SACREB ISLES IN THE WEST. ' ■ 45 



In France tliefe is the river Liger, or Ligerh, now called' the Loire, by drop- 

 ping the quiescent letter g; which practice is pretty general ; but more par- 

 ticularly affected by the Celtic language, its diale6ls, and the modern lan- 

 guages partly derived from them. (Thus in the Italian, French and Spanish 

 languages, mstesid of viginti, triginta'Scc. they sa.y vint,trente 8ic. Most 

 of the ancient names of places, and rivers in Gaul, are modernised in 

 that manner:, thus the river Socona is now called the Soane; SLud Se^ 

 quana is the Seine.) 



On the highest grounds in Lloegyr, was a city of that name, called 

 afterwards Leger'Ce aster, Ligora-Ceaster, Legra-Ce aster. It is now called 

 Leicester, for Leir-cester. The learned Somnek says, that the river, 

 which runs by it, was formerly called Lear by the same contra6lion, 

 and it is probably the river Liar of the anonymous geographer. Mr. 

 SoMNER, if I be not mistakeiij places the original town of Ligora near 

 the source of the Lear^ now the Soar, on the most elevated spot in 

 England, and in the center of the Chandra-Mand'alam, or sacred road 

 of Lunus, called also Electris, or Ldhaguru, Lygguros, Lloegyr: and 

 I believe that L/o^r, the IVehh name of the moon, is derived from 

 Lloegyr, by a similar prbcess, congenial to that language. Thus from 

 the Latin lucere^ or lukere^ the French have made luire. 



The ancient Britons established in France, consider the modern name 

 of the river Liger, written Loire in French, as synonymous with Loar, 

 the name of the moon in their diale6l. In the Cornish diale6l, lur signi- 

 fies the moon. In Greek the moon was called Ilaeira, Ilaira, according 

 to Hesyciiius, and Plutarch ; the same name is pronounced Laira by 

 other authors, asHyciNus. 



M 



