LITTORA'LE, or LITORALE, a province of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, sit mated on the n. shores of the Adriatic sea, and including the neighboring islanns. It comprises the counties of GOrz and Graclisca. the margraviate of Istria. and the district of Trieste; 3,085 sq.m.; pop. 600,525. In former times the name was applied to two strips of land on the n. shores of the Adriatic, the eastern one of which has figured in Hunmarian history. It was once a part of the Croatian military territory, was made a civildistriet of Hungary by Maria Theresa, formed a part of the French province of Illyria under Napoleon, was recovered by Anstria in 1814, reannexed to Hungary in 1823, occupied by Croatia in 1848, and attached to that province by Francis Joseph in 1849. The principal towns of the province are Buccari and Porto Re.
LITTRi, MaximiLIEN Paul, EMILE, a French journalist and philologist, member of the academy, was b. in Paris, Feb. 1, 1801. He distinguished himself in his studies, and obtained various honors at the grand competition. He began the study of medicine, and pursued it so far with distinction; he did not, however, take tbe degree of doctor, nor enter on practice, but gave himself up to researches in philology, mastering the principal ancient and modern lang-uages, and in the history of rnedicine. At the same time that Littre took an active part in editing various journals and literary collectinos, he prepared an edition and translation of the works of Hippocrates (OL'uvres d'Hippocrate, 1839-61, 10 vols. 8vo), a publication which immediately opened for him the doors of the academy of inscriptions (Feb., 1839).
Littre, who held democratic opinions, and had distinguished himself among the com batants of July, became afterwards connected with the National,. and was one of the principal editors of it till 1851. When M. Auguste Comte's new philosophical and social doctrine appeared under the name of positive philosophy, Littre, attracted by the scien tific character of the doctrine, took it up with great ardor, and in 1845 wrote a lucid and clever summary of it (De la Philosophie Positive), and afterwards defended it in pam phlets and in journal articles. He looked upon the revolution of 1848 as the advent of his opinions; but soon undeceived, he retired from active politics in Oct., 1848, resioming even his office of municipal councilor of the city of Paris. He had ere this decline% the decoration of the legion of honor. Returning to a life of study Littre continued his researches in medicine, at the same time working ardently at the history of the French language. Already master of the old forms of the French language, he published in the Revue des Deux Mond,es—to which he has contributed at different times several papers equally ingenious and learned—an article called, The Homeric Poetry and the Ancient French Poetry (La Poesie Homerigue et l'Ancienne Poesie Franfaise, July 1, 1847), which attracted great attention. In it he attempted the translation of the first book. of the lliad in the style of the Trouveres. The academy of inscriptions chose him, in place
of Fauriel (1844), to be one of the COMMISSi011 charged with continuing L'Histoire Litte raire de France (The Literary History of France), and he is one of the authors of vols. xxi., xxii., xxiii. In 1854 he was appointed editor of the Journal des &mints, and he has since contributed many articles to that collection. Littre's principal work is his Dictionnaire de la Langue Franeaise, containing, in addition to the usual information in French dictionaries, examples of the several meanings of the words, with exact reference to the classical works from which they are taken, besitles the history of the usage of each word in documents anterior to the 17th century. Not only are all questions of grammar and lexicography (including etymology—a subject in which French dictionaries have hitherto been singularly deficient) fully discussed, but historical allusions are explained, and numerous details given regarding the arts and sciences, rendering the v,-ork a kind of cycloptedia. In preparation for many years, it began to appear in 1863, and was com pleted in 1873. This splendid work, which is the real thesaurus of the French language, so long a desideratum, did not prevent the French academy in 1863 from rejecting the author, whom M. Dupanloup denounced publicly as holding immoral and impious doc trines. Littre has also published an excellent French translation of Strauss's Life qf Jesus (1839-40, 2d ed. 1855); and a translation of Pliny's _Natural llistory. In 1882 he published a paper on cholera. As editor or collaborateur, Lithe was connected with the Dktionnaire de Medecine, the Gazette Medicale de PariS, and the surgical journal called L'Experience. We may also notice from his pen—Histoire de la Lenitive Franectise (1862, 2 vols. 8vo); Paroles de Philosophic I'ositive (1859); Auguste Comte et la Philosophie Positive (1863); aud Auguste Comte et Stuart Mill (1866). He published in 1857 the (Eurres Com pletes d'Arnutnd Carrel. In 1870 lie contributed to the Bente I'ositiviste au article Des Origines organigues de la Morale, which attracted great notice. and furnished with new argument the Catholic theologians, who accused Inin of atheism. Three months before, Littre had opposed the pliblication of M. Conite's later works as being unworthy of him. Just before the siege of Paris, Littre's friends compelled him to quit the capital. In Jan., 1871, M. Gambetta appointed Littre professor of history and geography at the ecole polytechnique. Next month he was chosen representative of the Seine depart ment in the national assembly, where he sat with the party of the left. At its sitting of Dee. 30,1871, the French academy at last admitted him to membership, choosing him to fill the place of M. Villemain. On this occasion, M. Dupanloup, bishop of Orleans, thought fit to resign his connection with the academy. In 1875 he was made a doctor of literature by Leyden university, and member of the Austrian academy. Medecine et Midecins was published by Littre in 1872.