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LYCIA 43 LYELt tures. In the present day, in France, the name (lycee) is given to prepara- tory schools for the universities, as in them the Aristotelian philosophy was formerly taught. LYCIA (lish'i-a), in ancient geog- raphy, a country on the S. coast of Asia Minoi-, extending toward Mount Taurus, and bounded on the W. by Caria, on the N. by Phrygia and Pisidia, and on the E. by Pamphylia. The most ancient in- habitants are said to have been two Semitic races called the Solymi and Ter- milas, the former of whom were driven from the coast to the mountains in the N. by adventurers from Crete, under the command of Sarpedon, a brother of Minos, who first gave the country the name of Lycia. Lycia became subject to the Persian and Syrian monarchies, and then to Rome. During the time of its independence it consisted of 23 confed- erate cities. Many monuments and ruined buildings, exquisite sculptures, coins, and other antiquities, testify to the attainments of the Lycians in civili- zation and the arts. LYCK, Germany, a town in East Prussia, 100 miles S. E. of Konigsberg. It is an industrial center of considerable importance, machinery, cement goods, and furniture being manufactured chief- ly. It was the scene of much fighting during the war, the Russians capturing it in 1914 and holding it for some weeks. Fop. about 15,000. LYCURGUS (li-kur'gus), the law- giver of Sparta ; usually dated about 820 B. c. He was uncle of the young King Charilaos, and governed the states wisely during his nephew's infancy, then trav- eled over Crete, Ionia, and Egypt, and on his return, finding his country in com- plete anarchy, made a new division of property, and remodelled the whole con- stitution, military and civil. Next he bound the citizens by oath not to change his laws till he came back, and then left Sparta to be no more seen. His memory was honored as that of a god with a temple and yea^rly sacrifices. LYDDITE, an explosive, which derives its name from the town of Lydd, Kent, England, where it is manufactured. It consists of fused picric acid (C^H2(N02)3 OH). For use in warfare, it is melted at a carefully regulated temperature of 130- 140° C, and poured directly into shells, a space being left in the center for the detonator. Lyddite possesses high chem- ical and physical stability, is insensitive to percussion, and under proper condi- tions is safe to manufacture and handle ; yet, when detonated, it is very powerful in its bursting effects. Its acidic char- acter, however, causes it to react readily with metals, forming picrates of an un- stable character. This objectionable characteristic has led to serious acci- dental explosions and for this reason Lyddite has been to a large extent re- placed by Trinitrotoluene (TNT). The products of decomposition when explo- sion takes place are carbon monoxide, car- bon dioxide, hydrocyanic acid, nitric oxide, nitrogen, water, and residual carbon. LYDGATE, JOHN, an English poet; born in Lydgate, near Newmarket, Eng- land, in 1370. He was a monk of Bury St. Edmunds. He translated Benoit de St. Maure's "History of Troy" at the command of Henry V.; wrote a poem on the "Battle of Agincourt," and one on the coronation of Henry VI.; his "Story of Thebes" is written as though it were one of the "Canterbury Tales" of Chaucer. He wrote also ballads that became popular. He died about 1451. LYDIA, in ancient geography, a coun- try of Asia Minor, bounded on the W. by Ionia, on the S. by Caria, on the E. by Phrygia, and on the N. by Mysia. It was celebrated for its fruitful soil and for its mineral wealth, particularly for the gold of the river Factolus and of the neighboring mines, but was infa- mous for the corruption of morals which prevailed among its inhabitants, and es- pecially in Sardis, its capital. Lydia attained its highest prosperity under the dynasty of the Mermnadse (about 700- 546 B. c). The first of this dynasty was the half mythical Gyges; the last was the famous Croesus, celebrated for his prodigious wealth. LYE, a solution of an alkali; water impregnated vdth alkaline salt imbibed from the ashes of wood. Used in soap- making, in neutralizing an acid, in remov- ing grease from objects, such as thin iron plates in the operation of tinning, etc. LYELL, SIR CHARLES, a British geologist; bom in Kinnordy, Forfarsliire, Scotland, Nov. 14, 1797. He was edu- cated at Oxford, began to study law, but afterward resolved to devote his time and fortune to geological research. For this purpose he visited the continent of Europe and the United States. He be- came professor in King's College, Lon- don, in 1831; president of the Geological Society in 1835, 1836, 1849, and 1850; of the British Association in 1864. He distinguished himself as an opponent of the old catastrophism in geology. His first important work was the "Princi- ples of Geology" (1830-1833). Another important work was the "Antiquity of