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 BABENSTUBER

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BABTLAS

"wild beasts shall rest there, and their houses shall be filled with serpents, and ostriches shall dwell there, and the hairy ones shall dance there: and owls shall answer one another there, in the houses thereof, and sirens in the temples of pleasure" (Is., xiii, 21-22). {See Tower of Babel, Babyloxia.)

Rawlinson'. The Five Great Monarchies of the Ancient Eastern WorU (London, 1S79); King, The Letters and In- scriptions of Hammurabi, King of Babylon (London, 1S9S): Delattre, Les Chaldeens jusqu'ii la formation de I'empire de N abuchodanosor (Louvain, 1877): Nikel, Genesis und Keil- schriftfoTschun^ (Freiburg, 1903); Zimmf.rn. eti., Schrader, Die Keilinschriften und das Atte Testament (Berlin, 1903): Kaulen, Assyrien und Babylonien nack den neuesten Ent~ deckungen (Freiburg, 1899): Hilprecht, Exploration in Bible Lands during the Nineteenth Century (Philadelphia, 1903); Peters. Nippur or Explorations and Adventures on the Eu- phrates (New York, 1897): Bezold, Ninive und Babylon (2d ed.. Bielefeld. 1903): cf. also Hagen. Lex. Bibl. (Paris, 1905); Pannier and Levesqce in Vig., Diet, de la Bible.

A. J. Ma.\s.

Babenstuber, Ludwig, a German philosopher and theologian; \-ice-chancellor of the University of Salz- burg; b. 1660 at Teining in Bavaria; d. 5 April, 1726, at the Benedictine monasterj- of Ettal. Hav- ing completed his early studies he entered the novi- tiate of the Order of" St. Benedict, at Ettal in 16S1, made his religious profession in 1682, and thereafter devoted the greater part of his life to teacliing. At the commencement of liis studies he had given no promise of brilliancy, but by his untiring application and industry he shortly acquired so vast a store of knowledge, that he soon came to be regarded as one of the most learned men of his day — I'ir conswnmatce in omni genere doctrince et probitatis, as he is styled in Dom Egger's " Idea ordinis Hierarchico-Benedictini ", and in the "History of the University of Salzburg". Until 1690 Babenstuber was Director of the scholas- ■ticate of his order at Salzburg, taught philosophy there from 1690 to 1693, and then went to Schlehdorf to teach theology in the monastery of the canons Tegular.

Returning to Salzburg in 1695, he took up suc- cessively the professorships of moral theology, dogmatic theology, and exegesis, in the celebrated Benedictine university of that city. He remained at Salzburg for twenty-two years, during which period he held the office of \'ice-rector for three years, and that of \-ice-chancellor of the university for six. In 1717 he returned to his monastery at Ettal, where he spent the remainder of his days. In dogmatic theology Babenstuber was a pronounced Thomist; in moral, a vigorous defender of probabilism. He maintained, among other things, that a single author, if he were "beyond contradiction" (omni cxccptione major), could, of liis own authority, render an opinion probable, even against general opinion. In matters of faith, however, he rejected the principle of proba- bihsm absolutely. In one of his disquisitions he had also stated that it was allowable to celebrate Mass privately on Maundy Thursday and Holy Saturday, but before his "Ethica Supernaturahs " had issued from the press, he learned that the Roman tribu- nals forbade it, and so he promptly corrected that assertion. Babenstuber's published works include a -n-ide range of subjects, mainly philosophical and theological. The most important are: "Philosophia Thomistica" (4 vols., Salzburg, 1704); " Ethica Super- naturahs" (Augsburg, 1718).

Egger, Idea ordinis Hierarchico-Benedictini (Constance, 1715-20). H. 560, 567; Don Franiois, Bibliothique gencrale .de tous les ecrivains de Vordre de Sainl-Benoit (Bouillon, 1777). I. burg, 1754), II, 283; III, 444; IV, 118, 138, 182 sqq.: Hisloria Univers. Satisb., 381; Sattler, Kollectaneenbl. (1899), 248 fiqq.: Studien u. MittheUungen aus dem Benediktiner u. d. Cistercienser-Ordm, V, 138, 359.
 * 85: Ziegelbauer. Hist, rei literaria Ord. S. Benedict! (.Augs-

Thomas Oestreich.

Babinet, Jacques, French physicist, b. at Lusi- gnan, Vienne, 5 March, 1794; d. at Paris, 21 October, 1872. He began his studies at the Lyc^e Napoleon.

There he became a pupil of Binet, whose influence caused him to abandon the study of law, for which his family had destined liim, and to devote himself to the pursuit of science. He continued at the Polytechnic School, which he left in 1812 to enter the Military School at Metz. For some time he was attached to the Fifth Regiment of ArtiUerj', but at the Restoration he left the army and began to teach. He was professor of mathematics at Fontenay-le- Comte, then professor of physics at Poitiers, and later at the Lyc^e Saint-Louis. From 1825 to 1828 he delivered a course of lectures on meteorology; in 1838 he succeeded Savary at the College de France; and in 1840 he was elected to the Academy of Sciences.

His scientific fame rests on his work in optics, although his contributions to science include the other branches of physics and mechanics. He improved the valves of the air-pump, attaining a verj' high vacuum; he constructed a hygrometer and a gonio- meter, and invented the Babinet compensator, a double quartz wedge used in the study of elliptically polarized light. "Babinet's theorem" deals T\ith the diffraction of Ught. He must, however, be chiefly remembered as a great popularizer of science, an amusing and clever lecturer, a brilhant and entertain- ing writer of popidar scientific articles. He fully recognized the hmitations of physical science, while his sincere faith showed itself especially at the end, when he passed away with touching resignation, be- loved by all for his kindly and charitable nature.

Babinet's contributions to the "Revue des Deux Mondes" and to the "Journal des D^bats" and his lectures on observational science before the Poly- technic Association were collected in eight ^'olumes: " Etudes et lectures sur les sciences d'observation " (1855-65). His other serious works include: "R&um6 complet de la physique" (Paris, 1825); "Exp&iences pour verifier ceUes de JI. Trevelyan" (Paris, 1835). The follomng four monographs are published in the Memoirs of the Society Pliilomathique: "Sur la masse de la planete Mercure" (1825); "Sur la couleur des r&eaux" (1829); "Sur la determination du magn6- tisme terrestre " (1829); " Sur la cause du retard qu'e- prouve la lumiere dans les milieux r^fringents " (1839). Qri:RARD, La France litt'^raire; Dictionnaire de la conversa- tion; La Grande Encyclopedie; Larousse, Dictionnaire.

Wm. Fox.

Babington, Antony. See Mary Queen of Scots.

Babylas, Bishop and Martyr. — He was the suc- cessor of Zebinus as Bishop of Antioch in the reign of the Emperor Gordianus (238-244), being the twelfth bishop of this Oriental metropolis. During the Decian persecution (250) he made an unwavering confession of faith and was tlirown into prison where he died from his sufferings. He was, therefore, venerated as a martjT. St. John Chrysostom and the "Acts of the MartjTs" relate furtlier concerning him, that Babylas once refused an emperor, on ac- count of his wrongdoing, permission to enter the church and had ordered him to take his place among the penitents. Clirysostom does not give the name of the emperor; the Acts mention Nuraerianus. It is more probably Philip the Arabian (244-249) of whom Eusebius (Hist, eccl., VI, xxxiv) reports that a bishop would not let him enter the gathering of Christians at the Easter vigil. The burial-place of St. Babj'las became verj- celebrated. The Ca-sar CJallus built a new church in honour of the holy martyr at Daphne, a subiu-b of Antioch, and the bones of the saint were transferred to it. When after this Julian the Apostate consulted the oracle of Apollo at the temple to this god which was near b}-, he received no an»« er because of the proximity of the saint. He, therefore, had the sarcophagus of the martyr taken back to its original place of burial.