Lucius Coelius Firmianus, an eminent father of the church, at the beginning of the fourth century, was, according to Baronius, an African; but, according to others, was born at Fermo, in the March of Ancona, whence it is imagined he was called Firmianus. He studied rhetoric under Arnobius, and was afterwards professor thereof in Africa and Nicomedia, where he was so much admired that the Emperor Constantine chose him as preceptor to his son Crispus Cesar. Lactantius was so far from seeking the pleasures and riches of a court, that he lived there in poverty, and, according to Eusebius, frequently wanted the necessaries of life. He is justly accounted the most eloquent of all the ecclesiastical authors who have written in the Latin language. He formed himself upon Cicero as a model, and wrote in a style so remarkable for its purity, natural grace, and smoothness, that he is generally distinguished by the denomination of the Christian Cicero. Several works of his are still extant, the principal of which are, 1. his Institutiones Divinea, a treatise in seven books, of which he made an abridgment, adding thereto another tract, De Ira Divina; 2. De Asseribis Dei, in which he treats of the creation of man, and of divine providence; 3. Two books to Aesculapiades, eight books of letters, a poem in hexameter verse, a treatise entitled The Grammarian, and another De Persecutione. It is also believed that the treatise De Mortibus Persecutorum was written by Lactantius. Some works, however, have been erroneously attributed to this father of the church. Amongst these may be mentioned the Phoenix, which is the production of a Pagan, not of a Christian; the poem upon Easter; that on the Passion of Christ; the Arguments upon the Metamorphoses of Ovid; and the Notes upon the Thebaid of Statius. Of the two last productions, the real author was Lactantius Placidus the grammarian. The prominent characteristic of Lactantius as a Christian writer is, that he exposes the illusions of Paganism with great force of reasoning. But he treats theology more like a philosopher than a divine. He did not thoroughly understand the nature of the Christian mysteries, nor distinguish between the respective provinces of faith and of reason; and hence he was betrayed into some errors, of which advantage has been taken by persons who either knew not, or chose to make no allowance for, the circumstances in which they originated. The best edition of his works is that published at Paris in 1748, in two vols. 4to.

LACHTHO, a province of India beyond the Ganges, tributary to the sovereign of Cochin-China. It is bounded on the south by Lars, on the north and east by Tungquin, and on the west by China. This territory has been but imperfectly explored by Europeans; but it is described by the Tungquinese as mountainous, rocky, covered with jungle, and destitute of navigable rivers, with a singularly pestilential air, and water very unwholesome, though the climate is cooler than that of Tungquin. The interior is inhabited by numerous tribes, little better than savage, governed by hereditary chiefs, and perpetually at war with each other. Salt is imported into this country from Tungquin; also salt-fish, oil, and some silk stuffs for the chiefs. The exports to Tungquin are chiefly buffaloes and cotton. Shells and cowries form the medium of exchange. According to information derived from the Tungquinese, this province contains many extraordinary natural caverns, which appear to have served the natives as temples. One cavern is described as a mile across, perforating a mountain, and another as being entered underground in a boat.