LIBEL
410
LIBERALITY
a measure, poured upon him : '• For I am ready to be of- feriMi, and the time of my departure is at liand" (2 Tim. iv, G ). Tlie same expressive sacrificial term occurs in I'hil. ii, 17, wliere the apostle represents the faith of the rhilippians as a sacrifice, and his own blood as a liba- tion jKiurcd forth to hallow and consecrate it : " Yea, and if 1 be offered, (7wevCoi.iat, upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, tTvi ry Gvaicf Kcti Xttrovpyia, I joy and rejoice with you all." Tlie word libation was frequent- ly extended in its signification, however, to the whole offering of unbloody sacrifices of which this formed a part, and which consisted not only in the pouring of a liltle wine upon the altar, but were accompanied by the presentation of fruit and cakes. Cakes in particular were peculiar to the worship of certain deities, as to that of Apollo. They were either simple cakes of Hour, some- times also of wax, or they were made in the shape of some animal, and were then offered as symbolical sac- rifices in the place of real animals, either because they oould not easily be procured, or were too expensive for the sacrificer. This custom prevailed even in the houses of the Romans, who at their meals made an offering to the Lares in the fire which burned upon the hearth. The libation was thus a sort of heathen "grace before meat." See Watson, Bibl. and Theol. Did. s. v. ; Cham- bers, Cyclop, s. V.
Libel is the technical name of the document which contains the accusation framed against a minister be- fore ecclesiastical courts. See Fama Clamosa. In England, libel, in the ecclesiastical courts, is the name given to the formal written statement of the complain- ant's ground of complaint against the defendant. It is the first stage in the pleadmgs after the defendant has been cited to appear. The defendant is entitled to a cojiy of it, and must answer the allegations contained in it upon oath. In Scotland, the libel is a document drawn up, as usual, in the form of a syllogism, the major proposition stating the name and nature of the crime, as condemned by the Word of God and the laws of the Church ; the minor proposition averring that the party accused is guilty, specifying facts, dates, and places; and then follows the conclusion deducing the justice of the sentence, if the accusation should be proven. B}' the term relevancy is meant whether the charge is one real- ly deserving censure, or whether the facts alleged, if proved, would afford sufficient evidence of the charge. A list of witnesses is appended to the copy of the libel served in due time and form on the person accused. One of the forms is as follows : " Unto the Rev. the Moderator and Remanent Members of the • • Pres- bytery of the United Presbyterian Church, The Com- plaint of A and B, a committee appointed to prosecute the matter after-mentioned (or of Mr. A. B., merchant
in , a member of said Church) ; Sheweth, That
tiie Rev. C. D., minister of the ■ Congregation of
, has been guilty of the sin of [hei-e state the de- nomination of the offence, such as "drunkenness,'" "Joj'ni-
cation," or such like'). In so far as, upon the day
of , 1800, or about that time, and within the house
of , situated in street, , he, the said
C. D. {here the circumstances attending the offence charged are described, as, for example, " did di'inh vhishey or some other spirituous liquor to excess, whereby he became in- toxicated"), to the great scandal of religion and disgrace of his sacred i)rofession ; may it therefore please your reverend court to ajipoint service of this libel to be made on the said Rev. C. D., and him to ajipear before j'ou to answer to the same; and on his admitting the charge, or on the same being proved against him, to visit liitn with sucli censure as the Word of God and the rules and disci])line of tlie Church in such cases pre- scribe, in order tliat he and all others may be. deterred from connnittiug the like offences in all time coming, or to do otlierwise in the premises as toyoU may appear expedient and proper. According to justice, etc. List of ^vitnesses." — Eaiiie, Eccles. Diet. s. v.
liibellatici is the name of that class of the lapsed
who received from the heathen magistrate a written certificate {libellum) as a warrant for their security ; either testifying that they were not Christians, or con- taining a dispensation from tlie necessity of sacrificing to the gods in confirmation of their adherence to hea- thenism. Another class of the lapsed were the sacri- ficati— that is, those who had offered sacrifice to the heathen gods in testimony of their renunciation of tlie faith ; another the traditoi-es, because they had deliv- ered up into the hands of the heathen either copies of the sacred writings, baptismal registers, or any other jjroperty of the Church. See Farrar, Eccles. Diet. s. v. ; Schaflf, Ch. Hist, i (see Index) ; Mosheim, Commentary (see Index). See Lapsed.
Libelli Pacis, or Letters of Peace. In Egypt and Africa many of those who had fallen away in time of persecution, in order the more readily to obtain par- don for their offences, resorted to the intercession of persons destined to suffer martyrdom by securing from them libelli pacis, letters of peace ; papers in which these returning apostates were commended as worthy of com- munion and Church membersliip. In this way they were again taken into communion sooner than the rules of the Church otherwise allowed. From this practice the pope claims a precedent for the exercise of his pre- tended power to grant spiritual indulgences, which seem to have been used first about the middle of the second century. See Farrar, Eccles. Diet. s. v. ; Mosheim, Com- mentary (see Index). See Indulgences ; Lapsei*^