The Nuttall encyclopædia

Chapter C

CAABA, an ancient Arab temple, a small square structure in the grand mosque of Mecca, with a mysterious black stone, probably an aerolite, built in it, on which all pilgrims who visit the shrine imprint a kiss; "the Keblah of all Moslem, the eyes of innumerable praying men being turned towards it from all the quarters of the compass five times a day."

CABAL`, a secret intriguing faction in a State, a name applied to a junto of five ministers of Charles II. in power from 1668 to 1673, the initials of whose names go to make up the word; their names were Clifford, Ashley, Buckingham, Arlington, and Lauderdale; derived from CABALA (q. v.).

CAB`ALA, a secret science alleged to have been divinely imparted to Moses and preserved by tradition, by means of which the Rabbis affected to interpret the pretended mystic sense of the words, letters, and very accents of the Hebrew Scriptures, a science which really owes its existence to a dissatisfaction in the rabbinical mind with the traditional literal interpretation, and a sense that there is more in Scripture than meets the ear. The name comes from a Hebrew word suggesting "to receive," and denotes "that which is received" or tradition.