— from similar tliiiif;:-, ami tluit one of those schematic- images is suiruiciit to fall up a larj;e number of more concrete (unohliterateil) ideas whenever an appropriate incentive is given. ( .See Association of Ideas. ) Consult : R. H. l.otze, Logic (Oxford, 1888) : W. .lames, I'linci- ples of I'sijrholoyy (Xew York, 1890).
AB'STRACT OF TI'TLE. A brief and or-
derly -tat'^iiuiit ill xvritinr; of the successive con-
veyances and other events throu^'h wli-ich a per-
son claiming to own a parcel of land derives his
title. A purchaser or mort<ragee of real prop-
erty is entitled — by law in England, liy custom
in the I'nited States — to receive such an abstract
from the vendor or mortgagor in ailvance of the
consummation of the transaction, and it there-
upon becomes the basis of the examination of
title (q.v.), which it is the duty of the solicitor
or attorney of the purchaser to make. X perfect
abstract should furnish a complete history of the
title sought to be transferred, showing not only
the origin and nature of the vendor's interest,
but also all incumbrances and other interests — •
such as mortgages, easements, recorded judg-
ments, trusts, etc. — which afTect his title. In
England, where the practice of i-ecor<Iing deeds
does not generally obtain, the abstract is based
upon the title deeds (q.v.), which are carefully
preserved and transmitted with each transfer of
the estate: while in the United States the pub-
lic records of conveyances are the principal, but
not the exclusive, source of the information upon
which the maker of the abstract proceeds. (See
Recording of Deeds.) Consult: Warvelle, .4.
Practical Treatise on Abstracts and Exumina-
lions of Titles to Heal Property (Chicago, 18!)2) ;
and also Warvelle, A Treatise on (he American
Lair of 'cndor and Purchaser of Real Property
(Chicago. 1!)02) ; Comyns, On Abstracts of Title
(London, IS'.I.t).
ABSUR'DTJM, Redi'CTIO ad (Lat. a reduc-
ing to an al)sindity) . The method of proving a
truth by showing that to suppose the proposition
untrue would lead to a contradiction or absur-
dity.
ABSYR'TUS (Gk. 'A^i'prof, Ap.iyrtos).
In tin- legend of the Argonautie expedition (see
Argo.n.itsi , the younger brother of ifedeii.
She carried him off with her when she fled
with .Tason from Colchis, and, according to the
common version of the story, deterred her pur-
suing parent, ,Eetes, by cutting the boy in pieces
and scattering his body on the sea for his father
to gather up.
ABT, apt. Fraxz (1819-8.5). A German song
writer and nuisical conductor. He was horn at
Eilenburg and sent to the Thomasschule at
Leipzig to be educated. Here he met Men-
delssohn, who is said to have persuaded him to
follow a musical career. He was appointed
kapellmeister at the court theatre of Bernburg
in 1841, hut soon relinquished this position for
a similar one at Ziirich, where he remained for
eleven years, obtaining great ])opuIarify ;is a
teacher, composer, and leader of singing socie-
ties. He was called to Brunswick in 1S.")2 as
second musical director at the court theatre,
was appointed court kapellnu'ister in 18.5.T, and
pensioned in 1881. He came to the United
States in 1872 at the invitation of several
choral societies, and everywhere nu't with a cor-
dial reception. Abt was a prolific coniposer. and
at the time of his death had publishcil nearly (iOO
hooks (Hefte), some of them containing from
twenty to thirty numbers. He belongs to that
group of composers which includes Truhn,
Kiicken, and (iumliert. His vocal compositions
are remarkable for their simplicity and clearness
of melodic construction. Among these may be
nu'utioncd: Uchh die Schitalben heimuvirts
zich'ii ("When the Swallows Homeward Fly") :
(lute acht. dit mein herziyes Kind ("Good
Night, My Child") : Srhtaf irohl, du siisser Engel
("Sleep Well, Sweet .Xngcl") : I.eiichtendes Augi
("Marie, or, When I Am Near Thee").
ABU, ii'boo. One of tAe Aravulli mountains
(q.v.l, India, over fiOOO feet high. It is held
in high esteem by the .lainas and is celebrated
for its two magnificent temples of white marble,
sujiposed to have been built in the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries, and considered the finest
specimens of Indian architecture.
ABU, ii'boo. The Arabic word for "father,"
«hich in modern Arabic often becomes abbrevi-
ated to lin. It is prefixed to many Arabic proper
names, as the equivalent syllable Ab is prefixed
to Hebrew names. Example: Abu-hekr, cu' more
properly, .buhakr. the 'father of Bakr.' But Abii.
like tlie ?lclirc« .b. often is not to be interi)reted
literally, but signifies possessor, or is >ised to in-
dicate even more generally the notion of fullness,
largeness, and the like: as in Abulfeda, "possessor
of devotion," "the devoted one;" Abner, "the liril-
liant one," literally "father or possessor pf light."
ABU-BEKR, !i'bor;-bckr (his original name
was 'abd al-Ka'bah ibn Abi Kuhafah) (570-ti34).
The first caliiih, father-in-law of Mohammed.
He was a man of great influence in the Koreish
tribe. In ()32, when Mohammed died, he was
made caliph, or successor of the Prophet. After
defeating his enemies in .Vrahia. and warring suc-
cessfully against Persia and the Byzantine Em-
peror Heraclius, .Xbu-bekr died (Ij:i4 A.D.) and
was buried at Jledina. near the remains of Mo-
hanuncd and the Prophet's wife .Vyeshah (q.v.).
ABU-BEKR MOHAMMED IBN TOPHAIL, a'liT7o-liekr mo ham'miVl 'b'u to'fa-el
(linnS.T). . famous .rabic physician, mathe-
matician, poet, and philosopher. He was born
in Andalusia an<l died in Morocco. His chief
extant philosophical work is entitled Hai ibn
Yalczan, "the Living, the Son of the Awake." It
depicts the natural progressive development of
the human faculties in a Robinson Crusoe horn on
an island till nature and (iod are known. To
secure this comnninion. positive religion is vahf-
able for the vulgar, but religious doctrines are
only exoteric presentations of the mystic truth.
The name of the hero and the subject are bor-
rowed from Ibn Sina (Avicenna). with this dif-
ference, that while Ibn Sina's hero possesses a
supernatural intellect, that of Ibn Tophail per-
sonifies a man of ordinary faculties. Later
translations: Francisco Pons Bsigues (Saragos-
sii. limO). and L.'on (i:uiticr (Algiers, H100 ) .
- s8 ##
ABU-BEKR MOHAMMED AL-RAZI, Ulrii'zc. Sic Kmazks.
ABU-HASSAN, irboo-hiis'iin, surnamed The Wag. The hero of The f?leeper Aicakened, one of the stories of the Arabian Xiyhts. He was a citizen of Bagdad who entertained the Calijih unawares and as a result met with several interesting experiences, finally becoming the trusted friend and favorite of the Caliph.
