LITHUANIAN LANGUAGE. 337 LITMUS. a compound •ri-iing-lalliny' tone, e.g. ru-tas, •wheel.' Like Sanskrit and Slavic, the Lithua- nian accent is entirely free, often reoodinj; to the fifth .syllable from the end, shifting from the root upon the affix and vice versa, e.g. sukii, 'I turn,' siika, 'he turns,' Skt. dvesmi, 'I hate,' drismas, 'we hate,' d-dvisam, 'I hated;' Litlu ranka, 'hand,' gen. sing, rankos. Among the most notable phonological charac- teristics of the Lithuanian language are the retention of diphthongs — veidas, 'face, view,' Gk. /reiSoj, Slav, vidu ; Lith. baisua, demon, Slav. bcsii; the retention of the primitive endings of nouns: Lith. rilkas, 'wolf,' Skt. vrkas, Slav. vliikii; the complete loss of ft, and the change of the aspirates to tenues: the German words Christ us, Franzose, are Kristiis, Prancuzas in Lithuanian. As in Slavic and Indo-lrauian, Indo-Germanic E became a sibilant: Indo-Ger.
- Kmt6-m, hundred. Lith. Sziititas, Skt. iatuin,
Av. sat'm, Slav, suto, Gk. iKaT6v, Lat. centum. In morpholog}-, the Lithuanian has generally preserved the terminations remarkably intact. It has seven of the eight Indo-Germanic cases, and the three numbers; the neuter gender ap- pears in pronouns only. There is no trace of the article, though, as in Old-Church Slavic and Russian, the postpositive use of ja changes an adjective from the indefinite to the definite form. The verb makes the third singular do duty for the third persons of allthree numbers; it possesses four tenses: present, preterite, future (formed by the addition of -siu, Indo-Ger. oso, Skt. -sya. Gk. <r, e.g. Lith. Svsiv, Skt. dasyami, Gk. Sdaw, I shall give), and imperfect; there are distinct forms for the indicative, optative, imperative, infinitive, and participle. The passive is periphrastic throughout, but the active construction is sub- stituted whenever possible. A reflexive voice also is formed by the addition of -s (earlier -si, reflexive pronoun ) to the active forms. In its vocabulary the Lithuanian has drawn to a considerable extent from the German. Russian, and Polish. Its numei'ous dialects fall into two groups: the High (Southern) Lithuanian, which changes the combinations tj and dj to cz, dz. and the Jforthem (Low) Lithuanian, which retains
- / and dj.
The earliest literary remains in Lithuanian are a translation of Luther's smaller Catechism (Konigsberg, 1547) ; a baptismal formulary (dating from 1569) ; another translation of Luther's Catechism and the Gospels (1579). and the prayer-books and translation of the Bible by the Preacher .Jan Bretkun (1535-1602). By 1701 fifty-nine books had been printed in Lithu- anian, but most of them were destroyed by un- known hands. To the Calvinist propaganda the Lithuanian owes its development for literary purposes, and the publication of a Calvinist New Testament ( 1701 ) marks the new period, when works of other than liturgical purport began to appear. The most important name during this period is that of the poet Christian Donalitius (1714-80). His pastoral epic. The Four treasons, in hexameters, displays uncommon jiowers of ob- servation and a facile style, though as poetry it is second rate. This poem and six extant fables were published by Schleicher (Saint Petersburg, 1865) and Xesselmann (Konigsberg. ISO!)), with translation, notes, and glossary. .Another impor- tant work was Ruhig's Lithuanian Dictionary (1749), later reedited by Milke, with a preface by the philosopher Kant. The publications until the last quarter of the nineteenth century were mainly religious, although between 1801 and 1891 some 1200 ditl'erent books were printed. In ISOi Olechnowicz published fables and stories from Lithuanian life, and later the Bishop Bara- noski wrote an epic, the Onikshta. Grove. Fritz Kelch ( 1801-77 ) issued the first Prussian-Lithu- anian newspaper, and in 1883 Auszra (Dawn), the first magazine, the organ of the Voung Lithu- anian Party, was founded by Basanowicz. Be- tween 1834 and 1895 no less than thirty-four periodicals appeared in the United States." Con- sult: Schleiker, Ilnndhuch der litauischrn Sprache (Prague, 1856-57) ; Kurschat, fJram- rnatik der titauischen Hprache (Halle, 1876) ; Voelkel, Litaui.iches Elcmentarbuch ( Heidellterg. 1879) ; Wiedemann, Handbuch der litatiinchrn Sprache (Strassburg, 1897); Nesselmann. W'iir- terbuch der litauischen Sprache (Konigsberg, 1851) ; Kurschat, Wiirterbuch der litauischen Sprache (Halle, 1870-83); Bezzenberger, IJtiiu- ische und lettische Drucke des sechzehnteu I und sicbzehnten) Jahrhunderts (GiJttingen, 1874-84); id., Beitriige zur Geschichte der litauischen Sprache (ib., 1877) ; id., Litauische Forschungen (ib., 1882) ; Wiedemann, Das litauische Prosier- Hum (Strassburg, 1891) ; N'csselmann. Litauische Volkslieder (Berlin, 18.53) ; .Juszkicwiez, Lietu- riskos dainos (Kazan, 1880-82) ; id.. Lieluriskos svotbines dainos (Saint Petersburg, 18S3) ; Bartsch, Dainu Balsai (Heidelberg. 1880-89); Schleicher. Litauische Miirchen, Sprichwortc, R-dtsel und Lieder (Weimar, 1857) ; Leskien and Brugmann. Litauische Volkslieder und ilarchen (Strassburg, 1882). LITHUANIANS. A branch of the Letto- Lithuanian grouj) of the Aryan family, living mainly in European Russia, between the White Russians and the Baltic; height, 1.043 meters in Lithuania, and 1.039 meters in Poland. They are well made, blond, and with oval face, long, thin nose, thin lips, blue eyes, white skin, and light hair. They are said to exhibit elements of sub-Xorthern and Eastern race. They are largely husbandmen, wagoners, and woodmen. LITHUANIAN VERSION. See Bible. LITITZ, lit'its. A borough in Lancaster Coun- ty, Pa., eight miles north of Lancaster: on the Reading and Columbia Railroad (Map: Pennsyl- vania, E 3). It is a popular summer resort, its attractions including the famous Lititz Springs, and has Linden Hall Seminary, established by the Moravians in 1794. Among the industrial establishments are cigar-factories, knitting-mills, chocolate and cocoa works, and a corn-starch fac- torj-. Population, in 1890. 1494; in 1900. 1637. Lititz, founded by Moravians (q.v. ) in 1757, was named after a village in Bohemia whence some of the forefathers of the Vnitas Fratrum had emi- grated, and was organized from Warwick town- ship. The Brothers' House, built in 1759. was used as a hospital during part of the Revolution- ary War, and a number of soldiers died and were buried here. Consult: Morarian Historical .Sfo- ciety Transactions, vol. ii. (Bethlehem, Pa.), and Mombert. An, Authentic History of Lancaster County. Pa. (Lancaster, 1869). LITMUS (corruption of Inrmus. from lac, from Pers. lak. lac. from Skt. ICiksO. lacinseot, from laksa. hundred tkousand : so called from the great numbers of the insect in a single nest). A
