Smith, William: A smaller dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities (London, 1871)

LIBITINARII.

239

LIXTER.

Libertini. Libert ini were those persons who
had been released from legal servitude. A
manumitted slave was Libertus (that is, libe-
ratus) with reference to his master ; with
reference to the class to which he belonged
after manumission, he was Libert in us. Re-
specting the mode in which a slave was
man'iniittcd, and his status after manumis-
sion, see Manbmissio.—At Athens, a liberated
slave was called aire\ev9epo';. When manu-
mitted he did not obtain the citizenship, but
was regarded as a metoicus [Metoicus], and,
as such, he had to pay not only the mctoiciun
(fieToiKioi/), but a triobolon in addition to it. .
His former master became his patron (7rpocr-
Tdrr)?). to whom he owed certain duties.

LIBITINARII. [Finnra.]

LIBRA, dim. LIBELLA (orafyios), a ba-
lance, a pair of scales. The principal parts
of this instrument were, 1. The beam (jit-
gum). 2. The two scales, called in Greek
raKavra, and in Latin lances. The beam was
made without a tongue, being held by a ring
or other appendage (ligula, pOfia) fixed in
the centre.

LIBRA or AS, a pound, the unit of weight
among the Romans and Italians. The uncial
division, which has been noticed in speaking
of the coin As, was also applied to the weight.
•—(See Tables at the end.) The divisions of
the ounce are given under Uncia. Where
ithe word pondo, or its abbreviations p. or
[pond., occur with a simpie number, the
weight understood is the libra. The name
libra was also given to a measure of horn,
divided into twelve equal parts (unciae) by
. lines marked on it, and used for measuring
oil.

LIBRAR1I, the name of slaves, who were
employed by their masters in writing or co-
pying, sometimes called anfiqui.rii. They
must be distinguished from the Scribae pub-
Bici, who were freemen [Scribae], and-also
from the booksellers [Bibliopola], to both of
whom this name was also applied.

LIBRATOR, in general a person who ex-
amines things by a libra ; but specially ap-
plied to two kinds of persons.—(1) Libra-
Sores aquae, persons whose knowledge of
hydrostatics was indispensable in the con-
struction of aquaeducts, sewers, and other
structures for the purpose of conveying a
fluid from one place to another.—( 2) Libra-
tores in the armies were probably soldiers
who attacked the enemy by hurling with
their own hands (librando) lances or spears
against them.

LIBRII'ENS. [Mancipium.]

LIBURNA, L1BURNICA, a light vessel,
which derived its name from the Libumi.
1 he ships of this people were of great assist-

ance to Augustus at the battle of Actium ;
and experience having shown their efficiency,
vessels of a similar kind were built and
called by the name of the people.

LICTOR, a public officer, who attended on
the chief Roman magistrates. The number
which waited on the different magistrates is
stated in the article Fasces. The office of
lictor is said to have been derived by Romu-
lus from the Etruscans. The lictors went
before the magistrates one by one in a line ;
he who went last or next to the magistrate
was called proximus lictor, to whom the ma-
gistrate gave his commands; and as this
lictor was always the principal one, we also
find him called primus lictor. The lictors
had to inflict punishment on those who were
condemned, especially in the case of Roman
citizens; for foreigners and slaves were pu-
nished by the Carnifex ; and they also pro-
bably had to assist in some cases in the exe-
cution of a decree or judgment in a civil suit.
The lictors likewise commanded persons to
pay proper respect to a magistrate passing
by, which consisted in dismounting from
horseback, uncovering the head, standing out
of the way, &c. The lictors were originally
chosen from the plebs, but afterwards appear
to have been generally frecdmen, probably of
the magistrate on whom they attended. Lic-
tors were properljT only granted to those
magistrates who had the Imperium. Conse-
quently, the tribunes of the plebs never had
lictors, nor several of the other magistrates.
Sometimes, however, lictors were granted to
persons as a mark of respect or for the sake
of protection. Thus by a law of the Trium-
virs ever)' vestal virgin was accompanied by
a lictor, whenever she went out, and the ho-
nour of one or two lictors was usually granted
to the wives and other female members of
the Imperial family. There were also thirty
lictors called Lictores Curiati, whose duty it
was to summon the curiae to the comitia
curiata; and when these meetings became
little more than a form, their suffrages were
represented by the thirty lictors.

LIGULA, a Roman measure of fluid capa-
city7, containing one-fourth of the Cyathcs.
It signifies a spoonful, like cochlear; only the
ligula was larger than the cochlear. The
spoon which was called ligula, or lingula
(dim. of lingua) from its shape, was used for
various purposes, especially to clean out
small and narrow vessels, and to eat jellies
and such things. The word is also used for
the leather tongue of a shoe.

LI MEN. [Jaktja.]

LINTER, a light boat, frequently formed
of the trunk of a tree, and drawing little
I water.