LIBETHRIUS MONS (anc. geog.), a mountain of Boeotia, diftant from Coronea 40 ftadia; where ftood the statues of the Muses, and of the nymphs, furnamed Libethride. A mountain probably conjoined with, or at least very near to, Helicon.

LIBITINA, in the Roman mythology, a goddess which prefided over funerals. This goddefs was the fame with the Venus infera or Epithymbia of the Greeks. She had a temple at Rome, where was lodged a certain piece of money for every person who died, whofe name was recorded in a register called Libitina ratio. This practice was established by Servius Tullius, in order to obtain an account of the number of annual deaths in the city of Rome, and confequently the rate of increase or decrease of its inhabitants.

LIBITINARII, were undertakers whofe office it was to take care of funerals, prepare all things neceffary upon the folemn occafion, and furnish every article required. They got their livelihood by this gloomy business, and kept a number of fervants to perform the working part of the profeffion, fuch as the pollinores, vefpillones, &c. The name Libitinarii is derived from Libitina, the goddess of funerals, in whofe temple were fold all things relating to funerals. See FUNERAL.

LIBNA (anc. geog.), a facerdotal city in the tribe of Judah, a place of ftrength, as appears from Sennacherib's laying fiege to it, 2 Kings xix. Ifaiah xxxvii. In Jerome's time, a village, called Lobna, in the territory of Eleutheropolis.

LÍBOURNE, a town of France, in Guienne, and in Bourdelois. It is a populous trading town, and is feated on the river Dordogne. W. Long. o. 10. N. Lat. 44. 55.

LIBRA, or BALANCE, one of the mechanical powers. See BALANCE.

LIBRA, in aftronomy, one of the 12 figns of the zodiac, and exactly oppofite to Aries; fo called becaufe when the fun is in this fign at the autumnal equinox, the days and nights are equal as if weighed in a balance. The ftars in this conftellation according to Ptolemy are 17, Tycho 10, Hevelius 20, and Flamstead 51.

LIBRA alfo denotes the ancient Roman pound, borrowed from the Sicilians, who called it litra.

The libra was divided into 12 uncia or ounces, and the ounce into 24 fcruples.

The divifions of the libra were, the uncia, one twelfth; the fextans, one fixth; the quadrans, one fourth; the triens, one third; the quincunx, five ounces; the femis, fix; the feptunx, feven: the bes, eight; the dodrans, nine: the dextrans, ten; the deunx, eleven ; laftly, the as weighed twelve ounces or one libra.

The Roman libra was used in France for the proportions of their coin till the time of Charlemagne, er perhaps till that of Philip I. in 1093, their fols being fo proportioned, as that 20 of them were equal to the libra. By degrees it became a term of account; and every thing of the value of twenty fols was called a hore.

Vol. X. Part I.

Library.

LIBRA penfa, in our law books, denotes a pound of Libra money in weight. It was ufual in former days not # only to tell the money but to weigh it: because many cities, lords, and bishops, having their mints, coined money, and often very bad too; for which reason, though the pound confifted of 20 fhillings, they always weighed it.

LIBRARII, among the ancients, were a fort of copyifts who transcribed in beautiful or at leaft legible characters, what had been written by the notarii in notes and abbreviatures.

LIBRARY, an edifice or apartment deftined for holding a confiderable number of books placed regularly on fhelves; or the books themselves lodged in it. Some authors refer the origin of libraries to the Hebrews; and obferve, that the care thefe took for the prefervation of their facred books, and the memory of what concerned the actions of their ancestors, became an example to other nations, particularly to the Egyptians. Ofmanduas, king of Egypt, is faid to have taken the hint firft; who, according to Diodorus, had a library built in his palace, with this infcription over the door, TXH TPEION, Nor were the Ptolemies, who reigned in the fame country, less curious and magnificent in books.

The fcripture alfo fpeaks of a library of the kings of Perfia, Ezra v. 17. vi. 1. which fome imagine to have confifted of the hiftorians of that nation, and of memoirs of the affairs of ftate; but, in effect, it appears rather to have been a depofitory of laws, charters, and ordinances of the kings. The Hebrew text calls it the house of treasures, and afterwards the house of the rolls, where the treafures were laid up. We may, with more justice, call that a library, mentioned in the fecond of Efdras to have been built by Nehemiah, and in which were preserved the books of the prophets, and of David, and the letters of their kings.

The first who erected a library at Athens, was the tyrant Pififtratus: and yet Strabo refers the honour of it to Ariftotle. That of Pififtratus was transported by Xerxes into Perfia, and was afterwards brought back by Seleucus Nicanor to Athens. Long after, it was plundered by Sylla, and re-established by Hadrian. Plutarch fays, that under Eumenes there was a library at Pergamus, containing 200,000 books. Tyrannian, a celebrated grammarian, contemporary with Pompey, had a library of 30,000 volumes. That of Ptolemy Philadelphus, according to A. Gellius, contained 700,000, all in rolls, burnt by Cæfar's foldiers.

Conftantine, and his fucceffors, erected a magnificent one at Conftantinople; which in the eighth century contained 300,000 volumes, all burnt by order of Leo Ifaurus; and, among the reft, one wherein the Iliad and Odyssey were written in letters of gold, on the guts of a ferpent.

The most celebrated libraries of ancient Rome, were the Ulpian, and the Palatine. They alfo boaft much of the libraries of Paulus Æmilius, who conquered Perfeus; of Lucilius Lucullus, of Afinius Pollio, Atticus, Julius Severus, Domitius, Serenus, Pamphilius Martyr, and the emperors Gordian and Trajan.

Anciently, every large church had its library; as appears by the writings of St Jerome, Anaftafius, and others. Pope Nicholas laid the firft foundation of D

that

The emperor's library at Vienna, according to Lambecius, confifts of 80,000 volumes, and 15,940 curious medals.

The Bodleian library at Oxford, built on the foundation of that of Duke Humphry, exceeds that of any univerfity in Europe, and even thofe of all the fovereigns of Europe, except the emperor's and French king's, which are each of them older by 100 years. It was firft opened in 1602, and has fince found a great number of benefactors; particularly Sir Robert Cotton, Sir H. Savil, Archbishop Laud, Sir Kenelm Digby, Mr Allen, Dr Pococke, Mr Selden, and others. The Vatican, the Medicean, that of Beffarion at Venice, and thofe juft mentioned, exceed the Bodleian in Greek manufcripts: which yet outdoes them all in Oriental manufcripts.

As to printed books, the Ambrofian at Milan, and that of Wolfenbuttle, are two of the most famous, and yet both inferior to the Bodleian.

King's LIBRARY, at St James's, was founded by Henry, eldest son of James I. and made up partly of books, and partly of manufcripts, with many other curiofities, for the advancement of learning. It has received many additions from the libraries of Ifaac Cafaubon and others.

Cottonian LIBRARY, originally confifted of 958 vo lumes of original charters, grants, inftruments, letters of fovereign princes, tranfactions between this and other kingdoms and ftates, genealogies, hiftories, regifters of monafteries, remains of Saxon laws, the book of Genefis, thought to be the most ancient Greek copy extant, and said to have been written by Origen in the second century, and the curious Alexandrian copy or manufcript in Greek capitals. This library is kept in the British Museum, with the large and valuable library of Sir Hans Sloane, amounting to upwards of 42,000 volumes, &c. There are many public libraries belonging to the feveral colleges at Oxford and Cambridge, and the universities in North Britain. The principal public libraries in London, befide that of the Museum, are thofe of the college of heralds, of the college of phyficians, of Doctors Commons, to which every bishop, at the time of his confecration, gives at least 201. fometimes 50l. for the purchase of books; thofe of the Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple, and Middle Temple; that of Lambeth, founded by Archbishop Bancroft in 1610, for the use of fucceeding archbishops of Canterbury, and increafed by the benefactions of Archbishops Abbot, Sheldon, and Tennifon, and faid to confift of at leaft 15,000 printed books, and 617 volumes in manufcript; that of Red-Crofs ftreet, founded by Dr Daniel Williams, a Prefbyterian divine, and fince enriched by many private benefactions; that of the Royal

In Edinburgh there is a good library belonging to the university, well furnifhed with books; which are kept in good order. There is alfo a noble library of books and manufcripts belonging to the faculty of advocates. See ADVOCATE.

LIBRATION, in aftronomy, an apparent irregularity of the moons's motion, whereby the feems to librate about her axis, fometimes from the eat to the well, and now and then from the weft to the east. See. ASTRONOMY, no 420.

LIBURNIA (anc. geog., a diftrict of Illyricum,, extending towards the Adriatic between Iftria on the weft, Dalmatia on the east, and mount Albius on the north. Liburni, the people. The apparitors, who at the command of the magiftrate fummoned the people from the country, were called Liburni, because generally men of Liburnia.-Liburna, or Liburnica, (Horace), denoted a kind of light and swift skiff, used by the Liburnians in their fea-rovings or piracies, for which they were noted. Liburnum (Juvenal) was a fpecics. of litter made in form of Liburnian skiffs, wherein the noblemen of Rome were carried, and where they fat at their eafe, either reading or writing.

LIBURNUS (anc.geog.), a mountain of Campania, Alfo a port of Tufcany. Now Livorno, or Leghorn. E. Long. 11. N. Lat. 43. 30.

LIBYA, in general, according to the Greeks, denoted Africa. An appellation derived from lub, "thirst," being a dry and thirsty country. AFRICA.

See

LIBYA, in a more restrained fenfe, was the middle. part of Africa, extending north and weft, (Pliny); between the Mediterranean to the north, and Ethiopia. to the eaft; and was two-fold, the Hither or Exterior Libya; and the Farther or Interior. The former lay between the Mediterranean on the north, and the Farther Libya and Ethiopia beyond Egypt on the fouth, (Ptolemy). The Farther or Interior Libya, was a vaft country, lying between the Huber Libya on the north, the Atlantic ocean on the weft, the Ethiopic on the fouth, and Ethiopia beyond Egypt on the caft, (Ptolemy).

LIBYA, in a still more restrained fenfe, called, for diftinction's fake, Libya Propria, was a northern diftrict of Africa, and a part of the Hither Libya; fituated between Egypt to the east, the Mediterranean to the north, the Syrtis Major and the Regio Tripolitana to the weft, the Garamantes and Ethiopia beyond Egypt to the fouth. Now the kingdom and defart of Barca. This Libya was again fubdivided into Libya taken in the ftricteft fenfe of all, and into Marmarica: and Cyrenaica. Libya in the ftri&teft fenfe, otherwife the Exterior, was the most eaftern part of Libya Propria, next to Egypt, with Marmarica on the weft, the

Me

Licence Mediterranean on the north, and the Nubi, now called Nubia, to the fouth, (Ptolemy).

Lichen.

LICENCE, in law, an authority given to a perfon to do fome lawful act,

LICENSER of the Prefs. See LIBERTY of the Prefs. LICENTIATE, one who has obtained the degree of a licence.-The greateft number of the officers of juftice in Spain are diftinguished by no other title than that of licentiate. In order to pafs licentiate in common law, civil law, and phyfic, they muft have studied seven yeare, and in divinity ten. Among us a licentiate ufually means a physician who has a licence to practise, granted by the college of phyficians.

LICETUS, a celebrated phyfician of Italy, was born at Rappollo, in the ftate of Genoa, 1577. He came, it feems, into the world, before his mother had complet ed the feventh month of her pregnancy; but his father, being an ingenious phyfician, wrapped him up in cotton, and nurtured him fo, that he lived to be 77 years of age. He was trained with great care, and became a very diftinguifhed man in his profeffion; and was the author of a great number of works: his book De Monftris every body must have heard of. He was profeffor of philofophy and phyfic at Padua, where he died in 1655.

LICHEN, LIVER WORT, in botany; a genus of the natural order of alge, belonging to the cryptogamia class of plants. The male receptacle is roundish, fomewhat plain and fhining. In the female the leaves have a farina or mealy fubftance scattered over them. There are about 130 fpecies, all found in Britain. Among the most remarkable are the following:

1. The geographicus; it is frequent in rocks, and may be readily diftinguished at a distance. The cruft or ground is of a bright greenish-yellow colour, fprinkled over with numerous plain black tubercles; which frequently run into one another, and form lines refembling the rivers in a map, from which laft circumftance it takes its name.

2. The calcarious, or black-nobbed dyer's lichen, is frequent on calcarious rocks; and hath a hard, smooth, white, ftoney, or tartareous cruft, cracked or teffelated on the surface, with black tubercles. Dillenius relates, that this fpecies is used in dyeing, in the fame manner as the tartareus after mentioned.

3. The ventofus, or red fpangled tartareous lichen, hath a hard tartareous cruft, cracked and teffelated on the surface, of a pale yellow colour when fresh, and a light olive when dry. The tubercles are of a bloodred colour at top, their margin and base of the fame colour as the cruft. The texture and appearance of this (according to Mr Lightfoot), indicate that it would anfwer the purposes of dyeing as well as fome others of this tribe, if proper experiments were made.

4. The candelarius, or yellow farinaceous lichen, is common upon walls, rocks, boards, and old pales. There are two varieties. The firft has a farinaceous cruft of no regular figure, covered with numerous, fmall, greenish-yellow, or olive fhields, and grows commonly upon old boards. The other has a fmooth, hard, circular cruft, wrinkled and lobed at the circumference, which adheres closely to rocks and ftones. In the centre are numerous fhields of a deeper yellow or orange colour, which, as they grow old, fwell in the middle, and affume the figure of tubercles. The inhabitants of Smaland in Sweden scrape this lichen from

the rocks, and mix it with their tallow, to make golden Lichen. candles to burn on festival days.

5. The tartarius, or large yellow-faucer'd dyer's lichen, is frequent on rocks, both in the Highlands and Lowlands of Scotland. The cruft is thick and tough, either white, or greenish-white, and has a rough warted furface. The thields are yellow or buff-coloured, of various fizes, from that of a pin's head to the diameter of a filver penny. Their margins are of the fame colour as the cruft. This lichen is much used by the Highlanders for dyeing a fine claret or pompadour colour. For this purpose, after fcraping it from the rocks, and cleaning it, they fteep it in urine for a quarter of a year. Then taking it out, they make it into cakes, and hang them up in bags to dry. Thefe cakes are afterwards pulverifed, and the powder is used to impart the colour with an addition of alum.

6. The parellus, or crawfish-eye lichen, grows upon walls and rocks, but is not very common. The crufts spread closely upon the place where they grow, and cover them to a confiderable extent. They are rough, tartareous, and afh-coloured, of a tough coriaceous fubftance. The fhields are numerous and crowded, having white or afh coloured, fhallow, plain difcs, with obtufe margins. This is ufed by the French for dyeing a red colour.

7. The faxatilis, or grey-blue pitted lichen, is very common upon trunks of trees, rocks, tiles, and old wood. It forms a circle two or three inches diameter. The upper furface is of a blue-grey and fometimes of a whitish afh-colour, uneven, and full of numerous fmall pits or cavities; the under fide is black, and covered all over, even to the edges, with fhort fimple hairs or radicles. A variety fometimes occurs with leaves tinged of a red or purple colour. This is ufed by finches and other fmall birds in conftructing the outside of their curiously formed nests.

8. The omphalodes, or dark-coloured dyers lichen, is frequent upon rocks. It forms a thick widely expanded cruft of no regular figure, composed of numerous imbricated leaves of a brown or dark-purple colour, divided into fmall fegments. The margins of the fhields are a little crifped and turned inwards, and their outside afh-coloured. The lichen is much used by the Highlanders in dyeing a reddish brown colour. They fteep it in urine for a confiderable time, till it becomes foft and like a pafte; then, forming the pafte into cakes, they dry them in the fun, and preferve them for use in the manner already related of the tartarius.

9. The parietinus, or common yellow wall-lichen, is very common upon walls, rocks, tiles of houfes, and trunks of trees. It generally fpreads itself in circles of two or three inches diameter, and is faid to dye a good yellow or orange colour with alum.

10. The iflandicus, or eatable Iceland lichen, grows on many mountains both of the Highlands and Lowlands of Scotland, It confifts of nearly erect leaves about two inches high, of a ftiff fubftance when dry, but soft and pliant when moist, variously divided without order into broad diftant fegments, bifid or trifid at the extremities. The upper or interior furface of the leaves is concave, chefnut colour, fmooth, and shining, but red at the bafe; the under or exterior furface is smooth and whitish, a little pitted, and sprinkled with very minute black warts. The margins of the leaves and all the fegments from bottom to top are ciliated with small, D 2

fhort,

Lichen. fhort, ftiff, hair-like fpinules, of a dark chefnut colour, turning towards the upper fide. The fhields are very rarely produced. For the ufes of this as an efculent herb, fee ICELAND, n° 10. Made into broth or gruel, it is faid to be very serviceable in coughs and confumptions; and, according to Haller and Scopoli, is much ufed in thefe complaints in Vienna.

11. The pulmonarius, or lung-wort lichen, grows in shady woods upon the trunks of old trees. The leaves are as broad as a man's hand, of a kind of leather-like fubftance, hanging loofe from the trunk on which it grows, and laciniated into wide angular fegments. Their natural colour, when fresh, is green; but in drying, they turn first to a glaucous and afterwards to a fufcous colour. It has an aftringent, bitter tafte; and, according to Gmelin, is boiled in ale in Siberia, instead of hops. The ancients used it in coughs and afthmas, &c. but it is not used in modern practice.

12. The calicaris, or beaked lichen, grows fometimes upon trees, but more frequently upon rocks, especially . on the fea-coafts, but is not very common. It is fmooth, gloffy, and whitish, producing flat or convex fhields, of the fame colour as the leaves, very near the fummits of the fegments, which are acute and rigid, and, being often reflected from the perpendicular by the growth of the fhields, appear from under their limbs like a hooked beak. This will dye a red colour; and promises, in that intention, to rival the famous Lichen Rocolla or Argol, which is brought from the Canary Islands, and fometimes fold at the price of 80 1. per ton. It was formerly ufed inftead of ftarch to make hair-powder.

13. The prunaftri, or common ragged hoary lichen, grows upon all forts of trees; but it is generally moft white and hoary on the floe and old palm trees, or upon old pales. This is the moft variable of the whole tribe of lichens, appearing different in figure, magnitude, and colour, according to its age, place of growth, and fex. The young plants are of a glaucous colour, lightly divided into fmall acute crefted fegments. As they grow older, they are divided like a ftag's horn, into more and deeper fegments, fomewhat broad, flat, foft, and pitted on both fides, the upper furface of a glaucous colour, the under one white and hoary.-The male plants, as Linnæus terms them, are short, seldom more than an inch high, not hoary on the under fide; and have pale glaucous fhields fituated at the extremities of the fegments, ftanding on short peduncles, which are only small stiff portions of the leaf produced.-The female fpecimens have numerous farinaceous tubercles both on the edges of their leaves, and the wrinkles of their furface. The pulverifed leaves have been used as a powder for the hair, and alfo in dyeing yarn of a red colour.

14. The juniperinus, or common yellow tree-lichen, is common upon the trunks and branches of elms and many other trees. Linnæus fays it is very common upon the juniper. The Gothland Swedes dye their yarn of a yellow colour with it, and give it as a specific in the jaundice.

15. The caninus, or afh-coloured ground-liverwort, grows upon the ground among mofs, at the roots of trees in thady woods, and is frequent alfo in heaths and tony places. The leaves are large, gradually dilated towards the extremities, and divided into roundish elevated lobes. Their upper fide, in dry weather, is afh-co

loured; in rainy weather, of a dull fufcous green co- Lichen. lour; their under-fide white and hoary, having many thick downy nerves, from which defcend numerous, long, white, pencil-like radicles. The pelte, or fhields, grow at the extremities of the elevated lobes, shaped like the human nail; of a roundish oval form, convex above, and concave beneath; of a chocolate colour on the upper fide, and the fame colour with the leaves on the under. There are two varieties, the one called reddish, and the other many-fingered, ground-liverwort. The former is more common than the other. This fpecies has been rendered famous by the celebrated Dr Mead, who afferted that it was an infallible preventative of the dreadful confequences attending the bite of a mad dog. He directed half an ounce of the leaves dried and pulverifed to be mixed with two drachms of powdered black pepper. This was to be divided into four dofes, one of which was to be taken by the patient every morning fafting, for four mornings fucceffively, in half a pint of warm cow's milk; after which he was to ufe the cold bath every morning for a month. It is much to be lamented, however, that the fuccefs of this medicine, or indeed any other recommended for the fame purpose, hath not always anfwered the expectation. There are inftances where the application has not prevented the hydrophobia, and it is even uncertain whether it has ever been inftrumental in keeping off that disorder..

16. The aphthofus, or green ground-liverwort with black warts, grows upon the ground at the roots of trees in woods, and other ftoney and moffy places. It differs very little from the foregoing, and according to fome is only a variety of it. Linnæus informs us, that the country-people of Upland in Sweden give an infufion of this lichen in milk to children that are troubled with the diforder called the thrush or aphtha, which induced that ingenious naturalift to beftow upon it the trivial name of apthofus. The fame writer alfo tells us,. that a decoction of it in water purges upwards and downwards, and will deftroy worms.

17. The cocciferus, or fcarlet-tipped cup-lichen, is. frequent in moors and heaths. It has in the first state a granulated cruft for its ground, which is afterwards. turned into fmall laciniated leaves, green above, and hoary underneath. The plant affumes a very different afpect, according to the age, fituation, and other accidents of its growth; but may be in general readily diftinguished by its fructifications, which are fungous tubercles of a fine fcarlet colour, placed on the rim of the cup, or on the top of the ftalk. These tubercles,, fteeped in an alcaline lixivium, are faid to dye a fine du-rable red colour.

18. The rangiferinus, or rein-deer lichen, is frequent in woods, heaths, and mountainous places. Its gene ral height, when full grown, is about two inches. The stalk is hollow, and very much branched from bottom to top the branches are divided and fubdivided, and at laft terminated by two, three, four, or five very fine, fhort, nodding horns. The axillæ of the branches are often perforated. The whole plant is of a hoary white or grey colour, covered with white farinaceous particles, light and brittle when dry, soft and elastic when moift. The fructifications are very minute, round, fufcous, or reddish-brown tubercles, which grow on the very extremities of the fineft branches; but thefe 6