736 LUC 
corrupt the eloquence and the tafle of the Romans, He 
was, unfortunately, not free from the infe&ion ; and too 
frequently, inftead of fhovving the genius of a poet, he be¬ 
trays the fpirit of a declaiiner. It was this defect that 
probably produced the observation of Quintilian, that Lu¬ 
can’s place was rather among the orators than among the 
poets: Oratoribus magis quatn poctis anmimerandus. But, if 
lie was not a poet, where is poetry to be found? Upon 
the whole, it may be collected from the preceding obfer- 
vations, that Lucan was more remarkable for fplendour 
of genius, than for foundnefs of judgment, or correCtnefs 
of tafte. He had more ftrength than tendernefs; greater 
force than fweetnefs. He will not often bear a compa¬ 
nion with Virgil ; but, if he wanted the purity and ele¬ 
gance of the Mantuan bard, he will be found to furpafs 
him in the energy and boldnefs of his fentiments. l ake 
from the Pharfalia a few uninterefting epifodes, and the 
tedioufnefs of fome of its details, and it will exhibit beau¬ 
ties fufficient to juftify the affertion that Lucan was not 
only a poet, but deferves the next place in the epos after 
Jlomer and Virgil. 
Of the editions of Lucan, the bell are, the Variorum, 
Lugd. B. 8vo. 1669 ; Oudendorp’s, with May’s fupple- 
ment, 4to. 1728 ; Butman’s, 4to. 1740 ; Bentley’s, Straw¬ 
berry-hill, 4to. 1760. It is remarkable that there is no 
Delphin edition of this poet of liberty; and that one of 
the firft claiTics printed under the fhort-lived French re¬ 
public was a Lucan in fplendid folio by Didot. He has 
been tranllated into French verfe by Brebeuf, and into 
Englilh verfe by Rowe. Taciti Annal. Vojfli Poet. Lat. 
Cru/ws's Latin Poets. Hay ley's EJ/ay. Monthly Mag. vol. xxiv. 
LU'CAN, in geography, a village of the county of 
Dublin, Ireland, pleafantly fituated on the banks of the 
Liffey: fix miles and a half weft from Dublin. 
LU'CAN (Al), a town of Afiatic Turkey, in Aladulia: 
fifteen miles eaft of Marafch. 
LUCA'NAS, a jurifdiftion of the diocefe of Guamanga, 
in the viceroyalty of Peru, commencing about twenty- 
five or thirty leagues fouth-weft of Guamanga. Its tem¬ 
perature is cool and moderate. It abounds in valuable 
iilver-mines, in which the riches of Peru chiefly confift; 
and by thefe means it becomes the centre of a very ex- 
tenfive commerce; great numbers of merchants reforting 
hither with their goods, and others for purchafing fuch 
provifions as their own refpeflive countries do not afford, 
for which they give in exchange ingots and pinnas of 
filver. 
LUCA'NI, a people of Italy, defcended from the Sam- 
stites, or from the Brutii. 
LUGA'NIA, a country of Italy, between the Tyrrhene 
and Sicilian feas, and hounded by Picenum, Pucetia, and 
the country of,the Brutii. The country was famous for 
its grapes. 
LUCA'NUS,y. The Stag-beetle ; in entomology, a 
genus of coleopterous infeds. Generic characters : An¬ 
tenna; clavate ; the club comprefled, and divided into fhort 
pectinate leaves ; jaws projeding beyond the head, fo as 
to referable horns, toothed ; two palpigerous tufts under 
.the lip. Thefe are the largeft of Britifh infeds ; and 
differ chiefly from the Scarabtei, or beetles properly fo 
called, in having the jaws confiderably elongated, fo as to 
.give the appearance of a pair of denticulated horns 5 
while the antennae terminate in a laterally-flattened tip, 
divided on the interior fide into feveral lamellae. There 
are twenty-nine fpecies. 
1. Lucanus alces : jaws exferted, four-toothed at the 
tip. It inhabits feveral parts of Afla. The head is large, 
deprefled, black, finuate on each fide ; jaws longer than 
the head, comprefled at the tip, and armed with a ftrong 
tooth in the middle within. 
2. Lucanus giraffa: jaws exferted, deprefled, with many 
diiferent-fized teeth; lip rounded. Inhabits Alia. The 
jaws are likewife very long; the teeth at both ends larger; 
thorax with an unequal margin ; body black. 
3. Lucanus cervus, the Itag-beetle, or flag-chaffer s 
L U C 
jaws exferted, forked at the tip ; a fmall branch near the 
middle within. This is readily diftinguifhed by its ftipe- 
rior magnitude, which entitles it to the firft rank among 
the coleopterous tribe, being nealiy two inches and a half 
in extreme length. It is however charafteriled by another 
peculiarity nolefs Angular; arfd that is the large moveable 
jaws, refembling in form the horns of a flag. Thefe jn- 
ltruments are broad and flat, projecting from the head 
nearly one third of the animal’s length; they have in the 
middle, towards the inner part, a fmall branch, and at 
their extremity are forked. Their fimilarity in fhape to 
the horns of the flag has flruck every naturalift, and has 
procured for the infect the appellation of the Jlying flag. 
The horns are fometimes as red as coral, which gives thefe 
animals a very beautiful appearance. The head that fup- 
ports thefe romantic horns, is broad, fliort, and irregular; 
and the thorax, which intervenes between it and the body, 
is narrower than either, and marginated around. The 
elytra are very plain, being unadorned with either ftreaks 
or lines. The general colour is a deep chefnut, with the 
thorax and head of a blackercaft ; the legs and under-parts 
are coal-black; and the wings which, except during fliglir, 
are concealed under the fltells, are large, and of a fine pale 
yellowifh-brown. This remarkable in fed! is chiefly found 
irnthe neighbourhood of oak-trees, delighting in the fweet 
exfudation, or honey-dew, fo frequently oblerved on the 
leaves. Its larva, which perfectly refembles that of the 
genuine beetles, is alfo found in the hollows of oak-trees; 
redding in the fine vegetable mould ufually feen in fuch 
cavities, and feeding on the fofter parts of the decayed 
wood. It is of a very confiderable fize, of a pale y el- 
la wifh or whitifh-brown colour; and, when ftretched out 
at full length, meafures nearly four inches. It has been 
fuppofed by Roefel, that thefe larvae were the coffi of the 
ancient Romans, which, according to Pliny, were in high 
efteem as an article of luxury. What renders this fupp"c)- 
fltion the more probable is, that the larvae- of a fpecies of 
Cerambyx, as well as of a Curculio, are well known to 
be greatly admired by the inhabitants of the Weft Indian 
iflands, and are frequently collected at a great expenfe, 
as a highly delicate difh, being broiled or fried for that 
purpofe. When arrived at its full fize, which, according 
to fome, is hardly fooner than the fifth or fixth year, it 
forms, by frequently turning itfelf, and moiftening it with 
its glutinous faliva, a fmooth oval hollow in the earth, in 
which it lies; and afterwards remaining perfectly ftill for 
the fpace of nearly a month, divefts itfelf of its fkin, and 
commences pupa or chryfalis. It is now of a fhorter form 
than before, of a rather deeper colour, and exhibits, in a 
ftriking manner, the rudiments of the large extended 
jaws and broad head, fo confpicuous in the perfect infeft : 
the legs are alio proportionally larger and longer than in 
the larva ftate. The ball of earth, in which this chryfalis 
is contained, is confiderably larger than a hen’s egg, and 
of a rough exterior furface, but perfectly fmooth and po- 
lifhed within. The chryfalis lies about three months be¬ 
fore it gives birth to fthe complete infeeft ; which ufually 
emerges in the months of July and Auguft. The time, 
however, of this infedt’s growth and appearance in all its 
Bates varies much, according to the difference of feafons. 
It is met with in many parts of England ; tj.pt is fcarce 
in the neighbourhood of London ; and, though the largeft 
of infects to be met with in this part of the world, it is 
much fmaller than thofe of the fame fpecies that are found 
in woody countries. This creature is ftrong and vigorous; 
and its horns, with which it pinches leverely, are carefully 
to be avoided. 
The perfect male infeft is fliown in the aft of flying, at 
fig. 1. of the annexed Plate; and with wings folded at 
fig. 2. The commonly-fuppofed female differs fo much in 
appearance from the male, tl.at it has by fome authors 
been confidered asa diftintt fpecies. It is not only fmaller 
than the former, but totally deftitute of the long and large 
ramified jaws ; inftead of which it has a pair of very fhort 
curved ones, flightly denticulated on their inner fide; the 
head 
