THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
After 250, different classes of lapsed were distinguished: sacrificati, who had sacrificed to the gods; thuriftcati, who had burned incense to them; libellatici, who by bribery had procured a certificate showing that they had already
Classes of fulfilled all requirements; and tradithe Lapsed, tores, who had either actually surren- Treatment dered their sacred books and vessels,
of Them, or had pretended to do so by substituting others for them. At the same time a change took place in the disciplinary treatment of the lapsed. In the second century it was generally accepted throughout the Church that a Christian who had relapsed into idolatry could not be readmitted to the congregation. The most sincere repentance was not sufficient; only open profession under a new trial and martyrdom could blot out the guilt. In the middle of the third century milder views were adopted. In 250 Cyprian and the Roman clergy still felt uncertain about the question, but gradually a more lenient practise prevailed in the churches of Carthage, Rome, Alexandria, and Antioch, and between 251 and 325 a complete system of penitential rules was elaborated by the bishops. Not only was a distinction made between sacrificati and libellatici, but regard was paid to the individual circumstances of each case, thus gradually transforming the penitential system into one of casuistry. The oldest and most important of such penitential decisions are the Liber de pcenitentia of Petrus Alexandrinus, the first four canons of the Synod of Elvira (306), the first nine of the Synod of Ancyra (314), the thirteenth of the Synod of Aries (314 or 316), and the tenth to the fourteenth of the Council of Nicaea (325).
(A. Hahnack.)
Bibliography: C. Wessely, Les Plus Anciens Monuments du ckristianisme ecrits sur papyrus, Paris, 1908 (contains at the beginning a series of documents of the highest value for this subject) ; J. Marinus, De disciplina in administratione sacramenti poenitentice, Paris, 1651; H. Klee, Die Beichte, Frankfort, 1827; M. J. Routh, Reliquiae sacrce, iv. 21-22, 115-116, 255, 256, 5 vols., Oxford, 1846-48; J. Langen, Geschichte der rbmischen Kirche, i. 279 sqq., 300 sqq., Bonn, 1881; J. H. Kurtz, Church History, i. 82-83, New York, 1889; Hefele, Conciliengeschichte, and Eng. transl., vol. i. passim; Neander, Christian Church, i. 226-246; Schaff, Christian Church, ii. 60 sqq., 76 sqq.; KL, i. 87-91.
LARDNER, lord'ner, NATHANIEL: English nonconformist; b. at Hawkhurst (42 m. s.e. of London), Kent, June 6, 1684; d. there July 24, 1768. He studied in London, Utrecht, and Leyden, and in 1716 toured France, Belgium, and Holland as the tutor of the son of Lady Treby, whom he instructed from 1713 to 1721. After the death of his patroness in 1721 he remained without a position until 1729, his delivery being too dry and lifeless to gain him the pulpit which he desired. In 1729, however, he became assistant minister in a Presbyterian chapel in London, and remained there until 1751, when total deafness obliged him to retire." The rest of his life was passed in seclusion, although he maintained an active correspondence with scholars at home and abroad.
Lardner's theological position may be defined as rationalistic supernaturalism, since it recognized both the justification of reason and the necessity of revelation. Believing that the original simplic-
ity of Evangelical doctrines had been obscured by useless speculations, he sought to return to plain and primitive truth. His primary object was the proof of the truth of Christianity by historical criticism, this being the basal concept of his chief work The Credibility of the Gospel History (17 vols. London, 1727-57). This book, at once profound and unbiased, is divided into two parts, with a supplement as a third. The first division contains those facts mentioned in the New Testament which are confirmed by contemporary writers, while in the second portion, which is much the longer, the testimonies of the Church Fathers of the first four centuries are collected and carefully weighed besides being subjected to a thorough criticism which investigates their authenticity and determines their date. The supplement discusses the canon of the New Testament, which Lardner believed to have been settled long before the Synod of Laodicea. He dated the synoptic Gospels and Acts in 64 and the Johannine Gospel in 68, the latest book being Revelation, which he placed in 96. The date of the Epistles was relatively late, since they were written after the Gospel had been widely promulgated. The Gospel of the Hebrews was a translation of the Greek Matthew. Among his other works special mention may be made of the following : A Vindication of Three of our Blessed Saviour's Miracles (1729); The Circumstances of the Jewish People (1743); A Large Collection of Ancient Jewish and Heathen Testimonies to the Truth of the Christian Religion (4 vols., 1764-67); and particularly A Letter concerning the Logos (1759), which brought upon him the charge of Socinianism.
Bibliography: The basal work on the life is the anonymous Memoirs of Lardner, London, 1769 (by J. Jennings). Consult further the Life by A. Kippis, in vol. i. of the Works of Lardner, London, 1788; L. Stephen, Hist, of English Thought, passim, New York, 1881; and notices listed in DNB, xxxii. 147-151.
LA ROCHELLE, CONFESSION OF. See Gallican Confession.
LARRABEE, lar'a-bi, WILLIAM HENRY:
Methodist Episcopal; b. at Alfred, Me., Sept. 20, 1829. He studied at Indiana Asbury (now DePauw) University (B.A., 1845), and was admitted to the bar, although he never practised. After having been a teacher (1846-52), farmer, and clerk in the office of the superintendent of public instruction in Indiana, he engaged in literary and editorial work. He was assistant editor of The Methodist (New York City) 1862-65 and 1870-77, of The Brooklyn Daily Union 1865-70, and of The Popular Science Monthly 1880- 1901. Since 1880 he has conducted the department on " Life in the Churches " in The Christian Advocate. He has likewise contributed to various encyclopedias, particularly to Bishop M. Simpson's Cyclopedia of Methodism (Philadelphia, 1S7S), and has written Education through the Agency of Religious Organizations (St. Louis, 1904); How the World was Made (Plainfield. N. J., 1906); and Volcanoes and Earthquakes (1906).
LA SALLE, JEAN BAPTISTE DE. See Christian Brothers.
LASAULX, 1q"so1', AMALIA VON: German Sister of Charity known as " Sister Augustine ";