Dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

LITRA. LITUUS. 709
gave rise to the phrase Litis Contestatio; but this Italian neighblours, making their obol to answer to
does not inform us what the Litis Contestatie the libcra, under the name of ALrpa. In the same
properly was. Still as the name of a thing is de. way a Corinthian stater of ten obols was called in
rived from that which constitutes its essence, it Syracuse a edtixdTpoP, or piece of tell litras.
may be that the name here expresses the thing, that (Aristot. ap. Polleux, iv. 24, 173, ix. 6, 80; Miiller,
is, that the Litis Contestatio was so called, for the Dor. iii. 10. ~ 12.) See NvusIsus and PONDERA.
reason which Festus gives, and that it also consisted, The cotyla, ntsed for measuring oil, which is
in the litigant parties calling on the witnesses to mentioned by Galen [COTYLA], is also called by
bear record. But as it is usual for the whole of him Airpa. Here the word is only a Greek form
a thing to take its name from some special part, so of libra. [See LIBRA, subfin.] [P. S.]
it Imay be that the Litis Contestatio, in the time of LI'TUUS. Miiller (Die Etrzusker, iv. 1. 5)
the Legis Actiones, was equivalent to the whole supposes this to be an Etruscan word signifying
proceedings in Jure, and that the whole was so crooked. In the Latin writers it is used to denote
called from that part which completed it. 1. The crooked staff borne by the augurs, with
The time when the proper Litis Contestatio fell which they divi.ded the expanse of heaven when
into disuse cannot be determined, though it would viewed with reference to divination (tespplum),
seem that this must have taken place with the into regions (seqiones); the number of these acpassing of the Aebutia Lex and the two Leges cording to the Etruscan discipline, being sixteen,
Juliae which did away with the Legis Actiones, according to the Roman practice, four. (Muller, iii.
except in certain cases. It is also uncertain if the 6. 1; Cic. de Div. ii. 18.) Cicero (de Div. i. 7) deproper Litis Contestatio still existed in those Legis scribes the litisus as " iicurvum et leviter a summon
Actiones, which were not interfered with by the inflexum bacillum;" and Livy (i. 18) as " bacuLeges above mentioned; and' if so, whether it ex- lum sine nodo aduncum." It is very frequently existed in the old form or in a modified shape. hibited upon works of art. The figure in the
This view of the matter is by Keller, in his middle of the following illustrations is from a most
treatise'" Ueber Litis Contestation uid Urtheil ancient specimen of Etruscan sculpture in the posnach Classischen Rimischen Rechit," Ziirich, 11827. session; of Inghirmni (lIonumnzesti Etruschi, tom.
Other opinions are noticed in his work. The vi. tar. P. 5. 1), representing an augur; the two
author labours particularly to show that the ex- others are Romain denarii.
pression Litis Contestatio always refers to the proceediiigs In Jure,and never to those In Judicio. / \
Savigny (Systeii:, &c. vi. ~ 256-279) has also z A
fully examined the Litis Contestatie. He shows
that in the Extraordiisaria Judicia [JUDICUmI] r i C
which existed at the same time with the process of \-
thle formula, and in which these was neither Judex -
nor formula, and in whiclh the whole legal dispute
was conducted before a magistratus, the Litis Contestatio means the time when the parties had fully
declared their several claims and answers to such
claims before the magistratus. This was substantiallv the samle as the Litis Contestatio, and the
difi-frerince lay simply in the external form. (Comp.
Cod. 3. tit. 9. s. I, Rescript of Severus and Anto- I
nillus.) At a lhter period, when all actions had S _ \
beconle chmangedC into extraordinaria judicia, that
vwhich was before the exceptionl nowv becrme the 2. sort of trumpet slightly curved at the exrulec, and Lis Contestata in the system of Jus- tremity. (Festus, s. v.; Gell. v. 8.) It differed both
tiian consisted in the statements made by the from the tuba and the cornz (Hor. Carm. ii. 1. 17;
parties to a suit hefore the magistrate respecting 1,ucan, i. 237), the former being straight while the
the claim or demand, and the answer or defence to latter was bent round into a spiral shape. Lydus (de
it. WThen this was done, the cause was ready for Aleens. iv. 50) calls the lituus the sacerdotal trumpet
hearing. [G. L.] ([epaTIlmCv andAryya), and says that it was emLI'1'RA (Xirpa), a word which was used by ployed by Romulus when he proclaimed the title
the Greeks of Sicily) in their system of weights of his city. Acro (ad Hoe-at. Cs rm. i. 1. 23) asand money, and which occurs as early as in the serts that it was peculiar to cavalry, while the
fragmnelts of Simonides aid Epicharmus, is evi- tuba belonged to infantry. Its tones are usually
dently another form of the Italian word libra, as cliaracterised as harsh and shrill (stridor litoosn,
we are told by Festus (s.v. Lees, "Airpa enim Lucan, i. 237; sonitus aceztos, Ennius, apud Fest.
libra est "). It was the unit of an uncial system s.; Stat. Tleb. vi. 228, &c.). See Muller, Die
similar to that used in the Roman and Italian Etrusker, iv. 1. 5. The following representation
weights and money [As; LIBRA], its twelfth part is from Fabrett. R.
being called dysa (the Roman uncia), and six,
five, four, three, and two of these twelfth parts
being denominated respectively zjjixrrpov, 7rev5ToYICoV, rE-rpas, -rp5as, and EiRs. As a coin, the Xirpa
was equal in value to the A eginetan obol; and hence
the origin of the word may be explained, by supposing that the Greeks of Sicily, having brought
with them the Aeginetan obol, afterwards assimilated their system of coinage to that used by their