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pitality on the part of those who, having committed | the revered form of our Saviour and the well-known homicide, were admitted to the house and table of the symbol of his religion might forcibly offer themselves prince, who consented to perform the rites by which the guilt of the offender was supposed to be removed. | The extremest case is given, by making Ixion, that is, the Suppliant, and the first shedder of kindred blood, as he is expressly called (the Cain of Greece), act with such base ingratitude towards the king of the gods himself, who, according to the simple earnestness of early mythology, is represented, like an earthly prince, receiving his suppliant into his house or at his board. The punishment inflicted was suited to the offence, and calculated to strike with awe the minds of the hearers.—(Keightley's Mythology, p. 314, seq.)

L.

LABARUM, the sacred banner or standard, borne before the Roman emperors in war from the time of Constantine. It is described as a long pike intersected by a transverse beam. A silken veil, of a purple colour, hung down from the beam, and was adorned with precious stones, and curiously inwrought with the images of the reigning monarch and his children. The summit of the pike supported a crown of gold, which enclosed the mysterious monogram at once expressive of the figure of the cross, and the two initial letters (X and P) of the name of Christ. (Lipsius, de Cruce, lib. 3, c. 15.) The safety of the Labarum was intrusted to fifty guards of approved valour and fidelity. Their station was marked by honours and emoluments ; and some fortunate accidents soon introduced an opinion, that, as long as the guard of the Labarum were engaged in the execution of the office, they were secure and invulnerable among the darts of the enemy. In the second civil war Licinius felt and dreaded the power of this consecrated banner, the sight of which, in the distress of battle, animated the soldiers of Constantine with an invincible enthusiasm, and scattered terror and dismay through the adverse legions. Eusebius (Vit. Const., 1. 2, c. 7, seqq.) introduces the Labarum before the Italian expedition of Constantine; but his narrative seems to indicate that it was never shown at the head of an army till Constantine, above ten years afterward, declared himself the enemy of Licinius and the deliverer of the church. The Christian emperors, who respected the example of Constantine, displayed in all their military expeditions the standard of the cross; but when the degenerate successors of Theodosius had ceased to appear in person at the head of their armies, the Labarum was deposited as a venerable but useless relic in the palace of Constantinople. Its honours are still preserved on the medals of the Flavian family. Their grateful devotion has placed the monogram of Christ in the midst of the ensigns of Rome. The solemn epithets of "safety of the republic," "glory of the army," ," "restoration of public happiness," are equally applicable to the religious and military trophies; and there is still extant a medal of the Emperor Constantius, where the standard of the Labarum is accompanied with these memorable words, "By this sign thou shalt conquer."-The history of this standard is a remarkable one. A contemporary writer (Cæcilius) affirms, that in the night which preceded the last battle against Maxentius, Constantine was admonished in a dream to inscribe the shields of his soldiers with the celestial sign of God, the sacred monogram of the name of Christ; that he executed the commands of Heaven, and that his valour and obedience were rewarded by a decisive victory at the Milvian bridge. The dream of Constantine may be naturally explained either by the enthusiasm or the policy of the emperor. While his anxiety for the approaching day, which must decide the fate of the empire, was suspended by a short and interrupted slumber,

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to the active fancy of a prince who reverenced the name, and had, perhaps, secretly implored the power, of the God of the Christians. As readily, on the other hand, might a consummate statesman indulge himself in the use of one of those military stratagems, one of those pious frauds, which Philip and Sertorius had employed with such art and effect. The account given by Eusebius, however, is different from this. According to his statement, Constantine is reported to have seen with his own eyes the luminous trophy of the cross placed above the meridian sun, and inscribed with the following words in Greek, "By this, conquer. This appearance in the sky astonished the whole army, as well as the emperor himself, who was yet undetermined in the choice of a religion; but his astonishment was converted into faith by the vision of the ensuing night. Our Saviour appeared before his eyes, and displayed the same celestial sign of the cross, directing Constantine to frame a similar standard, and to march, with an assurance of victory, against Maxentius and all his enemies. (Gibbon, Decline and Fall, ch. 20, vol. 3, p. 256, seqq.)—The form of the Labarum and monogram may be seen, as we have already said, on the medals of the Flavian family. The etymology of the term itself has given rise to many conflicting opinions. Some derive the name from labor; others, from evλábɛia, “reverence;" others, from haμbávɛiv, "to take;" and others, again, from 2úpupa, "spoils." A writer in the Classical Journal assigns the following derivation; he makes Labarum to be, like S. P. Q. R., only a notatio, or combination of initials to represent an equal number of terms; and thus, L. A. B. A. R. V. M. will stand for "Legionum aquila Byzantium antiquâ Româ urbe mutavit." (Class. Journ., vol. 4. p. 233.)

LABDACIDES, a name given to Edipus as descended from Labdacus.

LABDACUS, a son of Polydorus by Nycteïs, the daughter of Nycteus, king of Thebes. His father and mother died during his childhood, and he was left to the care of Nycteus, who, at his death, left his kingdom in the hands of Lycus, with orders to restore it to Labdacus as soon as of age. On succeeding to the throne, Labdacus, like Pentheus, opposed himself to the religion of Bacchus, and underwent a similar fate. He was father to Laius, and his descendants were called Labdacidæ. (Vid. Laïus.)

LABDALON, a hill near Syracuse, forming part of Epipola. It was fortified by the Athenians in their contest with Syracuse. (Thucyd., 6, 97.—Compare Goller, de Situ et Origine Syracusarum, p. 53, seqq.)

LABEATES, a people of Dalmatia, in the lower part, whose territory constituted the principal portion of the dominions of Gentius. His capital was Scodra. In the country of the Labeates was the Labeatus Palus, now the Lake of Scutari. (Liv., 43, 19.-Id., 44, 31.-Plin., 3, 22.)

LABEO, a surname common to several distinguished Roman far ilies, such as the Asconii, Antistii, Atinii, Cethegi, &c. It is derived from labium, and denotes literally one who is thick-lipped. (Charis., 1, p. 79.— Putsch., ex Verr. Flacc.) Among the individuals who bore this name, the following were the most noted. I. Antistius. (Vid. Antistius Labeo.)-II. Q. Fabius, was distinguished as a commander, but was regarded as devoid of generosity and good faith towards the vanquished. He obtained a naval victory over the Cretans, and enjoyed the honours of a triumph. In the year 183 B.C. he was created consul along with CI. Marcellus, and commanded the army stationed in Liguria. Cicero relates a curious anecdote of his want of principle, when chosen umpire between the inhabitants of Neapolis and Nola, on the subject of their respective boundaries, (Off., 1, 10.) It is

said also that Labeo, having gained a victory over An- |
tiochus, compelled him to consent to cede unto the
Romans the one half of his fleet, and that, taking ad-
vantage of the equivocal meaning of the words in the
treaty, he caused all the vessels to be sawed in two.
(Val. Max., 7, 3.) Labeo is said to have been of a
literary turn, and to have aided Terence in the com-
position of his comedies. (Vid. Terentius.)-III.
Attius, a wretched poet in the time of Perseus. He
is ridiculed by the latter on account of a wretched ver-
sion which he had made of the Iliad, but which, never-
theless, had found favour with Nero and his courtiers.
(Pers., Sat, 1, 50.-Schol., ad loc.)

LABERIUS, DECIMUS, a Roman knight of respectable character and family, who was famed for his talent in writing mimes, in the composition of which fanciful productions he occasionally amused himself. He was at length requested by Julius Cæsar to appear on the stage, and act the mimes which he had sketched or written. (Macrob., Sat., 2, 7.) Laberius was sixty years of age when this occurrence took place. Aware that the entreaties of a perpetual dictator are nearly equivalent to commands, he reluctantly complied; but, in the prologue to the first piece which he acted, he complained bitterly to the audience of the degradation to which he had been subjected. The whole prologue, consisting of twenty-nine lines, which have been preserved by Macrobius, is written in a fine vein of poetry, and with all the high spirit of a Roman citizen. It breathes in every verse the most bitter and indignant feelings of wounded pride, and highly exalts our opinion of the man, who, yielding to an irresistible power, preserves his dignity while performing a part which he despised. It is difficult to conceive how, in this frame of mind, he could assume the jocund and unrestrained gayety of a mime, or how the Roman people could relish so painful a spectacle. He is said, however, to have represented the feigned character with inimitable grace and spirit. But in the course of his performance he could not refrain from expressing strong sentiments of freedom and detestation of tyranny. In one of the scenes he personated a Syrian slave; and, while escaping from the lash of his master, he exclaimed,

"Porro, Quirites, libertatem perdidimus ;" and shortly after he added,

referred to, these remains are too inconsiderable and detached to enable us to judge of their subject or merits. It would appear that he occasionally dramatized the passing follies or absurd occurrences of the day; for Cicero, writing to the lawyer Trebonius, who expected to accompany.Cæsar from Gaul to Britain, tells him he had better return to Rome quickly, as a longer pursuit to no purpose would be so ridicu lous a circumstance, that it would hardly escape the drollery of that arch fellow Laberius. (Ep. ad Fam., 7, 11.) According to Aulus Gellius (16, 7), Laberius had taken too much license in inventing words; and that author also gives various examples of his use of obsolete expressions, or such as are only employed by the lowest dregs of the people. (Dunlop's Roman | Literature, vol. 1, p. 552, seqq.)

LABICUM, a town of Italy, about fifteen miles from Rome, between the Via Prænestina and the Via Latina. (Strabo, 237.) A great difference of opinion, however, exists as to its actual site. Cluverius erroneously supposes it to coincide with the modern Zagarolo. Holstenius, after à careful examination of the subject, decides in favour of the height on which the modern town of Colonna stands (ad Steph. Byz., p. 194), and his opinion is strengthened by the discovery of several inscriptions near Colonna, in which mention is made of Labicum. (Cramer, Anc. It., vol. 2, p. 75.)

LABIENUS, I. one of Cæsar's lieutenants in the Gallic war. In the beginning of the civil war he left Cæsar for Pompey (B. Civ., 3, 13), escaped from the battle of Pharsalia, and was killed in that at Munda. (B. Hisp., c. 31.) Labienus appears to have parted with almost all his former success on abandoning the side of his old commander. A detailed biography of this officer is given in the Biographie Universelle (vol. 23, p. 22, seqq.)—II. A son of the preceding, who inherited all his father's hatred to the party of Cæsar. After the defeat of Brutus and Cassius, he refused to submit to the triumvirs, and retired to Parthia, where he was invested with a military command, and proved very serviceable to his new allies in their contests with the Romans. He was made prisoner in Cilicia, and probably put to death. Labienus caused medals to be struck, having on the obverse his head, with this legend, Q. Labienus Parthicus Imper., and, on the reverse, a horse caparisoned after the Parthian manner. (Rasche, Lex. Rei Numism., vol. 4, col. 1402.)

LABRĂDEUS, a surname of Jupiter in Caria. The name was derived, according to Plutarch, from λábρvç, the Lydian term for a hatchet, which the statue of Jove held in its hand, and which had been offered up by Arselis of Mylassa from the spoils of Candaules, king of Lydia. (Plut., Quæst. Gr., p. 301.-Op., ed. Reiske, vol. 7, p. 205.)

LABRONIS PORTUS, or Portus Herculis Liburui, a harbour of Etruria, below the mouth of the Arnus. It is now Livorno, or, as we pronounce the name, LegCicero calls it Portus Labronis (ad Q. frat., 2, 6.-Compare Zos., Ann., 5), but the other is the more usual appellation.

"Necesse est multos timeat quem multi timent,” on which the whole audience turned their eyes toware Cæsar, who was present in the theatre. (Macroh., l. c.) It was not merely to entertain the people, who would have been as well amused with the representation of any other actor; nor to wound the private feeling of Laberius, that Cæsar forced him on the stage. His sole object was to degrade the Roman knighthood, to subdue their spirit of independence and honour, and to strike the people with a sense of his unlimited sway. This policy formed part of the same sys-horn. tem which afterward led him to persuade a senator to combat among the ranks of gladiators. Though Laberius complied with the wishes of Cæsar in exhibiting himself on the stage, and acquitted himself with ability as a mimetic actor, it would appear that the dictator had been hurt and offended by the freedoms which he used in the course of the representation, and, either on this or some subsequent occasion, bestowed the dramatic crown on Publius Syrus in preference to the Roman knight. Laberius submitted with good grace to this fresh humiliation; he pretended to regard it merely as the ordinary chance of theatric competition He did not long survive, however, this double mortification, but retired from Rome, and died at Puteoli about ten months after the assassination of Cæsar. (Chron. Euseb., ad Olymp. 184.) The titles and a few fragments of forty-three of the Mimes of Laberius are still extant; but, excepting the prologue already

LABYNETUS, a king of Babylon, mentioned by Herodotus (1, 74). He is supposed to have been the same with Nebuchodonosor. (Wesseling et Bähr, ad Herod., l. c.)

LABYRINTHUS, a name given to a species of structure, full of intricate passages and windings, so that, when once entered, it is next to impossible for an individual to extricate himself without the assistance of a guide. The origin of the term will be considered at the close of the article. There were four very famous labyrinths among the ancients, one in Egypt, near the Lake Maris, another in Crete, a third at Lemnos, and a fourth near Clusium in Italy.-I. The Egyptian. This was situate in Lower Egypt, near Lake Maris, and in the vicinity of Arsinoë or Crocodilopolis. The accounts which the ancient writers

art.

30 degrees, or exactly one celestial sign; so that the 3000 chambers of the labyrinth indicated symbolically the precession of the equinoxes for each sign of the zodiac, or, in astrological phraseology, the change of dwelling on the part of the gods, and their advance to a new palace or abode. Still farther, as the full period of the wandering of the soul from the body amounted to exactly 3000 years, the 3000 chambers of the labyrinth had also a symbolical reference to this particular article of Egyptian faith.-(For other views on this interesting subject, consult Zoega, de Obelisc., p. 418, not. 10.

con

cher, ad Herod., l. c.-Bähr, ad Herod., l. c.-Id.,
Excurs. X., ad Herod., vol. 1, p. 918, seqq.-De-
script. de l'Egypte Anc., vol. 2, ch. 17, sect. 3, p. 32,
seqq.-Mannert, Geogr., vol. 10, pt. 1, p. 430.-Le-
tronne, in Nouv. Ann. des Voyages, par Eyriè et
Malte-Brun, vol. 6, p. 133, seqq.)-As regards the
name Labyrinth itself, much diversity of opinion ex-
ists. They who make it a term of Grecian origin,
derive it àñò rov μǹ habɛiv dúpav, from its diffi-
culty of egress; or from λúbw,
"to seize" or
fine," with reference to the Cretan labyrinth. Others,
finding in Manetho that an Egyptian king, named La-
chares or Labaris, had erected the structure in ques-
tion, make the term labyrinth equivalent to "the abode
of Labaris. (Beck, l. c.-Jablonsk., Voc. Egypt., p.
123.-Te Water, ad loc., p. 125, not. r.) Jablonski
himself, adopting the opinion that the labyrinth was
the work of many kings in succession, makes the
name signify" the work of many," or "of a great mul-
titude," and thinks that the labourers employed on it
were Israelites. The latest etymology is that of Sickler,
who makes the name labyrinth equivalent to the Hebrew
Lavah-Biranith, i. e., "cohæsit arx," for cohærens arx,
"the connected fortress or palace!" (Handbuch, der
Alt. Geogr., p. 797.)-The position of the Egyptian
labyrinth is clearly indicated by the words of Herodo-
tus, ὀλίγον ὑπὲρ τῆς λίμνης τῆς Μοίριος, “ a little above
the Lake Maris," so that D'Anville is evidently in
error when he speaks of two labyrinths in Egypt.
Zoega thinks that Paul Lucas discovered in 1714 the
remains of the ancient labyrinth at Kesr-Caron (de
Obelisc., p. 418, not. 10.-Paul. Luc., Voyage en
1714, vol. 2, p. 262). This, however, is erroneous.
The ruins at Kesr-Caron are merely those of some
temples. (Descrip. de l'Egypte An., 1. c.) It is
more probable that the remains of the labyrinth must
be sought for near the village of Haouárah, where a
canal joins the Lake Maris, and where a pyramid is
still to be seen. Vast piles of rubbish are here to be
seen, and the destruction is supposed to be owing to
the Arabs, who may have thought that treasures were
concealed under ground here. (Ritter, Erdkunde, vol.
1, p. 810, seqq.-Revue Francaise, 1829, Jano., p.
70.-Von Hammer, Wien. Jahrb., vol. 45 (1829), p.
31.)-II. For an account of the Cretan, Etrurian, and
Lemnian labyrinths, consult the articles Minotaurus,
Porsenna, and Lemnos respectively.

give of it are very different from each other. Herod- | 46" per year. Hence in 3000 years it amounts to otus, who saw the structure itself, assigns to it twelve courts. (Herod., 2, 148.) Pliny, whose description is much more highly coloured and marvellous than the former's, makes the number sixteen (Plin., 36, 19); while Strabo, who, like Herodotus, beheld the very structure, gives the number of courts as twenty-seven. (Strab., 810.) The following imperfect sketch, drawn from these different sources, may give some idea of the magnitude and nature of this singular structure. A large edifice, divided, most probably, into twelve separate palaces, stretched along with a succession of splendid apartments, spacious halls, &c., the whole-Beck, Anleit. zu Weltgesch., vol. 1, p. 721.--Laradorned with columns, gigantic statues, richly carved hieroglyphics, and every other appendage of Egyptian With the north side of the structure were connected six courts, and the same number with the southern. These were open places surrounded by lofty walls, and paved with large slabs of stone. Around these courts ran a vast number of the most intricate passages, lower than the corresponding parts of the main building; and around all these again was thrown a large wall, affording only one entrance into the labyrinth; while at the other end, where the labyrinth terminated, was a pyramid forty fathoms high, with large figures carved on it, and a subterraneous way-leading within. According to Herodotus, the whole structure contained 3000 chambers, 1500 above ground, and as many below. The historian informs us, that he went through all the rooms above the surface of the earth, but that he was not allowed by the Egyptians who kept the place to examine the subterraneous apartments, because in these were the bodies of the sacred crocodiles, and of the kings who had built the labyrinth. "The upper part, however," remarks the historian," which I carefully viewed, seems to surpass the art of men; for the passages through the buildings, and the variety of windings, afforded me a thousand occasions of wonder, as I passed from a hall to a chamber, and from the chamber to other buildings, and from chambers into halls. All the roofs and walls within are of stone, but the walls are farther adorned with figures of sculpture. The halls are surrounded with pillars of white stone, very closely fitted." -According to Herodotus, the labyrinth was built by twelve kings, who at one time reigned over Egypt, and it was intended as a public monument of their common reign. (Herod., 2, 148.) Others make it to have been constructed by Psammeticus alone, who was one of the twelve; others, again, by Ismandes or Petosuchis. Mannert assigns it to Memnon. Opinions are also divided as to the object of this singular structure. Some regard it as a burial-place for the kings and sacred crocodiles, an opinion very prevalent among the ancients. Others view it as a kind of Egyptian Pantheon. Others, again, make it to have been a place of assembly for the deputies sent by each of the twelve nomes of Egypt (consult article Egyptus, p. 37, col. 1); while another class think that the Egyptian mysteries were celebrated here. All these opinions, however, yield in ingenuity and acumen to that of Gatterer. (Weltgesch., vol. 1, p. 50, seqq.) According to this writer, the labyrinth was an architectural-symbolical representation of the zodiac, and he course of the sun through the same. The twelve palaces are the twelve zodiacal signs; the one half of the building above ground, and the other below, is a symbol of the course of the sun above and below the horizon; while the 3000 chambers in the whole structure have a symbolical reference to the precession of the equinoxes. The Egyptians reckoned, not by tropical or solar, but by sidereal, years. The difference between the two, which depends on the precession of the equinoxes, the Egyptian astronomers made too small; since they reckoned the precession at one degree in every 100 years, which is at the rate of only

LACEDÆMON, I. a son of Jupiter and Taygeta the daughter of Atlas, who married Sparta, the daughter of Eurotas, by whom he had Amyclas and Eurydice, the wife of Acrisius. He was the first who introduced the worship of the Graces into Laconia, and who built them a temple. From Lacedæmon and his wife the capital of Laconia was called Lacedæmon and Sparta. (Apollod., 3, 10.-Hygin., fub., 155.)—II. A city of Peloponnesus, the capital of Laconia, called also Sparta. (Vid. Sparta.)

LACEDEMONII and LACEDÆMONES, the inhabitants of Lacedæmon. (Vid. Lacedæmon and Sparta.) LACHESIS, one of the Parcæ. (Vid. Parcæ.) LACINIA, a surname of Juno, from her temple at La cinium in Italy.

LACINIUM PROMONTORIUM, a celebrated promontory

of Magna Græcia, in the territory of the Brutii, a few miles to the south of Crotona, which runs out for some distance into the sea, and with the opposite Iapygian promontory encloses the Gulf of Tarentum. (Strabo, 261.-Scylaz, Peripl., p. 4.) Its modern names are Capo delle Colonne (Cape of the Columns), and Capo Nao (Cape of the Temple), from the remains of the temple of Juno Lacinia, which are still visible on its summit. (Romanelli, vol. 1, p. 195.)-This celebrated edifice, remarkable for its great antiquity, the magnificence of its decorations, and the veneration with which it was regarded, was surrounded by a thick grove of trees, in the midst of which were spacious meadows, where numerous herds and flocks were pastured in perfect security, as they were accounted sacred. From the profits accruing out of the sale of these cattle, which were destined for sacrifices, it was said that a column of solid gold was erected and consecrated to the goddess. (Liv., 24, 3.--Cic. de Div, 1, 24.) On the festival of Juno, which was celebrated annually, an immense concourse of the inhabitants of all the Italian Greek cities assembled here, and a grand display of the most rare and precious productions of art and nature was exhibited. (Aristot., de Mirab. -Athenæus, 12, 10.) Among other splendid pictures with which this temple was adorned, the famous Helen of Zeuxis was more particularly admired.-History has not acquainted us with the founders of this consecrated pile. According to Diodorus Siculus (4, 24), some ascribed its origin to Hercules. This sanctuary was respected by Pyrrhus, as well as by Hannibal; the latter caused an inscription in Greek and Punic characters to be deposited there, recording the number of his troops, and their several victories and achievements. (Polyb., 3, 33 and 36.) But several years afterward it sustained great injury from Fulvius Flaccas, a censor, who caused a great portion of the roof, which was covered with marble, to be removed, for the purpose of adorning a temple of Fortune constructed by him at Rome. Such an outcry was raised against this act of impiety, that orders were issued by the senate that everything should be restored to its former state; but this could not be effected, no architect being found of sufficient skill to replace the marble tiles according to their original position. (Liv, 42, 3.-Val. Max., I, 1.)-From the ruins of this celebrated edifice, is evident that it was of the early Do ric style, with fluted pillars, broader at the base than at the capital. It measured about 132 yards in length and 66 in breadth; and, as it faced the east, its principal entrance opened to the west. (Swinburne's Travels, vol. 1, p. 32.-Voyage de Reidesel, p. 151.) It is to be regretted that no excavations have been hitherto made on this spot, as it is very probable they would be attended with satisfactory results. (Cramer's Anc. Italy, vol. 2, p. 395, seqq.)

LACOBRIGA, I. a town of Spain, near the Sacrum Promontorium, now Lagoa. (Mela, 3, 1.- - Ukert, Geogr., vol. 2, p. 387.)-II. A town of Spain, among the Vaccai, now Lobera. (Plin, 3, 4.)

LACONICA, called by the Roman writers LACONIA, a country of Peloponnesus, situate at its southern extremity, having Messenia on the west, and Arcadia and Argolis on the north. The extent of Laconia from east to west, where it reached farthest, was 1° 45', but it became narrower towards the north, and its extent from north to south was about 50 miles. As the southern parts were encompassed by the sea, and the east and northeast parts by the Sinus Argolicus, it had a great number of promontories, the chief of which were those of Malea and Tænarus, now Capes Malio and Matapan. The seacoast of Laconia was furnished with a considerable number of seaports, towns, and commodious harbours, the chief of which were Trinassus, Acria, Gythium, and Epidaurus. The Laconian coasts were famous for yielding a shellfish,

whence was obtained a beautiful purple dye, inferior only to that which was brought from the Red Sea and Phoenicia. The mountains of Laconia were numerous; the most famous was Taygetus. Its principal river was the Eurotas, on which stood the capital, Sparta or Lacedæmon. The soil was very rich, especially in the low grounds, and, being well watered, was excellent for pasture; but the number of its mountains and hills prevented its being tilled so well as it might oth erwise have been. Among the animals of the country may be enumerated wild and tame goats, wild boars, deer, and excellent hounds. A blackish green marble (probably basalt) was obtained at Tænarus.-(For an outline of Spartan history, consult remarks under the article Sparta.)

LACTANTIUS, I. Lucius Caelius (or Cæcilius Firmianus), an eminent father of the church, according to some a native of Africa, while others make him to have been born at Firmium in Italy. The former is most likely, as he studied rhetoric at Sicca, a city of Africa, under Arnobius, and attained so high a reputation by a production called Symposium, or "the Banquet," that, when Dioclesian entertained a design to render Nicomedia a rival to Rome, he appointed Lactantius to teach rhetoric in that city. It is by some supposed that he was originally a pagan, and converted, when young, to the Christian faith; but Lardner thinks otherwise; and that he was a Christian during the persecution of Dioclesian is unquestionable. I appears that, owing to the unprofitableness of his pro fession, or other causes, he lived in very narrow cir cumstances, which it is, however, reasonable to conclude were amended when appointed by the Emperor Constantine Latin preceptor to his son Crispus, after whose untimely death he appears to have been again neglected. Little more is known of his personal history, except that he lived to an advanced age, but the exact time of his death is not recorded. As a Christian writer, Lactantius is thought to treat divinity too philosophically; but, at the same time, he is deemed the most eloquent of all the early ecclesiastical authors, and his Latinity has acquired him the title of the Christian Cicero. His principal object was to expose the errors and contradictions of pagan writers on the subjects of theology and morals, and thereby to establish the credit and authority of the Christian religion, and his works are written with much purity and elegance of style, and discover great erudition. The testimony, indeed, to his learning, eloquence, and piety, is most abundant. Le Clerc calls him the most eloquent of the Latin fathers; and Du Pin places his style almost on a level with Cicero's. Many writers, however, value his rhetoric more than his theology. He has been charged, among other errors, with Manichæism, from which Lardner takes great pains to defend him. Middleton has shown, in his "Free Enquiry," that Lactantius was not free from the credulity with which many of the early Christian writers are chargeable. Several material defects, moreover, must be remarked in this writer. He frequently quotes and commends spurious writings as if they were genuine, and makes use of sophistical and puerile reasonings. Examples of this may be seen in what he has advanced concerning the pre-existence of souls, the millennium, the coming of Elias, and many other topics in theology. Upon the subject of morals Lactantius has occasionally said excellent things; but they are mixed with others, injudicious, trifling, or extravagant. He maintains that war is in all cases unlawful, because it is a violation of the commandment, "Thou shalt not kill." He censures navigation and foreign merchandise, condemns all kinds of usury, and falls into other absurdities on moral topics. We must not, however, omit to remark, to the credit of Lactantius, his acknowledgment, that when Pythagoras and Plato visited bar barous nations in order to inform themselves concern.

ing their sacred doctrines and rites, they did not become acquainted with the Hebrews; an observation which, had it been earlier admitted, might have prevented many mistakes in the history of philosophy. As a proof, moreover, that Lactantius, notwithstanding all his defects, was capable of thinking justly and liberally, we may refer to an excellent passage in which he strenuously asserts the right of private judgment in religion, and calls upon all men to employ their understandings in a free inquiry after the truth. (Instit. Div., 2, 7.) We have five prose works remaining of this father of the church: 1. De Officio Dei, an apology for Divine Providence against the Epicureans, drawn principally from the miraculous construction of the human frame.-2. De morte Persecutorum, a history of the persecutors of Christianity from Nero to Dioclesian. The object of the writer is to show, by the violent deaths which all the persecutors of Christianity experienced, that God punished their crimes. This work has been preserved to us in a single manuscript, from which it was published by Baluze. Nourry has maintained that it is not a work of Lactantius, but of a certain Lucius Cæcilius, an imaginary being, who owes his existence merely to the mutilated title of a manuscript.-3. The principal work of Lactantius is entitled Divina Institutiones, and is divided into seven books. It was written in reply to two heathens, who wrote against Christianity at the beginning of Dioclesian's persecution. The date of the composition of the work cannot be exactly fixed. Basnage, Du Pin, and others, place it about A.D. 320; Cave and Lardner about A.D. 306. Lardner states the arguments on both sides; and, on the whole, the latter opinion seems the more probable. Of this treatise he published an abridgment,-4, entitled Epitome Institutionum. A great portion of this was already lost in the days of St. Jerome; Pfoff, a professor of Tubingen, discovered the entire abridgment in a very ancient manuscript of the Turin library.-5. De ira Dei. Iu this work Lactantius examines the question, whether we can attribute anger to the Deity, and decides in the affirmative. The "Banquet" of Lactantius has not reached us. Some ancient manuscripts assign to this father the authorship of a poem, entitled, "De Phanice," but many of the ablest modern critics regard it as a spurious production. It consists of 170 verses, and turns upon the well-known fable of the Phoenix, which the early Christians regarded as an emblem of the resurrection. The editors of Lactantius have also joined to his works two other poems, one on the passover, "De Pascha," and the other on our Saviour's passion, "De Passione Domini." These poems, however, were written by Verrantius Fortunatus, a poet of the sixteenth century. A collection also of enigmas, in verse, has been assigned by some to Lactantius, but incorrectly. Complete editions of the works of Lactantius were published by Heumann, at Göttingen, in 1736 (the preface to this contains a catalogue of former editions), and by the Abbé Langlet, Paris, 2 vols. 4to, 1748. (Schöll, Hist. Lit. Rom., vol. 4, p. 26, seqq.-Id., vol. 3, p. 54.-Bähr, Gesch. Röm. Lit., p. 124, 128, 248, 416, 484.)-II. Placidus, a grammarian, who flourished about 550 A.D. (Sax. Onomast., vol. 2, p. 45) He was the author of Argumenta Metamorphoseon Ovidii, in prose. (Müller, V. S., p. 139.-Muncker, Præf. ad Fulgent. in Mythogr. Lat.)

cessive drinking, in the second year of the 141st Olym piad. (Diog. Laert., 4, 59, seqq.—Ælian, V. H., 2, 41.-Athenæus, 10, 50.)

LADON, I. a small stream of Elis, flowing into the Peneus, and passing by Pylos. (Pausan., 6, 22.) In modern maps it is called the Derviche or Tcheliber.— II. A river of Arcadia, rising near the village of Lycuria, between the Peneus and Clitor. It was accounted the most beautiful stream in Greece. It is now called, according to Dodwell (vol. 2, p. 442), KephaloBrusi, a general name in Romaic for any abundant source of water. He describes it as gurgling in continual eruptions from the ground, and immediately forming a fine, rapid river. (Pausan., 8, 20.—Dionys. Perieg., v. 417.-Ovid, Met., 1, 702.-Id., Fast., 5, 89.-Cramer's Ancient Greece, vol. 3, p. 317, seqq.) LELIUS, I. C., surnamed Nepos, an eminent Roman commander, accompanied the elder Africanus into Spain, and had the command of the fleet assigned him, which was to co-operate with the land forces. He contributed to the reduction of Carthago Nova, and was highly honoured by Scipio, both for his services on this occasion, and also for his judicious conduct in appeasing a commotion produced by the rivalry that prevailed between the land and naval forces of the Romans. (Liv., 25, 48.) He was afterward sent to Rome to give an account of the successes which had attended the arms of the republic. After the close of the Spanish war, Lælius was despatched by Scipio to the court of Syphax, to sound that prince, and engage him to form an alliance with the Romans. The following year (A.U.C. 548, B.C. 206), Asdrubal, the son of Giscon, having renewed the war in Spain, Lælius was despatched to oppose him, and nearly succeeded in making himself master of Gades. In A.U.C. 549, B.C. 205, he was directed by Scipio to make a descent on the coast of Africa, which he effected, and obtained an immense booty. In the course of this war he surprised the camp of Syphax during the night, in conjunction with Masinissa, set fire to it, pursued and overtook the prince himself, and made him prisoner. He conducted Syphax to Rome, and then hastened to rejoin Scipio, and share his glory and his dangers. Lælius was elected prætor A.U.C. 557, B.C. 197, and obtained the government of Sicily. He afterward stood candidate for the consulship, but was defeated by private intrigues, and did not attain to that office until A.U.C. 564, B.C. 190. After his election to the consulship, Lælius had some difficulties with his colleague, L. Cornelius Scipio, respecting the division of the provinces. They both desired the government of Greece; but the senate, to whom the question was left, decided in favour of Scipio, and Lælius was obliged to be satisfied with a government in Italy. In discharging the duties of this, he repeopled Cremona and Placentia, which had been ruined by wars and contagious disorders. History, after this, makes no farther mention of him. It was from the narratives of Lælius that Polybius wrote his account of the campaigns of Scipio in Spain and Africa. (Polyb., 10, 11. – Liv., 26, 42, seqq. — Id., 27, 7, seqq. — Id., 29, 1, seqq.)-II. Surnamed Sapiens, was son of the preceding. He studied philosophy in early life under Diogenes the Stoic and Panætius, and learned, from these two eminent philosophers, to contemn the allurements of pleasure, and to cherish an ardent love for wisdom and virtue. Turning his attention after this to the LACYDES, a philosopher of Cyrene, who filled the profession of the bar, he took a high rank among the chair of the Platonic school at Athens after the death orators of his time. His eloquence is described by of Arcesilaus. He assumed this office in the 4th year Cicero as mild and persuasive, although he was negof the 134th Olympiad. He is said to have been the ligent in point of style, and too fond of employing anfounder of a new school, not because he introduced tiquated terms. (Cic., Brut., 21, seqq.) Lælius acany new doctrines, but because he changed the place companied his friend, the younger Africanus, to the of instruction, and held his school in the garden of siege of Carthage, where he signalized his valour. Attalus, still, however, within the limits of the Aca- After the destruction of this celebrated city, he was demic grove. He died of a palsy, occasioned by ex-sent as prætor into Spain, and there broke the power

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