LTTUBQIOU.
UTUBOIOAL
It was towards 1S40 that he was initiated into the
Fositivist philosophy and got acquainted with Augusts
Comte, of whom ^e scion oecame an independent f ol-
"L' Application de la philoaophie positiv<
veniemettt Jes socifiMa" (Paris, 1849), "Conserva-
tion, Revolution et poaitiviame" (Paris, 1852), "Pa-
roles de philosop hie positive" (Paris, 1859), "Augustc
Oomteet laphilosophie positive" (1803), "Fragments
de philosopnie positive et de sociologie contempor-
aine" (ISTti). In ims, he was a candidate for the
French Academy,
but owing to the
Strong opposition
of Mgr Dupan-
loup, Bishop of
Orleans, who de-
nounced liis works
as immoral and
impious, he was
rejected, Uewas
afterwards ad-
mitted to the
Academy,inl87l,
and Ri^op Du-
panloup sent bia
resignation, to-
which, he thought,
"was a disgrace
to the illuBtrious
company".
Besides his nu- and the
asked to be baptiied and he died i
Church.
du.V (Paris, 1863); C/lho, LiUri et le Fontivitme IFaiia. ISSi)] PuTxua AHO Rehui. Ditamrt dt riptptian 6 raradfmie fraf
Sue (Parii, 1882); Saiht-Hiuiu, SBUvmiri perimntU lur Itr^m Iji C'lrany/ue mfdiadc (im^): KnxtUB, DaiCttriilni- iind die VertnUr dtr neucnn NalmvittmcAa/l (Ficibuit
19(M).
Locie N. DsLAUAsaE.
LituT^cftl Booka.^lTnder this name we under-
stand all the books, published by the authority of anjr
church, that contain the text and directiona for her
official (liturgical) services. It is now the book that
forms the standard by which one has to judge whether
a certain service or prayer or ceremony is official and
liturgical or not. Those things are liturgical, and those
only, that ore contained in one of the liturgical books.
It is also obvious that any church or religion or aect
is responsible for the things contained in its liturgical
books in (luite another sense than for the contents of
some private book of devotion, which she at moat only
allows and tolerates. The only just way of judging (rf
the services, the tone, and the elhoe of a religious body,
is to consult its liturgical books. Sects that have no
such official books are from that very fact exposed to
all manner of vazaries in their devotion, just as the
absence of an official creed leads to "
PADL-GumB IdTTBA
merous contributions to
publicatioa of his works, Littr£ founded, in IS6T, a new magazine, "La revue de philosophic posi- tive". All this work would have absorbed the entire energy of another man; but this is only a part of the tremendous production of LittrS. While he was busily engaged in all these philosophical and acicntific works, this indefatigable worker, in 1839, became a member of the committee entrusted with the duty of continuing the "Hiatoire litMraire de la France", a vast undertaking begun in the eighteenth century by the Benedictine monks of the Saint-Maur CongreRation, and taken up by tJie French Institute, after the Itevolution. Attracted by that subject, be published a series of articlea od history and literature, on comparative philology and study of languages, which were afterwards gathered under the title of "Hiatoire de la langue francaise", "Litt^ratuie et bistoire" (Paris, 1878), "Etudes et glanures" (Paris, 1880). One of his most interesting contributions to philolon' isatranslatioQof Booklof thelliad, inverse and in the French language of the thirteenth century. But by far the most important of all his works, which will moke bis name live forever, is the " Dictionaairc
In 1871, Littre was elected to the Assembliie Na-
tionale by the Department of Seine and was made a
senator for hfe in 1S74. His fame was then exploited
by the Radicals who wentsofarasto induce him to Ix;
initiated a Freemason. Much to their surprise, he pro-
nounced, on the occasion of his initiation, a vcr^' con-
servative speech which disappointed the enemies of
the Church. In fact, he had never Ijeen an implacable
opponent to Catholicism. In 1878 he declined the
dedication of a certain book because of bitter attacks
short account is given of those of the other rites.
I. The Fihot Traces of LiTtmoiCAt Books.— Our present convenient compendiums — the Missal, Bre- viary, and so on — were formed only at the end of a long evolution. In the first period (lasting perhaps tifl about the fourth century) there were no books except the Bible, from which leasons were read and p^hnB were sung. Nothing was written, because nothing waa fixed (see Litobgy). Even after certain forms hM be- come so stereotyped as to make already what we should call a more or less fixed liturgy, it does not seem that there was at first any idea t&t they should be written down. Habit and memory made the cele- brant repeat more or lesa the same forma each Sunday* the people answered his prayers with the accustomed acclamatioos and responses — all without books.
It has been much discussed at what period we h&ve evidence of written liturgies. Renaudot ("Litup- giarura Orientalium CoUectio", 2nd ed., Frankfurt, 1847, I, pp. ix and xi) thought that no booka were written even by the fourth century. He ai^uoa this from a passage in St. Basil (d. 379), who distinguishes between the written teaching of the Apostles (in the Bible) and the unwritten tradition, and quotes litur- gical functions as belonging to this: "Who", be asks, "of the saints has written down for us the words of the Sacred Invocation in the consecration of the bread and chalice?" (De Spir. Sancto, c. xxvii, in P. G., XXXII, 187). Another argimient is that no mention is made of liturgical books in the acts of martyn (who
the B , ,
Donatiata in the fourth century. Daniel ("Codex
the fourth century. Probst ("Die iilteetenrt
Sakramcntarien und Ordiiies", MOoater, 1892, pp.
1-19) tries to estabUsh that there were lituigicaJ booka
back to the time of the Apostolic Fathers. The argu-
ment from St. Basil may W dismissed at once. He is
only explaining the well-known distinetion between
the two sources of revelation. Scripture and tradition.
Tradition is distinct from Scripture: it may include
""lie. By"8ainte"
other written l>ooks, but a
