LAW 



421 



LAX 



andria Monogynia. Name from laus, 



raise, it being the custom to crown the 

 eads of eminent men with wreaths of 

 laurel. The logwood of Jamaica, the ben- 

 jamin-tree of Virginia, the sassafras-tree 

 of North America, the alligator-pear of 

 the "West Indies, and the sweet-bay of 

 Europe, are the most interesting species. 

 The cinnamon and camphor trees are now 

 referred to the genus Cmwamoum(q.v.). 



LAU'RUSTINE, a fine evergreen shrub, 

 the Vibumus tinus, a native of the South 

 of Europe. 



LA'VA, the matter which flows in a 

 melted state from a volcano. Kirwan de- 

 rives the word from Gothic lopa, but it 

 seems more probably to be an Italian 

 word from Lat. laro, to purge, or wash 

 away. Felspar usually composes half the 

 mass of modern lavas, and when this is in 

 great excess they are said to be trachytic. 

 On the other hand, when augite pre- 

 vails, they are basaltic. Lava is distin- 

 guished, according to the circumstances 

 which accompany its consolidation, into 

 compact, cellular, and cavernous lava. In 

 issuing from the crater, it has commonly 

 the consistence of honey, but it is some- 

 times so liquid as to penetrate the fibre of 

 wood. It is a bad conductor of heat, and 

 therefore retains its heat, wh<n in masses, 

 for an astonishing length of time. 



LAVAN'DULA, 1 Lavender, a genus of 



LAVEN'DULA. j plants, Didynamia 

 Gymnospermia. Name from lavo,to wash, 

 because, on account of its fragrance, it 

 was wont to be used in baths. The com- 

 mon lavender, L. spica, cultivated in our 

 gardens, is a native of the South of Eu- 

 rope. The essential oil, called lavender, 

 is obtained from its flowers by distilla- 

 tion, and possesses all their fragrance. 



LAV'ENDER. 1. In botany, see LAVANDULA. 



2. An essential oil, obtained from the 



flowers of the Laiandida spica. The alco- 

 holic solution of this oil is sold under the 

 name of lavender-icaler. 



LA'VER, Fr. lavoir, from laver, to wash. 

 1 . In antiquity, a basin placed in the court 

 of the Jewish tabernacle, where the offi- 

 ciating priests washed their hands, and 



the entrails of victims. 2. In botany, 



the brook- lime, Veronicabeccabunga ; also 

 a species of ulva, eaten as a delicacy. 



LA'VERBREAD, a sort of food made of a 

 marine plant, otherwise called oyster- 

 green and sea-liverwort. 



LAW, Sax. laga or lak, fromlecgan, Goth. 

 Ini/iian, to lay, set, or fix. 1. An esta- 

 blished rule, prescribed by the supreme 

 power of a state to its subjects, for regu- 

 lating their actions, particularly their 

 social actions. Laws are of four kinds 

 declaratory or permissive, when they simply 

 declare what may be done without incur- 

 ringa penalty ; prohibitory or penr,\, when 

 they forbid certain things to be done or 



omitted ; imperative or mandatory, when 

 they command what is to be done ; and 

 remedial, when their object is to redress 

 some injury done, or remove some incon- 

 veniency. Municipal or civil laws are 

 rules of conduct established by decrees, 

 edicts, or ordinances enacted by the su- 

 preme power of the state ; natural law 

 comprehends those rules of conduct aris- 

 ing out of the natural relations of human 

 beings, established by the Creator, and 

 existing prior to, and independent of, any 

 positive precept. The laws of nations re- 

 gulate the mutual intercourse of nations, 

 and depend on natural law, or the prin- 

 ciples of justice, which spring from the 

 social state. Written law is that promul- 

 gated and recorded in statutes, &c. Com- 

 mon law is that established by use and 

 wont, but which can be traced to no posi- 

 tive statute. Ecclesiastical law has for its 

 object the government of a church, other- 

 wise called canon law. The code of laws 

 prescribed by Moses to the Jews is deno- 

 minated the Mosaic law, and that part of 

 the Mosaic institutions which prescribes 

 the ceremonies to be observed, is termed 

 the ceremonial law. There are also martial 

 laics for the government of an srmy ; 

 marine laws for the regulation of the 

 commercial intercourse of nations ; moral 

 laws prescribing to men their religious 



and social duties. 2. Physical laws, 



or laws of nature. The invariable ten- 

 dency or determination of any species 

 of matter to a particular form, with de- 

 finite properties, and the determination 

 of a body to certain motions, changes, and 

 relations, which uniformly take place in 

 the same circumstances, is called a physi- 

 cal law. These tendencies or determina- 

 tions, whether called laws or affections of 

 matter, have been established by the Cre- 

 ator, not by enumerating all individual 

 contingencies, and laying down particular 

 laws, but by enduing the elements of the 

 material universe with certain fixed qua- 

 lities and powers, of which all their sub- 

 sequent relations shall be inevitable con- 

 sequences. 



LAW LANGUAGE, the language used in 

 legal writings, particularly the Norman 

 dialect, or old French, which was used in 

 England in judicial proceedings, from the 

 days of "William the Conqueror to the 

 36th year of Edward III. 



LAWN, Fr. and Ger. linon, from lin, flax. 

 In Celtic, llan. A sort of clear or open 

 linen fabric, formerly only manufactured 

 in France and Flanders, but now exten- 

 sively manufactured in Scotland and the 

 north of Ireland. The name is also given 



to an imitation fabric of cotton. 2. In 



gardening, a surface of turf in pleasuie 

 grounds kept smoothly mown. 



LAXA'TOR, from laxo, to loosen. A name 

 applied to muscles, &c., the office ot which 



