Page:Imperialdictiona03eadi Brandeis Vol3a.pdf/95

LAC Montalembert. The Abbé Lacordaire joined them, and took an enthusiastic part in the propagation of the doctrines of liberty. In 1831 he was cited, with M. de Montalembert, before the chamber of peers, for having opened a school without permission, and sentenced to pay one hundred francs of fine. In 1832 the pope condemned the Avenir, and the Abbé Lacordaire definitively abandoned the connection with Lammenais. In 1834 he commenced a series of discourses on the church, &c., at the college Stanislas, which created an extraordinary sensation, and the following year the archbishop of Paris, M. de Quelen, offered him the pulpit of Nôtre Dame. There the abbé found his true vocation. He preached as no Frenchman of the present century had preached before. All Paris rung with the praises of his fearless eloquence. After two years of this labour he went to Rome, entered the order of preaching friars, performed his noviciate in the convent of Quercia at Viterbo, and returned to Paris to write a life of St. Dominic. He preached in his dominican dress in Nôtre Dame, at Lyons, Grenoble, Nancy, Metz, and in 1849 pronounced in Paris a funeral oration on Daniel O'Connell. After the revolution of 1848 he was returned as a deputy to the assembly; but he soon abandoned the field of politics. He returned to Nôtre Dame and the pulpit. In 1850 he again went to Rome, and the pope erected the French dominicans into a province, and named Lacordaire the provincial. He held this office four years, and then assumed the direction of the college of Sorrèze. His published works consist of sermons, funeral orations, and sketches in philosophy. An edition of his "Complete Works" appeared in 1858, in six vols. 8vo.—P. E. D.  LACRETELLE,, politician and historian, was born at Metz on the 3rd of September, 1766. Soon after the breaking out of the French revolution of 1789 he became secretary to the excellent and liberal duke de Rochefoucauld-Liancourt, and to the close of his career he adhered to the principles of moderate and constitutional liberty which he embraced at its commencement. He became president of the French Academy, and about 1810 was appointed professor of history in connection with the Paris faculty of letters, a chair which he retained until 1848. He died at Maçon in March, 1855. His chief works, most of which may be usefully consulted, were—a "Précis Historique de la Révolution Française" (begun by Rabaut St. Etienne), 1801-6; a "Histoire de France pendant le dix-huitième siècle" (up to the period of the Revolution), 1808; a more complete and extended "Histoire de la Révolution Française," published in four sections between 1821 and 1825; a "Histoire de France depuis la Restauration," 1829-35; and a "Histoire du Consulat et de l'Empire," 1846.—His elder brother,, jurist and journalist, was born at Metz in 1751. He became an avocat at Paris, and took a position by his philosophical writings, which recommended him to Turgot and Malesherbes. In 1786 he gained the Montyon prize for a "Discours sur le prejugé des peines infamantes;" and the second prize was adjudged to Robespierre. He died in 1824. His "Œuvres Diverses: Mélanges de Philosophie et de Littérature," were published in 1802-7.—F. E.  * LACROIX,, the librarian of the arsenal at Paris, is a prolific writer in various departments of literature, to which he has generally contributed under the name of P. L. Jacob, Bibliophile. He was born at Paris on the 27th February, 1806, the son of a functionary in one of the public offices, who was also the author of some poems and novels. M. Paul Lacroix has produced more than eighty volumes of novels and historical romances. In addition to these, he has published treatises upon controverted points of history. His "Man in the Iron Mask," 1836, was published to prove that Fouquet, Louis XIV.'s finance minister, was the prisoner. Some of his most entertaining works are those connected with bibliography, being the result of his curious and extensive reading. M. Lacroix has recently committed himself to the authenticity of L'Abbé Domenech's extraordinary Livre des Sauvages.—R. H.  LACROIX,, an eminent mathematician, born at Paris in 1765. He studied under the celebrated Monge, through whose influence, at the age of seventeen, he obtained the place of professor of mathematics in the Rochefort school of marines. After filling various important offices he was elected to the mathematical chair in the college of France in 1815, and occupied that position with great reputation till his death in May, 1843. Though not distinguished by any important discoveries in his favourite science, Lacroix contributed more than any other man to the general diffusion of mathematical knowledge by the admirable books which he published. Lacroix has the credit of having introduced the simple notation now generally employed in the integral calculus.—G. BL.  LACTANTIUS: There is some doubt about the real name of this eminent father. By Cave and many other writers he is called Lucius Cælius Lactantius Firmianus; for Cælius some write Cæcilius; and others, in imitation of Jerome and Augustine, omit the first two names altogether, and merely write Lactantius Firmianus. Nor is the time or place of his nativity determined. By some he is called an Italian, and by others an African, which is the more probable opinion. He appears to have been born after the middle of the third century, and is by Jerome designated a disciple of Arnobius, who resided near Carthage. That he was originally a pagan is admitted; and before his conversion he appears to have written his "Symposium," and other pieces now lost. The reputation of Lactantius was such that, about 301, Diocletian invited him to Nicomedia in Bithynia, where he taught rhetoric; but finding few Latin students in a Greek city he betook himself to writing, and distinguished himself by his poetry as well as his prose. Although he mentions the persecution of the christians, and the insults of the philosophers (Instit. v. 2), he does not give an account of his own conversion, which appears to have taken place about that period. The next we hear of him is that he was appointed Latin tutor of Crispus, the son of Constantine. Eusebius, who records this fact, says Lactantius "was the most erudite man of his time, but so poor in this life that he was often destitute of common necessaries." He was then somewhat advanced in age, and is supposed to have died at Treves soon after the council of Nicæa, which was held in 325. While at Nicomedia, he seems to have composed his treatise "De Opificio Dei," which is extant. It is very defective in regard to christian doctrine. It has been said that Seneca or Cicero could have written it, and that it is actually modelled upon their works. Apart from these deficiencies, the book contains many things worthy of consideration, and is very suggestive as to the kind of conversion which Lactantius underwent, and as to the principles of the philosophy which was then current. The most important work of Lactantius is his "Divinæ Institutiones," in seven books, the plan of which is very comprehensive. In many respects this work is remarkable. It is designed to meet the sophisms and insults of Hierocles and Porphyry (Book v. 4); it is written in a very superior style; it abounds in indications of learning and original genius; it lays down some doubtful principles; it makes no great use of the inspired scriptures; it contains some valuable historical allusions, and throws light on the refined paganism of the time. Each book has a separate title; thus—1, On False Religion; 2, On the Origin of Error; 3, On False Wisdom; 4, On True Wisdom; 5, On Justice; 6, On the True Worship; 7, On the Happy or Blessed Life. There is extant an epitome of the "Institutions," but it is uncertain whether Lactantius wrote it. It is disputed whether he wrote the treatise, "De morte Persecutorum," which has been published in his name. The treatise "De ira Dei" is certainly his, and well merits perusal. As for the poems which bear his name, there is no reason to believe that he wrote them. His other works are lost. Jerome calls him an eloquent writer, but complains of his want of acquaintance with the scriptures, and his misapplication of them. Damasus says he was a scholastical rather than an ecclesiastical author; and in the so-called decree of Gelasius, his works are called apocryphal. With all his faults, however, he is a most valuable writer, especially for his admirable style and extensive erudition. His theological views are not always well defined, but there is no trace of essential heterodoxy.—B. H. C.  LACY,, a comic actor and dramatist in the reign of Charles II., and celebrated by Durfey as the "standard of true comedy" in that age, was born near Doncaster. He was trained to be a dancing master; but obtaining a lieutenant's commission, he went into the army, which he ultimately quitted for the stage. His handsome personal appearance contributed as much to his popularity as his genuine hearty humour. The king had his portrait painted three times. He was the author of four plays—"The Dumb Lady," 1672; "Old Troop," 1672; "Sir Hercules Buffoon," 1684; and "Sawney the Scot," 1698. He died on the 17th September, 1681.—R. H.  LADISLAUS. See.  L'ADVOCAT,, a French writer of <section end="95Zcontin" />