republic. From 1872 onwards
for some five or six years his paper, the XIXe Siecle,
of which he was the heart and soul, became a power in the
land. But the republicans never quite forgave the tardiness
of his conversion, and no place rewarded his later zeal. On
the 23rd January 1884 he was elected a member of the French
Academy, but died on the 16th of January 1885, before taking his
seat. His journalism---of which specimens in his earlier
and later manners will be found in the two series of Lettres
d'un bon jeune homme a sa cousine Madeleine (1861 and
1863), and the posthumous Collection, Le dix-neuvieme
siecle (1892)---was of its nature ephemeral. So were
the pamphlets, great and small. His political economy
was that of an orthodox popularizer, and in no sense epoch.
making. His dramas are negligible. His more serious novels,
Madelon (1863), L'infame (1867), the three that form the
trilogy of the Vieille Roche (1866), and Le roman d'un
brave homme (1880)---a kind of counterblast to the view of
the French workman presented in Zola's Assommoir---contain
striking and amusing scenes, no doubt, but scenes which are
often suggestive of the stage, while description, dissertation,
explanation too frequently take the place of life. His best
work after all is to be found in the books that are almost
wholly farcical, Le nez d'un notaire (1862); Le roi des
montagnes (1856); L'homme a l'oreille cassee (1862);
Trente et quarante (1858); Le cas de M. Guerin (1862).
Here his most genuine wit, his sprightliness, his vivacity,
the fancy that was in him, have free play. ``You will never
be more than a little Voltaire,'' said one of his masters when
he was a lad at school. It was a true prophecy. (F. T. M.)
ABRABANEL, ISAAC, called also ABRAVANEL, ABARBANEL
(1437-1508), Jewish statesman, philosopher, theologian and
commentator, was born at Lisbon of an ancient family which
claimed descent from the royal house of David. Like many of
the Spanish Jews he united scholarly tastes with political
ability He held a high place in the favour of King Alphonso
V., who entrusted 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 compelled to flee to Spain, where he held
for eight years (14841492) 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. His repute as
a commentator on the Scriptures is still high; in the 17th
and 18th centuries he was much read by Christians such as
Buxtorf. Abrabanel often quotes Christian authorities,
though he opposed Christian exegesis of Messianic passages.
He was one of the first to see that for Biblical exegesis it
was necessary to reconstruct the social environment of olden
times, and he skilfully applied his practical knowledge of
statecraft to the elucidation of the books of Samuel and Kings.
ABRACADABRA, a word analogous to Abraxas (q.v.), used as
a magical formula by the Gnostics of the sect of Basilides
in invoking the aid of beneficent spirits against disease and
misfortune. It is found on Abraxas stones which were worn as
amulets. Subsequently its use spread beyond the Gnostics,
and in modern times it is applied contemptuously (e g. by
the early opponents of the evolution theory) to a conception
or hypothesis which purports to be a simple solution of
apparently insoluble phenomena. The Gnostic physician Serenus
Sammonicus gave precise instructions as to its mystical use
in averting or curing agues and fevers generally. 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 were usually
arranged as a triangle in one of the following ways:--
ABRACADABRA ABRACADABRA
ABRACADABR BRACADABR
ABRACADAB RACADAB
ABRACADA ACADA
ABRACAD CAD
ABRACA A
ABRAC
ABRA
ABR.
AB
A
ABRAHAM, or ABRAM (Hebrew for ``father is high''), the
ancestor of the Israelites, the first of the great Biblical
patriarchs. His life as narrated in the book of Genesis
reflects the traditions of different ages. It is the latest
writer (P) who mentions Abram (the original form of the name),
Nahor and Haran, sons of Terah, at the close of a genealogy
of the sons of Shem, which includes among its members Eber
the eponym of the Hebrews. Terah is said to have come from
Ur of the Chaldees, usually identified with Mukayyar in south
Babylonia. He migrated to Haran1 in Mesopotamia, apparently
the classical Carrhae, on a branch of the Habor. Thence,
after a short stay, Abram with his wife Sarai, and Lot
the son of Haran, and all their followers, departed for
Canaan. The oldest tradition does not know of this twofold
move, and seems to locate Abram's birthplace and the homes
of his kindred at Haran (Gen. xxiv. 4, 7, xxvii. 43). At
the divine command, and encouraged by the promise that Yahweh
would make of him, although hitherto childless, a great
nation, he journeyed down to Shechem, and at the sacred tree
(cf. xxxv. 4, Josh. xxiv. 26, Judg. ix. 6) received a new
promise that the land would be given unto his seed. Having
built an altar to commemorate the theophany, he removed to a
spot between Bethel and Ai, where he built another altar and
called upon (i.e. invoked) the name of Yahweh (Gen. xii.
1-9). Here he dwelt for some time, until strife arose between
his herdsmen and those of Lot. Abram thereupon proposed to Lot
that they should separate, and allowed his nephew the first
choice. Lot preferred the fertile land lying east of the
Jordan, whilst Abram, after receiving another promise from
Yahweh, moved down to the oaks of Mamre in Hebron and built an
altar. In the subsequent history of Lot and the destruction
of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abram appears prominently in a
fine passage where he intercedes with Yahweh on behalf of
Sodom, and is promised that if ten righteous men can be
found therein the city shall be preserved (xviii. 16-33).
A peculiar passage, more valuable for the light it throws upon
primitive ideas than for its contribution to the history of
Abram, narrates the patriarch's visit to Egypt. Driven by a
famine to take refuge in Egypt (cf. xxvi. 11 xli. 57, xlii.
1), he feared lest his wife's beauty should arouse the evil
designs of the Egyptians and thus endanger his own safety,
and alleged that Sarai was his sister. This did not save
her from the Pharaoh, who took her into the royal harem and
enriched Abram with herds and servants. But when Yahweh
``plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues'' suspicion
was aroused, and the Pharaoh rebuked the patriarch for his
deceit and sent him away under an escort (xii. 10-xiii.
1). This story of Abram and his increased wealth (xiii. 2)
receives no comment at the hands of the narrator, and in its
present position would make Sarai over sixty years of age
(xii. 4, xvii. 1, 17). A similar experience is said to have
happened to Abraham and Sarah at Gerar with the Philistine
king Abimelech (xx. E), but the tone of the narrative is
noticeably more advanced, and the presents which the patriarch
receives are compensation for the king's offence. Here,
however, Sarah has reached her ninetieth year (xvii. 17).
(The dates are due to the post-exilic framework in which
the stories are inserted.) Still another episode of the same
nature is re-corded of Isaac and Rebekah at Gerar, also with
Abimelech. Ethically it is the loftiest, and Isaac obtains
his wealth simply through his successful farming. Arising out
of the incident is an account of a covenant between Abimelech
and Isaac (xxvi. 16-33, J), a duplicate of which is placed in
the time of Abraham (xxi. 22-34, J and E). Beersheba, which
figures in both, is celebrated by the planting of a sacred
tree and (like Bethel) by the invocation of the name of
Yahweh. This district is the scene of the birth of Ishmael
and Isaac. As Sarai was barren (cf. xi. 30)2 the promise
that his seed should possess the land seemed incapable of
fulfilment. According to one rather obscure narrative,
Abram's sole heir was the servant, who was over his household,
apparently a certain Eliezer of Damascus3 (xv. 2, the text is
corrupt). He is now promised as heir one of his own flesh,
and a remarkable and solemn passage records bow the promise
was ratified by a covenant. The description is particularly
noteworthy for the sudden appearance of birds of prey,
which attempted to carry off the victims of the sacrificial
covenant. The interpretation of the evil omen is explained
by an allusion to the bondage of the Israelites in Egypt
and their return in the fourth generation (xv. 16; contrast
v. 13, after four hundred years; the chapter is extremely
intricate and has the appearance of being of secondary
origin). The main narrative now relates how Sarai, in
accordance with custom, gave to Abram her Egyptian handmaid
Hagar, who, when she found she was with child, presumed upon
her position to the extent that Sarai, unable to endure the
reproach of barrenness (cf. the story of Hannah, 1 Sam. i.
6), dealt harshly with her and forced her to flee (xvi.
1-14, J; on the details see ISHMAEL.) Another tradition
places the expulsion of Hagar after the birth of Isaac.
It was thirteen years after the birth of Ishmael, according
to the latest narratives, that God appeared unto Abram with
a renewed promise that his posterity should inhabit the
land. To mark the solemnity of the occasion, the patriarch's
name was changed to Abraham, and that of his wife to Sarah.4
A covenant was concluded with him for all time, and as a sign
thereof the rite of circumcision was instituted (xvii. P).
The promise of a son to Sarah made Abraham ``laugh'', a punning
allusion to the name Isaac (q.v.) which appears again in other
forms. Thus, it is Sarah herself who ``laughs'' at the
idea, when Yahweh appears to Abraham at Mamre (xviii. 1-15,
J), or who, when the child is horn cries ``God hath made
me laugh; every one that heareth will laugh at me'' (xxi.
6, E). Finally, there is yet another story which attributes
the flight of Hagar and Ishmael to Sarah's jealousy at the
sight of Ishmael's ``mocking'' (rather dancing or playing, the
intensive form of the verb ``to laugh'') on the feast day when
Isaac was weaned (xxi. 8 sqq.). But this last story is clearly
out of place, since a child who was then fourteen years old
(cf. xvii. 24, xxi. 5) could scarcely be described as a weak
babe who had to be carried (xxi. 14; see the commentaries).
Abraham was now commanded by God to offer up Isaac in the land of
Moriah. Proceeding to obey, he was prevented by an angel as
he was about to sacrifice his son, and slew a ram which he
found on the spot. As a reward for his obedience he received
