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BABO BABOON 183 of his disciples in 1850. This gave a new im- petus to his doctrines. At an assembly of the leaders in Teheran a young man of 16, Mirza Gahara, son of the governor of the city, was re- cognized as Bab and took the name of " Eternal Highness." He ordered his followers not to take up arms again until he should give tfite signal. An attempt of three Babists, however, to assassinate the shah in 1852 led to a new persecution. Numbere of the believers were simultaneously executed at Teheran with hor- rible tortures, and among the victims was Gur- ret-ul-Ayn. She was treated at first with re- spect, being of noble rank, but finally, after being forcibly veiled, was sentenced to be burn- ed alive. The executioner, however, smothered her before setting fire to the pile. The Bab himself was not captured. Since that time the Babists, as a secret sect, are supposed to have made great progress in Persia, India, and a part of Turkey. The Babist doctrine asserts the unity of the Godhead, but upon this it engrafts many of the doctrines of the Gnostics and Brah- mins. All beings are emanations from the Deity, and all will at the day of judgment be reabsorbed into the divine personality. The Bab has not revealed the whole truth, but will be followed by a successor who will complete the revelation. The Bab is superior to Mo- hammed, as Mohammed was superior to Jesus. The number 19 is sacred, for the original unity of the Deity consisted of 19 persons, of whom the Bab was the chief. At the death of a prophet or saint, his soul does not quit the earth, but joins itself to some other soul still in the flesh, who carries on his work. Babism enjoins few prayers, and only upon fixed occa- sions. Women are to discard veils, and share in the intercourse of social life. Concubinage and divorce are forbidden, and polygamy is discountenanced, though not absolutely prohib- ited. See Les religions et philosophies dans FAsie centrale (Paris, 1866), by Gobineau, who gives a translation of " The Book of Precepts," the sacred book of the Babists. BABO, Franz Marina TOD, a German dramatist, born at Ehrenbreitstein, Jan. 14, 1756, died in Munich, Feb. 5, 1822. His Otto ton Witteh- bach is, next to Goethe's Goete von Berlichin- gen, the best German historical tragedy. His dramas have been collected in two volumes. (Berlin, 1793-1804.) BABOON, a division of the monkeys of the old world, belonging to the genus cynocephalvs of Ouvier. This genus is characterized by the position of the nostrils at the very end of the muzzle, which is lengthened and truncated; the teeth are 32 in number, as in man, but the canines are remarkably strong, and the last lower molar has a fifth point ; the ridges over the eyes are very distinct, and the occipital crest for the origin of the powerful muscles of the skull and jaws is as large in proportion as in the true carnivora ; the face is lengthened, giving the appearance of that of a dog, whence the generic name, and in the adult is marked with longitudinal furrows. All the species have cheek pouches and callosities. The ba- boons are among the largest of the quadruma- na, and their strength is enormous ; their dis- position is fierce and malignant, and their habits are of the most disgusting character ; they hardly possess a good quality, and are almost always rebellious in confinement and dangerous when at liberty. Their dispositions are exceedingly fickle, and they pass on the slightest provoca- tion from a pleased condition into a paroxysm of rage. In a wild state they are very cun- ning, and when attacked are most dangerous enemies. When trained from their youth, they exhibit a considerable degree of docility ; bnt they can never be trusted. They are semi- terrestrial ; from the nearly equal length of the fore and hind limbs, they run well on the ground, and are also excellent climbers ; their anterior extremities are remarkably powerful. Their food is principally vegetable, consisting of fruits, roots, the tender twigs of plants, and occasionally eggs and young birds ; in a state of captivity they will eat almost anything. In some species the colors are bright, and the fur long and fine, forming a kind of mane on the upper parts. They are generally divided into two groups: the baboons proper, with long tails, the genus cynocephalus of Cuvier; and the mandrills, with short tails, of which Bris- son has made the genus papio. There are six Chacma (Cynocephalus porcarius). well marked species of the former group: 1. The chacma, or pig-faced baboon (O. porcarius, Desm.), is a native of Africa, in the neighbor- hood of the Cape of Good Hope. The color is greenish or grayish black above, palest on the flanks and fore part of the shoulders ; the hair on the neck of the male adult is long, like a mane, whence Geoffrey St. Hilaire's specific name of comatus ; the face and extremities are violet black, paler round the eyes ; the upper eyelids are nearly white ; the tail is long and