SACHEL
630
RACINE
Liberia (London, 1892); Still. The Underground Railroad
(Philadelphia. 1883); Siebert, The Underground Railroad (New
York, 1898); Gervasls. La Raza Negra (Valladolid, 1901);
Price, De la rehabilitation de la race noire (Port au Prince,
1900); Mebriam, The Negro and the Nation (New York, 1906);
Noble, The Redemption of Africa (New York, 1899); Bbackett,
The Negro in Maryland (Johns Hopkins University, 1889) :
The Ku A7uj Conspiracy. Reports of Trials in United States
Courts (13 vols., Government Printing Office, 1872); Livermore,
Negroes as Slates, Citizens and Soldiers (Boston, 1863); Wilson,
The Black Phalanx: (Hartford, 1892); Twenty-two Years' Work
(Hampton Institute Press, 1893); The Southern Workman,
monthly (Hampton Institute); Kletzinq and Croqman,
Progress of a Race (Atlanta, 1898) ; Baker, Following the Color
Line (New York, 1908); Dubois. The Study of the Negro Problems
(Atlanta University Press); Idem. The Negro Church (Atlanta
University Press) ; Idem. Social and Physical Conditions of
Negroes in Cities (Atlanta University Press. 1897); Hoffman.
Race Traits of the American Negro (New York. 1896); Ashman.
History of the American Colony in Liberia from 18S1 to 1833
(Washington City. 1826); Barrinqer. The Americzn Negro.
His Past and Future (Raleigh, 1900); Archer, Through Afro-
America, an English Reading of the Race Problem (New York,
1910); Lewis, The Prosperity of the South Dependent upon the
Elevation of the Negro (Richmond, 1900); Thomas, The American
Negro (New York, 1901) ; Brtce, Impressions of South Africa
(New York, 1897); Carmichael, Domestic Manners and Social
Conditions of the White, Colored and Negro Populations of the
West Indies (London); Clowes, Black America (London, 1891);
Alexander, History of the Colored Race in America (New Or-
leans. 1887); PnLLEN, Ethiopia in Exile; Jamaica Revisited
(London, 1905).
Joseph Butsch.
Rachel (^nii "^^ ewe"), daughter of Laban and younger sister of Lia. The journey of Jacob to the "east country" (Mesopotamia) in quest of a bride of his own kin, and his providential meeting with Rachel at the well in the open country followed by his introduction into the household of Laban are told with idyllic charm in the twenty-ninth chapter of Genesis. Jacob, being in love with Rachel, agreed to serve her father for her seven years. Laban ac- cepted the proposal, and the seven years seemed to Jacob "but a few days, because of the greatness of his love". He was deceived, however, by Laban, who at the end of the term of service gave him to wife, not Rachel, who "was well favoured, and of a beautiful countenance", but her elder sister Lia, who was "blear-eyed", and Jacob received the younger daughter to wife only on condition of serving seven years more. Rachel, being for a time without off- spring and envious of her sister, to whom four chil- dren were born, gave to Jacob as a secondary wife her handmaid Bala, whose issue, according to a custom of the times, woulci be reckoned as her own. From this union were born Dan and Nephtali. In the quarrel which arose between Jacob and Laban, Rachel as well as Lia sided with the former, and when departing from her father's home she carried away with her the teraphim or household gods, believing in their protecting influence over herself and her husband (Gen., xxxi, 19). Among the sons of Rachel after the "Lord remembered" her were Joseph and Benjamin, in giving birth to the latter of whom Rachel died. At the point of death "she called the name of her son Benoni, that is. The son of my pain: but his father called him Benjamin, that is. The son of the right hand". Rachel was buried "in the high- way that leadeth to Ephrata, this is Bethlehem. And Jacob erected a pillar over her sepulchre: this is the pillar of Rachel's monument, to this day" (Gen., XXXV, 18-20). The exact location of the grave of Rachel is a disputed point. A passage in Jeremias (xxxi, 15) would seem to indicate that it was on the northern border of Benjamin towards Ephraim, about ten miles north of Jerusalem. Tradition, however, hius from at least the fourth century fixed the spot four miles south of Jerusalem and one mile north of Bethlehem.
VioouRODx. Diet, de la Bible, a. v.; von HnMUELACER, Com- ment, in Gen., ch. xxix-xxxv.
James F. Driscoll. Racicot, ZoTiQUE. See Montreal, Archdiocese
Racine, Jean, dramatist, b. at I^a Fert6-Milon, in
the old Duchy of Valois, 20 Dec, 1639; d. in Paris, 21
April, 1699. Left an orphan at a very early age,
his relatives sent him to the College of Beauvais, which
was intimately connected with Port Royal, whither he
went in 1655. Here, though only sixteen years of
age, he made such progress that he not only read
Greek at sight, but wrote odes both in Latin and in
French. In 1658, he entered the College d'Harcourt.
While boarding with his uncle, Nicolas Vitart, he
formed too close an acquaintance with some theatrical
people, and in order to guard him against temptation
his relatives sent him to another uncle, the Abbe
Sesvrin, at Uzes; but failing to obtain any jiosition
there, he returned to Paris in lt)63, where he wrote
two odes which
made him known
to the court. In
1664 his first play,
"La ThC'baide, ou
les Freres enne-
mis", was per-
formed. It was
followed by
"Alexandre", an-
other drama
equally insignifi-
cant. "Andro-
maque", in 1667,
proved a great
success, and was
followed by his
only comedy,
"Les Plaideurs"
(1668). "Britan-
nicus" followed
in 1669, "Bere-
nice" (1670), Je.an Racine
"Bajazet" (1672), "Mithridate" (1673), "Iphig(5nie"
(1674). After the failure of " Phedre" in 1677, Racine
abruptly severed his connexion with the stage, partly
because he was weary of unjust criticism and unfair
rivalry, and partly from conscientious motives. He
remained silent for twelve years, but in 1689, at the
request of Madame de Maintenon, he wrote "Esther",
and "Athalie" in 1691.
Racine's dramas were variously received. " Andro- maque" achieved as great a success as "Le Cid", and deservedly; the author devoted his most delicate and refined art to the portrayal of the most tragic passion. No characters on the French stage are more interesting and attractive than "Hermione", the type of passionate love, and "Andromaque", of maternal. His comedy, "Les Plaideurs", inspired by the "Wasps" of Aristophanes, failed at first, but, being applauded by Louis XIV, it subsequently met with great favour. " Britannicus " was called by Voltaire la piece dcs comioisseurs. "Berenice" was written in competition with a play on the same subject by Corneille, which it far surpassed. His two tragedies on Oriental subjects, "Bajazet" and "Mithridate", do not breathe the Oriental spirit. "Iphigenie" is full of pathos. "Phedre", which may dispute with "Andromaque" and "Athalie" the title of Racine's masterpiece, was represented at the Hotel de Bourgognc, wliile the "Phedre" of Pradon was performed by the king's actors. PYom the first, Racine had been bitterly opposed by various cabals, whom his success and his sarcasm had irri- tated. His own "Phedre" was a failure, while Pradon's triumphed. He now ceased all dramatic work, married, and became very pious, devoting himself entirely to domestic life and to his duties as royal historiographer. In the remaining twenty years of his life he WTote only two jilays. Madame de Maintenon, who had estal)lishcd an iii.slitutinn at Saint-Cyr for the education of poor girls of noble
