Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Volume 2.djvu/77

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Points, between which the Piece to be turned is fuftained , thePicce is turn 'd round, backwards and forwards,by means of a String put round it, and fattened above to the End of a pliable Pole, and underneath to a Tredle or Board mo- Ted with the Foot. There is alfo a Reft which bears up the Tool, and keeps it fteady.

As 'tis the Ufe and Application of this Inftrument that makes the greateft Part of the Art of Turning, we re- fer the particular Defcription thereof, as well as the Man- ner of applying it in various Works, to that Head. See Turning.

LATHE, in our Law. See Lethe.

LATIAR, a Feaft, or Ceremony inftituted by Tarqui- ftius Superbus, in honour of Jupiter Latialis. The Founder only appointed one Day for this Feaft} the firft Confuls added another to it upon concluding the Peace with the Latins ; a third was added after the People who had re- tired to the lAons Sacer were returned to Rome ; and a fourth after appealing the Sedition raifed on occafion of the Confulate, in which the People would needs have a Share. Thefe four Days were called the Latin Fer'ue, and every thing done during the Courfe of thefe Fer'ae, as Feafts, Sacrifices, Offerings, £=?c. were called Latiares. Tarquin having made a Treaty of Alliance with the Latins, propofed, in order for perpetuating it, to erect a common Temple, where all the Allies, the Romans, Latins, Hemici, Volfci, &c. fhould aiTemble themfelves every Year, hold a kind of Fair, exchange Merchandizes, feaft, facri- fice, and make merry together. Such was the Inftitution of the Latiar.

LATICLAVUS, a Garment of Diftinaion and Dignity among the Romans. It was a kind of Tunic, or long Coat faced with one or two Slips of Purple applied length- wife to the two Sides of the Tunic. In the Laticlavtis thefe Slips were pretty broad, and in the s/ngtifttclavus narrower; though there is nothing about which the Learned differ more, than the Difference between thofe two Habits. There were Buttons fet on the Laticlavus, which appear'd like the Heads of large Nails ; whence fome think it took its Name. The Senators, Pnetors, and the chief Magiftrates of Colonies and municipal Cities, had a Right to wear it. The Robe called Prastexta, was wore over the Laticlavus. "When the Prtetor pronounced Sen- tence of Death, he put off the Prstexta, but retained the Laticlavus.

LATINE, a dead Language firft fpoken in Latum, and afterwards at Rome, and ftill ufed in the Romijh Church, and among the Men of Learning. Some Authors rank the Latin among the Number of original Languages, but by Miftake : It is formed principally from the Greek, and particularly the JEolic Dialect of that Tongue ; tho* it has a great Number of Words which it borrowed from the Languages of the Etmri, Ofci, and other antient Peo- ple of Italy •■, and their foreign Commerce and "Wars, in courfe of Time, added a great many more. The Latin is aftrong, firm Language, perfectly fuitable to the,Charac- ter offthe People who fpoke it. We have, ftill, Works of every kind, admirably well written in Latin, tho' there are an infinite Number loft. The Latin is more figura- tive than the EngUJh, lefs pliant than the French, lefs co- pious than the Greek, lefs pompous than the Sj?anijh, lefs delicate than the Italian, but clofer and more nervous than any of them. For a while, the Latin Tongue was confined almoft wholly within the Walls of Rome ; nor would the Romans allow the common Ufe of it to their Neighbours, or to the Nations they fubdued. Cicero ob- ferved that even in his Time Greek was ufed almoft among every People, but the Lati7i only confined to a very nar- row Compafs ; Gr^ca legimtur in omnibus fere Gentibus, La- tina fuis jimbiis exiguisfane contineyitur, By degrees they were brought to grant the Ufe of it as a Favour, and in time became fenfible of the Neccffity there was of its being generally underftood for the Conveniency of Com- merce 5 and accordingly ufed their utmoft Endeavours that all the Nations fubjecT: to their Empire, ihould be unired by fome common Language ; fo that at length they impofed that as a Law, which they had before granted as a Favour. After the Tranllation of the Seat of the Empire, from Rome to Confiantinofh, the Emperors of the Eaft, being always defirous of retaining the Titles of Roman Emperors, appointed the Latin to be ftill retained in Ufe both in their Rei'cripts and Edicts, as appears by the Conftitution of the Eaftern Emperors collected in the Tbeodojian Code: But at length the Emperors neglecting the Empire of the Weft, abandon'd all Care of the Latin Tongue, and allowed their Judges to pafs Sentence in Greek 5 and accordingly we find the Emperor Jiiftiman's Novels compofed in Greek. Charlemagne coming to the Empire of the Weft, appointed the Proceedings in fove- reign Courts to be in Latin ; and the Notaries were to draw their Acts and Inftruments in the fame Tongue; This Practice continued a long time through a great Part

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of Europe bat at length it gave way, and the French took place ot the Latm, not only in frame, but in fome mea- fure tn England too : and the Reafon given for it, was that abundance of Difficulties arofe about the underftandi'ng of Latm Terms. The Latin however was prodigioullv 'de- generated and corrupted e'er it came to be laid afide. The Incurfions of the Goth, smdFandals into Italy, brought an Inundation of foreign Words and Phrafes into it; info- much that Valla and Namleus call Boetius the laft Latin Author. However, that was not all, but when it once got into the Courts of Juftice, it was ftill worfe handled; till at laft being introduced amongft the Monks, and be- come the common Language of Miffals and Breviaries, it was debauched to that degree, that it was almoft become fcandalous to ufe it. In this Condition it was found at the time of the Reformation ; when Fives, Erafmus, &c. began to open the way for its Recovery : fince which time, Morr- kifh Latinity has been declining, and all Endeavours have been ufed to retrieve the pure Language of the AUguftan Age. 'Twas faid of Cardinal Bemlo, that he would never read the Breviary, for fear of corrupting his fine Latin

LATIN CHURCH, is a Term ufed for the Romifi Church, by way of Oppofition to the Greek Church.

LATISSIMUS DORSI, in Anatomy, is a Mufcle called fo from its Shape, covering almoft thewhole Back. It hath a thin broad tendinous Beginning, which comes from the pofterior part of the Spine of the Ilium, from the fuperior Spines of the Os Sacrum, from all the Spines of the Vertebra: of the Loins, and from the feven lower of the Thorax; it pafleth by the inferior Angle of the Scapula, from which fome of its fle/hy Fibres 'fometimes arife, and is inferted with the Teres major, by a ftrong and broad Tendon, with which it pulls the Arm down- wards: It is alfo called Ani Scalper, becaufe it carries the Arm to the Anus.

LATITAT, a Writ, whereby all Men in perfonal Anions are called originally to the Kings-Bench ; and it hath this Name, as fuppofing the Defendant does lurk, and lie hid, and therefore being ferved with this Writ he muft put in Security for his Appearance at the Day! by this Writ, a Man being brought in, is committed to the Madhal of the Kings-Bench, in whofe Cuftody when he is, he may be fued upon an Action in that Court.

LATITUDE, in Geography, is the Diftance between the Equator and Zenith, or vertical Point of any Place, reckoned on the Degrees of the Meridian, or the Secun- daries of the Equator. Latitude of a Place is its Diftance from the Equator; and is either Northern or Southern, according as the Place whofe Latitude is fpoke of, is on this or that Side of the Equator. Thus London is faid to be in 5i Degrees, thirty Minutes, Northern Latitude.

Circles parallel to the Equator, are called Circles of Latitude, becaufe they (hew the Latitudes of Places by their Interferon with the Meridian. If through the Poles of the World we conceive innumerable great Circles drawn, thefe are called Secundaries of the Equator; and by their help the Polition of every Point, either on Earth, or in the Heavens, with regard to the Equinoflial (that is, the Latitude of any Point) is determined. One of thefe Se- cundaries paffing thro' any Place in the Earth's Surface, is called the Meridian of that Place, and on it the Latitude of that Place is meafured.

The Latitude of a Place, and the Elevation of the Pole of that Place above the Horizon, are Terms ufed indiffe- rently for each other, in regard the Latitude and the Ele- vation of the Pole are always equal, (as will appear by fig. 4. Plate Geography) where the Circle H Z Q_ re- prefents the Meridian, HO the Horizon, MCQ the Equator, Z the Zenith, and P the Pole. Here the La- titude of the Place, or its Diftance from the Equator, is the Arch ZJE, and the Elevation of the Pole, or its Di- ftance from the Horizon, the Arch PO. Now the Arch P jE between the Pole and the Equator, is a Quadrant of a Circle, and the Arch Z O, from the Zenith to the Ho- rizon, is likewife a Quadrant. Therefore the two Arches ZM and P O muft be equal ; and taking away the Arch ZP, which is common to both, there will remain the Arch Z JE equal to the Arch P O : that is, the Latitude of the Place equal to the Height of the Pole above the Ho- rizon. Thence we have a Method of meafuring the Cir- cumference of the Earth, or of determining the Quantity of a Degree on its Surface: For by going directly North- ward or Southward, till the Pole be elevated one Degree more or lefs, and then meafuring that Interval accurately, we Jhall have the Number of Miles in a Degree of a great Circle of the Earth's Globe. See Degree.

The Knowledge of the Latitude of the Place, is of the utmoft Confequence both in Geography, Navigation, and Aftronomy : The Methods of determining it both at Sea and Land, are as follow.

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