RANUNCULACEiE 431 RAPHAEL themselves "Seekers," the members maintaining that they were seeking for the true Church and its ordinances, and the Scriptures, which were lost. The name "Ranters" is also applied to the Primitive Methodists, who formed them- selves into a society in 1810, and who were in favor of street preaching. RANUNCULACE-ffi, crowfoots ; an order of hypogynous exogens. Herbs, rarely shrubs, leaves often much divided, with dilated, half-clasping petioles, often with processes like stipules. Flow- ers typically polypetalous, large, gaily- colored, sometin-ves apetalous, but with colored sepals. Found in cold damp places in Europe, North America, etc. They are acrid, and often poisonous. Tribes: Clematese, Anemonese, Ranuncu- leae, Helleboreae, and Actaeeae. RANUNCULUS, buttercup, crowfoot; the typical genus of the order Ranun- cidaceae. Sepals five, rarely three, cadu- cous; petals five, or more, or wanting, glandular at the base; stamens many; fruit of many achenes, each with one ascending seed. Known species about 160, from temperate regions. R. scele- ratus was formerly used by beggars to create artificial sores; it is poisonous when raw, but is eaten boiled by the Wallachians. The juice of R. thora was used by the Swiss hunters to envenom their javelins. R. glacialis is a power- ful sudorific. Many species are very beautiful, and are cultivated in gardens. RAP, familiar in the phrase "not a rap," a counterfeit Irish coin of the time of George I., which passed for a half- penny, though not really worth a fourth of that value. There was also a small Swiss coin called "rappen," worth a cen- time. RAPE, in law, carnal knowledge of a woman by force against her will. Con- sent obtained by duress or threats of murder is nugatory. Rape is a felony punishable with imprisonment for life, or for a term of years, or with death. RAPE, two species of Brassica. Summer rape is B. campestris, and win- ter rape B. napiis. Sir J. Hooker re- gards the latter as a sub-species of the former, and the turnip as another sub- species. B. campestris proper has the root tuberous, the radical leaves hispid. It is the Swedish turnip. B. iiapus, the rape properly so called, has the root fusiform, and the leaves all glabrous and glaucous. It is cultivated as a salad plant, and is sometimes also used in lieu of greens. Sometimes it is called also cole seed. RAPE CAKE, a hard cake formed by pressure of the seeds and husks of rape after the oil has been expressed. It is used for feeding cattle and sheep, and also has a high reputation as a rich manure. RAPHAEL, RAFFAELLO SANZIO, or SANTI D'URBINO, the gieatest of modern painters, and head of the Roman school; born in Urbino, Italy, March 28, 1483. He received his earliest instruc- tions from his father, Giovanni Santi, after whose death, in 1494, he became the pupil of Perugino. In 1504 he visited Florence, and chiefly lived there till 1.508, when he was called to Rome by Pope Julius II., and employed to paint the stanze (chambers) of the Vatican. Raphael spent the rest of his short life at Rome, where he formed a numerous school of painters, among whom the most eminent were Giulio Romano, Gian Fran- cesco Pennis, Pierino del Vaga, Polidoro da Caravaggio, and Garofalo. In the RAPHAEL numerous works, frescoes, and oil paint- ings of this unrivaled master, three styles are distinctly recognizable. The first is the "Peruginesque," in which sentiment predominates, and was the pure imitation of his master's manner. The second is the "Florentine," marked by a great advance in respect to form and dramatic composition; it was the result of his studies at Florence; where he was impressed by the cartoons; of Leonardo da Vinci and Michael Angelo, and the works of Masaccio, Francia, and
