of Liegnitz to the Silesian Diet at Breslau in 1679. Strongly patriotic in tone, he was one of the best known of German seventeenth century poets. He translated the Pastor Fido from the Italian of Guarini. His Poetische Uebersetzungen und Gedichte were published after his death (edited by Christian Gryphius, 1704. Selections also appear in Volume VI. of W. Müller's Bibliothek deutscher Klassiker des siebzehnten Jahrhunderts (1824).
ABSCHIEDS-SYMPHONIE, iip'shets-rfm-
fone' (Ger. "Farewell Symphony"). A symphony
composed by Haydn, dated 1772 on the auto-
graph score. It was written as an appeal to the
Prince Eszterházy to allow the musicians leave
of absence. One after another stopped playing
and left the orchestra, and Haydn's object was
attained through this delicate hint. See Haydn.
ABSCIS'SA. See Analytic Geometry.
ABSCOND'ING (Lat. aba, away + condere,
to put up I . In law, the act of leaving the state
or concealing oneself therein for a fraudulent
purpose, such as hindering, delaying, or defraud-
ing one's creditors. It is not a comuion-law of-
fense for one to go beyond the boundaries of his
country, nor to treat his house as liis castle,
that is, as a place into which an ollicer has no
right to break in order to serve civil process.
I'liit if a debtor went abroad or locked himself
in his house to avoid the service of legal process,
or if he was about to do either with like intent,
the creditor was entitled, upon resorting to the
])roper proceedings, to seize his property. The
rights of creditors against absconding debtors
arc regulated usually by statute. See Arrest; Attachment; Bankrupcy; Insolvency; Limitation of Actions.
AB'SENTEE'. A capitalist, especially a landowner, who derives his income from one country and spends it in another. Ireland offers the classic example of absenteeism and its attendant economic and social evils. A large part of the land is owned by members of the aristocracy, who administer their affairs by agents and rarely visit their possessions. This state of affairs dates in the main from the union with Great Britain and the transfer of Parliament from Dublin to London. It has always been a matter of bitter complaint. It is urged that the system drains Ireland of its wealth and leaves it in poverty. While some writers, notably McCulloch, have considered this complaint fundamentally wrong, there is a general consensus of opinion that absenteeism is hurtful to the economic interests of a region. It removes from the country its natural leaders, those whose wealth creates employment, and whose personal concern in the upbuilding of the country is essential to public welfare. It intensifies the struggle between classes and makes coöperation difficult. It is likely to result in misuse of the land by owners more bent upon securing maximum financial returns than upon maintaining and increasing its earning capacity, while the management of the paid overseer is not tempered by the spirit of noblesse oblige which generally prevails when the landlord is a resident. The voluminous discussion of the Irish question within and out of Parliament teems with references to absenteeism.
ABSENTEE, THE. A story by Maria Edge-
worth (q.v.). published in 1812. It was one of
the series called Tales of Fashionable Life, or
Fashionable Tales.
ABSINTHE, ab'sinth (!•>., from the Gk.
(iil'ivOinv, apsinthion, wormwood). A bitter liquor,
the base of which is an alcoholic solution of cer-
tain essential oils derived from a number of
plants. The chief source is a form of worm-
wood, or absinthium (Artemisia absinthium).
(For illustration, see Plate of Acanthus.) The
leaves and tops of this plant, together with por-
tions of angelica root (Archangelica officinalis),
sweet-flag root (Acorus culamus), dittany
(Cunila mariana), star-anise seeds (Illicium cerum), and other aromatics, are macerated in alcohol for eight days and then distilled. The product is an emerald-colored liquor, to which anise oil is added, and which constitutes the genuine French extrait d'absinthe. Other absinthe of inferior quality is made from various herbs and essential oils, and adulterations are numerous and deleterious. As adulterants, turmeric and indigo, and in some cases sulphate of copper, have been used, chiefly for the production of the green color in the inferior grades. Two kinds of absinthe are known in commerce, common and Swiss; the latter, prepared from highly concentrated spirits, being the more trustworthy. The chief places of manufacture are Neuchâtel in Switzerland and Bordeaux in France. The product is consumed mostly in France, though large quantities are exported to the United States. Absinthe was first used by the French soldiers in the Algerian War (1844-1847), who mixed it with their liquor as a febrifuge, and who later introduced the habit in France. Absinthe-drinking has become in France so great an evil that its use has been prohibited in both the army and navy of that nation.
Absinthe when excessively used gives at first a feeling of exhilarated intoxication. Later the digestive organs are deranged, the appetite destroyed, then thirst, giddiness, ringing in the ears, hallucinations of sight, heavy mental oppression, anxiety, loss of brain power, and idiocy may succeed each other. The use of absinthe induces a condition of alcoholic intoxication plus the poisoning by the essential oils, notably by that known as absinthol, contained in the wormwood. It is doubtful whether the hideous pictures frequently drawn are true to life; they probably represent the extremes. Absinthe is, however, much more intoxicating than the ordinary liquors. Consult Mew and Ashton, Drinks of the World (New York. 1892). See Liqueur; Wormwood; Artemisia.
AB'SOLON. A character in Chaucer's Miller's Tale. He was a parish clerk, who fell in love with the jealous carpenter's wife, but ludicrously failed of his suit.
AB'SOLUTE (Lat. absolutus, brought to a conclusion, final, complete, from absolvere, to loosen from, bring to a close, complete). A term employed in philosophy and theology with various meanings, but in every case in direct antithesis to the term relative. Many theological philosophers speak of God as absolute, meaning thereby that He need stand in no relation to anything distinct from Himself. Absolute means here independent of essential relations to other objects. Herbert Spender speaks of absolute ethics, meaning ethics dealing with a standard that is unchanging, as opposed to the relative ethics of any particular place or time. With the Hegelians absolute means all-inclusive: essential relation is included in such a conception, but merely external relation is excluded: the uni-
