Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/881

* LATERAN. 797 LATEX. one end of their dining-liall. known as the Tricli- nium, in the building beliiml which, attached to a Passionist convent, is the Scalu Sunta or 'holy staircase,' supposed to have been that of Pilate's palace at Jerusalem, said to have been brought to Rome by Saint Helena. Those who believe that the feet of Christ touched it ascend it only on their knees, and the twenty-eight stone steps arc covered by a wooden casing. The ancient chapel above it, where no one Init the Pope is permitted to say mass, contains a portrait of Christ reputed to have been begun by Saint Luke and linislied by an angel, whence it is known as the Acheirojiuiclon, or picture made without hands. The modern Palace of the J^atcran. built by Sixtus v., and now under the control of the Italian Government, contains a valuable museum of Christian arcluvolog^', due principall.v to Pius IX. Consult: Hare. Walks in Jtainr (loth ed., London, lilOOl; Lanciani, Piiijun iiiiil Christian Komc (Loiidiin and Uci^tdii. isii:!). LATERAN COUNCILS. The councils held in the Lateran Basilica at Rome. (See Lateran, Cmmcn of Saikt .John.) The first one of im- portance was called by Martin I. in G40 to con- demn those who denied that there were two wills in Christ, the divine and the human. (See JIoNOTHELiTisM.) It was attended by more than 100 bishojis of Italy, the adjacent islands, and Africa. The numerous reforming s^ynods of the eleventh century were usually held in the Lat- eran, since it was then the residence of the popes. That of lO.'J'J, under Nicholas II., is important for its decisions on clerical eelibaev and Papal elections. Those of 1105, 1112, .and IIKi dealt witlt the ijuestion of investiture ((.[.v. ), as did the Council of 1 123, known among Roman Catho- lics as the First Lateran Council in the list of those which they account ecumenical. (See Council.) It was called by Cali-vtus II., was at- tended by more than 300 bishops, and confirmed the articles of the Concordat of Worms. The second Lateran council fn this classification was held by Innocent II. in 1139, and was com- posed of over 1000 bishops. It provided for the healing of the schism caused by the Antipope Anaelelus II.. and condemned the innovations of the Petrobrusians and Arnold of Brescia. The third, held by Alexander III. in 1170 after the cnnclusion of peace with Frederick Barbarossa, regulated Papal elections (requiring two-thirds of the electors for validity), settled the qualifica- tions for the episcopate, and passed a number of disciplinary canons. The fourth, convened by Innocent III. in 121.5, strongly sipported the Crusades, condemned the doctrines of the Cathari and Waldcnses, giving ecclesiastical sanction for the first time to the expression 'transubstantia- tion' as an ex|)lanation of the mode of Christ's presence in the Kucharist, required every mem- ber of the Church who had reached the age of discretion to approach the sacrament of penance nt least once a year, forbade clandestine mar- riages, and passed many other important dis- ciplinary canons. The fifth, opened by .Tulius II. in 1.t12. and closed by Leo X. in l.'ilT, dealt with the schism growing o>it of the Council of Pisa, provided for resistance to the Turks, and replaced the Prasmatic Sanction by a concordat with France. Consult Hefele, Conciliengeschichte (0 vols., Freiburg, lS.5:i-00). LATERITE (from Lat. Inter, brick, tild. The name given to a superficial deposit which covers wide areas in trojiical lands, especially in the Sudan, Sahara Desert, Brazil, and India. It is a loose, porous, reddish or yellowish mass composed largely of sand and lime with some claj-. It is a decomposition product of other rocks, and owes its peculiar character to the climatic conditions of tropical regions. LATEX (Lat., juice). The milky or colored juice which is found in sjiceial cells or tubes in jdants, confined to certain families of the angio- sperms, namely the Papaveracea>, Asele])iadace;c, Apocynacc;c, Euphorbiacc;r, Urticacea>. Lobeli- aceie, Campanulacere, Cichoriaceae, Aroidese, and ilusaeeoe. The first eight families belong to the ilicotyledons, and the last two to the monocoty- ledons. Other monocots contain mucilage vessels, which agree in many features with the latex ves- sels; the contents, however, lack the milky ap- pearance, and are slimy. In most plants the latex is whitish or cream color; in the blood- root, however, it is of a dee> orange red, and in some other members of the poppy family of a lemon yellow. It is a watery fiuid, containing many different substances in solution, and a considerable number in the form of minute drop- lets or in the solid state, merely suspended in water. The latter fact gives to it somewhat the character of an emulsion, and probably promotes turgor (q,v, ) of the latex-tubes. That they are liighly turgid is shown by the fact that when a plant containing latex is wounded the juice ex- udes promptly and in considerable amount. The dissolved substances are ( 1 ) salts, especially those of calcium and magnesium, varying much in relative amount and character in ditTerent species; (2) sugars, gums, and other carbohy- drates; (3) proteids; (4) tannins, alkaloids, enzymes, and various waste products. The sub- stances held in suspension are ( 1 ) minute gran- ules of gums, resins, and caoutchouc; (2) oils; and (3) tannins, the two latter in the form of fluid droplets. Other substances, such as starch- grains, proteid grains and crystals, oil-drops, etc., are imbedded in the protoplasm with which each tube is lined (see below). FlO. 1. ARTICULATED LATEX-VESSELS FROM THE STEM OF LACTUCA. The latex-vessels are of two distinct kinds, (1) articulated and (2) non-articulated. The articulated tubes arise from the early fusion of rows of cells by the partial or complete absorp-