while not strictly necessary it has been found that it is generally useful for the reducing atmosphere to essentially of a mixture of hydrogen , nitrogen , and water vapor with a partial pressure of oxygen small enough so as to avoid oxidation of the electrode layers . when silver is employed as the metal in the end terminations the preferred firing range is from 850 ° c . to 875 ° c . preferably , the firing of the bodies subsequent to the firing in the reducing atmosphere is carried out in air , more preferably at a temperature of about 425 ° c . when the metal of the electrode is nickel and the noble metal of the end terminations is silver . preferred examples of glass materials are either the bao -- al 2 o 3 -- b 2 o 3 or the na 2 o -- b 2 o 3 -- sio 2 system . in the former cao or mgo may be substituted for bao , sio 2 , na 2 o or k 2 o may be substituted for b 2 o 3 , and nio , cuo or feo may be substituted for al 2 o 3 . in the latter cao , bao , mgo , k 2 o may be substituted for na 2 o . any reduction resistant ceramic dielectric material may be employed , examples of which are barium titanate , strontium titanate and aluminum oxide . a preferred ceramic dielectric material that may be employed consists essentially of a barium titanate formed in a major amount of approximately equal proportions of bao and tio 2 , minor amounts of cao and zro 2 sufficient to shift and broaden the curie peaks of the ceramic to a preselected value and magnesium oxide in an amount of about 1 mole % of the ceramic material and where the ratio of the large to small cations in less than or equal to 0 . 98 but greater than or equal to 0 . 89 . large and small cations are defined respectively as those having ionic radii greater or less than 0 . 90 . particularly good results are achieved when the electrodes are formed of nickel and the ceramic dielectric material consists essentially in mole percent or 44 - 46 % bao , 44 - 46 % tio 2 , 2 . 5 - 3 . 0 % cao , 2 . 5 - 3 . 0 % mgo , 2 . 5 - 3 . 0 % zio 2 and 1 . 25 - 1 . 75 % nio . specific examples of preferred ceramic dielectric compositions are those described in dirstine u . s . pat . no . 4 , 386 , 985 particularly that disclosed in example 1 thereof . for a more complete understanding , the invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the following example . following the procedure of example 1 of u . s . pat . no . 4 , 386 , 985 , a composition comprising the following compounds in the proportions indicated by mol . % was prepared : 45 . 01 % bao ( as baco 3 ), 2 . 77 % cao ( as caco 3 ), 45 . 17 % tio 2 , 2 . 77 % mgo ( as mgco 3 ), 2 . 77 % zro 2 and 1 . 51 % nio . these components , which were all of high purity grades , were ultimately mixed by vibratory milling for 1 hour and subsequently dried . the resultant mixture was then calcined for 16 hours at 1050 ° c .- 1100 ° c . and crushed to pass a 60 mesh sieve . the resultant powder was then mixed with an organic binder in a solvent such as butyl cellusolve acetate . the resultant slurry was milled for about 12 hours and cast into a 35 micron thick tape by use of a doctor blade technique . a 5 micron thick nickel electrode was then screened on the tape in such a manner that only one end of the nickel electrode extended to an end of the ceramic tape . multiples of screen and unscreened tapes were assembled in stacks in such a manner that the two outer surfaces of the stacks were formed of the ceramic material and the ends of the electrodes were alternatively exposed at opposite end faces of the stacks . after being subjected to a low temperature firing in air to remove all the organic components , the green laminated bodies were fired at 1350 ° c . in a reducing atmosphere , said atmosphere being a mixture of hydrogen , nitrogen and water vapor in which the logarithm of the partial pressure of oxygen was - 16 . 85 when measured at 750 ° c . a metallization paste comprising a well dispersed mixture of silver , a nonreducable glass such as k 2 o 2 . 3 %, na 2 o 15 . 3 %, cao 6 . 3 %, al 2 o 3 3 . 7 %, b 2 o 3 2 . 6 % and s i o 2 69 . 8 %, and an organic solvent - vehicle mixture was applied to the two end faces of the fired laminated body . the laminates were then dried at room temperature to remove the solvent and then heated in air at a peak temperature of about 300 ° c . to 500 ° c ., the temperature rising to the peak in 3 hours and being held at the peak temperature for about 30 minutes . by this heating process the organic solvents and vehicles were removed from the terminations . the terminations were then fired at a peak temperature of 850 ° to 875 ° c . in a reducing atmosphere formed by a mixture of hydrogen , nitrogen and water vapor in which the logarithm of the partial pressure of oxygen was - 16 . 85 when measured at 750 ° c . the maximum firing temperature of 850 ° to 875 ° c . was maintained for about ten minutes . after being allowed to cool to room temperature , the resultant monolithic capacitor was then further heated in air at a peak temperature of 425 ° c ., the capacitor being heated to the peak temperature in 3 hours and being held at the peak temperature for about 30 minutes . in order to demonstrate the effect on the strengths of the bonds of the end terminations to the capacitors by the final firing in air , axial pull tests were applied to leads which were soldered to the end terminations before and after the final firing in air . the amount of axial force that was found necessary to cause detachment of the end terminations from the capacitors was then determined and is shown in the following table : table______________________________________ end termination strengthsize of capacitor glass * before after______________________________________4 . 5 × 1 . 0 × 5 . 5 mm a 2 . 64 kg 6 . 55 kgsame b 2 . 23 kg 5 . 14 kg1 . 3 × 0 . 75 × 3 . 0 mm b 0 . 73 kg 4 . 23 kg______________________________________glass a : k . sub . 2 o na . sub . 2 o cao al . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 bao . sub . 3 sio . sub . 2 2 . 3 15 . 3 6 . 3 3 . 7 2 . 6 69 . 8 w / oglass b : bao na . sub . 2 o al . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 b . sub . 2 o . sub . 3 60 . 0 1 . 5 5 . 0 33 . 5 w / o______________________________________ * glass = glass in metallization