RAAB. 628 RABBIT. sphmitt, and etchings after Rembrandt. Van DycU, Albert Cujp, Max, F. A. Kaulbach and Toliy Rosenthal. RAABE, rii'be, Hedwig (1844—). A German actress, born in JIafjdeburg. She began to appear upon the boards in childhood, and at fourteen be- came connected with the Thalia Theatre at Ham- burg, tlien with Wallner's Theatre in Berlin, and in 1804-08 was engaged at the Imperial German Theatre in Saint Petersburg, whence she visited Germany anniuilly on starring tours. Her great success on these occasions induced her to devote herself exclusively to this mode of professional life, in the course of which she also acted in the United States (I88G-87). In 1871 she married Albert Xiemann, the dramatic tenor. Although slip did more tluin full justice to classical roles, her forte lay in the representation of naive parts and the youthful characters of modern French and German comedy. RAABE, WiLHELM (1831 — ). A German humoristic novelist. He was born at Eschers- hausen, Brunswick, September 8, 1831. He first became known as .Jakob Corvinus, the surname be- ing a Latinization of his own. He excels in minute delineation of eccentrics. Characteristic among some forty vohimes are Ein Friihiing (1857), Dcr hcili'ge Bom (1861), Vnsers Eerr- fiotfs Kanslei (18(52. 4th ed. 1901), Dry flungem pastor (1864, I4th ed. 1902), Abii, Telfaii. oder (lie Heimkehr votn MoMlgebirfie (1867, 4th ed. 1901), Dcr Schiidderum]) (1870, 3d ed. 1901), and Horacktr (187ri). RAB AND HIS FRIENDS. A touching short story of a dog by Doctor John Brown, pub- lished in his Borw Huhsecirce in 1855. RABA'NtrS (or Hb.banis) MAURUS (c,77C-8o6). A great ecclesiastic and teacher of the ninth century. He was born at Mainz of noble family about 776. He began his edu- cation at Fulda at an early age. entered the Benedictine Order, and in 801 received deacon's orders. The following year he was sent to con- tinue his studies at Tours, under Aleuin. from whom he received his surname, Glaums, after Saint JIaur, the disciple of Benedict. In 803 he became head of the school at Fulda. which flour- ished greatly under his direction. In 814 he was ordained priest; in 822 be was chosen Abbot of Fulda, and performed his duties with much abil- ity till 842, when he resigned and withdrew to the cloister of Saint Peter to devote himself to literature. In 847 he became Archbishop of Mainz. He died at Winkel on the Rhine, Febru- ary 4, 856. Rabanus took an active part in op- posing GottschalU (q.v.) and his theories about predestination, and also the doctrines of Pascha- sius Radliertus with regard to the Eucharist. His voluminous writings, upon most diverse subjects, include a Latin-German glossary on the Bible, a sort of encyclopiedia, De Vnkerso Libri XXII., commentaries on the books of the Old and Xew Testaments, and poems. They are reprinted in iligne. Patrol. Lot., evii-cvii. His writings on education have been edited in German by Freund- gen (Paderborn, 1889) : his De Instituiionc Cler- icorum Libri III. by Knoepfler (Munich, 1901). For his poems, consult Diinunler. Porta' Lntini JEvi Carolini. vol. ii. (Berlin, 1884), and for his life, Kunstmann (Mainz, 1841), Spengler (Re- gensburg, 1856), and Turuau (Munich, 1900). RABAT, ra-bjit', or New Sallee (also Rebat, Rbat, Aruet, etc). A seaport and fortified town of Jlorocco, situated at the mouth of the Bu Regreg opposite Sallee (Map: Africa, D 1). It has numerous European houses, an arsenal, and a high minaret of the old Hassan Mosque. The town is famous for its manufactures of carpets, mats, cloth, pottery, and Morocco leather. The port is not easily accessible, but there is some foreign trade in olive oil, wool, skins, and bones. Population, 25,000, with 100 Europeans. RABBAH, r:i'b;i. or Rabbath bene Ammon (Heb. Itiilibiilh. bene '.-ImniOn, Rabbah of the Ammonites). The chief city of the Ammonites, known at the present time as Amman. It was east of the .Jordan, about 25 miles northeast of the Dead Sea, in the valley of the .Jabbok. It did not belong to the possessions of the Hebrews, and with the exception of notices in Deut. iii. 11 and .Jer. xiii. 25, is not mentioned till the time of David. It was then attacked by the Israelites and after a long siege was captured by David and Joab (II. Sam. x.-xii.). Later, apparently, it was regained bv the Ammonites (Amos i. lis- 15; Jer. xlix. 2-3:'Ezek. xxi. 20; xxv. 5). Ptole- my II., Philadelphus (B.C. 285-247), captured it, rebuilt it and called it Philadelphia, and for a long time it was a flourishing city. (See Phila- delphia.) There was another Rabbah or Rab- bath in Moab, which was known to the Greeks and Romans, although not mentioned in the Bible ; and still a third in the mountains of Ju- dea ( Jos. xv. CO ) . RABBI (Heb., Aram, rabbi, my lord). An honorary title applied to Jewish te.achers of the law. and, in general, to those versed in the law. In the days of Jesus the title had not yet acquired a strictly technical sense, and is properly to be interpreted in the New Testajnent as a courteous title indicative of respect. Rabboni, which is applied to Jesus in Mark x. 51 anil John xx. 16, has the same force, but implies somewhat more of respect. In later times, in consequence of the dissolution of the temple cult, authority in re- ligious matters fell into the hands of the schol- ars, and the title Rabbi acquired an ofllcial sig- nificance and became restricted to those au- thorized to decide ritualistic and legal questions. This usage arose in Palestine, apparently in the second century; in Bab^dnnia the corresponding title was Rab or Mar. "Through Palestinian in- fluence the usage spread to other countries. Rabbi is still maintained, though not strictly, as the official designation of Jewish ministers ; for- merly it was applied to any scholar, whether en- gaged in the active ministry or not, and this is, in a measure, still the case in Eastern Europe. Consult: Dalman, Die Worle Jcsu (Leipzig, 1898) ; Schiirer, History of the Jewish People, vol. ii. (Eng. trans., Edinburgh, 1886-90). RABBIT (connected with dialectic Pr. ra- botte, ODutch robbe. Dutch rob. rabbit, Ger. Uohbe, seal). A European animal (Ltpus cuni- euliis) of the same genus as the hare, but smaller, and with shorter and more equal liml)s, which differs essentially from all hares in the fact that the young are born blind and almost hairless, and in its gregarious and fossorial habits. The cars of the wild rabbit are only about as long as the head, and show little black at the tips; the fur is grayish-brown, growing whitish on the under part; the tail rather large and conspicuous,
