RABELAIS, FRANCOIS, great French humorist, born at Chinon, the son of a poor apothecary; was sent to a convent at nine; became a Franciscan monk; read and studied a great deal, but, sick of convent life, ran away at forty years of age; went to Montpellier, and studied medicine, and for a time practised it, particularly at Lyons; here he commenced the series of writings that have immortalised his name, his “Gargantua” and “Pantagruel,” which he finished as cure of Meudon, forming a succession of satires in a vein of riotous mirth on monks, priests, pedants, and all the incarnate solecisms of the time, yet with all their licentiousness revealing a heart in love with mankind, and a passionate desire for the establishment of truth and justice among men (1495-1553).

RACES OF MANKIND.  These have been divided into five, the CAUCASIAN (q. v.) or Indo-European, the Mongolian or Yellow, the Negro or Black, the Malayan or Tawny, and the India or Copper-coloured.

RACHEL, ELIZA, a great French tragedienne, born in Switzerland, of Jewish parents; made her debut in Paris in 1838, and soon became famous as the interpreter of the principal characters in the masterpieces of Racine and Corneille, her crowning triumph being the representation, in 1843, of Phedre in the tragedy of Racine; she made a great impression wherever she appeared, realised a large fortune, and died of decline (1821-1858).

RACINE (21), a flourishing city of Wisconsin, U.S.A., capital of Racine County, at the entrance of Root River into Lake Michigan, 62 m.  N. of Chicago; has an Episcopal university:  trades in lumber, flax, and the products of various factories.

RACINE, JEAN, great French tragic poet, born at La Ferte Milon, in the dep. of Aisne; was educated at Beauvais and the Port Royal; in 1663 settled in Paris, gained the favour of Louis XIV. and the friendship of Boileau, La Fontaine, and Moliere, though he quarrelled with the latter, and finally lost favour with the king, which he never recovered, and which hastened his death; he raised the French language to the highest pitch of perfection in his tragedies, of which the chief are “Andromaque” (1667), “Britannicus” (1669), “Mithridate” (1673), “Iphigenie” (1774), “Phedre” (1677), “Esther” (1688), and “Athalie” (1691), as well as an exquisite comedy entitled “Les Plaideurs” (1669); when Voltaire was asked to write a commentary on Racine, his answer was, “One had only to write at the foot of each page, beau, pathetique, harmonieux, admirable, sublime” (1639-1699).

RACK, an instrument of torture; consisted of an oblong wooden frame, fitted with cords and levers, by means of which the victim’s limbs were racked to the point of dislocation; dates back to Roman times, and was used against the early Christians; much resorted to by the Spanish Inquisition, and also at times by the Tudor monarchs of England, though subsequently prohibited by law in England.

RADCLIFFE (20), a prosperous town of Lancashire, on the Irwell, 7 m.  NW. of Manchester; manufactures cotton, calico, and paper; has bleaching and dye works, and good coal-mines.