Leontius of Byzantium (1), an ecclesiastical -writ- er of the latter part of the 0th and commencement of tha 7th century, is sometimes designated, from his original profession, Scholasticus, i. e. pleader. As there are sev- eral works of that period which bear the name of Leon- tius, distinguished by various surnames, it is sometimes doubtful to whom they should be assigned. According to Oudin, Leontius flourished as an inmate of the mon- astery which had been founded by St. Saba near .Jeru- salem, and was for a time its abbot (/>e Scripto?: Eccles. i, col. 1462, etc.). Cave, confounding two different per- sons bearing this name, places our Leontius in the reign of Justinian, but from one of the works with which he is credited it is evident that he flourished half a cen- tury later. The works which appear to be by our Leon- tius are as follows: 1. SxoXia (Scholia), taken down from the lips of Theodorus (first published with Latin version by Leunclavius, and commonly cited by the title De Sectis in a volume containing several other pieces [Basle, 1578, 8vo], and reprinted in the .4 uctari- iim Bibiiothecce Pafrum of Ducaaus, vol. i [Paris, 1624, folio], in the Bibliotheca Patriun, vol. xi [Paris, 1644, foL], and m the Bibliotheca Patrum of Galland, xii, 625, etc. [Venice, 1728, folio]. The Latin version alone is given in several other editions of the Biblioth. Patrum). 2. Contra Eutychianos et Kestorianos Libri ires, s. con- futatio utriusque Fictionis inter se contraries. Some inaccurately speak of the three books into which this work is divided as distinct works. 3. Liber adveisus eos qui prof erunt nobis queedam Aj)ollinarii,falso inscripta nomine Sanctorum Patrum, s. adversus Fraudes Apol- linaristurum, 4. Solutiones Argumentationum Sereri. 5. Dubitationes hypothetical et dejinientes contra eos qui negant in Christo post Unionem duas veras Naturas. These pieces have not been printed in the original, but in a Latin version from the papers of Franciscus Turri- anus (published by Canisius in his I^eetioties Antique, vol. iv, or ii, 525, etc., ed. Basnage, and reprinted in the Bibliotheca Patrum, vol. ix [Lyons, 1677, folio], and in the above-mentioned volume of Galland). 6. Apologia Concilii Chalcedonensis (printed, with a Latin version and notes, by Antonio Bougivianni, in the Concilia, vii, 799, ed. INIansi [Florence, 1762. folio], and reprinted by Galland, /, c). In the title of this work Leontius is called Monachus Jlierosolymitanus, but the word Hie- rosolymitanus is possibly an error of the transcriber. At any rate, Galland identities the writer with our Leon- tius, and the subject of the work makes it probable that he is right. 7. Adverstis Eutychianvs {s. Sever-ianos) et Nestorianos in octo libros distinctum (described by Canis- ius as being extant in jNIS. at Munich, and by Fabricius as occurring in the catalogue of the Palatine library). 8. Liber de Duplici Xatura in Christo contra Hccresin Monophysitarum (Labbe and Cave speak of this as ex- tant in MS. at Vienna, and they acid to it Disputatio contra Philosophum A rianum ; this, however, seems to be an extract from Gelasius of Cyzicus), which probably is
LEONTIUS
369
LEOPARD
one of tho discussions between the "holy bishops" of the orthodox party and the " philosophers" wlio embraced the op})<>site side, and the Leontius who took a part in it was a bisliop of the C'appadocian Oesarea, and contem- porary of ALhanasins. 'J. According to Nicephorus Cal- listus (//. E. xviii, 43), our Leontius wrote also "an admi- rable work," in thirty books, unfortunately lost, in which he overtlirew the tritheistic heresy of John the Labori- ous, and firmly established the orthodox doctrine. Cave also ascribes to our Leontius Oraiio in medium Pente- costem et in Ccecum a Natii'itate,necnon in illud: Nolite judicare secundum fudem (published by Combelis, with a Latin version, in his Auctarium Novum, vol. i [Paris, 1648, fol.]). Itis so given by the editors oi the Bibliofh. Patrum, vol. ix (Lyons, 1G71, folio), but Fabricius (Bibl. Orccca, viii, 321) ascribes the homily to Leontius of Ne- apolis, while Galland omits it altogether. A homily on the parable of the good Samaritan, printed among the supposititious works of Chrysostom {Opera, vii, 50ti, ed. Savill), seems also to be a production of our Leontius. There are various homilies extant in MS. by " Leontius presbyter ConstantinopoUtanus." See Canisius, Vita Le- on/ii in Bihlioth. Patmim, vol. ix (Lyons, 1677, fol.), and Lecliones A ntiqiice, i, 527, etc., cd. Basnage : Cave, Hist. Litt. i, 543 ; Vossius, De Histoi-icis Greeds Liber, iv, c. 18 ; Fabricius, Bibliotheca Gi-csca, viii, 309, etc., 318 ; xii, 648 ; Oudin, De Scriptoribus et Scriptis Ecdes. i, col. 1462 ; Mansi, Concil. vii, col. 797, etc. ; Galland, Bibl. Patrum, xii, Prolerjom. c. 20. — Smith, Did. of Greek and Roman Biofj. ii, 756 sq.
Leontius of Byzantium (2), the author of a part of the Xpoi'oypff^i'a, lived in the reign of Constantine Porphyrogenitus. A second portion, bringing the work down to the second year of Romanus, son and successor of Porphjnrogenitus, and probably only reaching or de- signed to reach a later period, is an addition by another hand. In fact, the work which is entitled Xpovoyprt- 0('a, Chronor/raphia, is composed of tliree parts, by three distinct writers: (1.) The history of the emperor Leo V, the Armenian, Michael II of Aurorium, Theophilus, the son of Michael, and iMichael III and Theodora, the son and widow of TheophUus ; by the so-called Leontius, from the materials supplied by Constantine Porphyro- genitus. (2.) The life of Basil the Macedonian, by Con- stantino himself (though Labbe and Cave would assign this also to Leontius) ; and (3.) The lives of Leo VI and Alexander, the sons of Basil, and of Constantine Por- phjTogenitus, and the commencement of the reign of liomanus II; by an unknown later hand. This third part is more succinct than the former parts, and is in a great degree borrowed, with little variation, from known and existing sources. The first edition of the Chrono- graphia prepared for publication with a Latin version Avas by Comberis, and was published in the Paris edition of the Byzantine historians, forming a part of the volume entitled Ol ptrci Qeo(t>fip]]v, Scriptoi-es post Theojihanem (1685, folio); again pubhshed in the Venetian reprint ( 1729, folio), and again, edited by Bekker (Bonn, 1838, 8vo). The life of Basil by Constantine Porphyrogeni- tus was printed separately as early as 1653, in the 2tijtt- /((/c-ti of Allatius (Cologne, 8vo). See Fabricius, BihI. Grwca, vii, 681 ; viii, 318 ; Cave, Hist. Lift, ii, 90.— Smith, Diet, of Greek and Roman Bior/raphy, ii, 757 sq.