k See note J on preced. column.
II See the account, from personal ex-perience, of an Eastern supper, given by Peiritz, op. cit. pp. 13-15 and note, and the similar account by Thomson in The Land and the Book, pp. 126-128.
LATCHET
LAUGHTER
are simple, homelj', ordinary ; but the wiiole is pervailed by an air of mystery. It was not the Pass^over of Moses, but it was the initiation of the Passover of Christ.* But see Passover (II.).
7. When we pass from the sacred narratives to Patristic tradition, we encounter conti'oversy about the date of Easter which lasted for several genera- tions, but produced no decision as to the nature of the Last Supper. The early separation of the Church from the Sj-nagogue, although inevitable, was a loss to the former. Gentile converts found themselves the inhe.itors of rites and Scriptures derived from Jewish believers whose language and ideas they understood but imperfectly ; hence tlie opinion obtained some credence, that Christ celebrated an anticipatory Passover ; for they over- looked the insuperable hindrances to such an act whicii the Jewish customs would present. But one tradition has an important bearing on our inquiry. The Primitive Church had no scruple about the use of leavened bread in the Eucharist. Such has been the immemorial custom of the un- changing East ; while in the AVest (as few would now denj-), the use of unleavened wafers was brouglit in during the Middle Ages. If our Lord instituted the Saci-ament at a Paschal Slipper, He used, of necessitj", unleavened bread. The desire to imitate His acts would, surely, if He had con- secrated in unleavened, liave found expression in an opinion that ordinary bread was inadmissible. There is no ancient tradition, of universal accept- ance, that the sacramental bread must be un- leavened. The use of ordinary bread is an un- conscious admission that the Last Supper was not a Passover, t
8. The discussion of this question is not merely academical. The practice of some Christians has been aflected by the views entertained of the nature of the Last Supper. On the supposition that it was a Passover, it has been contended that the use of unleavened bread is obligatory in the Eucharist. The teetotaller extends the exclusion of leaven to the chalice, and demands the use of unfermented wine. Many love to think that they can find the words sung after the Supper in the Psalms of the Paschal Hallcl. But the conclusions at which we have arrived lend no authority to the exclusion of leaven from the Lord's Table, and are inconsistent with many expressions in well-known Communion Hymns, and in books of Sacramental devotion. t There may be practical reasons for the use of w.nfers in preference to cubes of ordinary bread. As to wiiat is called ' unfermented wine,' a pre- vious question arises, whether mere grape juice is true wine. But whatever may be deemed most suitable for the sacramental elements in present- day use, our contention is that the Holy Mysteries were lirst administered at an ordinary meal, and with ordinary bread and wine for their outAvard and visible form.
LiTERATCRE. — See under Dates and Lord's Sipper.
G. H. GWILLIAM.
LATCHET (iMas, Lk 3>«, Mk F, Jn l2V)._Tlie leathern strap attached to the sandal, which, pass-
* Comiiare the remarks of Isaac Williams in The Holy Week, pt. iv. § ii. It is interestinar to note that two WTiters so widely separated by antecedents and education, and to some extent by sympathies, as were he and Peiritz, arrive from different points at the same conclusion. In one ca'se it is the opinion of a mind steeped in Patristic lore, in the other of a very learned Rab- binical scholar.
t See full account of the Eucharistic bread in art. ' Elements ' in Diet, of Christ. Antiq. (Smith and Cheetham). i. P- 601 f.; cf. Bingham's Antiqtiiti'es, bk. xv. ch. ii. ^ .S. Some heretics of early days, the Aquarians. Encratites, and Hydroparastata>, who were teetotallers, consecrated in water ; see Binerham, ib.
5 V.
t The Ansrlican Liturgy in the Projvr Preface for Easter recosrnizes Christ as ' the very Paschal Lamb.' but throiiprhout the Service there is not an expression or allusion which implies a particular \iew of the nature of the Last Supper.
ing se\eral times across the foot, was secured round the ankle, thus fixing the sandal securely. See artt. Saxdal and Shoe. The most menial service which can be exacted fi'om <an Oriental is to remove o cany his master's shoes. Hence, too, the gi"eatest honour a host can show to his guest is to stoop down and remove his shoes. John the Baptist counted himself unworthy to per- form this service for Christ. J. SOUTAR.
LATIN.— See Title on Cross.
LAUGHTER.
The two words found in XT for ' laughter ' correspond almost exactly in significance with the two commonly occurring in OT. xci.rccyi>.a.u (ill 92-1 j Jlk 5*0 and Lk 853) = i-y'?, which always means sconiful, derixice laughter (e.g. Pr 175, Is 3722. pg oi). On the other hand, yty.<i.ij (Lk 62i)=pnj;', which is the more general term, and while sometimes implying derision (as in Job 301, Pr 126), is more usually found in the sense of merrii laughter, as opposed to the gloom of sadness (<•.';. Pr 299, Ec 3* 02 1019. Pr 141;,). But, while in OT these words and others denoting mirth and gleefulness are often found, their parallels are very rare in XT. Beyond the two passages already men- tioned, there is only one (Ja 4-') in which laughter is referred to. ^and this is obviously a reminiscence of Christ's sajings as reported in Lk 6'2i- 25. — and one other in which jesting (li-rpcc- -rOJti) * is forbidden to the Christian by St. Paul (Eph o-i). The word which does occur in XT, and which is characteristic of it, is x'P" (53 times), x'^'P^ (6 times) ; but this is almost always a restrained and chastened joy rather than one which breaks out into laughter — describing the condition of the mind rather than tlie expression of the emotions. A stronger word, imply- ing more emotional demonstration, is aya}./.ic^u ; see esp. Lk 1021. where it seems to be implied that Jesus manifested His jo\- by outward signs ; the word in l-*i- +1 6-^ (5-»i-ro.a;) is stronger still, and can hardlv be used excejit where almost extravagant demonstrations of pleasure are intended.