ARAFAT, 110UN•, or JEBEL AL (11011111 of „Mercy). A granite hill some twelve miles east of Mecca. According to the Mohammedans, when Adam and Eve were cast forth from Paradise for eating the wheat, which deprived them of their pristine purity, Adam fell at Ceylon, and Eve on Mount Arafat ; and after 11111C11 Avandering,Adam finally joined Eve on this mountain. The mount about two hundred feet high and a mile and a half in circuit. The mount is the real goal of the Sfohammedan pilgrimage to for while the visit to the Kaaba—the sanctuary at SIecea—may he made at Any time. it is known as the "small pilgrimage." The "great pilgrimage,". which ends with a visit to Arafat, can only be made in the month Dhu al-Hijjah. i.e. "month of pilgrimage." The ninth day of this month, the most sacred of the year, is spent by the pilgrims at Arafat, to whiell they proceed in a body on the evening of the eighth day. The day is spent in prayers and in li,tening to a sermon which always lasts many hours. See Burton's account in his Pilgrimage to El-.11cdina and Kaa ba, Mecca and Medina, chapter xxviii. See, also, KAABA ; :MECCA; ISLAM.
ARAGC, French pron. n'ra'giY. DOMINIQUE FRAErOIS (1736-18;i3). A celebrat ed French astronomer and natural philosopher, born at Estagel, near Perpignan, in the Depart ment of Basses-Pyrilmles. At the age of seven teen he entered the Ecole Pol•technique at Paris, where the spirit, promptitude, and vivid intelli gence he exhibited in his answers to the ques tions of Legendre excited the admiration of every one. In 1805 he became secretary to the Bureau des Longitudes at Paris. Two years. afterwards he was engaged, with Biot and, others, by the French Government, to carry out the measurement of an arc of the meridian, which had been commenced by Delambre and MC-chain. Arago and Biot had to extend it from Barcelona to the Balearic Islands. The two savants established themselves on a lofty sum mit near the eastern coast of the Spanish penin sula, where they lived for many months, com munieating by signals across the Mediterranean with their Spanish collaborators in the little isle of iviza. Before Arago completed his cal culations, Riot had returned to Eran•e, and war had broken out between France and Spain. Ara go was now held to be a spy; his signals were interrupted: and with great difficulty he suc ceeded in making his escape to Majorca, where lie voluntarily imprisoned himself in the citadel of Belver. near Palma. At last he obtained his liberty on condition of proceeding to Algiers, which he did; but on his way hack to France was captured by a Spanish cruiser, and sent to the hulks at Palamos. Ale was, however, liber ated after a time and sailed once more for France; but almost as he was entering the port of Marseilles, a tempest arose which drove the vessel across the Mediterranean all the way back to the coast of Africa, landing it at Bougia. He went by land to Algiers, where he was coin pelled to remain about half a year. and whence lie again set out for in the latter part of ,Tune, 1809. After having narrowly escaped another capture by an English frigate, Arago finally found his way to .Alarseilles. As a reward for his sufferings in the cause of science. the Paris Academy of Sciences suspended its standing rules in his favor; and though only twenty-three years of age, he was elected mem ber in the place of Lalande, who had just died, and was, appointed professor of analytical geometry and geodesy in the Ecole Polyteehnique. After
wards, his attention was devoted more to astron omy, magnetism, galvanism, and the polariza tion of light. In 1811 he read before the Aeade my a paper of fundamental importance on chro matic polarization. In 1812 lie began his extraor dinary course of lectures on astronomy, etc., which fascinated all Paris — the savants by their scientific rigor and solidity, the public by their brilliancy of style. In 1816, along with Gay-Lussac, Arago established the Anodes de Mimic et de Physique, and demonstrated the %aiue of the undulatory theory of light. In the same year he visited England, making the ac quaintance of various persons distinguished in science, especially Dr. Thomas Young. In 1818 appeared his Reeueil d'observations /eodcsiques. asfronomiques et physiques. In 1820 he turned his facile and inventive genius into a new chan nel, and made several important discoveries in eleetro-magnetism. Oersted had shown that a magnetic needle was deflected by a voltaie cur rent passing along a wire. Arago pursued the investigation, and found that not only a magnetic needle, but even non-magnetic substanees, such as rods of iron or steel, were subject to deflection, exhibiting during the action of the voltaic cur rent, a positive magnetic power, which, however, ceased with the cessation of the current. Some time after, he demonstrated that a bar of copper. and other non-magnetic metals, when moved cir cularly. exert a noticeable influence on the mag netic needle. For this discovery of the develop ment of magnetism by rotation, he obtained in 1825 the Copley of the Royal Society of London, and in 1834, when he again visited Great Britain, especial honors were paid to him by the friends of science in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Four years previous to this second visit to Great Britain, he was made perpetual secretary of the Academy and director of the observatory, a position which he retained till his death. As secretary of the Academy he wrote his famous e7oges of deceased members, the beauty of which has given him so high a place among,. French prose writers. In politics, too, his career was remarkable. Be was a keen Republican, and took an prominent part in the July Revolution of 1830. In the following year he was elected by Perpignan as member of the Chamber of Deputies, where he occupied a position on the extreme belt. In the February Revolution of 1848, he was chosen a member of the Provisional Government, and appointed minister of war and marine. In this position he resisted the pro posed measures of the Socialist Party, regard ing the Constitution of the United States as the ideal of democracy. His popularity in his .Own department was the means of preventing the discontented population of Basses-Pyriontes from proceeding to lawless and violent measures. He opposed the election of Louis Napoleon to the Presidency, declared himself against the of the new Ministry, and refused to take the oath of allegiance after the coup of 1851. Napoleon. in a letter, paid a high tribute to his talents and virtues, and excused him from taking the oath as director of the observatory. In his general character Arago was sociable, and a brilliant conversationalist. He was the inti mate friend of Alexander von Humboldt. His collected works. edited by Barral, were published in Paris (17 vols.. including .a biography of Arago. 1854-62). Alexander von Humboldt wrote an introduction to the German translation of Amigo's works.