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with his wife, who infifted that he should make use of their maid Hagar, in order to raise up children; the covenant God made with him, fealed with the ceremony of circumcision; his obedience to the command of God, who ordered him to offer up his only fon as a facrifice; and how this bloody act was prevented; his marriage with Keturah; his death at the age of 175 years; and his interment at the cave of Macphelah, near the body of Sarah, his firft wife. It would be of little ufe to dwell long upon these particulars, fince they are so well known to all Chriftians.

Many extraordinary particulars have been told relating to Abraham's converfion from idolatry. 'Tis generally believed that he fucked in the poifon with his milk; that his father made statues, and taught that they were to be worshipped as gods. Some Jewish authors relate, that Abraham followed the fame trade as. Terah for a confiderable time. Maimo nides fays, that he was bred up in the religion of the Saba ans, who acknowledged no deity but the ftars, that his ne flections on the nature of the planets, his admiration of their voch. cap. motions, beauty, and order, made him conclude there must. xxix. p. 3. be a being fuperior to the machine of the univerfe, a being who created and governed it: however, according to an olde

Apud Gene

brard. in Chron.

More Ne

tradition, he did not renounce paganism till the fiftieth year Hift. Patri- of his age. 'Tis related that his father, being gone a jourarch, tom. ney, left him to fell the ftatues in his abfence; and that ac II. p. 36. man, who pretended to be a purchafer, afked him how old he

was? Abraham anfwered, "Fifty""Wretch that thou art, said the other, for adoring, at fuch an age, a being which is but a day old." These words greatly confounded Abraham Some time afterwards, a woman brought him fome flour that he might give it as an offering to the ftatues; but Abraham, inftead of doing fo, took up a hatchet and broke them all to pieces, excepting the largeft, into the hand of which he put the weapon. Terah, at his return, afked whence came alli this havock? Abraham made anfwer, that the ftatues had had a great contest which should eat first of the oblation; "Upon which, faid he, the god you fee there, being the ftouteft, hewed the others to pieces with that hatchet.' Terah told him this was bantering; for thofe idols had not the fenfe to act in this manner. Abraham retorted these words upon his father against the worshiping of fuch gods. Terah could not. fstand this raillery, but delivered up his fon to the inquifition. Nimrod was the chief inquifitor, and fovereign of the country; and, according to St. Jerome, he exhorted. Abraham to

worship

T

worship the fire; and, upon his refufal, commanded him to be thrown into the midst of the flames: "Now let your God, faid he come and deliver you." Haran, Abraham's brother, was fpectator of this scene; and he refolved to declare for Nimrod's religon, if the fire confumed Abraham; and for that of his brother, if he escaped unhurt. The tradition, according to St. Jerome, adds, that Abraham came fafe and found out of the flames; and Nimrod afking Haran who he believed in? he answered, in the God of Abraham; upon which the king ordered him to be thrown into a furnace: but, his faith not being fo ftrong as that of Abraham's, the fire had power over him, and fcorched him fo feverely that he expired foon after. Abraham is faid to have been well fkilled in many fciences (c), and to have wrote feveral books (d). The Mahometans have related feveral fictions concerning this patriarch, as may be seen in the Alcoran, and in Keffæus, one of their principal authors. They say that he took a journey to Mecca, and that he began to build the temple there. The Chriftians have also propagated idle stories concerning Abraham; for they tell us that he planted trees of a very extraordinary nature (e). The Rabbis fay, that the

(c) We are told that he was verfed in aftronomy, (Jofeph. Antiq. lib. i. c.7.) and that he taught the Egyptians arithmetic and geometry (ib. c. 8.); and, according to Eupolemus and Artapan, he inftructed the Phanicians, as well as the Egyptians, in aftronomy.

(d) A work which treats of the creation has been long afcribed to him; 'tis mentioned in the Talmud, (Heidegger Hift. Patriarch. tom. II. p. 143.) and the Rabbis Chanina and Hofchaia ufed to read it on the eve before the fabbath. Some of the Jewish authors have denied this to be Abraham's: they have publickly afferted Rabbi Akiba to be the author, and they greatly condemn this Rabbi for presuming to make it pafs for Abraham's production, (Abraham Zachut, in libro Juchafin. P. 52.) In the first ages of Chriftianity, according to St. Epiphanius, (Epiph, adverf, hæref. p. 286.) a heretical fect, called Sethinians, difperfed a piece which had the title of Abraham's Revelation. Origen mentions alfo a treatife fupVOL. I.

pofed to be wrote by this patriarch. All the feveral works which Abraham compofed in the plains of Marme, are faid to be contained in the library of the monaftry of the Holy Cross on Mount Amaria, in Ethiopia. (Kirchem's treatife of libraries, p. 142. Paris edit.) The book on the creation was printed at Paris 1552, and tranflated into Latin by Postel. Rittangel, a converted Jew, and profeffor at Konigsberg, gave also a Latin tranflation of it, with remarks, in 1642.

(e) Gretzer fays, that he read in a Greek manuscript, in the Augustin library, that Abraham planted a cyprefs-tree, a pine-tree, and a cedartree, and that all of them united into one, each of them, however, still retaining their particular roots and branches; that this tree was cut down when the temple of Solomon was building, but the workmen could not fix it any where; that Solomon furrounded it with thirty filver croffes, in which form it continued till the death of Chrift. Cruce, lib. i, D

De

fight

Bartolocci
Biblioth.

Rabbin, tom.

fight only of a precious ftone, which Abraham wore upon his neck, cured every difeafe; and that, after his death, God hung this jewel on the fun. They affirm that the Egyptian bondage was inflicted as a punishment for fome faults comIII. p. 562. mitted by Abraham; for his having forced the fons of wisdom. to take up arms; and for having allowed those who were inftructed in the law of God to fall again into idolatry; and for delivering up those persons whom the king of Sodom demanded.

Ib. 529.

Gruteri
Thefaus.

Critic. tom,

ABSTEMIUS (Laurentius) an Italian writer, born at Macerata, in La Marca de Ancona, who devoted himself early to the ftudy of polite literature, and made a surprising progrefs therein. He taught the Belles Lettres at Urbino, where he was librarian to duke Guido Ubaldo, to whom he dedicated a small piece, explaining fome dark paffages in i. p. 878. the ancient authors: he published it under the pontificate of Alexander VI. and another treatise alfo, entitled Hecatomythium, from its containing a hundred fables, which he infcribed to Octavian Ubaldini, count de Mercatelli. His Fables have been often printed with those of Afop, Phædrus, Gabrias, Avienus, &c. He has these ancient mythologists generally in view, but does not always ftrictly follow their manner; fometimes intermixing his fable with a merry ftory, and now and then he is fomewhat fatyrical upon the clergy (a). Some of his conjectures on particular paflages in the ancients are inferted in the firft volume of Gruterus's Thefaurus Criticus, under the title of Annotationes variæ; but they are but few in number. He wrote alfo a preface to that edition of Aurelius Victor publifhed at Venice, 1505.

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ABUCARAS (Theodore) a moft zealous and orthodox prelate (a), as appears by above forty differtations written by him against the Jews, the Mahometans, the heretics, and in general on religious fubjects. Genebrard publifhed a Latin tranflation of fifteen of his differtations, and Gretfer having added thefe to what he and father Turrien had tranflated, published an edition of all his works, which was then thought to be a complete one; but in 1685 there appeared a trea- Greek and tife of his, never before printed, published by Arnoldus, from Latin, printa manuscript in the Bodleian library. He does not illuftrate ed at Ingolit with notes, not daring, as he tells us in the preface, to 1606. touch upon the myfteries of the incarnation and the hypoftatic union, which Abucaras examined in that treatife. Authors have not agreed in regard to the age wherein he lived; Turrien the Jefuit is of opinion he was a difciple of John Damafcenus, which places him in the eighth century. Gretfer makes him later (b), supposing him to be the perfon of that name who had fo great a fhare in the troubles of the church of Conftantinople, during the time of the patriarchs Photius and Ignatius. This Abucaras first adhered to Photius, and had undertaken to go with Zachary bishop of Chalcedon as embaffador to the emperor Lewis II. to whom he was to have presented Photius's book against pope Nicholas, and to difpofe him to shake off the papal yoke; but he had scarce fet out, when Bafil the Macedonian having murdered the emperor Michael, and ufurped the crown, recalled him, and prevented his journey. Two years afterwards he prefented himself before the council of Conftantinople, humbly imploring pardon for taking part with Photius, and protesting that both force and ftratagem had been used to draw him into that party. His fubmiffion was received by the patriarch, who

(a) Some call him Archiepifchopus Chariæ (Cave historia literaria, Scriptor Ecclef. p. 557) and others Epifcopus Cariæ, Kapov Enionomos. (Spizelii fpecim. biblioth.) Arnoldus thinks that Abucaras was bishop of Haran, and Simlerus is of the fame opinion. (Simleri epit. biblioth. Gefneri.) Dr. Cave obferves, that Photius had nominated Abucaras to the fee of Laodicea.

(b) The preface of Arnoldus feems to thew pretty plainly, that Gretfer could not advance any thing certain in regard to the age when Abucaras lived. "Gretferus vero quis fuerit

i. e.

Abucaras, quo fæculo floruerit, ab
Antonio Velfero SS. Theol. D. Eo-
clefiæ Frifingenfis Canonico, Præpo-
fito Spaltenfi, cujus honori librum fu-
um dedicavit, difcere volebat."
"But Gretferus defired to know who
Abucaras was, and the age he lived
in, from Anthony Volferus, doctor
of divinity, canon of the church of
Frifingen, and provost of Spalta, to
whom he dedicated his book,"

A learned man, with whom Ar-
noldus got acquainted in England,
was of opinion that Abucaras lived
in the faventh century. Ibid.

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admitted him again into the church, and gave him a place in the affembly. The works of this author are inferted in the fupplement to the Bibliotheque des Peres, of the Paris edition in 1624.

ABUL FARAGIUS (Gregory) (a) fon to Aaron a Phoenician, born in 1226, in the city of Malatia, near the fource of the Euphrates in Armenia. He followed the profeffion of his father, and practifed with great fuccefs, numbers of people coming from the most remote parts to ask his advice. However, he would hardly have been known at this time had his knowledge been confined to phyfic; but he applied himself to the ftudy of the Greek, Syriac, and Arabic languages, as well as philofophy and divinity; and he wrote a history which does honour to his memory. It is written in Arabic, and divided into dynafties. It confifts of ten parts, being an epitome of universal hiftory from the creation of the world to his own time. Dr. Pocock published it with a Latin tranflation in 1663, and added, by way of fupplement, a fhort continuation relating to the Hiftory of the Eastern Princes.

Abul Faragius was ordained bifhop of Guba at twenty See his Sy- years of age, by Ignatius, the patriarch of the Jacobites. In riac chron. 1247 he was promoted to the fee of Lacabena, and fome years p.ii. f. 322. after to that of Aleppo. About the year 1266 he was elected Affem. Bib. primate of the jacobites in the Eaft (b). As Abul Faragius Orient. tom. lived in the thirteenth century, an age famous for miracles, it II. p. 245. would feem ftrange if fome had not been wrought by him,

or in his behalf: he himself mentions two. When, in the Eafter holidays, he was confecrating the chrifm or holy ointment, which though before the confecration it did not fill the veffel in which it was contained, yet encreased so much after In tert. parte confecration, that it would have run over the veffel, had they not Chronici. p. immediately poured it into another (c). The other happened in 263. 1285. The church of St. Barnagore having been deftroyed by some robbers, Abul Faragius built a new one, with a monaftery,

(a) Pocock mentions two paffages wherein our author is called Mar Gregorius, and another where he has 'the name of Mor Gregorius. Others have called him Mark Gregory. Mr. Bayle fays, they have mistaken Mar, a title of honour answering to fir, for 'Mark.

(b) The Affyrians called Chaldea and Affyria the Eaft, and Syria and Mefopotamia the West, Affemanus

Biblioth. Orient. tom. II. p. 344.

(c) Affemanus endeavonrs to account for this miracle in a natural way: "The temple being little, says he, and full of people, this, with the wax tapers and burning of incenfe, might heat the air to fuch a degree as to dilute and rarify the balfam, that it might run over the vesfel without any miracle." Affeman. Biblioth. p. 250.

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