Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 8.djvu/798

 LABAT

718

LABBE

designed under the emperor's direction on the day sub- sequent to the appearance of the "cross of hght", is described by Eusebius (Vita Constant., I, 26) as "a long spear, overlaid with gold", which with a trans- verse bar formed the figure of a cross. " On the top of the whole was fixed a wreath of gold and precious stones, and within this the symbol of the Saviour's name, two letters indicating the name of Christ by means of the initial letters, the letter X intersecting P at the centre." These two letters formed what is Ivnown as the monogram of Constantine, so called — not because it was the invention of this emperor, for it had been a familiar Christian symbol prior to his con- version, but — because of the great popularity it en- joyed from the date of its appearance on the imperial standards. From the cross-bar of the spear, was sus-

Preachers in his native city at the age of twenty years and was professed on 11 April, 1685. After the com- pletion of his philosopliical and theological studies he was ordained and for several years taught philosophy publicly to the secular students of Nancy. Abandon- ing this work he devoted himself to missionary activ- ity and for many years preached in the various churches of France. The missionary fields of America were proving a strong attraction to the zealous clergy of his day, and Labat became filled with a burning desire to assist in the evangelization of the Indians. Accordingly, in 1693, he obtained permission from the general of the order to flepart for those colonies of the West Indies which were tlien under French domination, and laboured among the Indians for tliirtecn years, until 1706, when he sailed for Italy in the interests of

The Labarum Central panel of a representation of the Passion on a Harcophag:ug (IV Cent.) in the Roman ( now in the Lateran .\Iu

pended a purple banner with the Greek inscription TOTTSJ NIKA— i. e. conquer by this (sign), usually rendered in Latin " In hoc signo vinces" (in this sign thou shalt conquer). This banner, square in form, covered with a rich embroidery of precious stones, and " being also richly interlaced with gold, presented an indescribable degree of beauty to the beholder ". The part of the staff immediately above the embroidered banner was adorned with medallions of the emperor and his children. Fifty soldiers of the imperial guard, distinguished for bravery and piety, were entrusted with the care and defence of the new sacred standard (Vita Constant., II, S). Standards, similar to the orig- inal labarum in its essential features, were supplied to all the legions, and the monogram was also engraved on the soldiers' shields. An idea of some of the devia- tions in form of the standards furnished to different divisions of the army may be obtained from several coins of Constantine's reign still preserved. On one coin, for instance, the portraits of the emperor and his sons are represented on the banner instead of on the staff; on a second the banner is inscribed with the monogram and surmounted by f lie equal-armed cross, while the royal portraits, though on the shaft, are be- low instead of above the banner. In form, the la- barum of Constantine was an adaptation of the already existing cavalry standard of the Roman army (Diet, of Christ. Antiq., s. v.); the pagan emblems were merely replaced by Christian symbols. The term labarum., which is of uncertain derivation, was probably famihar in the Roman army from the reign of Hadrian.

Edsebius, Life of Constantine. tr. (New York, 1904); Ven- abi.es in Diet. Christ. Antiq., a. v.; Lowrie, Monument.^ of the Early Church (New York, 1901); Krads, Real-Eneykl. der christl. AUerthiimer (Freiburg, 1882-86), 8. v.; Buchbergeh, Kirchliches Handlexikon (Munich. 1907—), 8. v.; Bhatke, Das Monogram Christi auf dem Labarum (1891); Dessroches, Le Labarum (Paris, 1894); Ravel-Chapdis, Diss, sur le Labarum (Frogny, 1899); Knopfler in Hist.-pol. Blatter, Pt, I (1908). Maurice M. Hassett.

Ltacombs;

Labat, Jean-Baptistk, Dominican missionary, b. at Paris, 1 664; d. there, 1 738. He entered the Order of

his mission. After attending a meeting of the order at Bologna, and presenting to the general a report of his work, he prepared to return to America, but was de- nied permission and detained in Rome for several years. During this period he commenced a long con- templated history of the West Indies. The work was finally published in six volumes at Paris, in 1722, with copious illustrations made by himself ("Nouvcau Voyage aux isles Francoises de I'Amerique", Paris, 1722). Labat had a wide reputation as a mathemati- cian and won recognition both as a naturalist and as a scientist. He embodied in the history his scientific observations and treated comprehensively and accu- rately of the soil, trees, plants, fruits, and herbs of the islands. He also explained the manufactures then in existence and pointed out means for the develoji- ment of commercial relations. He pulilished similar works on other coimtries, drawing information from the notes of other missionaries. His two works on Africa have become well known: "Nouvelle relation de I'Afrique occidentale", Paris, 1728, and "Relation historique de I'Ethiopie occidentale" (Congo, Angola, Matamba), after the Italian of Father Cavazzi, Cap. (Paris, 1732). The latter treatise is supplemented with notes and statistics drawn from Portuguese sources.

Echard and QciTir, Script. 0. P.. II, 806; Reicumann in Kirchenlex., s. v.

Ignatius Smith.

Labbe, Philippe, b. at Bourges, 10 July, 1607; d. at Paris, at the College of Clermont, 17 (16) March, 1667, a distinguished .lesuit writer on historical, geo- graphical, and philological questions. He entered the Society of Jesu.s. 28 Sept., 1623. After literary, phil- osophical, and tlicdlogical studies, he successively taught the classes of rhetoric and philosophy; then he held for five years the chair of theology. His mem- ory was quick and retentive, his erudition most ex- tensive and accurate; every year witnessed the pro- duction of one or more of his works, so that in the