AAR 
pelled to own this to be an effect of divine agency. Thus 
Aaron had a great fhare in all that Mofes did for the deli¬ 
verance of the Israelites; whence the fcriptures call him 
the prophet of Mofes, and he atted in that capacity after 
the Ifraelites had palled over the Red Sea. He afcended 
mount Sinai with two of his fons, Nadab and Abihu, and 
feventy elders of the people; but neither he nor they 
went higher than half way, from whence they law the glory 
of God; only Mofes and Jofhua went to the top, where they 
flaid forty days. During their abfence, Aaron, overcome 
by the people’s eager intreaties, fet up the golden calf, 
which the Ifraelites worlhipped by his confent. This calf 
has given rife to various conjeftures. Some rabbies main¬ 
tain that he did not make the golden calf; but only threw 
the gold into the fire, to get rid of the importunities of 
the people; and that certain magicians, who mingled with 
the Ifraelites at their departure from Egypt, call this gold 
into the figure of a calf. According to fome authors, 
the fear of falling a facrifice to the refentment of the peo¬ 
ple by giving a refufal, made Aaron comply with their 
defire: and they allege alfo, that he hoped to elude their 
requeft, by demanding of the women to contribute their 
ear-rings, imagining they would rather choole to remain 
without a vifible deity, than be deprived of their perfonal 
ornaments. This affair of the golden calf happened in 
the third month after the Ifraelites came out of Egypt. 
In the firft month of the following year, Aaron was ap¬ 
pointed by God high-prieft; which office he executed 
during the time the children of Ifrael continued in the 
wildernefs. He died in the fortieth year after their de¬ 
parture from Egypt, upon mount Hor, being then 123 
years old; A.M. 2522, of the Julian period 3262, before 
the Chriftian ama 1452. 
Aaron and Julius (Saints), fuffered martyrdom to¬ 
gether, during the perfecution under the Emperor Dio- 
clefian, in the year 303, about the fame time with Saint 
Alban, the protomartyr of Britain. We are not told what 
their Britilh names were, it being ufual with the Chrif¬ 
tian Britons, at the time of baptifm, to take new names 
from the Greek, Latin, or Hebrew. Nor have we any 
other particulars of their death; only that they fuffered 
the molt cruel torments. Each had a church erected to 
his memory; and their feftival is placed, in the Roman 
martyrology, on the firft of July. 
Aaron Harischon, a learned rabbi and caraite in 
the fifteenth century, wrote an Hebrew grammar, printed 
at Conftantinople in 1581; probably the, fame with Aaron 
the caraite, who wrote a commentary on the five books of 
Mofes, which is in. MS. in the royal library of Paris. 
A ARSENS (Francis), Lord of Someldyck and Spyck, 
was one of the greateft minifters for negociation the Uni¬ 
ted Provinces could ever boaft of. His father, Cornelius 
Aarfens, was regifter to the States; and, being acquainted 
with Mr. Pleffis Mornay, at the court of William prince 
of Orange, he prevailed upon him to take his fon under 
him, with whom he continued fome years. John Olden 
Barnevelt, who prefided over the affairs of Holland and 
all the United Provinces, fent him afterwards agent into 
France, where he learned to negociate under thofe pro¬ 
found politicians Henry IV. Villeroy, Silleri, Roffie, 
Jaonnin, &c. and he acquitted himfelf in fuch a manner as 
to obtain their, approbation. Soon after he was inverted 
with the character of ambaffador, being the firft who was 
recognifed as fuch by the French court; at which time 
Henry IV. declared, that he Ihould take precedence next 
to the Venetian minifter. He refided in France fifteen 
years; during which time he received great marks of ef- 
teem from the king, who created him a knight and baron; 
and for this reafon he was received amongft the nobles of 
the province of Holland. Pie w as the firft of three extra¬ 
ordinary ambaffadors fent to England in 1620, and the 
fecond in 1641, to treat about the marriage of Pripce 
William, fon to the Prince of Orange. He was likewife 
ambaffador-extraordinary at the French court in 1624; 
and tfye Cardinal de Richlieu having'juft taken the admi- 
A B A 3 
niftration of affairs into his hands, and knowing he was an 
able man, made ufe of him to ferve his own purpofes. 
He died in a very advanced age; and his fon, who fur- 
vived him, was reputed the wealthieft man in Holland. 
Aarsens (Peter), a painter, called in Italy Pietro 
Longo, becaufe of his ftature, was born at Amfterdam in 
1519. He was eminent for all kinds of fubjeCts; but was 
particularly famous for altar-pieces, and for reprefenting 
a kitchen with its furniture : he had the pain to fee a fine 
altar-piece of his painting deftroyed by the rabble in the 
infurreftion of 1566, though a lady of Alcmaer offered 200 
crowns to redeem it. 
AARSEO, a town of Algiers, near the mouth of the 
river Mina, trades to Guinea, Numidia, and other places. 
Lat. 36. 50. N. Ion. 2. 10. E. 
AARTGEN, or Aertgen, a painter of merit, the fon 
of a woolcomber, born at Leyden in 1498. He worked 
at his father’s trade till the age of eighteen; and then, 
having difeovered a genius for defigning, he was placed 
with Cornelius Engelheihtz, under whom he made a con- 
fiderable progrefs in painting. Pie became fo diftinguiflied, 
that the celebrated Francis Floris went to Leyden out of 
mere curiofity to fee him. He found him inhabiting a poor 
half-ruined hut, and in a very mean condition. He Toli- 
cited him to go to Antwerp, promifing him wealth fuitable 
to his merit; but Aartgen refilled, declaring that he found 
more gratification in his poverty than others did in their 
riches. It was a cuftorri with this painter never to work 
on Mondays, but to devote that day to the bottle. He 
ufed to Itroll about the ftreets in the night, playing on the 
german flute, and in one of thefe frolics he walked into a 
rivulet and was drowned, in 1564. 
AASAR, anciently a town of Paleftine, in the tribe of 
Judah, fituated between Azotus and Afcalon. In Jerome’s 
time it was an hamlet. 
AASTRUP, adiftridlof Aalberg and North Jutland, 
to which belong the Herreds of Wenneborg, with twelve 
parifties, and Jerlef with the like number. 
AB,/. the eleventh month of the civil year of the He¬ 
brews, and the fifth of their ecclefiaftical year, which be¬ 
gins with the month Nifan. It anfwers to the moon of 
July; that is, to part of our month of the fame name, 
and to the beginning of Auguft: it confifts of thirty days. 
The Jews faff on the firft of this month, in memory of 
Aaron’s death; and on the ninth, becaufe on that day 
both the temple of Solomon and that erected after the 
captivity, were burnt; the former by the Chaldeans, and 
the latter by the Romans. The fame day is alfo remarka¬ 
ble among that people for the publication of Adrian's 
edift, w herein they were forbid to continue in Judea, or 
even to look back when at a diltance from Jerufalem, in 
order to lament the defolation of that city. The 18th of 
the fame month is alfo a faff; among the Jews; becaufe 
the lamp in the fanfluary was that night extinguiffied in 
the time of Ahaz.—In the Syriac calendar it is alfo the 
name of the laft fummer-month. The firft day of this 
month they called Suum Miriam , the fart: of the virgin, be¬ 
caufe the eaftern Chriftians farted from that day to the fif¬ 
teenth, which was therefore called Fat/ir-Miriam, thecei- 
fation of the faff of the virgin. 
ABA, or ABAU, Hanifah or PIanfa, furnamed AI- 
Nooma, was the fon of Thabet, and born at Coufah in 
the eightieth year of the Hegira. This is the mod cele¬ 
brated doflor of the orthodox Muflulmans, and his feft 
holds the principal erteem among the four which they in¬ 
differently follow. Notwithftanding this, he was not very 
well efteemed during his life, infomuch that the khaliff 
Almanfor caufied him to be imprifoned at Bagdad, for 
having refilled to fubferibe to the opinion of abfolute pre- 
deftination, which the Muflulmans call Cadha. But af¬ 
terwards Aboil Jofeph, who was the fovereign judge or 
chancellor of the empire under the khaliff Hadi, brought 
his doftrine into fuch credit, that it became a prevailing 
opinion, That to be a good Muffulman was to be a Hani- 
fite. Pie died in the hundred and fiftieth year of the He- 
