L I T 
L I T 
the fill of a man, white within, and covered with a rufiet 
fkin, is eaten in Guiana, where it grows wild, and differs 
not greatly from potatoes. It flowers in May. 
i. Lita cserulea, or blue lita : flowers in pairs; fegments 
of the corolla rounded. The branches of this are more 
numerous, the calyx is larger, with longer narrower feg¬ 
ments; the corolla is blue, with a larger aperture to the 
tube, and the fegments of the border larger, wider, and 
rounded. Sometimes thefe are fix in number, and then 
the flowers have fix ftamens. Native of Guiana; flowering 
in May. 
3. Lita lutea, or yellow lita. See Gentiana aphylla, 
vol. viii. p. 332. 
LITA'BRUM, in ancient geography, a town of Spain, 
in Tarraconenfis. Now Buitraga, in New Caftiie. 
LITA'DA, a town of the ifland of Negropont, in the 
Grecian Archipelago: forty-eight miles north-weft of 
Negropont. 
LITA'NA SILVA, in ancient geography, a wood of 
the Boii, in Gallia Togata, or Cifpadana, where the Ro¬ 
mans, under L Pofthumius Albinus (whofehead the Boii 
cut off, and carried in triumph into their moft faered 
temple), had a great defeat; of twenty-five thoufand 
fcarcely ten efcaping. Livy. Holftenius conjectures, that 
this happened above the fprings of the Scultenna, in a 
part of the Appennine between Cerfinianum and Mutina. 
Now Selva di Lugo, 
LIT'ANY, /. [xUtxHim, Gr. fupplication.] A form of 
fupplicatory prayer.—Supplications, with folemnity for 
the appeafing of God’s wrath, were of the Greek church 
termed litanies , and rogations of the Latin. Hooker. —Re¬ 
coiled your fins that you have done that week, and all 
your lifetime; and recite humbly and devoutly l’ome pe¬ 
nitential litanies. Taylor. 
- Among the early Chriftians the ufe of litanies was not 
fixed to any ftated time, but were only employed as exi¬ 
gencies required. They were obferved, in imitation of 
the Ninevites, with ardent fupplications and fallings, to 
avert the threatening judgments of fire, earthquakes, in¬ 
undations, or hoftile invafions. A*[>out the year 400, li¬ 
tanies began to be ufed in proceflions, the people walking 
barefoot, and repeating them with great devotion ; and 
it is pretended, that by this means feveral countries were 
delivered from great calamities. The days on which thefe 
were ufed were called rogation-days : thefe were appointed 
by the canons of different councils, till it was decreed by 
the council of Toledo, that they fliould be ufed every 
month throughout the year; and thus by degrees they 
came to be ufed weekly on Wednefdays and Fridays, the 
ancient ftationary days for fading. To thefe days the ru¬ 
bric of our church has added Sundays, as being the greateft 
days for afiembling at divine fervice. Before the laft re¬ 
view of the Common Prayer, the Litany was a diftinft 
fervice by itfelf, and ufed foine time after the Morning 
Prayer was over; at prefent it is made one office with the 
morning fervice, being ordered to be read after the Third 
Collet: for Grace, inftead of the interceflional prayers in 
the daily fervice. 
The Litany now ufed in our church is of equal anti¬ 
quity with the Collets; and the author of both is St. 
Gregory ; the Collects being taken from his Sacramentary, 
and this Litany formed chiefly cut of his, which was. it¬ 
felf compiled out of ancient Liturgies. Litany fignifies a 
prayer of the moft earned intreaty, and pathetic fuppli¬ 
cation, that Chriftians can offer up to Almighty God. 
In the firft part of it the minifter reprefents to our confi- 
deration thofe, evils, whether of fin or differing, from 
which we pray to be delivered; during which the people 
ought to be devoutly attentive to every particular he 
mentions, and at the end of every fentence reply, Good 
Lord, deliver us ; that is, from thofe evils exprefled in the 
laft-repeated exhortation, to which that reply is made. 
In the latter part, the minifter points out thofe particular 
mercies and blefllags, which we humbly entreated God 
to pour down upon ourfelves, and others; and at every 
Vol" XII. No. 872, 
707 
period we are humbly and devoutly to pray, IVe befeeck 
thee to hear us, good Lord. And, although we are to re¬ 
main file lit while the minifter is reading his part, we-muft 
ferioufly accompany him, in heart and mind, through the 
whole. The refponfes, which we repeat at the end of 
every fentence, ferve to renew and engage our attention, 
and keep up our earned importunity with God, to grant 
us what the minifter in the preceding words recommends 
as the more immediate object of our prayers. Thus every 
feparate fentence becomes a diftinct prayer, and makes ti|j 
the moft admirable and pathetic part of our church-fer- 
vice, comprehending a general fupplication for deliver¬ 
ance from all thofe evils, both fpiritual and temporal, 
which we are too apt to fall into; and to thefe we add cur 
interceflions with God for bleflings on tile king, the royal 
family, and all that have authority, whether in church or 
ftste, in this our native country ;—for all Chriftians, for 
all that are grieved or oppreffed, afflitled or difreffed, in 
mind, body, or ejlate, whether they be known or unknown 
to us, andliether they be our friends or our enemies. 
Cookfoni's Common Prayer, p. 39. note u. 
LITA'O, a town on the north-weft coaft of the ifland 
of Timor. Lat. 9. 2. S. Ion. 124. 42. E. 
LITA'TION, f. [from lito, Lat. to facrifice.] The at: 
of facrificing. Not ufed. Bailey. 
LIT'CHFIELD, a populous and hilly county of North 
America, in the ftate of Conneticut, bounded north by 
Maflachufetts, fouth by Newliaven and Fairfield counties, 
eaft by Hartford, and weft by New York. It is divided 
into twenty townlhips, containing 41,214 inhabitants. 
Although the face of the country is generally mountain¬ 
ous, the foil is fertile, yielding large crops of wheat and 
Indian corn, and affording fine pafture. The inhabitants 
are almoft univerfally farmers, and wholly detached froin 
maritime commerce. 
LIT'CHFIELD, the chief and poft-town of the above 
county, feated on an elevated plain, expofed to the cold 
winds of winter, but enjoying a large portion of the re- 
frething breezes of fummer. Its fituation is iiandiome ; 
and it contains a court-houfe, a meeting-lroufe, and 4285 
inhabitants: thirty-two miles weft of Hartford. Lat. 41. 
46. N. Ion. 73. 37. W. On feveral fmall ftreams, fome of 
which fall into Great Pond, a beautiful (heet of water, 
are three iron-works, an oil-mill, and a number of flaw 
and grift mills. 
LIT'CHFIELD, a townfhip in Herkemer county, New 
York, taken from German Flats, incorporated in 1796, 
and containing 1976 inhabitants.—A towniliip in Lin¬ 
coln county, Maine, forty-five miles from Hallowell; 
containing 1044 inhabitants.—Alfo, a townfliip in Hillf- 
borough county, New Hampfbire, fltuated on the eaft 
fide of Merrimack river, about fifty-four miles weft of 
Portfmouth ; fettled in 1749, and containing 372 inhabi¬ 
tants. 
LIT'CHFIELD, in England. See Lichfield, p. 617. 
LITE, adj. [the old word for] Little.—From this 
exploit he fpar’d not great nor lite. Fairfax. 
Ll'TERAL, adj. [from liter a, Latin,] According to 
the primitive meaning 3 not figurative.—Through alfthe 
writings of the ancient fathers, we fee that the words 
which were, do continue; the only difference is, that, 
whereas before they had a literal , they now have a meta¬ 
phorical ufe, and are as fo many notes of remembrance unto 
us, that what they did fignify in the letter is accompliftied 
in the truth. Hooker. —A foundation, being primarily of 
ufe in arc hiteture, hath no other literal notation but what 
belongs to it in relation to an houfe, or other building; 
nor figurative, but what is founded in that, and deduced 
. from thence. Hammond. —Following the letter, or exact 
words.—The fitteft for public audience are fuch’as, fol¬ 
lowing a middle courfe between the rigour of literal tranf- 
lations and the liberty of paraphrafts, do with greater fiioh- 
nefs and plainnefs deliver the meaning. Hooker. —Confiding 
of letters: as. The literal notation of numbers was known 
to Europeans before the ciphers, 
IJT'ERAL, 
