10 



A Kit AC A D AUK A A P.li A 1 1 AM ITES. 



ABRACADABRA ; a term of incantation, which was 

 formerly liclieved to have the power of curing fc- 

 i-snccially the slow fevers, the intt rmittent <i! 

 -1 iLiys, mid 111'' hemitriuetis, so railed by Hypix-rates, 

 which v.i- generally fatal. At present, this word is, 

 foi- (In- mo-!. l>art, used in jest, without any par- 

 ticular meaning, like hocus pocits. According to Q. 



Sen-nils Sammoiiicn-. il ongh to he written >o ;is to 



form a magic triangle, in order to produce the sup- 

 I'UMil effect ; vi*. 



ABRACADABRA 



A II R A C A I> A It K 



AHRACADAB 



A RllACADA 



A II II A C A l> 



A B R A C A 



A B R A C 



A B R A 



A B R 



A B 



A 



The triangle, thus formed, reads Abracadabra , be- 

 ginning with A, and.thence passing over to any line 

 you please, and stopping at the last letter of the 

 Inl line. Greek amulets, which bear the inscription 

 AHPACAAABPA, leave no doubt [that tins magic 

 word, properly, ought to be pronounced Abrasadabt-a, 

 though the Jews say also Abracalun. Abrasadabra 

 proltahly means divine decree, and is derived from 

 the sacred name of the Supreme Being, Abrasax, 

 or Abrus. Some are of opinion that the term 

 .-Ilirasax took its origin from the first letters of the 

 Hebrew words Ab, Sen, Ruach hakodesh, (Father, 

 Son, Holy Ghost,) and from the initials of the Greek 

 words, trturnfiet aft gvXtv, (salvation from the cross.) 

 lint Abrasaji' is neither an /Egyptian, nor Greek, 

 nor Hebrew, but a Persian name, which de- 

 noiesthe Persian deity, Mithras. Superstitious peo- 

 ple, moreover, used to write the word Abrasadabra, in 

 the manner above-mentioned, on a square piece of 

 |>aper; then folded it so as to cover the writing, 

 sewed it together with white thread, hung it, by a 

 piece of tape, around the neck, so as to reach the 

 heart, wore it for 9 days, and then went, before 

 sunrise, in profound silence, to a river which flowed 

 to the east, took it from the neck, and threw it, but 

 without opening or reading it, over their heads into 

 the water. 



ABRAHAM ; the father, and most celebrated patri- 

 arch of the J ews, with whom their history commen- 

 ces, as likewise, the promises given them by God, 

 and the miracles performed in their favour. He 

 was Iwrn at Ur, in Chaldea, about 2000 B. C., and 

 descended in the eighth generation from Shem, 

 Noah's eldest son. He passed his early days in 

 the house of his father, Terah, where he was kept 

 from idolatry, which prevailed in his family. Obe- 

 dient to the voice of God, which pointed out his no- 

 ble destiny, and commanded him to settle in Ca- 

 naan, he went to that country with his father, 

 his wife, and his nephew, and fixed his abode at 

 Haran, in Mesopotamia. After his father's death, 

 lie led a wandering life, in obedience to the will of 

 God. He visited Sichem, Bethel, and Gerar, 

 whence he returned to Bethel. Frequent dissen- 

 sions between his servants and those of Lot caused 

 their final separation. A. remained at Mamre, 

 but Lot settled at Gomorrah. Afterwards, on 

 hearing that four Arabian chiefs had invaded Go- 

 morrah, and carried off Lot with his family and pro- 

 perty, A. pursued them with 318 sen-ants, conquer- 

 ed them, and rescued his nephew, and all that 

 belonged to him. God revealed futurity to A., 

 and ratified his covenant witli him and his 

 posti-iity, by the law of circuincL>ion. The ad- 



vanced age of A. and Sarah seemed to render 

 doubtful (he fulfilment of these promises, when 

 three angels in the shape of travellers, came to 

 \ isii them. They were sent to punish Sodom and 

 (iomorrali for their wickedness, and announced 

 that, at their return, Sarah would be a mother. 

 Though siie -,vas !H) years old, she conceived and 

 bore Isaac, at the time designated by the angel. 

 When Isaac had reached his 25th year, God wish- 

 ed to put A.'s fidelity to a new trial, and comm;u.<l- 

 eil him to sacrifice his only son, on mount Moriah. 

 The old man was ready to obey. The victim was 

 already placed on the altar, and about to receive the 

 fatal stroke, when God, convinced of the oiM-ilicnceof 

 his servant, stopped his lifted arm. Sarah died, but 

 A. married Keturah, who bore him 6 more children. 

 He died at the age of 175, and was buried near 

 Sarah, in a cave which he hatl bought for his sepul- 

 chre from the sons of Heth. Not only the .Jews, 

 but also the Arabians, derive their origin from this 

 patriarch : the Greek and Roman churches have 

 introduced his name into their legends. 1 le is also 

 mentioned in the Koran, and some of the Mahomme- 

 dan writers assert that A. went to Mecca, and com- 

 menced the erection of the temple. The Jews 

 have at all times honoured his tomb and his me- 

 mory. His history, as given by the rabbins, is a 

 mixture of truth and fiction. 



ABRAHAM a Sancta Clara ; boni in Krahenlieim- 

 stetten, in Suabia, June 4,1642. His true name 

 was Ulrich Megerle. He was distinguished as a 

 preacher, for the originality of his conceptions. At 

 Marienbrunn, in the south of Austria, he joined, in 

 1662, the barefooted friars of the order of St Augus- 

 tine, applied himself to philosophy and theology, in 

 a monastery of his order at Vienna, was then em- 

 ployed as preacher in the convent of Taxa, in lia- 

 \ aria . and soon called to preach at the imperial 

 court of Vienna, where he continued till tin; year 

 1709, when he died, 67 years old. His sermons are 

 burlesque, and full of the strangest notions. His 

 striking peculiarities, agreeable, however, to the 

 spirit of his age, procured him a numerous audience, 

 and his sermons were not without effect, since they 

 treated of popular subjects, and were seasoned with 

 much sarcasm, adapted to all ranks. The tides of 

 some of his writings show the tone in which they 

 are composed : as, Fy on the World, or, about / 'irtue 

 and f'ice ; Salutary Mixture ; Abraham a S(iitc(a 

 Clara's Nest of neicly hatched Fools, or curious 

 /Workshop of various Fools, both male and female, 

 etc. A. was, by nature, a popular orator; he join- 

 ed to an odd exterior a strong mind, endowed with a 

 thorough knowledge of mankind, and a fervent love 

 of truth. With the boldest frankness, he scourges 

 the follies of his age, and vigorously attacks the 

 weak mysticism and pedantry of most preachers of 

 his time. 



ABRAHAMITES, Abrahamians, or Deists of Bohe- 

 mia, were a number of ignorant peasants, who came 

 forth from their obscurity in 1782, confiding in the 

 edict of toleration published by Joseph JL, and 

 a\owed the same belief which Abraham professed 

 before the law of circumcision. The doctrine of 

 the unity of God. and the Lord's prayer, were all 

 which they regarded in the Bible. Their petition 

 for freedom in religious worship was, however, re- 

 jected, because they refused to declare themselves 

 Jews, or members of any of the established Chris- 

 tian sects. The emperor Joseph, less enlightened 

 in matters of religion than is generally believed, 

 drove these honest people, in 1783, from their 

 possessions, because they resisted all attempts made 

 for their conversion, and dispersed them, by military 

 force, from various places, on the boundaries of 



