THE NEW SCHAFF-HERZOG
in the Bible (cf. Rev. iii. 5, xiii. 8; Phil. iv. 3; Ps. lxix. 28). Purely external considerations gave rise to the opposite designation " book of the dead," originally referring only to those whose memory was recalled at the communion service. The development of worship, both in the Eastern and in the Western Church, combined with the growing length of the lists, led to the abandonment or the restriction of the older custom.
As to the form of this register, the Greek name diptychon implies a connection with the wax tablets used by the ancients. Two or more of them were bound together, in the form of a book, the exterior being of some firm material and forming the covers. At the same period papyrus rolls were also used. These covers were probably in most cases of wood. Nevertheless, in the fourth century and probably earlier, ivory was used and ornamented with reliefs.
Probably the oldest (fourth to fifth century?) Christian example which has been preserved is the Carrand diptych in Florence with the naming of the beasts of the field by Adam; but, in general, scenes from the New Testament predominate.
The use of diptychs continued in the East far into the Middle Ages, and the same is true of the West, especially in the period of Carlovingian art. Some of the diptych tablets have been preserved as ornamental parts of book-covers; for the artistic ecclesiastical bindings of the Middle Ages were inspired by the diptychs.
From these diptychs, with religious representations, in ecclesiastical use must be distinguished those of the officials, of the emperors, and of private persons. These should not, however, pass unnoticed since some of them show Christian types, while others were taken for ecclesiastical use and were altered for that purpose. In this group the first place is occupied by the diptych of the Consul Anicius Probus, from the year 406, in the possession of the Cathedral of Aosta. One tablet shows the emperor holding in his left hand the imperial orb with a winged Victory, and in his right the labarum, inscribed with the words " In the name of Christ conquer thou ever." Another important example is the Barberini diptych in the Louvre, with the equestrian figure of Justinian. On one leaf of a diptych in Monza the costume of the consul has been changed into a priestly vestment and the head has been given the tonsure; an inscription has also been added indicating that the figure is that of Gregory the Great. On the other leaf, the original figure is untouched and it has been given another meaning only by means of the inscription " King David." There is in Bologna a private diptych Christianized by the addition of an inscription designating the principal figure as Peter and a bust above this figure as Mark.
It may also be remarked that the various forms of the altar-piece are called diptych, triptych, etc.
Victor Schultze. Bibliography: Earlier works still of value are: C. A. Salig, De diptychis veterum, Halle, 1731; A. F. Gori, Thesaurus veterum diptychorum, 3 vols., Florence, 1759; J. O. Westwood, Description of the Ivories, Ancient and Mediaeval, in the South Kensington Museum, London, 1876; R. Garracei, Storia della arte cristiana, vol. vi., Prato, 1880;
T. G. Brightman, Liturgies Eastern and Western, glossary s. v. " diptychs," Oxford, 1896; H. Graeven, Friihchristliche und mittelalterliche Elfenbeinwerke, Ron^e, 1898 sqq • G. Rietschl, Lehrbuch der Liturgik, i. 231 sqq., Berlin, 1900; DC A, i. 560 sqq.; and for the secular use, W. Smith, W Wayte, and G. E. Marindin, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, i. 643-644, London, 1890.
LIBERATUS: Deacon at Antioch and ecclesiastical writer; fi. about 560. He was the author of a work which is an important source for the history of the ecclesiastical controversies of the fifth and sixth centuries, Breviarum causa Nestorianorum et Eutychianorum (ed. J. Gamier, Paris, 1675; reprinted in MPL, Ixviii. 963-1052). The book utilizes the history of the preceding century to demonstrate that Justinian's condemnation of the Three Chapters (see Three Chapter Controversy) is false and untenable. The history begins with the ordination of Nestorius, and comes down approximately to 560. The date is shown by the mention of the death of Pope Vigilius (555) and by the fact that at the close of the last chapter Patriarch Theophilus of Alexandria (d. 566) is referred to as yet alive. The work mentions as sources the Historia ecclesiastica tripartita of Cassiodorus (q.v.), Gesta synodalia, Epistolm sanctorum patrum, a Gesia de nomine Acacii of Pope Gelasius I. (q.v.), and finally a Gr cecum Alexandria scriptum, which some have identified with the ecclesiastical history of Zacharias Scholasticus (q.v.). The style is concise and not always clear, the tone judicious, and the general treatment trustworthy, notwithstanding its partizan attitude as against the Monophysites.
G. Kruger.
Bibliography: Fabricius-Harles, Bibliotheca Grozca, xii. 685-692, Hamburg, 1809; DCB, iii. 716-717; KL, vii. 1944; Ceillier, Auteurs sacres, xi. 303-305.
LIBERIA, lai-bi'ri-a : A republic on the west coast of Africa, having a coast line of about 350 miles from Sierra Leone to the French colony of the Ivory Coast, and stretching inland to a distance in some cases of 200 miles. The total area is about 45,000 square miles; the population is estimated at 2,000,000, all of African race, the few whites being considered foreigners. It was founded as a colony in 1822 by free blacks sent out by the American Colonization Society. According to the constitution adopted in 1847, when Liberia was declared an independent government, electors must be of negro blood and owners of land. The Americo-Liberians, numbering about 20,000, hold the chief power, the native races, while not excluded from the franchise, taking little part in political life. At one time it was thought that the Americo- Liberians were dying out, but intermixture with the more civilized aborigines and some immigration from the west has strengthened them. They are all Protestants, connected chiefly with the Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopal, and Lutheran Churches. There is a Roman Catholic Mission, statistics for which are not available. The earliest missionary work, apart from that connected with the Colonization Society, was begun by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1831, followed by the Presbyterian in 1833, the Protestant Episcopal in 1836, and the General Synod of the Lutheran Church in 1859. The Presbyterian Board of For-