ELY, ISLE OF, a portion of the county of Cambridge, separated by the Ouse from the rest of the county, and forming itself a sort of county. It is about 28 miles long by 25 miles broad; area, 239,259 acres. The name is also given to a smaller tract, about 7 miles long by 4 miles broad. The soil is very fertile. Pop. 69,752.
ELYMUS, a genus of grasses, natives chiefly of the north temperate zone. The British species, _E. arenarius_ (lyme grass) is a good sand-binder.
ELYS´IUM, or ELYSIAN FIELDS, among the Greeks and Romans the regions inhabited by the blessed after death. They are placed by Homer at the extremities of the earth, by Plato at the antipodes, and by others in the Fortunate Islands (the Canaries). They were at last supposed to be in the interior of the earth, where Virgil described them as being. The happiness of the blessed consisted in a life of tranquil enjoyment in a perfect summer land, where the heroes, freed from all care and infirmities, renewed their favourite sports.
ELY´TRA, the horny cases into which the front wings of beetles are modified, and which meet in a straight line down the middle of the back. The membranous hind-wings are here the organs of flight, and when not in use are folded longitudinally and transversely, and tucked away under the elytra.
ELZE (el´tse), Karl, German writer, distinguished for his studies in English literature, born 1821, died 1889. He studied in Leipzig and Berlin, was long a teacher in the gymnasium of his birth-place, Dessau, and in 1875 was appointed to the chair of English language and literature at Halle. Among his writings were valuable biographies of Sir Walter Scott and Lord Byron (the latter translated into English), and a biographical and critical work on Shakespeare, also translated into English (1888).
EL´ZEVIR, or ELZEVIER, the name of a family of publishers and printers, residing at Amsterdam and Leyden, celebrated for the beauty of the editions of various works published by them, principally between 1595 and 1680. Louis, the founder of the family (born 1540, died 1617), settled in Leyden, and between 1583 and his death produced about 150 works. Five of his seven sons followed his business:--Matthæus at Leyden; Louis (II) at the Hague; Gilles at the Hague and afterwards at Leyden; Joost in Utrecht; and Bonaventure, who in 1626 associated himself with Abraham, the son of Matthæus. From the press of Abraham and Bonaventure issued the exquisite editions of the classics which have made the name of Elzevir famous. Of these the _Livy_ and _Tacitus_ of 1634, the _Pliny_ of 1635, the _Virgil_ of 1636, and the _Cicero_ of 1642 are perhaps the most beautiful. The Elzevir books are distinguished by the types and the choice of the paper rather than by the critical preparation of their texts.