Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/441

* SABBATICAL YEAR. 401 SABIN. very probable that the only feature of the Sab- batical year wliioh was carried out in practice was tlic onlinancc rc(|uirinj; that the land should lie fallow every seven years. Consult the archic- olojiie-i of ]!enzinger and Xowack. See Jubilee. SABEL'LIUS. A celebrated heretic of the third century who taught that (3od manifests Himself in three successive modes, or forms, with- out, however, recognizing any real personal dis- tinctions in the Godhead, as did the orthodox. (See Tkinity; Nicene Ckeed. ) Our information respecting the events of Sabellius's life is very scanty. onl_y a few fragments of his works hav- ing survived and the existing accounts being written by his theological opponents, lie was perhaps born in the Libyan Pentapolis, where ins peculiar views were afterwards widely current. Early in the third century he took up his residence in Kome, where he adopted Jlonai'ehian views, especiallj' those of a modalistic type. (See Mon.archians.) Here he was e.Kconununicated by Pope Callistns (or Calixtus). Leaving Rome, Sabellius went to Ptolemais, where he was made presbyter and met with much success in propagating his views. The Sabellian view of the Trinity is this: The One Divine Essence, or Sub- stance, unfolds itself in creation and in hu- man history as a trinity. God openTting in the works of nature is Father ; God operating in .Jesus Christ, to redeem men from sin, is Son; and God operating in the hearts of believers is Holy Spirit. But these three are not eternal divine hypostases, or persons (see Hypostasis) ; they are merely so many successive manifesta- tions of the one God. Besides the works of Hippo- lytus. Athanasius, and Epiphanius, consult: Fish- er, llistor;/ of Christian Doctrine (New York, 1896 ) ; Harnaek. History of Dogma, vol. iii. (Eng. trans., London, 1897) ; Rainy, The An- cient Catholic Church (ib., 1902) ; Cheetham, Chiirih Ilistori/ of the First Six Centuries (ib., 1894). SABIANS. See Sab.eans. SABIANS. A name given by Mohammed and early JMosleni writers to a peo])le classed with those possessing a written revelation, distinguish- ed from idolaters and accorded an exceptional position, probably the Mandfeans (q.v.). From the ninth to the twelfth century it was falsely applied to themselves by the pagans of Harran for the purpose of esca])ing persecution ; and in later times it was used indiscriminately of both Mand;i?ans and pagans of Hari'an, or explained as apostates from the true faith, or worshipers of the host of heaven. There are three passages in the Koran in which Mohammed refers to the Sabians. A number of passages from Buchari, Ibn Hisliam, and Aghani have been collected, which show that Mohannned himself and his fol- lowers were designated as 'Sabians' by their pagan contemporaries. The reason for this desig- nation must have been some practice or belief that to the popular mind identified jMohammed and his followers with the Sabians. As the name Sabians undoubtedly is derived from .OTfta'-.wfta', 'to immerse,' there crin be no question but that a sect practicing baptism is meant. The rchitions of the Elkesaites (q.v.). Hemerobaptists. Mugh- tasila. and Manditans have not yet been cleared up. But the emphasis put uiion their sacred books renders it perhaps probable that some branch of the Mandicnns is intended. (See Mand.eaxs.) It was the institution of ablu- tions before the daily jirayers that seemed so peculiar to the i)agaii Ara'bs and led them to dc3cril)c the Moslem a.s Sabians. According to the (estiinony of a Christinn writer, Abu Yusuf Alisha'a ul-Qathi'i, who lived at the end of the ninth century, some of the pagans in Ilarran who were neither willing to become Christians nor to adopt Islam gained for themselves toleration by following the advice of a Moslem lawyer to call themselves Sabinns. This was in the year KM. A Sabian cultconi- • numity was formed in Bagdad, and among its members were men of great learning and in- lluence. The greatest of all the.se so-.alled Sabians were Thabit ben Qorrah (died 9U1), who wrote 1.50 works in Arabic and ll! in Syriac, and Abu Ishak Ibrahim, poet, scien- tist, and historian. But many eminent men were among t!eir descendants to whose enthusi- astie study of Greek antiquity ami liberal views on theology their Jlohai cdan contemponirics were greatly imlebted. Tlirovigh Shakrastani, Maimonides, and others their religious and philo- sophical views became known to Knropean schol- ars. At first these accounts cau.sed nuich con- fusion. Hottinger identified the Sabians with the SabiTans (q.v.) : Golius regarded them as star-worshipers. Although based on wholly im- possible etymologies, these explanations " were widely accepted. S|)encer understood the term to designate Oriental idolaters in general. Xor- berg first proposed the correct etymology and Michaelis distinguished between two kinds of 'Sabians,' the Manda-ans and the star-worshipers. vSaint Martin was the first to call attention in 1825 to the fact that the Harranians were known as Sabians by Arabic waiters. It is the merit of Chwolson to have presented all the important literary material liearing on the question and to have drawn the conclusions now generally ac- cepted as to the use of the term in .rahic literature, thereby putting an end to the base- less speculations about "Sabism." Consult: Chwolson, Die Ssahicr iind dcr Sf.yibismus (Saint Petersburg, 18.5(5) ; Wellhausen. Reste arabisehcn Beidentums (2d ed., Berlin, 1897). SA'BIN, .TcsEPii (1821-81). An American bibliographer, born at Braunston, Nortliani|)ton- shire. England. After serving as an apprentice to Charles Richards, an Oxford bookseller, he .set up an independent shop, and published in 1844 The XXAY-Y Articles of the Church, of Enijtand, idth Scriptural Proofs and h'rfcrcncrs. In 1848 he re- moved to the United States, where he conducted shops for the sale of old and rare books and prints, from IS'iO to IS.")!! at Xew York, from 1850 to 18liO at Philadelphia, and again at Xew York from. 1800. lie prepared auction catalogues of many important libraries, including that of Edwin Forrest (18(i3); undertook in 180S the publication of .4 Dictionary of Hooks Relating to America, from Its Discovery to the Present Time, continued by others as liibliothrca Ameri- jf cana (20 vols., 1808-02) ; and ])rep;ired A liibliog- raphy of Bibliography : or, A Handy Hook About Ihtnks Which Relate to Hooks (1877). He also published two series of reprints concerning .mer- ican history, one of tracts in seven volumes (1865), and one of more extended works in five volumes (also 1805). A. List of the Printed