LEONTIUS

This article appears in Volume V16, Page 456 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: LAP-LEO

LEONTIUS , theological writer, born at Byzantium, flourished during the 6th century. He is variously styled BYZANTINUS, HIEROSOLYMITANUS (as an inmate of the monastery of St Saba near Jerusalem) and SCHOLASTICUS (the first " schoolman," as the introducer of the Aristotelian definitions into theology; according to others, he had been an advocate, a

special

SPECIAL

meaning of the word scholasticus). He himself states that in his early years he belonged to a Nestorian community. Nothing else is known of his life; he is frequently confused with others of the same name, and it is uncertain which of the works bearing the name Leontius are really by him. Most scholars regard as genuine the polemical treatises Contra Nestorianos et Eutychianos, Contra Nestorianos, Contra Monophysitas, Contra Severurn (patriarch of Antioch) ; and the EXo? ta, generally called De Sectis. An essay Adversus fraudes Apollinaristarum and two homilies are referred to other hands, the homilies to a Leontius, presbyter of Constantinople.
Collected works in J. P. Migne, Patrologia Graeca, lxxxvi.; for the various questions connected with Leontius see F. Loops, Das Leben and die polemischen Werke des Leontios von Byzanz (

Leipzig

LEIPZIG

, 1887) ; W. Rtigamer, Leontius von Byzanz (1894) ; V. Ermoni, De Leontio Byzantino (Paris, 1895); C. Krumbacher, Geschichte der byzantinischen Litteratur (1897); J. P. Junglas, Leontius von Byzanz (1908). For other persons of the name see Fabricius, Bibliotheca Graeca (ed. Harles), viii. 323.
LEOPARD; PARD Or PANTHER (Felis pardus), the largest spotted true cat of the Old World, with the exception of the snow-leopard, which is, however, inferior in point of size to the largest leopard. (See CARNIVORA and SNOW-LEOPARD.) Leopards, known in India as cheeta (

chita

CHITA

), are characterized by the rosette-like form of the black spots on the greater part of the

body

BODY

, and the absence of a central spot from each rosette. Towards the head and on the limbs the spots tend to become solid, but there is great local variation in regard to their form and arrangement. In the Indian leopard, the true Felis pardus, the spots are large and rosette-like, and the same is the case with the long-haired Persian leopard (F. pardus tulliana). On the other hand the heavily built and thick-haired Manchurian F. p. villosa has more consolidated spots. African leopards, again, to one of which the name F. p. leopardus is applicable; show a decided tendency to a breaking-up of the spots; West African animals being much darker-coloured than those from the

east

EAST
EAST, ALFRED (1849- )

side of the continent.
Both as regards structure and habits, the leopard may be reckoned as one of the more typical representatives of the genus Felis, belonging to that section in which the hyoid bone is loosely connected with the skull, owing to imperfect ossification of its anterior arch, and the pupil of the eye when contracted under the influence of light is circular, not linear as in the smaller cats.
The size of leopards varies greatly, the head and

body

BODY

usually measuring from 3z to 41 ft. in length, and the tail from 22 to 3 ft., but some specimens exceed these limits, while the Somali leopard (F. p. nanopardus) falls considerably short of them. The ground-colour of the fur varies from a

pale

PALE (through Fr. pal, from Lat. palms, a stake, for paglus, from the stem pag- of pangere, to fix; " pole " is from the same original source)

fawn to a rufous buff, graduating in the Indian race into pure white on the under-parts and inside of the limbs. Generally speaking, the spots on the under parts and limbs are simple and blacker than those on the other parts of the body. The bases of the ears behind are black, the tips buff. The upper side of the tail is buff, spotted with broken rings like the back, its under surface white with simple spots. The

hair

HAIR (a word common to Teutonic languages)

of the cubs is longer than that of the adults, its ground-colour less

bright

BRIGHT, JOHN (1811-188g)
BRIGHT, SIR CHARLES TILSTON

, and its spots less distinct. Perfectly black leopards, which in certain lights show the characteristic markings on the fur, are not uncommon, and are examples of melanism, occurring as individual variations, sometimes in one cub out of a litter of which the rest are normally coloured, and therefore not indicating a distinct race, much less a species. These are met with chiefly in southern Asia; melanism among African leopards
1 The name (

Late

LATE

Lat. leopardus,

Late

LATE

Gr. ?soaap3os) was given by the ancients to an animal supposed to have been a cross between a lion (Lat. leo, Gr. Mw) and a pard (Gr. aa.pbos, Pers. pars) or panther. Medieval heralds made no distinction in shape between a lion and a leopard, but marked the difference by drawing the leopard showing the full face (see HERALDRY: Beasts and Birds).-LEOPARDI
taking the form of an excessive breaking-up of the spots, which finally show a tendency to coalesce.
In habits the leopard resembles the other large cat-like animals, yielding to none in the ferocity of its disposition. It is exceedingly

quick

QUICK

in its movements, but seizes its prey by waiting in ambush or stealthily approaching to within springing distance, when it suddenly rushes upon it and tears it to ground with its
The Leopard (Felis pardus).
powerful claws and teeth. It preys upon almost any animal it can overcome, such as antelopes, deer, sheep, goats, monkeys, peafowl, and has a

special

SPECIAL

liking for dogs. It not unfrequently attacks human beings in India, chiefly children and old women, but instances have been known of a leopard becoming a regular " man-eater." When favourable opportunities occur, it often kills many more victims than it can devour at once, either to gratify its propensity for killing or for the sake of their fresh blood. It generally inhabits woody districts, and can climb trees with facility when hunted, but usually lives on or near the ground, among rocks, bushes and roots and low branches of large trees.
The geographical range of the leopard embraces practically all Africa, and Asia from Palestine to China and Manchuria, inclusive of Ceylon and the great Malay Islands as far as Java. Fossil bones and teeth, indistinguishable from those of existing leopards, have been found in cave-deposits of Pleistocene age in Spain, France, Germany and England. (R. L.*; W. H. F.)

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