MABINI. 589 MABTJSE. aiiu for a short time acted as Minister of Foreign All airs and head of the Supreme Court. He sur- 1. iilered in 1899, but refused to take the oath of il' :;iance until his return from exile in January, MABINOGION, mab'i-no'gi-on (Welsh, singu- lar inahinoiii, probably derived from mahinog, |iii|.il of a band), The. The title of a series of W.Nh prose tales from the Red Book of Bergest, puMished by Lady Charlotte Guest in 1838. The
ilsh text was accompanied by an English trans-
lation and explanatory notes, and the collection soon became the best-known monument of medis- val Welsh literature. Its contents, however, are far from being homogeneous. The tales differ gieatly in age and subject-matter, part of them standing beside the old Irish sagas as represen- tatives of very early Celtic tradition, while others seem to come from French sources and belong to a higlily developed stage of Arthurian ro- mance. Only a small part of the collection is strictly entitled to be called "Mabinogion* at all. But as a result of Lady Guest's choice of title the term has come to be loosely and inaccurately applied to almost any prose tale of the Middle Welsh period. In the interpretation of the name, as well as in its application. Lady Guest was in error. She took the word mahinogi to mean a 'nursery-tale,' and consequently adapted her trans- lation somewhat to the uses of children: but prob- ably the word comes rather from mahinog (or mrbinog) , 'a literary apprentice,' or a young man who receives instruction from a qualified bard. The mabinogi was apparently the collection of tales which lie was exj)eeted to know and which constituted his stock in trade. In one case, how- ever, it should be said, the term is applied to a tale where it seems to have reference to the age of the hero; the apocryphal "Gospel of the In- fancy" is called Mabinogi Jesu Grist. The four genuine mabinogion, perhaps more accurately to be called the 'four branches of the mabinogi.' are the following: Pugll, Prince of Dyfed : Brnnven, Daughter of Llyr; Manaicyd- dan. Son of Llyr: and Math, Son of Mathoniry. These tales go back, so far as their substance is concerned, to the very earliest period of Welsh tradition. They are even held by some to con- tain a body of material common to the Gaels and Britons, the two great branches of the Celtic world. Arthur and his court are unknown to these ancient tales. Among the remaining tales (not .strictly mabinogion) published by Lady Guest, several contain primitive elements and have been only half adjusted to the conditions of the Arthurian world. An example of this class is the story of Kiilhiceh and 01 wen. The tales of Owen and Lunrt. Peredur ab Efrawc. and fteraint and Enid, on the other hand, are the product of niedi:eval chivalry and are generally held to go back to French originals. The Red Book of Bergest, from which Lady Guest derived her Welsh text of all these tales, is a manuscript of the fourteenth century. But some of the tales are preserved, in whole or in part, in manuscripts of the thirteenth century: and the present opinion is that the collection as a whole was put into its present shape as early as the end of the twelftli century. Certain minor interpolations may be assigned to the fourteenth centurv. The dialect is that of South Wales. BiBUOGRAPiiy. Lady Guest's edition has been superseded in large measure by the more accurate text of Rhys and Evans, The Text of the Mabino- gion and Other Welsh Tales from the Red Book of Hergest (Oxford, 1887), and by the translation of J. Loth, Les .Mabinogion (Paris, 188'J). On the history of the talcs, .see the introductions to the works already cited; and compare Stephens, Literature of the Kymry (London, 1873) ; Rhys, Studies in the Arthurian Legend (Oxford, 1891) ; and a series of articles by E. Anwyl, in the Xeitschrift fiir celtische Philologie, vols. i. and ii. MABLY, ma'ble', Gabriel Boxxot de ( 1709- 8.5) . A French writer, lie was the elder brother of C'ondillac (q.v. ), and was born at Grenoble, March 14, 1709. He was educated for the priest- hood, but resigned the priestly calling, and be- came secretary of his uncle. Cardinal de Tencin, and attached to the bureau of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He was a student of political science, generally from the point of view of the Encyclopipdists ; his theories go beyond Kousseau into a bold communism. Among his discus- sions of such questions should be cited Entretiens de Phocion (1763), and Doutes proposes aux philosophes economistes (1708). In 1784, in a puldication entitled Observations sur Ic gouverne- ment ct les lois des Elats-V nis d'.imerique (Eng. trans., London, 1784), he predicted the early downfall of the United States. In his old age he saw in everything proof that the world was going to the bad, and obtained the surname of 'Prophet of Evil.' He died in Paris, April 23, 1785. His complete works were reprinted, with his life, in twenty-four volumes (Paris, 1797). Consult Guerrier, L'Abbe de Mably, moraliste et politique (Paris, 1880). MABOTJIA, miVboo'ya (Brazilian name). A gecko of the tropical parts of South .Vmerica — Bemidactylus mabouia. See Colored Plate of LlZ.RDS. MABUCHI (1093-1709). A Japanese schol- ar, the first of the three distinguished men of learning ( Motoori and Hirata being the others) who attempted to restore the native faith of Ja- pan, .Shinto, to its original purity. It had long been obscured by Buddhism and the Chinese philosophy when Mabuchi, influenced by a love of antiquity, began his labors. He attacked the foreign faiths and advocated a return also to the social simplicity of ancient times, con- forming his mode of life to his teachings. He first made the ancient poetrv' of .Japan accessible to modern students; and he added greatly to the knowledge of the past. He was a voluminous writer. MABUSE, mA'byz', Jax (c.l470-c.l.541). A Flemish historical anil portrait painter. His real name was Jan Gossaert. but he adopted the name of Mabuse from his native town Maulieuge (Hainault). His early works show the influence of Gherard David and Quintcn Jfassys. In 1513 he was admitted to the guild of painters at . twerp. He was in the service of Philip of Burgtmdy, whom he accompanied to Rome in liiOS. and during a visit of eleven years in Italy he adopted the style of the Italian Renaissance, retaining, however, the Flemish types, color, and minuteness of detail. At the death of Philip, in 1524, he entered the service of Adolphus of Bur-
