849 
L Y S 
often fufpended the fenfeat the end of the ftropbe, where 
the air ought to repofe 5 to the beginning of the next 
ftanza.’’ 
This Ipecies of poetry was originally employed in cele¬ 
brating the praifes of gods and heroes ; though it was af¬ 
terwards introduced into fealts. and public diverfions ; it is 
a miftake to imagine Anacreon,as the Greeks do, the au¬ 
thor of it; fince it appears from Scripture to have been in 
life above a thoufand years before that poet. Mr. Barne 
fhows how unjuft it is to exclude heroic fubjefts and actions 
from this fort of verfe, lyric poetry being capable of all 
the elevation and lublimity fuch fubjefls require; which 
he confirms by the examples of Alcteus, Stefichorus, Ana¬ 
creon, and Horace. The charafteriftic of lyric poetry, 
which dittingui/hes it from all others, is dignity and fweet- 
nrjs. As gravity rules in heroic verfe ; fimpliaiy, in paf- 
toral ; tendcrncfs and Joftnefs, in elegy ; Jharpnefs and poig¬ 
nancy, in fatire ; mirth, in comedy ; the pathetic, in tragedy ; 
and the point, in epigram ; fo in the lyric, the poet applies 
himfelf wholly to foothe the minds of men, by the fweet- 
nefs and variety of the verfe, and the delicacy and eleva¬ 
tion of the words and thoughts ; the agreeablenefs of the 
numbers, and the defcription of things moft pleafing in 
their own nature. 
LYR'ICISM, f. A lyric eompofition.—Which indeed 
to do they mult have our lyrkifms at their finger-ends. 
Gray's Letters. 
LY'RIST, f. A mufician who plays upon the harp ; 
His tender theme the charming lyrifl chofe 
Minerva’s anger and the direful woes 
Which voyaging from Troy the victors bore. Pope. 
LYRNES'SUS, in ancient geography, a city of Cilicia, 
the native country of Brifeis, who is called from thence 
LyrneJJcis. It was taken and plundered by Achilles and 
the Greeks, at the time of the Trojan war, and the booty 
divided among the conquerors. Homer. 
LYRO'DI, f. Among the ancients, a kind of mufi- 
cians who played on the lyre, and fung at the fame time. 
This appellation was alfo given to fuch as made it their 
employment to ling lyric poems compofed by others. 
LYS, or Lis, a river of France, which rifes near Lyf- 
burg, in the department of the Straits of Calais, pafles by 
Aire, St. Venant, Armentieres, Comines, &c. and runs 
into the Scheldt at Ghent. It gives name to one of the 
departments. 
LYS (Department of),one of the departments of France, 
(if now it may be called fo,) formed out of what was 
called Aultrian Flanders; bounded on the north by the 
German Sea and the department of the Scheldt, on the eaft 
by the department of the Scheldt, on the fouth by the de¬ 
partment of Jemappe, and on the weft by the department 
of Jemappe and the fea. Befides Bruges, the capital, the 
chief towns are Furnes, Ypres, and Courtray. 
LYS (St.), a town of France, in the department of the 
Upper Garonne, and chief place of a canton, in the dif- 
tfift of Muret: feven miles weft of Muret. The place 
contains 1140, and the canton 5149, inhabitants. 
LYSAN'DER, a townfliip of North America, in Onon- 
dago county. New York, incorporated in 1794, and com¬ 
prehending the military towns of Hannibal and Cicero: 
fixteen miles fouth-eaft of Lake Ontario. 
LYSAN'DER, an eminent Spartan commander, was the 
fon of Ariftoclitus, a defcendant of the Heraclidas, but 
not of the royal race. He was educated in the feverity 
of the Spartan difcipline, by which he was rendered hardy 
and vigorous in body; and nature had given him an en- 
terprifing and ambitious fpirit, with talents fitted for 
command. He was modeft in his demeanour, fupple and 
infinuating, ever intent upon his own advancement, and 
reftrained by no fentiments of honour or juftice. He was 
at little pains to conceal his principles; for it is recorded 
as a faying of his, that “ children were to be cheated by 
toys, and men by oaths.” His abilities, however, caufed 
him to rife in the Spartan ftate, which was now engaged 
LYS' 
in the Pelopounefian waragaipft the Athenians, who, not- 
withltanding many difafters, were ftill fuperior at fea. 
Lyfander was made the naval commander of the Lacede¬ 
monians, B.C. 406 ; and by his exertions he brought that 
war to a clofe by the’ deftruaion of Athens, B.C. 404. 
See the article Greece, vol. viii. p. 890-903. His influ¬ 
ence greatly contributed to the abolition of the democra- 
tical government in many of the Greek towns of Alia, 
and the fubftitution of the ariftocratical; in effecting which 
he fcrupled no meafures of treacherous policy, as it was a 
maxim with him, that, “where the lion’s fkin falls fhort, 
it fhould be lengthened with the fox’s.” At Miletus, af¬ 
ter he had prevented the heads of the popular party from 
leaving the city by his aflurances of lafety, he fullered 
them all to be put to death by their ad verfaries ; and firni- 
lar tragedies w'ere aded in various other places. As a na¬ 
val commander he difplayed great fkill and activity. He 
pillaged iEgina and Salamis, took Lamplacus, and eluded 
the Athenian fleet which chafed him, till they came in 
prefence of each other at .ffigos-Potamos in the Thracian 
Cherfonefus. The battle that enfued will always be me¬ 
morable in hiftory. Lyfander was flain at the liege of Hali- 
artus about B.C. 395. The poverty in which he died was a 
proof that the hoarding of money was not his paflion ; yet 
no man did more than he towards corrupting his country¬ 
men by the love of it. On the whole, though he may 
rank among the great men of Greece, he does not merit a 
place among the truly illuftrious. Plutarch. 
LYSAN'DRIA, /. in antiquity, a Samian feftival, ce¬ 
lebrated with facrifices and games in honour of the fub- 
jed of the preceding article. It was anciently called herea■, 
which name was abolilhed by a decree of the Samians. 
LYSA'NIAS, or Lys'ias, [Gr. one that drives away 
forrow.] Tetrarch of Abilene; (Luke iii. 1.) This Ly- 
fanias was probably the fon or grandfon of another Lyfa- 
nias, known in hiftory, (Dio, lib. xlix.) and put to death 
by Mark Antony, who gave part of his kingdom to Cleo¬ 
patra. Lyfanias, his fon or grandfon, poftelfed Abilene 
when John the Baptift began his million ; for St. Luke 
places him among the princes who governed Judea, or the 
country round about it. But either he mult have made 
no great figure in the world, or his government mult have 
been of finall extent, fince profane hiftorians make no 
mention of him. Abilene was a fmall province fituated 
between Libanus and Antilibanus. The capital whereof 
was Abila. See Jofeph. Antiq. lib. xv. cap. 4. 
LYSA'NO, a town of Pruflxa, in the palatinate of Culm s 
fifteen miles fouth of Culm. 
LY'SBURG, a town of France, in the department cf 
the Straits of Calais, near the fourceof the Lys: ten miles 
fouth-fouth-weft of Aire. 
LYSE, a town of Norway : eight miles fouth-fouth- 
weft of Bergen. 
LY'SEKIL, a feaport town of Sweden, in Weft Goth- 
land : fixteen miles weft of Uddevalla. 
LY'SER, Ly'zer, or Lie'ser. See Liser, vol. xii. 
p. 786. 
LYS'ERUS (Polycarp), a learned German Lutheran 
divine, was the fon of the minifter and fuperintendant at 
Winenden, in the duchy of Wirtemberg, where he was 
born in the year 1552. When he was but two years old 
his father died ; and his mother afterwards married the 
famous Luke Ofiander, who took the greateft care of his 
education. When he was fourteen years of age, he had 
made fuch progrefs in elementary learning under different 
able mailers, that he was judged deferving of being fent 
for academical education to the univerfity of Tubingen, 
at the expenfe of the prince of Wirtemberg. In this fe- 
minary he applied very diligently to his ftudies; and, in 
the year 1570, was admitted to the degree M.A. with dif- 
tinguilhed reputation. In 1573, he was received into the 
office of the miniftry, and appointed pallor of the church 
of GellerfdorfF, in the Auftrian territory. Here he was 
much admired as a preacher; and frequently received ap¬ 
plications to preach on particular occafions at Vienna, and 
3 in 
