Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 01.djvu/81

ABSTRACTION. — from similar tliiiif;:-, ami tluit one of those schematic- images is suiruiciit to fall up a larj;e number of more concrete (unohliterateil) ideas whenever an appropriate incentive is given. ( .See Association of Ideas. ) Consult : R. H. l.otze, Logic (Oxford, 1888) : W. .lames, I'linci- ples of I'sijrholoyy (Xew York, 1890).

AB'STRACT OF TI'TLE. A brief and or- derly -tat'^iiuiit ill xvritinr; of the successive con- veyances and other events throu^'h wli-ich a per- son claiming to own a parcel of land derives his title. A purchaser or mort<ragee of real prop- erty is entitled — by law in England, liy custom in the I'nited States — to receive such an abstract from the vendor or mortgagor in ailvance of the consummation of the transaction, and it there- upon becomes the basis of the examination of title (q.v.), which it is the duty of the solicitor or attorney of the purchaser to make. X perfect abstract should furnish a complete history of the title sought to be transferred, showing not only the origin and nature of the vendor's interest, but also all incumbrances and other interests — • such as mortgages, easements, recorded judg- ments, trusts, etc. — which afTect his title. In England, where the practice of i-ecor<Iing deeds does not generally obtain, the abstract is based upon the title deeds (q.v.), which are carefully preserved and transmitted with each transfer of the estate: while in the United States the pub- lic records of conveyances are the principal, but not the exclusive, source of the information upon which the maker of the abstract proceeds. (See Recording of Deeds.) Consult: Warvelle, .4. Practical Treatise on Abstracts and Exumina- lions of Titles to Heal Property (Chicago, 18!)2) ; and also Warvelle, A Treatise on (he American Lair of 'cndor and Purchaser of Real Property (Chicago. 1!)02) ; Comyns, On Abstracts of Title (London, IS'.I.t).

ABSUR'DTJM, Redi'CTIO ad (Lat. a reduc- ing to an al)sindity) . The method of proving a truth by showing that to suppose the proposition untrue would lead to a contradiction or absur- dity.

ABSYR'TUS (Gk. 'A^i'prof, Ap.iyrtos). In tin- legend of the Argonautie expedition (see Argo.n.itsi, the younger brother of ifedeii. She carried him off with her when she fled with .Tason from Colchis, and, according to the common version of the story, deterred her pur- suing parent, ,Eetes, by cutting the boy in pieces and scattering his body on the sea for his father to gather up.

ABT, apt. Fraxz (1819-8.5). A German song writer and nuisical conductor. He was horn at Eilenburg and sent to the Thomasschule at Leipzig to be educated. Here he met Men- delssohn, who is said to have persuaded him to follow a musical career. He was appointed kapellmeister at the court theatre of Bernburg in 1841, hut soon relinquished this position for a similar one at Ziirich, where he remained for eleven years, obtaining great ])opuIarify ;is a teacher, composer, and leader of singing socie- ties. He was called to Brunswick in 1S.")2 as second musical director at the court theatre, was appointed court kapellnu'ister in 18.5.T, and pensioned in 1881. He came to the United States in 1872 at the invitation of several choral societies, and everywhere nu't with a cor- dial reception. Abt was a prolific coniposer. and at the time of his death had publishcil nearly (iOO hooks (Hefte), some of them containing from twenty to thirty numbers. He belongs to that group of composers which includes Truhn, Kiicken, and (iumliert. His vocal compositions are remarkable for their simplicity and clearness of melodic construction. Among these may be nu'utioncd: Uchh die Schitalben heimuvirts zich'ii ("When the Swallows Homeward Fly") : (lute acht. dit mein herziyes Kind ("Good Night, My Child") : Srhtaf irohl, du siisser Engel ("Sleep Well, Sweet .Xngcl") : I.eiichtendes Augi ("Marie, or, When I Am Near Thee").

ABU, ii'boo. One of tAe Aravulli mountains (q.v.l, India, over fiOOO feet high. It is held in high esteem by the .lainas and is celebrated for its two magnificent temples of white marble, sujiposed to have been built in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and considered the finest specimens of Indian architecture. ABU, ii'boo. The Arabic word for "father," «hich in modern Arabic often becomes abbrevi- ated to lin. It is prefixed to many Arabic proper names, as the equivalent syllable Ab is prefixed to Hebrew names. Example: Abu-hekr, cu' more properly, .buhakr. the 'father of Bakr.' But Abii. like tlie ?lclirc« .b. often is not to be interi)reted literally, but signifies possessor, or is >ised to in- dicate even more generally the notion of fullness, largeness, and the like: as in Abulfeda, "possessor of devotion," "the devoted one;" Abner, "the liril- liant one," literally "father or possessor pf light." ABU-BEKR, !i'bor;-bck''r (his original name was 'abd al-Ka'bah ibn Abi Kuhafah) (570-ti34). The first caliiih, father-in-law of Mohammed. He was a man of great influence in the Koreish tribe. In 32, when Mohammed died, he was made caliph, or successor of the Prophet. After defeating his enemies in .Vrahia. and warring suc- cessfully against Persia and the Byzantine Em- peror Heraclius, .Xbu-bekr died (Ij:i4 A.D.) and was buried at Jledina. near the remains of Mo- hanuncd and the Prophet's wife .Vyeshah (q.v.).

ABU-BEKR MOHAMMED IBN TOPHAIL, a'liT7o-liek''r mo ham'miVl 'b'u to'fa-el (linnS.T). . famous .rabic physician, mathe- matician, poet, and philosopher. He was born in Andalusia an<l died in Morocco. His chief extant philosophical work is entitled Hai ibn Yalczan, "the Living, the Son of the Awake." It depicts the natural progressive development of the human faculties in a Robinson Crusoe horn on an island till nature and (iod are known. To secure this comnninion. positive religion is vahf- able for the vulgar, but religious doctrines are only exoteric presentations of the mystic truth. The name of the hero and the subject are bor- rowed from Ibn Sina (Avicenna). with this dif- ference, that while Ibn Sina's hero possesses a supernatural intellect, that of Ibn Tophail per- sonifies a man of ordinary faculties. Later translations: Francisco Pons Bsigues (Saragos- sii. limO). and L.'on (i:uiticr (Algiers, H100 ).

ABU-BEKR MOHAMMED AL-RAZI''', Ulrii'zc. Sic Kmazks.
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ABU-HASSAN, irboo-hiis'iin, surnamed The Wag. The hero of The f?leeper Aicakened, one of the stories of the Arabian Xiyhts. He was a citizen of Bagdad who entertained the Calijih unawares and as a result met with several interesting experiences, finally becoming the trusted friend and favorite of the Caliph.