LEGHORN LEGION. 



425 



tion of a pious heart, and wholly inconsistent with 

 ornament and poetical decorations. 



Legend is also used for the motto or words en- 

 graved, in a circular manner, round the head or other 

 figure upon a medal or coin. The meaning of this 

 term is similar to that of inscription ; but the latter 

 refers chiefly to the writing placed in the middle of 

 the coin, while the legend, as we have just observed, 

 surrounds it. 



LEGHORN (Livorno); a commercial city in Tus- 

 cany, on the Mediterranean; lat. 43 3 33' 5" N.; 

 Ion. 10 16' 53" E7 The streets are even and well 

 paved, but narrow and dark, from the height of the 

 houses, which are of stone : there are, however, no 

 palaces, like those of the other towns of Italy. The 

 finest street is the strada Ferdinandea, which passes 

 through the middle of the town to the port, through 

 the piazza d'armi. The town occupies but a small 

 space in proportion to its population, contains seven 

 churches, one archducal palace, one Greek, one 

 Armenian church, and 65,355 inhabitants, amongst 

 whom are about 20,000 Jews in a separate quarter 

 of the town, who possess a beautiful synagogue, two 

 schools, a library, a printing-office, several collec- 

 tions, and many privileges. Greeks, Armenians, and 

 Turks (who have a mosque), are also found here. 

 There are large magazines of salt, tobacco, and oil. 

 In the neighbourhood of the town is an excellent 

 quarantine establishment with three lazarettos. The 

 coral works produce 160,000 dollars yearly. There 

 are also distilleries of rosoglio, tanneries, dyeries, 

 paper, and tobacco manufactories. The port is 

 annually visited by more than 4000 ships. A packet 

 sails between this place and Marseilles. Leghorn is 

 the .principal commercial town of Italy, and has an 

 extensive trade to the Levant. The principal com- 

 mercial nations have consuls at Leghorn. Commerce 

 is principally in the hands of foreigners, particularly 

 the British. The Armenians and Jews are the gen- 

 eral brokers of all nations. Much commission busi- 

 ness is carried on, and there are large dealings in 

 bills of exchange. The exports of Leghorn con- 

 sist principally of raw and manufactured silks, olive- 

 oil, fruits, shumac, valonia, wines, rags, brimstone, 

 cheese, marble, argol, anchovies, manna, juniper 

 berries, hemp, skins, com, &c. Leghorn platting 

 for straw hats is the finest in the world, and large 

 quantities are imported into Britain. The imports 

 are very numerous and valuable comprising all sorts 

 of commodities, with the exception of those pro- 

 duced by Italy. Recently, however, the trade of 

 Leghorn has fallen oft". Since 1633, it has been an 

 important commercial place. The town, which was 

 till then insignificant, was at that time enlarged. 

 The port is protected by two strong towers situated 

 on rocks in the sea, and by an old castle. It is 

 liable to become choked, and has not sufficient depth 

 for large ships ; these, therefore, have to anchor 

 outside the mole which protects the harbour. This 

 is 600 paces in length, is well paved, and used for 

 riding. On the place before the inner port is the 

 colossal marble statue of the grand duke Ferdinand 

 III. From thence a bridge leads to the outer port, 

 where the greater number of vessels are at anchor. 

 Without the port, on a rock in the sea, is a light- 

 house. Good water for drinking is brought from 

 Pisa, to which little vessels go daily, drawn by men 

 or horses. Between the town and the surrounding 

 suburbs is a long promenade, called gli Sparti. The 

 mole, the piazza d'armi, the road to Monte Nero, a 

 place of pilgrimage, also serve as public promenades. 

 In 1279, Leghorn was still an open town. When 

 the port of Pisa was destroyed, the prosperity of 

 Leghorn increased, particularly when it passed to 

 Florence in 1421 and 1495. Alexander of M<tlici 



made it a strong-hold, and built the citadel. Cosmo 

 [. declared the port a free port. From this time 

 forward, the wealth of Leghorn has increased (inter- 

 rupted only by the wars of the revolution, and, in 

 1804, by the yellow fever). The society of arts and 

 sciences there established is called Academia Labro 



;a. 



LEGIO FULMINATRIX (the thundering legion). 

 This term was applied to a Roman legion in the 

 /ime of the emperor Aurelius. The following ac- 

 count of the name is given by the Christian tradi- 

 tions. After the expulsion of the Marcomanni and 

 Quadi from Hungary, the emperor Marcus Aurelius, 

 pursuing these German tribes with a detachment of 

 bus forces, A. D. 174, was shut up in a valley, sur- 

 rounded on every side by high mountains. To those 

 who were thus cut off from the main body of the 

 army, the heat and the want of water were no less 

 dangerous than the attacks of the enemy. In this crisis, 

 a sudden shower of rain reanimated the Roman sol- 

 diers. At the same time, a storm of hail, attended with 

 thunder, assailed the enemy, who were now easily 

 repulsed and conquered. Both heathen and Christian 

 authors agree in their relation of the principal cir- 

 cumstances of this event. The adherents of each 

 religion saw in it the influence of the prayers of their 

 brethren. According to Dio Cassius (Excerpta 

 Xiphilin., I. Ixxi., cap. 8), the miracle was wrought 

 by an Egyptian sorcerer in the train of the emperor; 

 according to Capitolinus (Vita Marc. Aurel., cap. 

 24), it was the effect of the emperor's prayers ; but, 

 according to Tertullian (Apologet., cap. 5, AdScopul., 

 cap. 4) and Eusebius (Hist. Eccles. I. v., cap. 5), it 

 was brought about by the prayers of the Christians 

 in his army; hence the legion to which these Chris- 

 tians belonged was denominated fulminatrix. The 

 letter of the emperor Marcus Aurelius, commonly 

 printed in Greek in the first apology of Justin Mar- 

 tyr, gives the same account with the Christian writ- 

 ers ; but it is spurious. The marble pillar erected 

 at Rome in honour of Marcus Aurelius, and still 

 standing, represents this deliverance of the Roman 

 army, the Roman soldiers catching the falling rain, 

 and a warrior praying for its descent. It is not, 

 however, to be considered as a memorial of any 

 influence exercised by the Christians in the event. 



LEGION ; a division of the Roman army. Under 

 Romulus, it was composed of 1000 foot and 100 

 horse, selected from each of the three tribes. The 

 body thus selected (hence the name legio) amounted, 

 therefore, to 3300 men. In the time of Polybius, a 

 legion consisted of 4200 men, and it was finally 

 increased to 6200 foot. All the soldiers of a legion 

 were Roman citizens : no slaves were admitted, 

 except in cases of the most pressing necessity ; nor 

 any citizen under seventeen years old, except in 

 peculiar circumstances of danger. There was com- 

 monly an equal number of auxiliaries attached to 

 each legion, so that, in the later periods of Roman 

 history, we must understand by a legion, a corps of 

 9000 or 10,000 men. The foot of each legion, when 

 it consisted of 3000 men, were divided into ten 

 cohorts, and each cohort into three companies (mani- 

 puli) of 100 each, hence called centuriee. When the 

 legion was enlarged, the same division was still 

 retained, with the difference that each manipulus 

 was now divided into two centuries, and each cen- 

 tury into ten decurice. The commander of a legion 

 was styled the legatus. Sometimes, instead of a 

 legate, six military tribunes were appointed from 

 each, who commanded in succession, each for the 

 space of a month, under the direction of the consul. 

 The principal standard of a legion was a silver 

 eagle; and the legions were named from their com- 

 mander (as the Claudian legion), or from the place 



