to the Greek Church, are Lutherans. Nearly all can read. Those of the
government of Vitebsk, who were under Polish dominion, are Roman
Catholics, as well as the Lithuanians proper, a part of whom, however,
have returned to the Greek Church, in which they were before the union
with Poland. The Samogitians are Roman Catholics; they more than other
Lithuanians have conserved their national features. But all
Lithuanians have maintained much of their heathen practices and creed;
the names of pagan divinities, very numerous in the former mythology,
are continually mentioned in songs, and also in common speech.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--Schiemann, _Russland, Polen und Livland bis ins 17te
Jahrhundert_ (2 vols., Berlin, 1886-1887); S. Daukantas, _Lietuvos
Istorija_ (Plymouth, Pa., 1893); J. de Brye, _Étude historique sur la
Lithuanie_ (Paris, 1894); P. D. Bryantsev, _Istorija Litovskago
Gosudarstva_ (Vilna, 1899). (P. A. K.)
_Language and Literature._--The Lithuanian, Lettic or Lettish and
Borussian or Old Prussian languages together constitute a distinct
linguistic subdivision, commonly called the Baltic subdivision, within
the Indo-European family. They have many affinities to the Slavonic
languages, and are sometimes included with them in a single linguistic
group, the Balto-Slavic. In their phonology, however, though not in
their structure the Baltic languages appear to be more primitive than
the Slavonic. Lithuanian, for example, retains the archaic diphthongs
which disappear in Slavonic--Lith. _véidas_, "face," Gr. [Greek: eidos],
O.S. _vidu_. Among other noteworthy phonological characteristics of
Lithuanian are the conversion of _k_ into a sibilant, the loss of _h_
and change of all aspirates into tenues and the retention of primitive
consonantal noun-terminations, e.g. the final _s_ in Sans. _Vrkás_,
Lith. _vilkas_, O.S. _vulku_. Lettic is phonologically less archaic than
Lithuanian, although in a few cases it has preserved Indo-European forms
which have been changed in Lithuanian, e.g. the _s_ and _z_ which have
become Lith. _sz_ (_sh_) and _z_ (_zh_). The accent in Lithuanian is
free; in Lettic, and apparently in Old Prussian, it ultimately became
fixed on the first syllable.
In its morphology Lettic represents a later stage of development than
Lithuanian, their mutual relationship being analogous to that between
Old High German and Gothic. Both languages have preserved seven out of
the eight Indo-European cases; Lithuanian has three numbers, but
Lettic has lost the dual (except in _diwi_, "two" and _abbi_, "both");
the neuter gender, which still appears in Lithuanian pronouns, has
also been entirely lost in Lettic; in Lithuanian there are four simple
tenses (present, future, imperfect, preterite), but in Lettic the
imperfect is wanting. In both languages the number of periphrastic
verb-forms and of diminutives is large; in both there are traces of a
suffix article; and both have enriched their vocabularies with many
words of foreign, especially German, Russian and Polish origin. The
numerous Lithuanian dialects are commonly divided into High or
Southern, which changes _ty_ and _dy_ into _cz_, _dz_, and Low or
Northern, which retains _ty_, _dy_. Lettic is divided into High (the
eastern dialects), Low (spoken in N.W. Courland) and Middle (the
literary language). Old Prussian ceased to be a spoken language in the
17th century; its literary remains, consisting chiefly of three
catechisms and two brief vocabularies, date almost entirely from the
period 1517-1561 and are insufficient to permit of any thorough
reconstruction of the grammar.
The literary history of the Lithuanians and Letts dates from the
Reformation and comprises three clearly defined periods. (1) Up to 1700
the chief printed books were of a liturgical character. (2) During the
18th century a vigorous educational movement began; dictionaries,
grammars and other instructive works were compiled, and written poems
began to take the place of songs preserved by oral tradition. (3) The
revival of national sentiment at the beginning of the 19th century
resulted in the establishment of newspapers and the collection and
publication of the national folk-poetry. In both literatures, works of a
religious character predominate, and both are rich in popular ballads,
folk-tales and fables.
The first book printed in Lithuanian was a translation of Luther's
shorter Catechism (Königsberg, 1547); other translations of devotional
or liturgical works followed, and by 1701 59 Lithuanian books had
appeared, the most noteworthy being those of the preacher J. Bretkun
(1535-1602). The spread of Calvinism led to the publication, in 1701, of
a Lithuanian New Testament. The first dictionary was printed in 1749.
But perhaps the most remarkable work of the second period was _The Four
Seasons_, a pastoral poem in hexameters by Christian Donalitius
(1714-1780), which was edited by Nesselmann (Königsberg, 1869) with a
German translation and notes. In the 19th century various collections of
fables and folk-tales were published, and an epic, the _Onikshta Grove_,
was written by Bishop Baranoski. But it was in journalism that the chief
original work of the third period was done. F. Kelch (1801-1877) founded
the first Lithuanian newspaper, and between 1834 and 1895 no fewer than
34 Lithuanian periodicals were published in the United States alone.
Luther's Catechism (Königsberg, 1586) was the first book printed in
Lettic, as in the sister speech. In the 17th century various
translations of psalms, hymns and other religious works were published,
the majority being Calvinistic in tone. The educational movement of the
18th century was inaugurated by G. F. Stender (1714-1796), author of a
Lettic dictionary and grammar, of poems, tales and of a _Book of Wisdom_
which treats of elementary science and history. Much educational work
was subsequently done by the Lettic Literary Society, which publishes a
magazine (_Magazin_, Mitau, from 1827), and by the "Young Letts," who
published various periodicals and translations of foreign classics, and
endeavoured to free their language and thought from German influences.
Somewhat similar tasks were undertaken by the "Young Lithuanians," whose
first magazine the _Auszra_ ("Dawn") was founded in 1883. From 1890 to
1910 the literature of both peoples was marked by an ever-increasing
nationalism; among the names most prominent during this period may be
mentioned those of the dramatist Steperman and the poet Martin Lap, both
of whom wrote in Lettic.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--Lithuanian dictionaries: Nesselmann, _Wörterbuch der
litauischen Sprache_ (Königsberg, 1851); Kurschat, _Wörterbuch der
litauischen Sprache_ (Halle, 1870-1883); A. Juszkiewicz, _Litovskiy
Slovar_ (St Petersburg, 1897, &c.); P. Saurusaitis, _An Abridged
Dictionary of the English-Lithuanian Languages_, 2 pts. (Waterbury,
Conn., 1899-1900); A. Lalis, _Dictionary of the Lithuanian and English
Languages_ (Chicago, 1903, &c.). Grammar and Linguistic: Schleicher,
_Handbuch der litauischen Sprache_ (Prague, 1856-1857); O. Wiedemann,
_Handbuch der litauischen Sprache_ (Strassburg, 1897); A.
Bezzenberger, _Beiträge zur Geschichte der litauischen Sprache_
(Göttingen, 1877); J. Schiekopp, _Gramatyka litewska poczatkowa_
(Cracow, 1902). Literature: Nesselmann, _Litauische Volkslieder_
(Berlin, 1853); A. Juszkiewicz, _Lietùwiskos Dajnos Uzrasytos_, &c.
(Kazan, 1881); A. Leskien and C. Brugman, _Litauische Volkslieder_
(Strassburg, 1882); C. Bartsch, _Melodieen litauischer Volkslieder_
(Heidelberg, 1886); A. Juszkiewicz, _Melodje ludowe litewskie_
(Cracow, 1900, &c.); E. A. Voi'ter, _Litovskaya Khrestomatiya_ (St
Petersburg, 1901, &c.).
Lettic dictionaries and grammars: Bielenstein, _Die Lettische Sprache_
(Berlin, 1863-1864); id., _Lettische Grammatik_ (Mitau, 1863); Ulmann
and Brasche, _Lettisches Wörterbuch_ (Riga, 1872-1880); A.
Bezzenberger, _Über die Sprache der preussischen Letten and lettische
Dialekt-Studien_ (Göttingen, 1885); Bielenstein, _Grenzen des
lettischen Volksstammes und der lettischen Sprache_ (St Petersburg,
1892); Literature: Bielenstein _Tausend lettische Räthsel_ (Mitau,
1881); T. Treuland, _Latyshskiya Narodnyya Skazki_ (Moscow, 1887,
&c.); K. Baron and H. Wissendorff, _Latwju dainas_ (Mitau, 1894, &c.);
V. Andreyanov, _Lettische Volkslieder und Mythen_ (Halle, 1896).
Old Prussian: Nesselmann, _Die Sprache der alten Preussen_ (Berlin,
1845); id., _Thesaurus linguae prussicae_ (Berlin, 1873); Berneker,
_Die preussische Sprache_ (Strassburg, 1896); M. Schultze, _Grammatik
der altpreussischen Sprache_ (Leipzig, 1897).
LITMUS (apparently a corruption of _lacmus_, Dutch _lacmoes_, _lac_,
lac, and _moes_, pulp, due to association with "lit," an obsolete word
for dye, colour; the Ger. equivalent is _Lackmus_, Fr. _tournesol_), a
colouring matter which occurs in commerce in the form of small blue
tablets, which, however, consist mostly, not of the pigment proper, but
of calcium carbonate and sulphate and other matter devoid of tinctorial
value. Litmus is extensively employed by chemists as an indicator for
the detection of free acids and free alkalis. An aqueous infusion of
litmus, when exactly neutralized by an acid, exhibits a violet colour,
which by the least trace of free acid is changed to red, while free
alkali turns it to blue. The reagent is generally used in the form of
test paper--bibulous paper dyed red, purple or blue by the respective
kind of infusion. Litmus is manufactured in Holland from the same kinds
of lichens (species of _Roccella_ and _Lecanora_) as are used for the
preparation of archil (q.v.).
LITOPTERNA, a suborder of South American Tertiary ungulate mammals
typified by _Macrauchenia_, and taking their name ("smooth-heel") from
the presence of a flat facet on the heel-bone, or calcaneum for the
articulation of the fibula. The more typical members of the group were
digitigrade animals, recalling in general build the llamas and horses;
they have small brains, and a facet on the calcaneum for the fibula. The
cheek-dentition approximates more or less to the perissodactyle type.
Both the terminal faces of the cervical vertebrae are flat, the femur
carries a third trochanter, the bones of both the carpus and tarsus are
arranged in linear series, and the number of toes, although commonly
three, varies between one and five, the third or middle digit being
invariably the largest.
Of the two families, the first is the _Proterotheriidae_, which
exhibits, in respect of the reduction of the digits, a curious
parallelism to the equine line among the Perissodactyla; in this
feature, as well as in the reduction of the teeth, it is more
specialized than the second family.
The molar teeth approximate to the _Palaeotherium_ type, but have a
more or less strongly developed median longitudinal cleft. The
three-toed type is represented by _Diadiaphorus_, in which the dental
formula is i.½, c.(0/1), p.(4/5), m.(3/8), and the feet are very like
those of _Hipparion_. The cervical vertebrae are of normal form, the
orbit (as in the second family) is encircled by bone, the last molar
has a third lobe, the single pair of upper incisors are somewhat
elongated, and have a gap between and behind them, while the outer
lower incisors are larger than the inner pair, the canines being
small. The skull has a short muzzle, with elongated nasals. Remains of
this and the other representatives of the group are found in the
Patagonian Miocene. In _Proterotherium_, which includes smaller forms
having the same, or nearly the same, dental formula, the molar teeth
differ from those of _Diadiaphorus_ by the deeper median longitudinal
cleft, which completely divides the crown into an inner and an outer
moiety, the two cones of the inner half being united. According to the
description given by Argentine palaeontologists, this genus is also
three-toed, the single-toed representative of the family being
_Thoatherium_, in which the lateral metapodials, or splint-bones, are
even more reduced than in the _Equidae_.
In the second family--_Macraucheniidae_--the dentition is complete
(forty-four) and without a gap, the crowns of nearly all the teeth being
of nearly uniform height, while the upper molars are distinguished from
those of the _Proterotheriidae_ by a peculiar arrangement of their two
inner cones, and the elevation of the antero-posterior portion of the
cingulum so as to form an extra pit on the crown. To describe this
arrangement in detail is impossible here, but it may be stated that the
two inner cones are closely approximated, and separated by a narrow
V-shaped notch on the inner side of the crown. The elongated cervical
vertebrae are peculiar in that the arch is perforated by the artery in
the same manner as in the llamas.
In the Santa Cruz beds of Patagonia the family is represented by the
generalized genus _Oxyodontotherium_ (in which _Theosodon_ may
apparently be included). It comprises animals ranging up to the size of
a tapir, in which the nostrils were more or less in the normal anterior
position, and the cheek-teeth short-crowned, with the inner cones of the
upper molars well developed and separated by a notch, and the pits of
moderate depth. The last upper premolar is simpler than the molars, and
the canine, which may be double-rooted, is like the earlier premolars.
The radius and ulna, like the tibia and fibula, are distinct, and the
metapodials rudimentary. On the other hand, in _Macrauchenia_, which was
a much larger llama-like animal, the skull is elongated and narrow, with
rudimentary nasals, and the aperture of the nose placed nearly on the
line of the eyes and directed upwards, the muzzle not improbably
terminating in a short trunk. Deep pits on the forehead probably served
for the attachment of special muscles connected with the latter. Very
curious is the structure of the cheek-teeth, which are high-crowned,
with the two inner cones reduced to mere points, and the pits on the
crown-surface large and funnel-shaped. In fact, the perissodactyle type
is almost lost. The cervical vertebrae and limb-bones are very long, the
radius and ulna being completely, and the tibia and fibula partially,
united. The typical _M. patagonica_ is a Pleistocene form as large as a
camel, ranging from Patagonia to Brazil, but remains of smaller species
have been found in the Pliocene (?) of Bolivia and Argentina.
The imperfectly known _Scalabrinia_ of the Argentine Pliocene appears to
occupy a position intermediate between _Oxyodontotherium_ and
_Macrauchenia_, having the nasal aperture situated in the middle of the
length of the skull, and the crowns of the cheek-teeth nearly as tall as
in the latter, but the lower molars furnished with a projecting process
in the hinder valley, similar to one occurring in those of the former.
In this place may be mentioned another strange ungulate from the Santa
Cruz beds of Patagonia, namely, _Astrapotherium_, sometimes regarded as
typifying a suborder by itself. This huge ungulate had cheek-teeth
singularly like those of a rhinoceros, and an enormous pair of tusk-like
upper incisors, recalling the upper canines of _Machaerodus_ on an
enlarged scale. In the lower jaw are two large tusk-like canines between
which are three pairs of curiously-formed spatulate incisors, and in
both jaws there is a long diastema. The dental formula appears to be
i.(1/3), c.(0/1), p.(2/1), m.(3/3).
Next _Astrapotherium_ may be provisionally placed the genus
_Homalodontotherium_, of which the teeth have much lower crowns, and
are of a less decidedly rhinocerotic type than in _Astrapotherium_,
and the whole dentition forms an even and unbroken series. The bodies
of the cervical vertebrae are short, with flattened articular
surfaces, the humerus has an enormous deltoid crest, suggestive of
fossorial powers, and the femur is flattened, with a third trochanter.
According to the Argentine palaeontologists, the carpus is of the
alternating type, and the terminal phalanges of the pentedactyle feet
are bifid, and very like those of Edentata. Indeed, this type of foot
shows many edentate resemblances. The astragalus is square and
flattened, articulating directly with the navicular, although not with
the cuboid, and having a slightly convex facet for the tibia. From the
structure of the above-mentioned type of foot, which is stated to have
been found in association with the skull, it has been suggested that
_Homalodontotherium_ should be placed in the _Ancylopoda_ (q.v.), but,
to say nothing of the different form of the cheek-teeth, all the other
South American Santa Cruz ungulates are so distinct from those of
other countries that this seems unlikely. It may be suggested that we
have rather to deal with an instance of parallelism--a view supported
by the parallelism to the _Equidae_ presented by certain members of
the _Proterotheriidae_. (R. L.*)
LITOTES (Gr. [Greek: litotês], plainness, [Greek: litos], plain, simple,
smooth), a rhetorical figure in which emphasis is secured for a
statement by turning it into a denial of the contrary, e.g. "a citizen
of no mean city," i.e. a citizen of a famous city, "A. is not a man to
be neglected." Litotes is sometimes used for what should be more
strictly called "meiosis" (Gr. [Greek: meiôsis], lessening, diminution,
[Greek: meiôn], lesser), where the expressions used apparently are weak
or understated, but the effect is to intensify.
LITTER (through O. Fr. _litere_ or _litiere_, mod. _litière_ from Med.
Lat. _lectaria_, classical _lectica_, _lectus_, bed, couch), a word used
of a portable couch, shut in by curtains and borne on poles by bearers,
and of a bed of straw or other suitable substance for animals; hence
applied to the number of young produced by an animal at one birth, and
also to any disordered heap of waste material, rubbish, &c. In ancient
Greece, prior to the influence of Asiatic luxury after the Macedonian
conquest, the litter ([Greek: phoreion]) was only used by invalids or by
women. The Romans, when the _lectica_ was introduced, probably about the
latter half of the 2nd century B.C. (Gellius x. 3), used it only for
travelling purposes. Like the Greek or Asiatic litter, it had a roof of
skin (_pellis_) and side curtains (_vela_, _plagae_). Juvenal (iv. 20)
speaks of transparent sides (_latis specularibus_). The slaves who bore
the litter on their shoulders (_succollare_) were termed _lecticarii_,
and it was a sign of luxury and wealth to employ six or even eight
bearers. Under the Empire the litter began to be used in the streets of
Rome, and its use was restricted and granted as a privilege (Suet.
_Claudius_). The travelling _lectica_ must be distinguished from the
much earlier _lectica funebris_ or _feretrum_, the funeral bier on which
the dead were carried to their burial-place.
LITTLE FALLS, a city and the county-seat of Morrison county, Minnesota,
U.S.A., on both banks of the Mississippi river, about 88 m. N.W. of
Minneapolis. Pop. (1890) 2354; (1900) 5774, of whom 1559 were
foreign-born, chiefly Germans and Swedes; (1905) 5856; (1910) 6078. It
is served by the Northern Pacific railway. The city is situated in a
prosperous farming region, and has excellent water-power and various
manufactures. Little Falls was settled about 1850, was chartered as a
city in 1889 and adopted a new charter in 1902. Here was buried the
Chippewa chief, Hole-in-the-Day (_c._ 1827-1868), or Bagwunagijik, who
succeeded his father, also named Hole-in-the-Day, as head chief of the
Chippewas in 1846. Like his father, the younger Hole-in-the-Day led his
tribe against the Sioux, and he is said to have prevented the Chippewas
from joining the Sioux rising in 1862. His body was subsequently removed
by his relatives.
LITTLE FALLS, a city of Herkimer county, New York, U.S.A., on the Mohawk
river, 21 m. E.S.E. of Utica. Pop. (1890) 8783; (1900) 10,381, of whom
1915 were foreign-born; (1910 census) 12,273. It is served by the New
York Central & Hudson River, the West Shore, the Utica & Mohawk Valley
(electric), and the Little Falls & Dolgeville railways (the last named
being 13 m. long and running only to Salisbury Center and by the Erie
canal). The Mohawk river falls here by a series of rapids 45 ft. in less
than a mile, furnishing water power. Among the manufactures are cotton
yarn, hosiery and knit goods, leather, &c. In 1905 the city's factory
products were valued at $4,471,080. The city has one of the largest
cheese-markets in the United States. The manufacture of flour and
grist-mill products was formerly an important industry; a mill burned in
1782 by Tories and Indians had supplied almost the entire Mohawk Valley,
and particularly Forts Herkimer and Dayton. Near the city is the grave
of General Nicholas Herkimer, to whom a monument was erected in 1896.
Little Falls was settled by Germans in 1782, and was almost immediately
destroyed by Indians and Tories. It was resettled in 1790, and was
incorporated as a village in 1811 and as a city in 1895.
See George A. Hardin, _History of Herkimer County_ (Syracuse, 1893).
LITTLEHAMPTON, a seaport and watering-place in the Chichester
parliamentary division of Sussex, England, at the mouth of the Arun, 62
m. S. by W. from London by the London, Brighton & South Coast railway.
Pop. of urban district (1901) 7363. There is a beach of firm sand. The
harbour is easily accessible in all weathers, and has a small general
trade.