824 LIT 
ovate, hoary, callous at the edge ciliate, ffein fuffYuticcfe, 
muricated, hifpid. This is a fmall ftilf ffirub, upright, a 
long fpan in height, hoary, muricated at top, hifpid, very 
much branched. 
iz. Lithofpermum difpermum, ortwo-feeded gromwell: 
feeds only two, calyxes fpreading. Root annual. Stem 
herbaceous, a hand in height, round, hifpid, upright; di¬ 
viding at top into two almoft-upright branches, feldom 
more. Flowers alternate; corolla bluiffi white, fmall; 
border flattilh. Native of Spain, between Madrid and 
Cadiz. 
Propagation and Culture. Thefe plants may be cultivated 
by lowing their feeds foon after they are ripe, in a bed of 
frelli earth, allowing them room, and keeping them clear 
from weeds. They will thrive in almoft any foil and fitua- 
tion; and, if the feeds be permitted to fcatter, the plants 
will in general rife without care. Some of the forts are 
not without their beauty. The firft, being wild, is feldom 
cultivated ; and the fecond is a common weed among corn. 
See Anchusa, Coix, Linum, Myosotis, Pulmonaria, 
and Stellera. 
LITHOSTRA'T A,/, [from theGreek TuGoc,a Hone,and 
rptrjwju.t, to pave.] A mofaic pavement compofed of pieces 
of line marble and other ltones curioufly joined together. 
LITHOT'OMIST,/. [from the Greek TuGoc, a (tone, 
and TEpofv, to cut.] One that performs the operation of 
cutting for the Hone. 
LITHOTO'MUS, f. A Hone-cutter, a lithotomift. 
Phillips. 
LITHOT'OMY, f. The operation of cutting for the 
Hone. See the article Surgery. 
LITHOX'YLUM, f. in botany. See Fucus. 
LI'THRUS, in ancient geography, a town of Arme¬ 
nia Minor. Strabo. 
LITHUA'NIA (Great, or Ruffian), a country of Eu¬ 
rope of coriliderable extent, anciently a feparate duchy, 
and afterwards united to Poland. Its capital was Vilna, 
or Wilna; but its principal town was Grodno. When it 
was governed by its own fovereigns under the title of 
Great-Dukes, a rivalry fnblifted between this duchy and 
the contiguous Hates of Ruffia and Poland, which was the 
occafion of frequent contefts. At fo early a period as the 
s ith century, the Lithuanians, defcended from the anci¬ 
ent Hock of the Sclavonians, are enumerated by Nellor in 
his chronicle, under the appellative Litiua , among the na¬ 
tions tributary to the Ruffian monarchy; nor could they 
find means to render themfelves an independent nation, 
till the time when dangerous inteHine diviftons fprang up 
in Ruffia under the fuccelfors of Vladimir the Great, who 
died in the year 1015. At this time they were freed from 
the Ruffian fupremacy, enlarged their borders at the ex- 
penfe of their former mailers, and at length grew to be 
formidable to all their neighbours. Their return under 
the Rulfian yoke we fliall prefently have occafion to no¬ 
tice. In the year 1386, the great duke Ladiflaus Jaghellon, 
or Yagbello, having efpoufed the Polilh queen Hadevige, 
and embraced the Chriltian religion, was railed to the Po¬ 
lilh throne, and reigned over both Poland and Lithuania. 
In confequence of the union of the two countries, the con¬ 
quered Ruffian provinces deyolved to this united kingdom. 
Ladillaus manifefted the reality of his converfion by en¬ 
deavouring to propagate the Chriftian dofhines among his 
idolatrous fubjefts in Lithuania: accordingly he cut down 
the hallowed groves, deflroyed the oracular fhrine, extin- 
guilhed the facred fire, and flew the ferpents that were 
worfhipped as gods by his fuperftitious fubjects. A be¬ 
lief had universally prevailed among the people, that who¬ 
ever attempted to deftroy thefe objects of their worlhip, 
would be (truck with inftantaneous death ; but the falfity 
of this tradition was evinced by the impunity of thole 
who were concerned in the fuppofed facrilege. The Li¬ 
thuanians flocked in Rich crowds to be converted, that 
the prielis could only confer feparate baptilVn on perfons 
of dinincrion; but diftributed the multitude in ranks, and, 
Sprinkling them with water, gave one Chriftian name to 
L I T 
each rank without diftinflion of /ex. Ladiflaus, having- 
thus introduced the Chriftian religion into Lithuania, no¬ 
minated his brother Calimir Skirgello governor of the du¬ 
chy, and returned to Poland ; but a civil war being ex¬ 
cited by the ambition of Alexander, furnamed Vitoldus, 
and by the difeontents of the people, ftill attached to their 
pagan rites, Lithuania was for ionie time a feene of tu¬ 
mult and hoftility. At length, by a compromife in 139a, 
Vitoldus was appointed great duke, and Ladiflaus con¬ 
tented himfelf with a nominal fovereignty. In 1401 the 
nobles of Lithuania aflembled at Wilna, and entered into 
an offehlive and defenfive alliance with the king and re¬ 
public of Poland. In 1413, it was ftipulated in a diet of 
Poles and Lithuanians, held in the town of Hrodlo, that, 
upon the demile of Vitoldus, the Lithuanians fhould ac¬ 
knowledge no other great duke but the perlon who fhould 
be appointed by the king, and with the agreement of the 
two nations; that, if Ladillaus died without ilfue, the 
Poles fhould eleft no king without the confent of Vitol¬ 
dus and the Lithuanians, and that a diet, compofed of re- 
prefentatives from both nations, Ihould meet at Lublin 
or Panzow'. From the demife of Vitoldus, who expired 
in 1439, in the 80th year of his age, the great dukes were 
fometimes, in conformity to this compact, nominated by 
the kings of Poland, at other times in violation ol it by 
the Lithuanians. At length, Sigifmund I. fortunately 
united in his perfon the two fovereignties, and was fuc- 
ceeded in both by his Ion Sigifmund Auguftus. The 
connection between the turn nations was, however, more 
an alliance than an union ; but Sigifmund Auguftus, hav¬ 
ing no children, and being the only furviving male heir of 
the Jaghellon family, planned the union of Poland and Li¬ 
thuania, left upon his deceale the two nations Ihould again 
be governed by different princes. For this purpofe a ge¬ 
neral diet was held at Lublin in 1569; and, upon the ra¬ 
tification of the union, Sigifmund Auguftus renounced 
all hereditary right to Lithuania. From this time the 
fame perfon was uniformly eletfled king of Poland and 
great duke of Lithuania, and the two nations were incor¬ 
porated into one republic. 
Lithuania, called Litwa by the Poles, was formerly very 
woody, and the greateft part of it lay uncultivated. But, 
by the tranquillity it enjoyed under Sigifmund I. and his 
fuccelfors, this country was greatly improved by cutting 
down the woods, and agriculture was duly encouraged. 
Great quantities of pot-affi and wood-allies are made here; 
and the country produces a great deal of corn. Here is 
alfo great plenty of honey, with which are made liquors 
called lippitz, mallinieck, and mead. The meadows and 
paftures of this province are very fertile, and afford nou- 
rifhment to numerous flocks and herds. The Iheep yield 
fleeces of very fine wool. Here are alio feveral lakes, in 
which are profitable filheries. In the forelts of Lithuania 
are bears, solves, wild boars, buffaloes, deer, and prodi¬ 
gious flights of woodcocks. All forts of provifions are 
very cheap; but calli is iofcarce, that ten per cent, is the 
common intereft for money. All the common people, 
except the burghers of the royal towns, and the Germans, 
are vallals. The nobility are very numerous, and for the 
1110ft part poor; but the principal nobility are exceedingly 
rich, and have eftates equal to the revenues of princes; 
fo they generally retain lome hundreds of the poor nobi¬ 
lity in their (ervice. They are alfo inverted with the 
highelf polls in the kingdom, and live in great pomp and 
fplendour. 
Lithuania has lliared the fortunes of Poland; and, with 
the gradual extinclion of it, has likewife fallen a prey to 
her ltronger and more powerful neighbours. At the par¬ 
tition ot the year 1773, Lithuania furnilhed the whole 
(hare which Ruffia at that time obtained, and out of which 
the pfelent vice-royalties of Mobile! and Polotlk are 
formed. In the fublequent partition ot the year 1793, 
this grand duchy again loft one thoufand feven hundred 
and thirty-one fquare miles, and 850,000 fouls, which 
now belong to the vice-royaJty of Minlk; and, in the fina 4 
3 partition 
