LTHE twelfth letter of the English alphabet. Its form is derived from the Phoenician i, which became the Greek X, and then, through the Latin, L. (See Alphabet.) The Greek name of the letter, lambda, is from an original name Ifnned or /« bed. The He- brew lamed has been usually supposed to mean an ox-goad, because there is, in Judges iii. 31. the solitarj' occurrence of a word malmiid, which from the context has been taken to mean an ox- goad. Tliis meaning, however, is uncertain. Phonetic Character. In general I is a semi- vowel, with a lateral character ; it is made by a contact between the tongue and the roof of the n:outh in the same general position as for d. t, n, but with a characteristic opening at the sides of the tongue, by which the breath escapes laterally. By ditTcrences in the position of the tongue are made the I mouille (palatal) of French, and the lingual or cerebral I of Sanskrit. Popularly / is classed as a liquid with »i. n, and r. In Eng- li^h the sound of I is very constant, and. by vir- tue of its sonority and stability, is used with the value of a vowel in unaccented syllables, as bottle, apple. It is sometimes silent, as in walk, calm, jiiilm. In other languages I is not so stable as in English. In Sanskrit I and r are almost alterna- tive letters in older roots. In comparative phi- lology an interchange of I and d is quotable; cf. Lat. Incrimn, Gr. SdKpv. As A Symbol. In chemistry, L = lithium : in Roman notation, L = 50; L =50.000; in Eng- lish monej-. L (written conventionally before the figures £)"= 'pounds' (from Lat. libra), as £2000 = 2000/. LAALAND, laland, or LOLLAND. An is- land of Denmark, situated between the islands of Ealsler and Langelaml. separated from the first by the Guldborg Sund and from the second by the Langelands Belt (^laji: Denmark. E 4). .Area, over 140 square miles. The surface is very low, the highest point of the island being only about 95 feet above the level of the sea. The coasts are sharpiv indented, and the soil is very fertile. A considerable part of the .surface is covered with forests. The chief occupation is agriculture. JIaribo, the capital of the island, is connected by rail with the seaport of Xakskov, on the western coast. Bandhohn and Kiidby. on the northern and southern coasts, respectively, nnrl Xyki;il)ing, on the island of Falster. .d- n.inistratively Laaland forms, together with Fal- ster. the District of Maribo. Papulation of the island, in 1800, 07,013; in 1001, 70.506. LA AMISTAD (la a-me-stiiD') CASE. See Amlstad Ca.se. The. LAAB, or LAEB, lar. Pieteb van (c.1590- ?I0i4). A Dutch painter, called by the Italians ■II Bamboccio.' He probably studied in France and Austria before he settled in Rome (1624), where he remained for sixteen years. In that city he met Claude Lorrain and Poussin. and founded a school of imitators, who were called 'baraboceiate.' His works are darkening rapidly, but his eft'ects of light and sha<le are still not- able. His subjects are landscapes, or peasant scenes of a gay nature. He left about twenty etchings of great value. See Bambocciades. LAAS, las, Erxst (18.37-85). A German phi- losopher and educator, born at Fiirstenwalde. He studied pliilosophy at Berlin under Trendel- enl)urg and in IS72 he became professor of phi- losophy at Strassburg. His philosophy is posi- tivism: his position comes near Hume. or. more exactly, between Comte and .John Stuart Mill. His positivism admits logical principles to the same category with facts and perceptions. But his work is critical rather than constructive. His chief publication is Idealismun iiiid Positi'ismiis (1870-84), which exalts positivism at the ex- pense of the idealism of Plato and Kant, and puts a particular stress on the relation of his philosophy to ethics and pedagogics. Ethics and the theory of education make up the most of his Litterarischer yachlass, edited by Kerry (1887). LABADIE, lalxVde', Jea.v de (1610-74). A religious reformer and sectary. He was born at Bourg. in Guyenne. February 13. 1610. He was educated by the Jesuits at Bordeaux, entered their Order (1625). became priest (1635), and distinguished himself as a preacher. He urged the reform of what he deemed abuses in the Church, but. finding no encouragement in his Order, he left it and joined the Fathers of the Oratory in 1630. and soon after the .Tansenists. In 1640. appointed Canon of Amiens, he made innovations, holding meetings for the reading of the Bible, and administering the Lord's Supper in both kinds to the people. In 1650 he became a Protestant, and was for eight years pastor of the church at Montauban. In 1657 he was pastor in Orange, and in 1650 in Geneva. In 1666 he be- came pastor of a Walloon church in Middelburg. Holland: but in 1660 went to . isterdani. where his followers soon formed a distinct sect called Labadists. It included many of rank and educa- tion, among whom were two ladies, the learned Anna Maria von Schiirman and the authoress
