the walls of which are lined with new vascular tissue which
has itself escaped destruction. This lowly organized material
is called granulation tissue, and exactly resembles the
growth which covers the floor of an ulcer. These granulations
eventually fill the contracting cavity and obliterate it by
forming interstitial scar-tissue. This is called healing
by second intention. Pus may accumulate in a normal cavity,
such as a joint or bursa, or in the cranial, thoracic or
abdominal cavity. In all these situations, if the diagnosis
is clear, the principle of treatment is evacuation and
drainage. When evacuating an abscess it is often advisable
to scrape away the lining of unhealthy granulations and
to wash out the cavity with an antiseptic lotion. If the
after-drainage of the cavity is thorough the formation of
pus ceases and the watery discharge from the abscess wall
subsides. As the cavity contracts the discharge becomes less,
until at last the drainage tube can be removed and the external
wound allowed to heal. The large collections of pus which
form in connexion with disease of the spinal column in the
cervical, dorsal and lumbar regions are now treated by free
evacuation of the tuberculous pus, with careful antiseptic
measures. The opening should be in as dependent a position as
possible in order that the drainage may be thorough. If tension
recurs after opening has been made, as by the blocking of the
tube, or by its imperfect position, or by its being too short,
there is likely to be a fresh formation of pus, and without
delay the whole procedure must be gone through again. (E. O.*)
ABSCISSA (from the Lat. abscissus, cut off), in the
Cartesian system of co-ordinates, the distance of a point
from the axis of y measured parallel to the horizontal
axis (axis of x.) Thus PS (or OR) is the abscissa of
P. The word appears for the first time in a Latin work
written by Stefano degli Angeli (1623-1697), a professor
of mathematics in Rome. (See GEOMETRY, sec. Analytical.)
ABSCISSION (from Lat. abscinidere), a tearing away, or
cutting off; a term used sometimes in prosody for the elision of
a vowel before another, and in surgery especially for abscission
of the cornea, or the removal of that portion of the eyeball
situated in front of the attachments of the recti muscles; in
botany, the separation of spores by elimination of the connexion.
ABSCOND (Lat. abscondcre, to hide, put away), to depart in
a secret manner; in law, to remove from the jurisdiction of the
courts or so to conceal oneself as to avoid their jurisdiction.
A person may ``abscond'' either for the purpose of avoiding
arrest for a crime (see ARREST), or for a fraudulent purpose,
such as the defrauding of his creditors (see BANKRUPTCY.)
ABSENCE (Lat. absentia), the fact of being ``away,''
either in body or mind; ``absence of mind'' being a
condition in which the mind is withdrawn from what is
passing. The special occasion roll-call at Eton College
is called ``Absence,'' which the boys attend in their tall
hats. A soldier must get permission or ``leave of absence'
before he can be away from his regiment. Seven years'
absence with no sign of life either by letter or message
is held presumptive evidence of death in the law courts.
ABSENTEEISM, a term used primarily of landed proprietors who
absent themselves from their estates, and live and spend their
incomes elsewhere; in its more extended meaning it includes
all those (in addition to landlords) who live out of a country
or locality but derive their income from some source within
it. Absenteeism is a question which has been much debated,
and from both the economic and moral point of view there is
little doubt that it has a prejudicial effect. To it has been
attributed in a great measure the unprosperous condition of the
rural districts of France before the Revolution, when it was
unusual for the great nobles to live on their estates unless
compelled to do so by a sentence involving their ``exile'' from
Paris. It has also been an especial evil in Ireland, and
many attempts were made to combat it. As early as 1727 a
tax of four shillings in the pound was imposed on all persons
holding offices and employments in Ireland and residing in
England. This tax was discontinued in 1753, but was re-imposed in
1769. In 1774 the tax was reduced to two shillings in the
pound, but was dropped after some years. It was revived by the
Independent Parliament in 1782 and for some ten years brought in
a substantial amount to the revenue, yielding in 1790 as much as
63,089 pounds.
AUTHORITIES.--For a discussion of absenteeism from the economic
point of view see N. W. Senior, Lectures on the Rate of Wages,
Political Economy; J. S. Mill, Political Economy; J. R.
Mcculloch, Treatises and Essays on Money, &c., article
``Absenteeism''; A. T. Hadley, Economics; on absenteeism in
Ireland see A. Young, Tour in Ireland (1780); T. Prior, List
of. Absentees (1729); E. Wakefield, Account of Iteland (1812);
W. E. H. Lecky, Ireland in the 18th Century (1892): A. E.
Murray, History of the Commercial and Financial Relations
between England and Helanid (1903); Parliamentary Papers,
Ireland, 1830, vii., ditto, 1845, xix.-xxii.; in France, A.
de Monchretien, Traicte de l'oekonomie politique (1615);
A. de Tocqueville, L'Ancien Regime (1857); H. Taine, Les
Origines de la France contemporaine, l'ancien Regime (1876).
ABSINTHE a liqueur or aromatized spirit, the characteristic
flavouring matter of which is derived from various species of
wormwood (Artemisia absinthium.) Among the other substances
generally employed in its manufacture are angelica root,
sweet flag, dittany leaves, star-anise fruit, fennel and
hyssop. A colourless ``alcoholate'' (see LIQUEURS) is
first prepared, and to this the well-known green colour of
the beverage is imparted by maceration with green leaves of
wormwood, hyssop and mint. Inferior varieties are made by
means of essences, the distillation process being omitted.
There are two varieties of absinthe, the French and the Swiss,
the latter of which is of a higher alcoholic strength than the
former. The best absinthe contains 70 to 80% of alcohol. It is
said to improve very materially by storage. There is a popular
belief to the effect that absinthe is frequently adulterated
with copper, indigo or other dye-stuffs (to impart the green
colour), but, in fact, this is now very rarely the case. There
is some reason to believe that excessive absinthe-drinking
leads to effects which are specifically worse than those
associated with over-indulgence in other forms of alcohol.
ABSOLUTE (Lat. absolvere, to loose, set free), a term
having the general signification of independent, self-existent,
unconditioned. Thus we speak of ``absolute'' as opposed to
``limited'' or ``constitutional'' monarchy, or, in common
parlance, of an ``absolute failure,'' i.e. unrelieved by
any satisfactory circumstances. In philosophy the word has
several technical uses. (1) In Logic, it has been applied
to non-connotative terms which do not imply attributes
(see CONNOTATION), but more commonly, in opposition to
Relative, to terms which do not imply the existence of some
other (correlative) term; e.g. ``father'' implies ``son,''
``tutor'' ``pupil,'' and therefore each of these terms is
relative. In fact, however, the distinction is formal, and,
though convenient in the terminology of elementary logic,
cannot be strictly maintained. The term ``man,'' for example,
which, as compared with ``father,'' ``son,'' ``tutor,'' seems
to be absolute, is obviously relative in other connexions; in
various contexts it implies its various possible opposites,
e.g. ``woman,'' ``boy,'' ``master'', ``brute.'' In other
words, every term which is susceptible of definition is ipso
facto relative, for definition is precisely the segregation
of the thing defined from all other things which it is not,
i.e. implies a relation. Every term which has a meaning
is, therefore, relative, if only to its contradictory.
(2) The term is used in the phrase ``absolute knowledge'' to
imply knowledge per se. It has been held, however, that,
since all knowledge implies a knowing subject and a known
object, absolute knowledge is a contradiction in terms (see
RELATIVITY.) So also Herbert Spencer spoke of ``absolute
ethics,'' as opposed to systems of conduct based on particular
local or temporary laws and conventions (see ETHICS.)
(3) By far the most important use of the word is in the phrase
``the Absolute'' (see METAPHYSICS.) It is sufficient here
to indicate the problems involved in their most elementary
form. The process of knowledge in the sphere of intellect
as in that of natural science is one of generalization,
i.e. the co-ordination of particular facts under general
statements, or in other words, the explanation of one fact by
another, and that other by a third, and so on. In this way
the particular facts or existences are left behind in the
search for higher, more inclusive conceptions; as twigs are
traced to one branch, and branches to one trunk, so, it is
held, all the plurality of sense-given data is absorbed in
a unity which is all-inclusive and self-existent, and has no
``beyond.'' By a metaphor this process has been described as
the odos ano (as of tracing a river to its source). Other
phrases from different points of view have been used to describe
the idea, e.g. First Cause, Vital Principle (in connexion
with the origin of life), God (as the author and sum of all
being), Unity, Truth (i.e. the sum and culmination of all
knowledge), Causa Causans, &c. The idea in different senses
appears both in idealistic and realistic systems of thought.
The theories of the Absolute may be summarized briefly
as follows. (1) The Absolute does not exist, and is not
even in any real sense thinkable. This view is held by
the empiricists, who hold that nothing is knowable save
phenomena. The Absolute could not be conceived, for all
knowledge is susceptible of definition and, therefore,
relative. The Absolute includes the idea of necessity, which
the mind cannot cognize. (2) The Absolute exists for thought
only. In this theory the absolute is the unknown x which
the human mind is logically compelled to postulate a priori
as the only coherent explanation and justification of its
thought. (3) The Absolute exists but is unthinkable, because
it is an aid to thought which comes into operation, as it
were, as a final explanation beyond which thought cannot
go. Its existence is shown by the fact that without it all
demonstration would be a mere circulus in probando or verbal
exercise, because the existence of separate things implies some
one thing which includes and explains them. (4) The Absolute
both exists and is conceivable. It is argued that we do in
fact conceive it in as much as we do conceive Unity, Being,
Truth. The conception is so clear that its inexplicability
(admitted) is of no account. Further, since the unity of
our thought implies the absolute, and since the existence
of things is known only to thought, it appears absurd that
the absolute itself should be regarded as non-existent.
The Absolute is substance in itself, the ultimate basis and
matter of existence. All things are merely manifestations of
it, exist in virtue of it, but are not identical with it.
(5) Metaphysical idealists pursue this line of argument in a
different way. For them nothing exists save thought; the only
existence 1hat can be predicated of any thing and, therefore,
of the Absolute, is that it is thought. Thought creates
