The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1367 page)

 
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Legate, Papal
.

A personal representative, in effect ambassador, of the
Holy See
.

 
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see
MARIA LEGIO
.

 
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(1646–1716).
German philosopher and mathematician. He studied law initially (at Leipzig), but turned to philosophy and mathematics, making an independent discovery of the infinitesimal calculus. From a Protestant background, he espoused the cause of reconciliation between Protestants and Roman Catholics—and was invited to supervise the Vatican Library. In
Essays on Theodicy
(1710), he argued that the law of continuity (based on the consistency of the universe) points to a perfect Being (i.e. God), who would necessarily create the best of all possible worlds (a view satirized by Voltaire, especially in
Candide
). In
The Monadology
(1714) he advanced the view that everything is made up of simple monads. Arranged hierarchically, the soul is the ruling entechy of the body—offering an analogy of the relation of God to the world.

 
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(Heb., ‘Come, my friend’). Initial words and title of a Jewish
Sabbath
hymn.
Lekhah dodi
is sung near the beginning of the Sabbath evening service to welcome the Sabbath.

 
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see
LUMPA CHURCH
.

 
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(Old Eng.,
lencten
; Germ.,
Lenz
, ‘spring’). The forty-day
fast
before
Easter
. The length was presumably suggested by the forty days' fasts of
Moses
,
Elijah
, and Jesus himself. Lent is observed as a time of penance by abstaining from festivities, by almsgiving, and by devoting time to prayer and religious study.