verse, in the sense of all existence, including all the relations binding everything to everything else, is absolute in this meaning of the word; and the universe alone is absolute. Much of the discussion about the possibility of the absolute has turned upon the ambiguity of the word. So also with the question whether there can be knowledge of the absolute. If by the absolute is meant something that exists in itself apart from all knowledge, and if knowledge is considered as a relation between two independent things, the knower and the known, then knowledge of the absolute is impossible. This is Sir William Hamilton's (q.v.) contention, and also Spencer's (q.v.). If knowledge means exhaustive comprehension of every objective detail within the unity of a single consciousness, and yet if consciousness and its object are not looked on as independent of each other, then absolute knowledge would be possible on the supposition of the existence of a being that sustains all reality within its unchanging consciousness (T. H. Green). If knowledge is not synonymous with exhaustive knowledge, and yet if the object of knowledge is regarded as essentially related to the consciousness that knows, and if such an object also stands in essential relation to every other object, then all knowledge is partial knowledge of the absolute. See Knowledge, Theory of.
ABSOLUTE, Captain. A leading character in Sheridan's The Rivals, the son of Sir Anthony Absolute. He is a young soldier, and the lover of Lydia Languish, to gratify whose unpractical and romantic temperament he makes his suit in the assumed guise of a penniless Ensign Beverley. He thus wins her heart, and proves himself his own successful rival.
ABSOLUTE, Sir Anthony. A celebrated character in Sheridan's comedy of The Rivals. He is a choleric and apparently obstinate old gentleman, who is, however, at bottom entirely kind-hearted. He avows his excessive irritability in the first act: "No, no, Mrs. Malaprop. Jack knows that the least demur puts me in a frenzy." But when finally the lovers in the play are united, he shows himself most jovial and sympathetic.
ABSOLUTE VAL'UE. In the development of mathematics several artificial number systems have been formed, which are used in connection with the primitive system of natural numbers, e.g., negative numbers. — I, — 2, — 3, ...., imaginary numbers. V — 1. V — 2, and
complex numbers, 3 + V~^^, 2 — V^^. The natural number which, multiplied by ( — 1), equals a given negative number, is called the absolute value of the negative number: thus, the absolute value of — 2, expressed | — 2 |, is 2. Similarly, the coefficient of V — 1 in an imaginary number is called the absolute value of the
imaginary number: thus, the absolute value of
V^^ (or V"3" V^^), expressed | V~^^ |, is
V~3. The modulus of a complex number (q.v.)
is called its absolute value; thus, the absolute
value of 3 + V — 2, expressed I 3 + V—
'I. IS
V 3- + ( V^ ^ a usage due to Weierstrass,
ABSOLUTION. The remission of sin and its penalties may be divided into sacramental and canonical — one relating to the forum internum, and constituting the most important part of the
sacrament of penance; the other to the forum ex- ternum and devoted especially to the remission of ecclesiastical censure. Their early history is closely connected, as in the first ages of the Church all grievous public sins incurred the penalty of absolute separation from the assembly of the faithful, and reconciliation could be ob- tained only by undergoing the penance imposed by the Church. The bishops were the chief min- isters of absolution; but the whole body of the faithful ere consulted as to the term of the public penance, since they, as well as God, were injured by the sin. With the gradual decrease of severity and of public penances, absolution was pronounced by the priest immediately after con- fession, if he judged the repentance sincere. Formal excommunication, however, could even in later days be remitted only by public absolution by the bishop or his deputy, and certain sins are still 'reserved' to the same authority for judgment. The power of judicial absolution in the name of God is attributed by Roman Catholics to all priests, on the basis of the commission in John xx. 23; the Protestant churches generally ascribe only a declarative power to their ministers, though the Church of England retains the absolute form in the Order for the Visitation of the Sick. The form of absolution, since none was given by Christ, has varied considerably; the Western Church down to the Twelfth Century, with rare exceptions, and the Eastern churches to the present time employing a deprecatory form ("May Christ absolve thee," etc.), for which the indicative form, Eqo absolvo te, was definitively substituted by the Council of Trent. The difference in form, however, has implied no change in doctrine. See Confession; Penance; Discipline, Ecclesiastical.
ABSOLUTION, Day of. See Good Friday (so called from the ancient practice of emphasizing forgiveness upon that day).
AB'SOLUTISM (Lat. absolutus, complete, unrestricted, from ab, away + solvere, to loosen, free). That system of government in which the supreme power is vested in a ruler unchecked by any constitution or laws. It characterized all the ancient monarchies (a brief period in the case of the Roman Empire excepted), and has prevailed in all Oriental monarchies, down to Japan of a few years ago. The barbarian invasions replaced the absolute monarchy by feudalism in Western Europe, but with the growth of towns and the rise of the commercial classes came the necessity for a strong central government to protect the nation against the feudal barons, and the absolute king once more arose, master of a regular army, uniting in himself the different functions of the national life, religious as well as political. A mild form of absolute monarchy is familiar to the student of English history in the House of Tudor, with its monarchs of strong will and arbitrary methods: but a representative absolute monarch of modern times is better seen in Louis XIV. of France, with his famous assertion, L'état, c'est moi ("I am the state"). The only absolute monarchies existing in Europe now are those of Russia and Turkey.
ABSOR'BENTS. See Lacteals; Lymphatics.
ABSORP'TION (Lat. ab, away + sorbere, to swallow). When certain fluids are brought together the molecules of one mix intimately
