A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

748 LEO. LEO.
army to the Danube. Again in 455, when the mence with that which issued from the press of
city lay at the mercy of the Vandals, Genseric was Sweynheym and Pannartz (Rom. fol. 1470), under
persuaded by the entreaties of Leo to forego his the inspection of Andrew, bishop of Aleria, compurpose of general conflagration and massacre, and prising ninety-two Sermones and five Epistolae, it is
to be content with pillage-a concession which, unnecessary to give any detailed account, since two
when we consider the circumstances -of the case are decidedly superior to all others.
and the temper of the chief, indicates the influence The first is that published at Paris in 1675, in
of the pontiff not less forcibly than his success two large quarto tomes, by Pasquier Quesnel, who
with Attila. by the aid of a large number of MSS., preserved
His last anxiety arose from the tumults excited chiefly in the libraries of France, was enabled to
in the church at Alexandria about 457 by the dis- introduce such essential improvements into the
orderly proceedings of Timotheus Aelurus. Having text, and by his erudite industry illustrated so
united with the emperor of the East and with the clearly the obscurities in which many of the dopatriarch of Constantinople in restoring order and cuments were involved, that the works of Leo now
discipline, and having written a congratulatory for the first time assumed an unmutilated, intelliletter to the clergy of Alexandria upon the happy gible, and satisfactory aspect. But the admiration
termination of their troubles, he soon after died, excited by the skill with which the arduous task
on the 10th of November, 461. had been executed soon received a check. Upon
The works of Leo consist of discourses delivered attentive perusal, the notes and dissertations were
on the great festivals of the church or other so- found to contain such free remarks upon many of
lemn occasions, and of letters. the opinions and usages of the primitive church,
I. Sermones. Of these we possess ninety-six. and, above all, to manifest such unequivocal hosThere are five De Natali ipsius, preached on an- tility to the despotism of the Roman see, that the
niversaries of his ordination, six De Collectis, nine volumes fell under the ban of the Inquisition within
De Jejunio Decimi Mensis, ten De lVativitate Do- a year after their publication, and were included in
mini, eight Iz Epiphania Domini, twelve De Quad- the "Index Librorum Prohibitorum" of 1682.
ragesima, one De Transfiguratione Domini, nineteen Notwithstanding these denunciations, the book enDe Passione Domini, two De Resurrectione Domini, joyed great popularity, and was reprinted, without
two De Ascensione Domini, three De Pentecoste, four any suppression or modification of the obnoxious
De Jejunio Pentecostes, one In Natali Apostolorum passages, at Lyons in 1700. Hence the heads of
Petri et Pauli, one In Natali S. Petri Apostoli, one the Romish church became anxious to supply an
In Octavis Apostolorum Petri et Pauli, one In Na- antidote to the poison so extensively circulated.
tali S. Laurenti Martyris, nine De Jejunio Septimi This undertaking was first attempted by Peter
Mfezsis, one De Gradi6us Ascensionis ad Beatitudi- Cacciari, a Carmelite monk of the Propaganda,
nern, one Tractatus contra Haeresim Eutychis. whose labours (S. Leonis Mayni Opera omnia,
II. Epistolae. These, extending to the number Rom. 1753-1755, 2 vols. fol.; Exercitationes in
of 173, are addressed to the reigning emperors and Universa S. Leonis Magni Opera, Rom. fol. 1751),
their consorts, to synods, to religious communities, might have attracted attention and praise had they
to bishops and other dignitaries, and to sundry in- not been, at the very moment when they were
fluential personages connected with the ecclesiastical brought to a close, entirely thrown into the shade
history of the times. They afford an immense mass by those of the brothers Peter and Jerome Balleof most valuable information on the prevailing rini, presbyters of Verona, whose edition appeared
heresies, controversies, and doubts, with regard to at Verona in three volumes folio in the course of
matters of doctrine, discipline, and church govern- the years 1755-1757, and is entitled to take the
nient. first place both in purity of the text, corrected from
Besides the ninety-six Serimones and 173 Epis- a great number of MSS., chiefly Roman, not before
tolae mentioned above, a considerable number of collated, in the arrangement of the different parts,
tracts have from time to time been ascribed to the and in the notes and disquisitions. A full desame author; but their authenticity is either so scription of these volumes, as well as of those of
doubtful, or their spuriousness so evident, that Quesnel and Cacciari, is to be found in Schinethey are now universally set aside. A list of these, mann, who has bestowed more than usual care
and an investigation of their origin, will be found upon this section.
in the edition of the brothers Ballerini, more par- (Maimbourg, Histoire du Pontificat de Le'on,
ticularly described below. Paris, 4to. 1687; the dissertations of Quesnel and
In consequence of the reputation deservedly en- the Ballerini; Schinemann, Bibl. Patrum Lat. vol.
joyed by Leo, his writings have always been ii. ~ 42; Arendt, Leo der Grosse, Mainz. 8vo.
eagerly studied. But, although a vast number of 1835; Biihr, Gesch. der Rom. Literat. Suppl. Band.
MSS. are still in existence, none of these exhibit IIe Abtheil. ~ 159-162.) -
his works in a complete form, and no attempt 2. Distinguished by the epithet BITURICENTseems to have been made to bring together any sis, was bishop of Bourges in the middle of the
portion of them for many hundred years after his fifth century, and took an active part in various
death. The Sermones were dispersed in the Lec- important Gaulish councils, such as those of Angers
tionaria or select discourses of distinguished divines, (C. Andegavense, A. D. 453), and of Tours (C. Tuemployed in places of public worship' until the ronense, A. D. 461), held about that epoch.
eleventh century, when they first began to be We possess a letter written by this prelate in
picked out of these cumbrous storehouses, and 454, jointly with the bishops Victurius and Eustranscribed separately, while the Epistolae were tochius, entitled Epistola ad Episcopos et Presby-'gradually: gathered into imperfect groups, or re- teros Ecclesiarum Provinciae Turonicae, which was
mained embodied in the general collections of papal long ascribed to Leo the Great, inserted in all the
constitutions and canons. earlier editions of the works of that pope, and in
Of the numerous printed editions, which com- various collections of councils, the epithet Taronicae