**LEAH (Heb. לֵאָה, Gr. Λεία).** — Daughter of Laban and elder sister of Rachel (cf. v.). She was given by her father in marriage to Jacob in place of Rachel, who was the beloved and for whom he had served seven years, under the pretext that it was not the custom in the land to give the younger sister in marriage before the elder (Gen. 29:22-26). Jacob accepted her, but after a week he also obtained Rachel’s hand, in accordance with the then prevailing custom (later abolished by Mosaic law, cf. Lev. 18:18), of marrying the sister of his first wife.
Less beautiful than Rachel and with defective eyes (it is difficult to specify the defect: according to the Vulgate she had
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**LIBANIUS (gr. Λιβάνιος).** — Born at Antioch in 314, Libanius was one of the last great representatives of Greek paideia. After studying in Athens, he opened a school in Constantinople, but local intrigues forced him to leave. He then taught in Nicomedia in Bithynia, where he met the future emperor Julian. He later transferred his teaching back to his homeland (354) and remained there until his death, always admired by his students.
The brightest period of his life was when the emperor Julian stayed for nearly two years in Antioch, showering him with great esteem and affection. Libanius’s most ardent hopes seemed to be fulfilled in Julian’s work of restoring the pagan religion. The unexpected death of the young emperor plunged him into grief and nearly drove him to suicide. Despite his paganism, Christians also showed him respect due to his learning and gentle courtesy; his former classmate Gregory of Nazianzus called him the prince of orators, and John Chrysostom was his devoted pupil. His voice carried weight even with high-ranking Roman magistrates and the emperor Theodosius himself. To Theodosius, for example, he appealed to restrain the fury of some fanatical Christians who were destroying noble buildings and fine works of pagan art, and to grant clemency to his fellow citizens, who were prone to unrest and rebellion.
A prolific writer, largely preserved through Byzantine admiration, his works include orations (ἀγῶν), declamations (Μελέται), exercises (προγυμνάσματα), studies on Demosthenes, and 1,544 letters. All his efforts were naturally directed toward form, pedantically adhering to the models of Attic orators. A few happy moments amid so much artificial emptiness can be found in the oration on the death of Julian and in the panegyric for his Antioch.
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