FLA- FLAVIAN I., patriarcli of Antioch, was born about 320, most probably in Antioch. He lost his parents in early youth, and, although inheriting great wealth, he renounced a life of worldly ease, and resolved to devote his riches and his talents to the service of the church. In association with Diodorus, afterwards bishop of Tarsus, he supported the catholic faith against the Arian Leontius, who had suc ceeded Eustathius as patriarch of Antioch. The two friends assembled their adherents outside the city walls for the observance of the exercises of religion ; and, according to Theodoret, it was in these meetings that the practice of antiphonal singing was first introduced in the services of the church. When Meletius was appointed patriarch of Antioch in 361, he raised Flavian to the priesthood, and on the death of Meletius in 381, Flavian was chosen, by a majority of tho bishops, to succeed him. The schism between the two parties was, however, far from being healed, and Paulinus, who by the extreme Eustathians had been elected patriarch in opposition to Meletius, still exercised authority over a portion of the church. On the death of Paulinus in 383, Evagrius was chosen as his successor, and after the death of Evagrius in 395 the Eustathians still continued to hold separate meetings ; but through the intervention of Chrysostom of Constantinople, they agreed, about the year 399, to acknowledge Flavian as their bishop. During the patriarchate of Flavian a serious sedition occurred in the streets of Antioch (387), and the statues of Theodosius and the empress were overturned ; but Flavian went to Constantinople, and by an eloquent dis course, prepared for him, it is said, by his pupil St John Chrysostom, succeeded in averting the emperor s vengeance from the city. Flavian died in 404. FLAVIAN II., patriarch of Antioch, was chosen by the emperor Anastasius I. to succeed Palladius, most probably in 498. He endeavoured to please both parties by steering a middle course in reference to the Chalcedon decrees, but was induced after great hesitation to agree to the request of Anastasius that he should accept the Henoticon. His doing so, while it brought upon him the anathema of the patriarch of Constantinople, failed to secure a return of the favour of Anastasius, who in 511 found in tho riots which were occurring between the rival parties in the streets of Antioch a pretext for deposing Flavian, and banishing him to Petra, where ho died in 518. Flavian was soon after his death enrolled among the saints of the Greek Church, and after some opposition ho was also canonized by the Latin Church. FLAVIAN, patriarch of Constantinople, succeeded Proclus in 447. He presided at the council which deposed Eutyches in 448, but in the following year he was deposed by the council of Alexandria, which reinstated Eutyches in his office. Not satisfied with the mere deposition of Flavian, his opponents were so carried away by their feel ings as to proceed to personal violence, and his death soon after at Hypcepa in Lydia is attributed to a kick inflicted on him by Dioscorus, patriarch of Alexandria, the president of the council. The council of Chalcedon canonized him us a martyr, and he is also enrolled in the martyrology of the Latin Church, his day being the 18th February. FLAVIGNY, VALERIEN-, was born near Laon about the beginning of the 17th century. Having studied in the college of Sorbonne, lie received from it his doctor s diploma in 1628, and shortly afterwards obtained a canonry in the cathedral of Hheims. In 1630 he became professor of Hebrew in the college of France. He died at Paris, 29th April 1674. The works of Flavigny are chiefly occupied with discussions regarding the Hebrew text of the Bible. His opinions acquired him for a time considerable celebrity, and engaged him in controversies with some of the doctors of the Sorbonne, but now possess scarcely any interest. L A 293 The following aro his principal treatises: Epteolcc IV. de ingcnti Bibliorum opcrc scptcmlingui, 1636 ; Epistola. ducc in quibvs dc ingcnti JUbliorum opcre quod nupcr Luteticc Parisiorum prodiit &c., 1646 ; Epistola Ilia i n q ua dc libdlo Ruth Syriaco, quern Abr. Echellensia inscrtum csse voluit ingcnti Bibliorum opcri, 1G47 ; Epistola adversus Abr. Echcllcnsem dc libdlo liuth, &c., 1648 ; Disquisilio Thcologica, &c., 1666. He also published an edition of the works of William of Saint- Amour, a doctor of the 13th century. FLAVIN is an extract or preparation of quercitron bark (Quercus tinctoria), used as a yellow dye in place of the ground and powdered bark. Flavin is not a definite chemical compound, and the commercial product is found to vary greatly in composition and tinctorial value, accord ing, probably, to the nature of the varied processes employed in its preparation. The manufacture of flavin is principally carried on in the United States under various patents ; and while some kinds appear to be little other than finely powdered and sifted bark, others are almost pure quercitrin, tho chemical principle peculiar to querci tron bark. A kind of flavin made in England is obtained by exhausting the bark in a weak alkaline solution, and precipitating the colouring matter by neutralization with either sulphuric acid or hydrochloric acid. Flavin of good quality ought to possess about 16 times the tinctorial strength of the bark from which it is extracted. FLAX. The terms flax or lint (German Flacks, French Lin, Latin Linum) aro employed at once to denote tho fibre so called, and tho plant from which it is prepared. The flax plant (Linum t(sitatissimum) belongs to the natural order Linacece, and, like most plants which have been long under cultivation, it possesses numerous varieties, while the wild or parent condition is not known. As cultivated ib is an annual with an erect stalk rising to a height of from 20 to 40 inches, with alternate, sessile, linear-lanceo- late^ leaves, branching only at the top into a corymbose panicle of bright blue flowers. Tho flowers are regular and
Fio. 1. Flax Plant (Linum iisitatissimum). symmetrical, having five ovate acute, slightly ciliate sepals, five deciduous petals, and a syncarpous pentacarpellary ovary with five distinct styles. The fruit or boll is round, containing five cells or loculaments, each of which is divided into two by a spurious dorsal dissepiment, thus forming ten divisions, each of which contains a single seed. The seeds, well known as linseed, are flat, ovnl in form, dark brown in colour, with a smooth shining mucilaginous
