+------------------+--------+------------------+--------+------------------+--------+
| Males. | Per- | Females. | Per- | Total. | Per- |
| |centage.| |centage.| |centage.|
+------------------+--------+------------------+--------+------------------+--------+
| 1 Mouth and | | 1 Intestines | 28.9 | 1 Oesophagus and | |
| pharynx | 37.85 | 2 Oesophagus and | | stomach | 31.78 |
| 2 Oesophagus and | | stomach | 27.7 | 2 Mouth and | |
| stomach | 33.46 | 3 Liver | 15.5 | pharynx | 30.27 |
| 3 Intestines | 17.04 | 4 Peritoneum | 13.1 | 3 Intestines | 20.42 |
| 4 Liver | 7.8 | 5 Mouth and | | 4 Liver | 10.02 |
| 5 Peritoneum | 2.75 | pharynx | 11.3 | 5 Peritoneum | 5.71 |
| 6 Pancreas | 1.1 | 6 Pancreas | 3.5 | 6 Pancreas | 1.80 |
+------------------+--------+------------------+--------+------------------+--------+
Traction diverticula of the oesophagus not uncommonly occur as sequels
to suppurative inflammation of cervical lymphatic glands. More
frequently dilatation of a section is met with, due as a rule to the
presence of a stricture. The stomach often diverges from the normal in
size, shape and position. Normally capable in the adult of containing
from fifty to sixty ounces, either by reason of organic disease, or as
the result of functional disturbance, its capacity may vary enormously.
The writer has seen post mortem a stomach which held a gallon (160
ounces), and again one holding only two ounces. Cancer spread over a
large area and cirrhosis of the stomach wall cause diminution in
capacity; pyloric obstruction, weakness of the muscular coat, and
nervous influences are associated with dilatation. A peculiar distortion
of the shape of the stomach follows cicatrization of ulcers of greater
or lesser curvature; the gastric cavity becomes "hour-glass" in shape.
In addition, the stomach may be displaced downwards as a whole, a
condition known as gastroptosis: if the pyloric portion only be
displaced, the lesion is termed pyloroptosis. Ptoses of other abdominal
organs are described; the liver, transverse colon, spleen and kidneys
may be involved. Displacements downwards of the stomach and transverse
colon, along with a movable right kidney and associated with dyspepsia
and neurasthenia, form the malady termed by Glenard enteroptosis. A
general visceroptosis often occurs in those patients who have some
tuberculous lesion of the lungs or elsewhere, this disease causing a
general weakening and subsequent stretching of all ligaments.
Displacements of the abdominal viscera are almost invariably accompanied
by symptoms of dyspepsia of a neurotic type. The rectum is liable to
prolapse, consequent upon constipation and straining at stool, or
following local injuries of the perineal floor.
Influence of the nervous system.
Every pathological lesion shown by digestive organs is closely
associated with the state of the nervous system, general or local; so
stoppage of active gastric digestive processes after profound nervous
shock, and occurrence of nervous diarrhoea from the same cause. Gastric
dyspepsia of nervous origin presents most varied and contradictory
symptoms: diminished acidity of the gastric juice, hyper-acidity,
over-production, arrest of secretion, lessened or increased movements,
greater sensitiveness to the presence of contents, dilatation or spasm.
Often the nervous cause can be traced back farther,--in females,
frequently to the pelvic organs; in both sexes, to the condition of the
blood, the brain or the bowel. Unhealthy conditions related to
evacuation of the bowel-contents commonly induce reflex nervous
manifestations of abnormal character referred to the stomach and liver.
Gastric disturbances similarly react upon the proper conduct of
intestinal functions.
_Local Diseases._
_The Mouth._--The lining membrane of the cheeks inside the mouth, of the
gums and the under-surface and edges of the tongue, is often the seat of
small irritable ulcers, usually associated with some digestive
derangement. A crop of minute vesicles known as Koplik's spots over
these parts has been lately stated by Koplik to be an early symptom of
measles. Xerostomia, or dry mouth, is a rare condition, connected with
lack of salivary secretion. Gangrenous stomatitis, cancrum oris, or
noma, occasionally attacks debilitated children, or patients
convalescing from acute fevers, more especially after measles. It
commences in the gums or cheeks, and causes widespread sloughing of the
adjacent soft parts--it may be of the bones.
_The Stomach._--It were futile to attempt to enumerate all the protean
manifestations of disturbance which proceed from a disordered stomach.
The possible permutations and combinations of the causes of gastric
vagaries almost reach infinity. Idiosyncrasy, past and present gastric
education, penury or plethora, actual digestive power, motility, bodily
requirements and conditions, environment, mental influences, local or
adjacent organic lesions, and, not least, reflex impressions from other
organs, all contribute to the variance.
Ulcer of the stomach, however--the perforating gastric ulcer--occupies a
unique position among diseases of this organ. Gastric ulcers are
circumscribed, punched out, rarely larger than a sixpenny-bit,
funnel-shaped, the narrower end towards the peritoneal coat, and
distributed in those regions of the stomach wall which are most exposed
to the action of the gastric contents. They occur most frequently in
females, especially if anaemic, and are usually accompanied by excess of
acid, actual or relative to the state of the blood, in the stomach
contents. Local pain, dorsal pain, generally to the left of the eighth
or ninth dorsal spinous process, and haematernesis and melaena, are
symptomatic of it. The amount of blood lost varies with the rapidity of
ulcer formation and the size of vessel opened into. Fatal results arise
from ulceration into large blood-vessels, followed by copious
haemorrhage, or by perforation of the ulcer into the peritoneal cavity.
Scars of such ulcers may be found post mortem, although no symptoms of
gastric disease have been exhibited during life; gastric ulcers,
therefore, may be latent.
Irritation of the sensory nerve-endings in the stomach wall from the
presence of an increased proportion of acid, organic or mineral, in the
stomach contents is accountable for the well known symptom heartburn.
Water-brash is a term applied to eructation of a colourless, almost
tasteless fluid, probably saliva, which has collected in the lower part
of the oesophagus from failure of the cardiac sphincter of the stomach
to relax; reversed oesophageal peristalsis causing regurgitation. A
similar reversed action serves in merycism, or rumination, occasionally
found in man, to raise part of the food, lately ingested, from the
stomach to the mouth. Vomiting also is aided by reversed peristaltic
action, both of the stomach and the oesophagus, with the help of the
diaphragm and the muscles of the anterior abdominal wall. Emesis may be
caused both by local nervous influence, and through the central nervous
mechanism either reflexly or from the direct action of substances
circulating in the blood. Further, the causal agent acting on the
central nervous apparatus may be organic or functional, as well as
medicinal. Vomiting without any apparent cause suggests nervous lesions,
organic or reflex. The obstinate vomiting of pregnancy is a case in
point. Here the primary cause proceeds reflexly from the pelvis. In
females the pelvic organs are often the true source of emesis.
Haematemesis accompanies gastric ulcer, cancer, chronic congestion with
haemorrhagic erosion, congestion of the liver, or may follow violent
acts of vomiting. In cases of ulcer the blood is usually bright and in
considerable amount; in cancer, darker, like coffee-grounds; and in
cases of erosion, in smaller quantity and of bright colour. The reaction
of the stomach contents, if the cause be doubtful, yields valuable aid
towards a diagnosis. Of increased acidity in gastric ulcer, normal in
hepatic congestion, it is diminished in cancer; but as the acid present
in cancer is largely lactic, analysis of the gastric contents must often
be a _sine qua non_, because hyperacidity from lactic may obscure
hypoacidity of hydrochloric acid.
Flatulence usually results from fermentative processes in the stomach
and bowel, as the outcome of bacterial activity. A different form of
flatulence is common in neurotic individuals: in such the gas evolved
consists simply in carbonic acid liberated from the blood, and its
evolution is generally characterized by rapid development and by lack of
all fermentative signs.
_The Liver._--The liver is an organ frequently libelled for the
delinquencies of other organs, and regarded as a common source of ill.
In catarrhal jaundice it is in most cases the bowel that is at fault,
the liver acting properly, but unable to get rid of all the bile
produced. The liver suffers, however, from several diseases of its own.
Its fibrous or connective tissue is very apt to increase at the expense
of the cellular elements, destroying their functions. This cirrhotic
process usually follows long-continued irritation, such as is produced
by too much alcohol absorbed from the bowel habitually, the organ
gradually becoming harder in texture and smaller in bulk. Hypertrophic
cirrhosis of the liver is not uncommonly met with, in which the liver is
much increased in size, the "unilobular" form, also of alcoholic origin.
In still-born children and in some infants a form of hypertrophic
cirrhosis is occasionally seen, probably of hereditary syphilitic
origin. Acute congestion of the liver forms an important symptom of
malarial fever, and often leads in time to establishment of cirrhotic
changes; here the liver is generally enlarged, but not invariably so,
and the part played by alcohol in its causation has still to be
investigated. Acute yellow atrophy of the liver is a disease _sui
generis_. Of rare occurrence, possibly of toxic origin, it is marked by
jaundice, at first of usual type, later becoming most intense; by
vomiting; haemorrhages widely distributed; rapid diminution in the size
of the liver; the appearance of leucin and tyrosin in the urine, with
lessened urea; and in two or three days, death. The liver after death is
soft, of a reddish colour dotted with yellow patches, and weighs only
about a third part of the normal--about 11/2 lb in place of 3-3/4 lb. A
closely analogous affection of the liver, known as Weil's disease, is of
infectious type, and has been noted in epidemic form. In this the
spleen and liver are commonly but not always swollen, and the liver is
often tender on pressure. As a large proportion of the sufferers from
this disease have been butchers, and the epidemics have occurred in the
hot season of the year, it probably arises from contact with decomposing
animal matter. Hepatic abscess may follow on an attack of amoebic
dysentery, and is produced either by infection through the portal vein,
or by direct infection from the adjacent colon. In general pyaemia
multiple small abscesses may occur in the liver.
_The Gall-Bladder._--The formation of biliary calculi in the
gall-bladder is the chief point of interest here. At least 75% of such
cases occur in women, especially in those who have borne children.
Tight-lacing has been stated to act as an exciting cause, owing to the
consequent retardation of the flow of bile. Gall-stones may number from
one to many thousands. They are largely composed of cholesterin,
combined with small amounts of bile-pigments and acids, lime and
magnesium salts. Their presence may give rise to no symptoms, or may
cause violent biliary colic, and, if the bile-stream be obstructed, to
jaundice. Inflammatory processes may be initiated in the gall-bladder or
the bile-ducts, catarrhal or suppurative in character.
_The Pancreas._--Haemorrhages into the body of the pancreas, acute and
chronic inflammation, calculi, cysts and tumours, among which cancer is
by far the most common, are recognized as occurring in this organ; the
point of greatest interest regarding them lies in the relations
established between pancreatic disease and diabetes mellitus, affections
of the gland frequently being complicated by, and probably causing, the
appearance of sugar in the urine.
_The Small Intestine._--Little remains to be added to the account of
inflammatory lesions in connexion with the small intestine. It offers
but few conditions peculiar to itself, save in typhoid fever, and the
ease with which it contrives to become kinked, or intussuscepted,
producing obstruction, or to take part in hernial protrusions. The first
section, the duodenum, is subject to development of ulcers very similar
to those of the gastric mucous membrane. For long duodenal ulceration
has been regarded as a complication of extensive burns of the skin, but
the relationship between them has not yet been quite satisfactorily
explained. The condition of colic in the bowel usually arises from
overdistension of some part of the small gut with gas, the frequent
sharp turns of the gut facilitating temporary closure of its lumen by
pressure of the dilated gut near a curve against the part beyond. In the
large bowel accumulations of gas seldom cause such acute symptoms,
having a readier exit.
_The Large Intestine._--The colon, especially the ascending portion, may
become immensely dilated, usually after prolonged constipation and
paralysis of the gut; occasionally the condition is congenital.
Straining efforts made in defaecation may often account for prolapse of
the lower end of the rectum through the anus. Haemorrhage from the bowel
is usually a sign of disease situated in the large intestine: if bright
in colour, the source is probably low down; if dark, from the caecum or
from above the ileo-caecal valve. Blood after a short stay in any
section of the alimentary canal darkens, and eventually becomes almost
black in colour. (A. L. G.; M. F.*)
DIGGES, WEST (1720-1786), English actor, made his first stage appearance
in Dublin in 1749 as Jaffier in _Venice Preserved_; and both there and
in Edinburgh until 1764 he acted in many tragic roles with success. He
was the original "young Norval" in Home's _Douglas_ (1756). His first
London appearance was as Cato in the Haymarket in 1777, and he
afterwards played Lear, Macbeth, Shylock and Wolsey. In 1881 he returned
to Dublin and retired in 1784.
DIGIT (Lat. _digitus_, finger), literally a finger or toe, and so used
to mean, from counting on the fingers, a single numeral, or, from
measuring, a finger's breadth. In astronomy a digit is the twelfth part
of the diameter of the sun or moon; it is used to express the magnitude
of an eclipse.
DIGITALIS. The leaves of the foxglove (q.v.), gathered from wild plants
when about two-thirds of their flowers are expanded, deprived usually
of the petiole and the thicker part of the midrib, bitter taste; and to
preserve their properties they must be kept excluded from light in
stoppered bottles. They are occasionally adulterated with the leaves of
_Inula Conyza_, ploughman's spikenard, which may be distinguished by
their greater roughness, their less divided margins, and their odour
when rubbed; also with the leaves of _Symphytum officinale_, comfrey,
and of _Verbascum Thapsus_, great mullein, which unlike those of the
foxglove have woolly upper and under surfaces. The earliest known
descriptions of the foxglove are those given by Leonhard Fuchs and
Tragus about the middle of the 16th century, but its virtues were
doubtless known to herbalists at a much remoter period. J. Gerarde, in
his _Herbal_ (1597), advocates the use of foxglove for a variety of
complaints; and John Parkinson, in the _Theatrum Botanicum_, or _Theater
of Plants_ (1640), and later W. Salmon, in _The New London
Dispensatory_, similarly praised the remedy. Digitalis was first brought
prominently under the notice of the medical profession by Dr W.
Withering, who, in his _Account of the Foxglove_ (1785), gave details of
upwards of 200 cases chiefly dropsical, in which it was used.
Digitalis contains four important glucosides, of which three are cardiac
stimulants. The most powerful is _digitoxin_ C34H54O11, an extremely
poisonous and cumulative drug, insoluble in water. _Digitalin_,
C35H56O14, is crystalline and is also insoluble in water. _Digitalein_
is amorphous but readily soluble in water. It can therefore be
administered subcutaneously, in doses of about one-hundredth of a grain.
_Digitonin_, on the other hand, is a cardiac depressant, and has been
found to be identical with saponin, the chief constituent of senega
root. There are numerous preparations, patent and pharmacopeial, their
composition being extremely varied, so that, unless one has reason to be
certain of any particular preparation, it is almost better to use only
the dried leaves themselves in the form of a powder (dose 1/2-2 grains).
The pharmacopeial tincture may be given in doses of five to fifteen
minims, and the infusion has the unusually small dose of two to four
drachms--the dose of other infusions being an ounce or more. The
tincture contains a fair proportion of both digitalin and digitoxin.
Digitalis leaves have no definite external action. Taken by the mouth,
the drug is apt to cause considerable digestive disturbance, varying in
different cases and sometimes so severe as to cause serious difficulty.
This action is probably due to the digitonin, which is thus a
constituent in every way undesirable. The all-important property of the
drug is its action on the circulation. Its first action on any of the
body-tissues is upon unstriped muscle, so that the first consequence of
its absorption is a contraction of the arteries and arterioles. No other
known drug has an equally marked action in contracting the arterioles.
As the vaso-motor centre in the medulla oblongata is also stimulated, as
well as the contractions of the heart, there is thus trebly caused a
very great rise in the blood-pressure.
The clinical influence of digitalis upon the heart is very well defined.
After the taking of a moderate dose the pulse is markedly slowed. This
is due to a very definite influence upon the different portions of the
cardiac cycle. The systole is not altered in length, but the diastole is
very much prolonged, and since this is the period not only of cardiac
rest but also of cardiac "feeding"--the coronary vessels being
compressed and occluded during systole--the result is greatly to benefit
the nutrition of the cardiac muscle. So definite is this that, despite a
great increase in the force of the contractions and despite experimental
proof that the heart does more work in a given time under the influence
of digitalis, the organ subsequently displays all the signs of having
rested, its improved vigour being really due to its obtaining a larger
supply of the nutrient blood. Almost equally striking is the fact that
digitalis causes an irregular pulse to become regular. Added to the
greater force of cardiac contraction is a permanent tonic contraction of
the organ, so that its internal capacity is reduced. The bearing of this
fact on cases of cardiac dilatation is evident. In larger doses a
remarkable sequel to these actions may be observed. The cardiac
contractions become irregular, the ventricle assumes curious
shapes--"hour-glass," &c.--becomes very pale and bloodless, and finally
the heart stops in a state of spasm, which shortly afterwards becomes
rigor-mortis. Before this final change the heart may be started again by
the application of a soluble potassium salt, or by raising the fluid
pressure within it. Clinically it is to be observed that the drug is
cumulative, being very slowly excreted, and that after it has been taken
for some time the pulse may become irregular, the blood-pressure low,
and the cardiac pulsations rapid and feeble. These symptoms with more or
less gastro-intestinal irritation and decrease in the quantity of urine
passed indicate digitalis poisoning. The initial action of digitalis is
a stimulation of the cardiac terminals of the vagus nerves, so that the
heart's action is slowed. Thereafter follows the most important effect
of the drug, which is a direct stimulation of the cardiac muscle. This
can be proved to occur in a heart so embryonic that no nerves can be
recognized in it, and in portions of cardiac muscle that contain neither
nervecells nor nerve-fibres.
The action of this drug on the kidney is of importance only second to
its action on the circulation. In small or moderate doses it is a
powerful diuretic. Though Heidenhain asserts that rise in the renal
blood-pressure has not a diuretic action per se, it seems probable that
this influence of the drug is due to a rise in the general
blood-pressure associated with a relatively dilated condition of the
renal vessels. In large doses, on the other hand, the renal vessels also
are constricted and the amount of urine falls. It is probable that
digitalis increases the amount of water rather than that of the urinary
solids. In large doses the action of digitalis on the circulation causes
various cerebral symptoms, such as seeing all objects blue, and various
other disturbances of the special senses. There appears also to be a
specific action of lowering the reflex excitability of the spinal cord.
Digitalis is used in therapeutics exclusively for its action on the
circulation. In prescribing this drug it must be remembered that fully
three days elapse before it gets into the system, and thus it must
always be combined with other remedies to tide the patient over this
period. It must never be prescribed in large doses to begin with, as
some patients are quite unable to take it, intractable vomiting being
caused. The three days that must pass before any clinical effect is
obtained renders it useless in an emergency. A certain consequence of
its use is to cause or increase cardiac hypertrophy--a condition which
has its own dangers and ultimately disastrous consequences, and must
never be provoked beyond the positive needs of the case. But digitalis
is indicated whenever the heart shows itself unequal to the work it has
to perform. This formula includes the vast majority of cardiac cases.
The drug is contra-indicated in all cases where the heart is already
beating too slowly; in aortic incompetence--where the prolongation of
diastole increases the amount of the blood that regurgitates through the
incompetent valve; in chronic Bright's disease and in fatty degeneration
of the heart--since nothing can cause fat to become contractile.
DIGNE, the chief town of the department of the Basses Alpes, in S.E.
France, 14 m. by a branch line from the main railway line between
Grenoble and Avignon. Pop. (1906), town, 4628; commune, 7456. The Ville
Haute is built on a mountain spur running down to the left bank of the
Bleone river, and is composed of a labyrinth of narrow winding streets,
above which towers the present cathedral church, dating from the end of
the 15th century, but largely reconstructed in modern times, and the
former bishop's palace (now the prison). The fine Boulevard Gassendi
separates the Ville Haute from the Ville Basse, which is of modern date.
The old cathedral (Notre Dame du Bourg) is a building of the 13th
century, but is now disused except for funerals: it stands at the east
end of the Ville Basse. The neighbourhood of Digne is rich in orchards,
which have long made the town famous in France for its preserved fruits
and confections. It is the _Dinia_ of the Romans, and was the capital of
the Bodiontii. From the early 6th century at least it has been an
episcopal see, which till 1790 was in the ecclesiastical province of
Embrun, but since 1802 in that of Aix en Provence. The history of Digne
in the middle ages is bound up with that of its bishops, under whom it
prospered greatly. But it suffered much during the religious wars of the
16th and 17th centuries, when it was sacked several times. A little way
off, above the right bank of the Bleone, is Champtercier, the birthplace
of the astronomer Gassendi (1592-1655), whose name has been given to the
principal thoroughfare of the little town.
See F. Guichard, _Souvenirs historiques sur la ville de Digne et ses
environs_ (Digne, 1847). (W. A. B. C.)
DIGOIN, a town of east-central France, in the department of
Saone-et-Loire, on the right bank of the Loire, 55 m. W.N.W. of Macon on
the Paris-Lyon railway. Pop. (1906) 5321. It is situated at the meeting
places of the Loire, the Lateral canal of the Loire and the Canal du
Centre, which here crosses the Loire by a fine aqueduct. The town
carries on considerable manufactures of faience, pottery and porcelain.
The port on the Canal du Centre has considerable traffic in timber,
sand, iron, coal and stone.
DIJON, a town of eastern France, capital of the department of Cote d'Or
and formerly capital of the province of Burgundy, 195 m. S.E. of Paris
on the Paris-Lyon railway. Pop. (1906) 65,516. It is situated on the
western border of the fertile plain of Burgundy, at the foot of Mont
Afrique, the north-eastern summit of the Cote d'Or range, and at the
confluence of the Ouche and the Suzon; it also has a port on the canal
of Burgundy. The great strategic importance of Dijon as a centre of
railways and roads, and its position with reference to an invasion of
France from the Rhine, have led to the creation of a fortress forming
part of the Langres group. There is no _enceinte_, but on the east side
detached forts, 3 to 4 m. distant from the centre, command all the great
roads, while the hilly ground to the west is protected by Fort
Hauteville to the N.W. and the "groups" of Motte Giron and Mont Afrique
to the S.W., these latter being very formidable works. Including a fort
near Saussy (about 8 m. to the N.W.) protecting the water-supply of
Dijon, there are eight forts, besides the groups above mentioned. The
fortifications which partly surrounded the old and central portion of
the city have disappeared to make way for tree-lined boulevards with
fine squares at intervals. The old churches and historic buildings of
Dijon are to be found in the irregular streets of the old town, but
industrial and commercial activity has been transferred to the new
quarters beyond its limits. A fine park more than 80 acres in extent
lies to the south of the city, which is rich in open spaces and
promenades, the latter including the botanical garden and the Promenade
de l'Arquebuse, in which there is a black poplar famous for its size and
age.
The cathedral of St Benigne, originally an abbey church, was built in
the latter half of the 13th century on the site of a Romanesque
basilica, of which the crypt remains. The west front is flanked by two
towers and the crossing is surmounted by a slender timber spire. The
plan consists of three naves, short transepts and a small choir, without
ambulatory, terminating in three apses. In the interior there is a fine
organ and a quantity of statuary, and the vaults contain the remains of
Philip the Bold, duke of Burgundy, and Anne of Burgundy, daughter of
John the Fearless. The site of the abbey buildings is occupied by the
bishop's palace and an ecclesiastical seminary. The church of
Notre-Dame, typical of the Gothic style of Burgundy, was erected from
1252 to 1334, and is distinguished for the grace of its interior and the
beauty of the western facade. The portal consists of three arched
openings, above which are two stages of arcades, open to the light and
supported on slender columns. A row of gargoyles surmounts each storey
of the facade, which is also ornamented by sculptured friezes. A turret
to the right of the portal carries a clock called the Jaquemart, on
which the hours are struck by two figures. The church of St Michel
belongs to the 15th century. The west facade, the most remarkable
feature of the church, is, however, of the Renaissance period. The
vaulting of the three portals is of exceptional depth owing to the
projection of the lower storey of the facade. Above this storey rise two
towers of five stages, the fifth stage being formed by an octagonal
cupola. The columns decorating the facade represent all the four orders.
The design of this facade is wrongly attributed to Hugues Sambin (fl.
c. 1540), a native of Dijon, and pupil of Leonardo da Vinci, but the
sculpture of the portals, including "The Last Judgment" on the tympanum
of the main portal, is probably from his hand. St Jean (15th century)
and St Etienne (15th, 16th and 17th centuries), now used as the
exchange, are the other chief churches. Of the ancient palace of the
dukes of Burgundy there remain two towers, the Tour de la Terrasse and
the Tour de Bar, the guard-room and the kitchens; these now form part of
the hotel de ville, the rest of which belongs to the 17th and 18th
centuries. This building contains an archaeological museum with a
collection of Roman stone monuments; the archives of the town; and the
principal museum, which, besides valuable paintings and other works of
art, contains the magnificent tombs of Philip the Bold and John the
Fearless, dukes of Burgundy. These were transferred from the Chartreuse
of Dijon (or of Champmol), built by Philip the Bold as a mausoleum, now
replaced by a lunatic asylum. Relics of it survive in the old Gothic
entrance, the portal of the church, a tower and the well of Moses, which
is adorned with statues of Moses and the prophets by Claux Sluter (fl.
end of 14th century), the Dutch sculptor, who also designed the tomb of
Philip the Bold. The Palais de Justice, which belongs to the reign of
Louis XII., is of interest as the former seat of the _parlement_ of
Burgundy. Dijon possesses several houses of the 15th, 16th and 17th
centuries, notably the Maison Richard in the Gothic, and the Hotel Vogue
in the Renaissance style. St Bernard, the composer J. P. Rameau and the
sculptor Francois Rude have statues in the town, of which they were
natives. There are also monuments to those inhabitants of Dijon who fell
in the engagement before the town in 1870, and to President Carnot and
Garibaldi.
The town is important as the seat of a prefecture, a bishopric, a court
of appeal and a court of assizes, and as centre of an academie
(educational district). There are tribunals of first instance and of
commerce, a board of trade-arbitrators, a chamber of commerce, an
exchange (occupying the former cathedral of St Etienne), and an
important branch of the Bank of France. Its educational establishments
include faculties of law, of science and of letters, a preparatory
school of medicine and pharmacy, a higher school of commerce, a school
of fine art, a conservatoire of music, _lycees_ and training colleges,
and there is a public library with about 100,000 volumes.
Dijon is well known for its mustard, and for the black currant liqueur
called _cassis de Dijon_; its industries include the manufacture of
machinery, automobiles, bicycles, soap, biscuits, brandy, leather, boots
and shoes, candles and hosiery. There are also flour mills, breweries,
important printing works, vinegar works and, in the vicinity, nursery
gardens. The state has a large tobacco manufactory in the town. Dijon
has considerable trade in cereals and wool, and is the second market for
the wines of Burgundy.
Under the Romans Dijon (_Divonense castrum_) was a _vicus_ in the
_civitas_ of Langres. In the 2nd century it was the scene of the
martyrdom of St Benignus (Benigne, vulg. Berin, Berain), the apostle of
Burgundy. About 274 the emperor Aurelian surrounded it with ramparts.
Gregory of Tours, in the 6th century, comments on the strength and
pleasant situation of the place, expressing surprise that it does not
rank as a _civitas_. During the middle ages the fortunes of Dijon
followed those of Burgundy, the dukes of which acquired it early in the
11th century. The communal privileges, conferred on the town in 1182 by
Hugh III., duke of Burgundy, were confirmed by Philip Augustus in 1183,
and in the 13th century the dukes took up their residence there. For the
decoration of the palace and other monuments built by them, eminent
artists were gathered from northern France and Flanders, and during this
period the town became one of the great intellectual centres of France.
The union of the duchy with the crown in 1477 deprived Dijon of the
splendour of the ducal court; but to counterbalance this loss it was
made the capital of the province and seat of a _parlement_. Its fidelity
to the monarchy was tested in 1513, when the citizens were besieged by
50,000 Swiss and Germans, and forced to agree to a treaty so
disadvantageous that Louis XII. refused to ratify it. In the wars of
religion Dijon sided with the League, and only opened its gates to Henry
IV. in 1595. The 18th century was a brilliant period for the city; it
became the seat of a bishopric, its streets were improved, its commerce
developed, and an academy of science and letters founded; while its
literary salons were hardly less celebrated than those of Paris. The
neighbourhood was the scene of considerable fighting during the
Franco-German War, which was, however, indirectly of some advantage to
the city owing to the impetus given to its industries by the immigrants
from Alsace.
See H. Chabeuf, _Dijon a travers les ages_ (Dijon, 1897), and _Dijon,
monuments et souvenirs_ (Dijon, 1894).
DIKE, or DYKE (Old Eng. _dic_, a word which appears in various forms in
many Teutonic languages, cf. Dutch _dijk_, German _Teich_, Danish
_dige_, and in French, derived from Teutonic, _digue_; it is the same
word as "ditch" and is ultimately connected with the root of "dig"),
properly a trench dug out of the earth for defensive and other purposes.
Water naturally collects in such trenches, and hence the word is applied
to natural and artificial channels filled with water, as appears in the
proverbial expression "February fill-dyke," and in the names of many
narrow waterways in East Anglia. "Dike" also is naturally used of the
bank of earth thrown up out of the ditch, and so of any embankment, dam
or causeway, particularly the defensive works in Holland, the Fen
district of England, and other low-lying districts which are liable to
flooding by the sea or rivers (see HOLLAND and FENS). In Scotland any
wall, fence or even hedge, used as a boundary is called a dyke. In
geology the term is applied to wall-like masses of rock (sometimes
projecting beyond the surrounding surface) which fill up vertical or
highly inclined fissures in the strata.
DIKKA, a term in Mahommedan architecture for the tribune raised upon
columns, from which the Koran is recited and the prayers intoned by the
Imam of the mosque.
DILAPIDATION (Lat. for "scattering the stones," _lapides_, of a
building), a term meaning in general a falling into decay, but more
particularly used in the plural in English law for (1) the waste
committed by the incumbent of an ecclesiastical living; (2) the
disrepair for which a tenant is usually liable when he has agreed to
give up his premises in good repair (see EASEMENT; FLAT; LANDLORD AND
TENANT). By the general law a tenant for life has no power to cut down
timber, destroy buildings, &c., (voluntary waste), or to let buildings
fall into disrepair (permissive waste). In the eye of the law an
incumbent of a living is a tenant for life of his benefice, and any
waste, voluntary or permissive, on his part must be made good by his
administrators to his successor in office. The principles on which such
dilapidations are to be ascertained, and the application of the money
payable in respect thereof, depend partly on old ecclesiastical law and
partly on acts of parliament. Questions as to ecclesiastical
dilapidations usually arise in respect of the residence house and other
buildings belonging to the living. Inclosures, hedges, ditches and the
like are included in things "of which the beneficed person hath the
burden and charge of reparation." In a leading case (_Ross_ v. _Adcock_,
1868, L.R. 3 C.P. 657) it was said that the court was acquainted with no
precedent or decision extending the liability of the executors of a
deceased incumbent to any species of waste beyond dilapidation of the
house, chancel or other buildings or fences of the benefice. And it has
been held that the mere mismanagement or miscultivation of the
ecclesiastical lands will not give rise to an action for dilapidations.
To place the law relating to dilapidations on a more satisfactory
footing, the Ecclesiastical Dilapidations Act 1871 was passed. The
buildings to which the act applies are defined to be such houses of
residence, chancels, walls, fences and other buildings and things as the
incumbent of the benefice is by law and custom bound to maintain in
repair. In each diocese a surveyor is appointed by the archdeacons and
rural deans subject to the approval of the bishop; and such surveyor
shall by the direction of the bishop examine the buildings on the
following occasions--viz. (1) when the benefice is sequestrated; (2)
when it is vacant; (3) at the request of the incumbent or on complaint
by the archdeacon, rural dean or patron. The surveyor specifies the
works required, and gives an estimate of their probable cost. In the
case of a vacant benefice, the new incumbent and the old incumbent or
his representatives may lodge objections to the surveyor's report on any
grounds of fact or law, and the bishop, after consideration, may make an
order for the repairs and their cost, for which the late incumbent or
his representatives are liable. The sum so stated becomes a debt due
from the late incumbent or his representatives to the new incumbent, who
shall pay over the money when recovered to the governors of Queen Anne's
Bounty. The governors pay for the works on execution on receipt of a
certificate from the surveyor; and the surveyor, when the works have
been completed to his satisfaction, gives a certificate to that effect,
the effect of which, so far as regards the incumbent, is to protect him
from liability for dilapidations for the next five years. Unnecessary
buildings belonging to a residence house may, by the authority of the
bishop and with the consent of the patron, be removed. An amending
statute of 1872 (Ecclesiastical Dilapidations Act (1871) Amendment)
relates chiefly to advances by the governors of Queen Anne's Bounty for
the purposes of the act.
DILATATION (from Lat. _dis-_, distributive, and _latus_, wide), a
widening or enlarging; a term used in physiology, &c.
DILATORY (from Lat. _dilatus_, from _differre_, to put off or delay),
delaying, or slow; in law a "dilatory plea" is one made merely for
delaying the suit.
DILEMMA (Gr. [Greek: dilemma], a double proposition, from [Greek: di-]
and [Greek: lambanein]), a term used technically in logic, and popularly
in common parlance and rhetoric. (1) The latter use has no exact
definition, but in general it describes a situation wherein from either
of two (or more) possible alternatives an unsatisfactory conclusion
results. The alternatives are called the "horns" of the dilemma. Thus a
nation which has to choose between bankruptcy and the repudiation of its
debts is on the horns of a dilemma. (2) In logic there is considerable
divergence of opinion as to the best definition. Whately defined it as
"a conditional syllogism with two or more antecedents in the major and a
disjunctive minor." Aulus Gellius gives an example as follows:--"Women
are either fair or ugly; if you marry a fair woman, she will attract
other men; if an ugly woman she will not please you; therefore marriage
is absurd." From either alternative, an unpleasant result follows. Four
kinds of dilemma are admitted:--(a) _Simple Constructive_: If A, then C;
if B, then C, but either B or A; therefore C. (b) _Simple Destructive_:
If A is true, B is true; if A is true, C is true; B and C are not both
true; therefore A is not true. (c) _Complex Constructive_: If A, then B;
if C, then D; but either A or C; therefore either B or D. (d) _Complex
Destructive_: If A is true, B is true; if C is true, D is true; but B
and D are not both true; hence A and C are not both true. The soundness
of the dilemmatic argument in general depends on the alternative
possibilities. Unless the alternatives produced exhaust the
possibilities of the case, the conclusion is invalid. The logical form
of the argument makes it especially valuable in public speaking, before
uncritical audiences. It is, in fact, important rather as a rhetorical
subtlety than as a serious argument.
_Dilemmist_ is also a term used to translate _Vaibhashikas_, the name of
a Buddhist school of philosophy.
DILETTANTE, an Italian word for one who delights in the fine arts,
especially in music and painting, so a lover of the fine arts in
general. The Ital. _dilettare_ is from Lat. _delectare_, to delight.
Properly the word refers to an "amateur" as opposed to a "professional"
cultivation of the arts, but like "amateur" it is often used in a
depreciatory sense for one who is only a dabbler, or who only has a
superficial knowledge or interest in art. The Dilettanti Society founded
in 1733-1734 still exists in England. A history of the society, by
Lionel Cust, was published in 1898.
DILIGENCE, in law, the care which a person is bound to exercise in his
relations with others. The possible degrees of diligence are of course
numerous, and the same degree is not required in all cases. Thus a mere
depositary would not be held bound to the same degree of diligence as a
person borrowing an article for his own use and benefit. Jurists,
following the divisions of the civil law, have concurred in fixing three
approximate standards of diligence--viz. ordinary (_diligentia_), less
than ordinary (_levissima diligentia_) and more than ordinary
(_exactissima diligentia_). Ordinary or common diligence is defined by
Story (_On Bailments_) as "that degree of diligence which men in general
exert in respect of their own concerns." So Sir William Jones:--"This
care, which every person of common prudence and capable of governing a
family takes of his own concerns, is a proper measure of that which
would uniformly be required in performing every contract, if there were
not strong reasons for exacting in some of them a greater and permitting
in others a less degree of attention" (_Essay on Bailments_). The
highest degree of diligence would be that which only very prudent
persons bestow on their own concerns; the lowest, that which even
careless persons bestow on their own concerns. The want of these various
degrees of diligence is negligence in corresponding degrees. These
approximations indicate roughly the greater or less severity with which
the law will judge the performance of different classes of contracts;
but English judges have been inclined to repudiate the distinction as a
useless refinement of the jurists. Thus Baron Rolfe could see no
difference between negligence and gross negligence; it was the same
thing with the addition of a vituperative epithet. See NEGLIGENCE.
_Diligence_, in Scots law, is a general term for the process by which
persons, lands or effects are attached on execution, or in security for
debt.
DILKE, SIR CHARLES WENTWORTH, Bart. (1810-1869), English politician, son
of Charles Wentworth Dilke, proprietor and editor of _The Athenaeum_,
was born in London on the 18th of February 1810, and was educated at
Westminster school and Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He studied law, and in
1834 took his degree of LL.B., but did not practise. He assisted his
father in his literary work, and was for some years chairman of the
council of the Society of Arts, besides taking a prominent part in the
affairs of the Royal Horticultural Society and other bodies. He was one
of the most zealous promoters of the Great Exhibition (1851), and a
member of the executive committee. At the close of the exhibition he was
honoured by foreign sovereigns, and the queen offered him knighthood,
which, however, he did not accept; he also declined a large remuneration
offered by the royal commission. In 1853 Dilke was one of the English
commissioners at the New York Industrial Exhibition, and prepared a
report on it. He again declined to receive any money reward for his
services. He was appointed one of the five royal commissioners for the
Great Exhibition of 1862; and soon after the death of the prince consort
he was created a baronet. In 1865 he entered parliament as member for
Wallingford. In 1869 he was sent to Russia as representative of England
at the horticultural exhibition held at St Petersburg. His health,
however, had been for some time failing, and he died suddenly in that
city, on the 10th of May 1869. A selection from his writings, _Papers of
a Critic_ (2 vols., 1875), contains a biographical sketch by his son.
His son, SIR CHARLES WENTWORTH DILKE, BART. (1843- ), became a
prominent Liberal politician, as M.P. for Chelsea (1868-1886),
under-secretary for foreign affairs (1880-1882), and president of the
local government board (1882-1885); and he was then marked out as one of
the best-informed and ablest of the advanced Radicals. He was chairman
of the royal commission on the housing of the working classes in
1884-1885. But his sensational appearance as co-respondent in a divorce
case of a peculiarly unpleasant character in 1885 cast a cloud over his
career. He was defeated in Chelsea in 1886, and did not return to
parliament till 1892, when he was elected for the Forest of Dean; and
though his knowledge of foreign affairs and his powers as a critic and
writer on military and naval questions were admittedly of the highest
order, his official position in public life could not again be
recovered. His military writings are _The British Army_ (1888); _Army
Reform_ (1898) and, with Mr Spenser Wilkinson, _Imperial Defence_
(1892). On colonial questions he wrote with equal authority. His
_Greater Britain_ (2 vols., 1866-1867) reached a fourth edition in 1868,
and was followed by _Problems of Greater Britain_ (2 vols., 1890) and
_The British Empire_ (1899). He was twice married, his second wife (nee
Emilia Frances Strong), the widow of Mark Pattison, being an
accomplished art critic and collector. She died in 1904. The most
important of her books were the studies on _French Painters of the
Eighteenth Century_ (1899) and three subsequent volumes on the
architects and sculptors, furniture and decoration, engravers and
draughtsmen of the same period, the last of which appeared in 1902. A
posthumous volume, _The Book of the Spiritual Life_ (1905), contains a
memoir of her by Sir Charles Dilke.
[Illustration: Dill (_Anethum_ or _Peucedanum graveolens_), leaf and
inflorescence.]
DILL (_Anethum_ or _Peucedanum graveolens_), a member of the natural
botanical order Umbelliferae, indigenous to the south of Europe, Egypt
and the Cape of Good Hope. It resembles fennel in appearance. Its root
is long and fusiform; the stem is round, jointed and about a yard high;
the leaves have fragrant leaflets; and the fruits are brown, oval and
concavo-convex. The plant flowers from June till August in England. The
seeds are sown, preferably as soon as ripe, either broadcast or in
drills between 6 and 12 in. asunder. The young plants should be thinned
when 3 or 4 weeks old, so as to be at distances of about 10 in. A
sheltered spot and dry soil are needed for the production of the seed in
the climate of England. The leaves of the dill are used in soups and
sauces, and, as well as the umbels, for flavouring pickles. The seeds
are employed for the preparation of dill-water and oil of dill; they are
largely consumed in the manufacture of gin, and, when ground, are eaten
in the East as a condiment. The British Pharmacopoeia contains the Aqua
Anethi or dill-water (dose 1-2 oz.), and the Oleum Anethi, almost
identical in composition with caraway oil, and given in doses of 1/2-3
minims. Dill-water is largely used as a carminative for children, and as
a vehicle for the exhibition of nauseous drugs.
DILLEN [DILLENIUS], JOHANN JAKOB (1684-1747), English botanist, was born
at Darmstadt in 1684, and was educated at the university of Giessen,
where he wrote several botanical papers for the _Ephemerides naturae
curiosorum_, and printed, in 1719, his _Catalogus plantarum sponte circa
Gissam nascentium_, illustrated with figures drawn and engraved by his
own hand, and containing descriptions of many new species. In 1721, at
the instance of the botanist William Sherard (1659-1728), he came to
England, and in 1724 he published a new edition of Ray's _Synopsis
stirpium Britannicarum_. In 1732 he published _Hortus Elthamensis_, a
catalogue of the rare plants growing at Eltham, Kent, in the collection
of Sherard's younger brother, James (1666-1738), who, after making a
fortune as an apothecary, devoted himself to gardening and music. For
this work Dillen himself executed 324 plates, and it was described by
Linnaeus, who spent a month with him at Oxford in 1736, and afterwards
dedicated his _Critica botanica_ to him, as "opus botanicum quo
absolutius mundus non vidit." In 1734 he was appointed Sherardian
professor of botany at Oxford, in accordance with the will of W.
Sherard, who at his death in 1728 left the university L3000 for the
endowment of the chair, as well as his library and herbarium. Dillen,
who was also the author of an _Historia muscorum_ (1741), died at
Oxford, of apoplexy, on the 2nd of April 1747. His manuscripts, books
and collections of dried plants, with many drawings, were bought by his
successor at Oxford, Dr Humphry Sibthorp (1713-1797), and ultimately
passed into the possession of the university.
For an account of his collections preserved at Oxford, see _The
Dillenian Herbaria_, by G. Claridge Druce (Oxford, 1907).
DILLENBURG, a town of Germany, in the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau,
delightfully situated in the midst of a well-wooded country, on the
Dill, 25 m. N.W. from. Giessen on the railway to Troisdorf. Pop. 4500.
On an eminence above it lie the ruins of the castle of Dillenburg,
founded by Count Henry the Rich of Nassau, about the year 1255, and the
birthplace of Prince William of Orange (1533). It has an Evangelical
church, with the vault of the princes of Nassau-Dillenburg, a Roman
Catholic church, a classical school, a teachers' seminary and a chamber
of commerce. Its industries embrace iron-works, tanneries and the
manufacture of cigars. Owing to its beautiful surroundings Dillenburg
has become a favourite summer resort.
DILLENS, JULIEN (1849-1904), Belgian sculptor, was born at Antwerp on
the 8th of June 1849, son of a painter. He studied under Eugene Simonis
at the Brussels Academy of Fine Arts. In 1877 he received the _prix de
Rome_ for "A Gaulish Chief taken Prisoner by the Romans." At Brussels,
in 1881, he executed the groups entitled "Justice" and "Herkenbald, the
Brussels Brutus." For the pediment of the orphanage at Uccle, "Figure
Kneeling" (Brussels Gallery), and the statue of the lawyer
Metdepenningen in front of the Palais de Justice at Ghent, he was
awarded the medal of honour in 1889 at the Paris Universal Exhibition,
where, in 1900, his "Two Statues of the Anspach Monument" gained him a
similar distinction. For the town of Brussels he executed "The Four
Continents" (Maison du Renard, Grand' Place), "The Lansquenets" crowning
the lucarnes of the Maison de Roi, and the "Monument t' Serclaes" under
the arcades of the Maison de l'Etoile, and, for the Belgian government,
"Flemish Art," "German Art," "Classic Art" and "Art applied to Industry"
(all in the Palais des Beaux Arts, Brussels), "The Laurel" (Botanic
Garden, Brussels), and the statue of "Bernard van Orley" (Place du petit
Sablon, Brussels). Mention must also be made of "An Enigma" (1876), the
bronze busts of "Rogier de la Pasture" and "P. P. Rubens" (1879),
"Etruria" (1880), "The Painter Leon Frederic" (1888), "Madame Leon
Herbo," "Hermes," a scheme of decoration for the ogival facade of the
hotel de ville at Ghent (1893), "The Genius of the Funeral Monument of
the Moselli Family," "The Silence of Death" (for the entrance of the
cemetery of St Gilles), two caryatides for the town hall of St Gilles,
presentation plaquette to Dr Heger, medals of MM. Godefroid and
Vanderkindere and of "The Three Burgomasters of Brussels," and the
ivories "Allegretto," "Minerva" and the "Jamaer Memorial." Dillens died
at Brussels in November 1904.
DILLINGEN, a town of Germany, in the kingdom of Bavaria, on the left
bank of the Danube, 25 m. N.E. from Ulm, on the railway to Ingolstadt.
Pop. (1905) 6078. Its principal buildings are an old palace, formerly
the residence of the bishops of Augsburg and now government offices, a
royal gymnasium, a Latin school with a library of 75,000 volumes, seven
churches (six Roman Catholic), two episcopal seminaries, a Capuchin
monastery, a Franciscan convent and a deaf and dumb asylum. The
university, founded in 1549, was abolished in 1804, being converted into
a lyceum. The inhabitants are engaged in cattle-rearing, the cultivation
of corn, hops and fruit, shipbuilding and the shipping trade, and the
manufacture of cloth, paper and cutlery. In the vicinity is the
Karolinen canal, which cuts off a bend in the Danube between Lauingen
and Dillingen. In 1488 Dillingen became the residence of the bishops of
Augsburg; was taken by the Swedes in 1632 and 1648, by the Austrians in
1702, and on the 17th of June 1800 by the French. In 1803 it passed to
Bavaria.
DILLMANN, CHRISTIAN FRIEDRICH AUGUST (1823-1894), German orientalist and
biblical scholar, the son of a Wurttemberg schoolmaster, was born at
Illingen on the 25th of April 1823. He was educated at Tubingen, where
he became a pupil and friend of Heinrich Ewald, and studied under F. C.
Baur, though he did not join the new Tubingen school. For a short time
he worked as pastor at Gersheim, near his native place, but he soon came
to feel that his studies demanded his whole time. He devoted himself to
the study of Ethiopic MSS. in the libraries of Paris, London and Oxford,
and this work caused a revival of Ethiopic study in the 19th century. In
1847 and 1848 he prepared catalogues of the Ethiopic MSS. in the British
Museum and the Bodleian library at Oxford. He then set to work upon an
edition of the Ethiopic bible. Returning to Tubingen in 1848, in 1853 he
was appointed professor extraordinarius. Subsequently he became
professor of philosophy at Kiel (1854), and of theology at Giessen
(1864) and Berlin (1869). He died on the 4th of July 1894.
In 1851 he had published the _Book of Enoch_ in Ethiopian (German,
1853), and at Kiel he completed the first part of the Ethiopic bible,
_Octateuchus Aethiopicus_ (1853-1855). In 1857 appeared his _Grammatik
der athiopischen Sprache_ (2nd ed. by C. Bezold, 1899); in 1859 the
_Book of Jubilees_; in 1861 and 1871 another part of the Ethiopic bible,
_Libri Regum_; in 1865 his great _Lexicon linguae aethiopicae_; in 1866
his _Chrestomathia aethiopica_. Always a theologian at heart, however,
he returned to theology in 1864. His Giessen lectures were published
under the titles, _Ursprung der alttestamentlichen Religion_ (1865) and
_Die Propheten des alten Bundes nach ihrer politischen Wirksamkeit_
(1868). In 1869 appeared his _Commentar zum Hiob_ (4th ed. 1891) which
stamped him as one of the foremost Old Testament exegetes. His renown as
a theologian, however, was mainly founded by the series of commentaries,
based on those of August Wilhelm Knobels' _Genesis_ (Leipzig, 1875; 6th
ed. 1892; Eng. trans, by W. B. Stevenson, Edinburgh, 1897); _Exodus und
Leviticus_, 1880, revised edition by V. Ryssel, 1897; _Numeri,
Deuteronomium und Josua_, with a dissertation on the origin of the
Hexateuch, 1886; _Jesaja_, 1890 (revised edition by Rudolf Kittel in
1898). In 1877 he published the _Ascension of Isaiah_ in Ethiopian and
Latin. He was also a contributor to D. Schenkel's _Bibellexikon_,
Brockhaus's _Conversationslexikon_, and Herzog's _Realencyklopadie_. His
lectures on Old Testament theology, _Vorlesungen uber Theologie des
Allen Testamentes_, were published by Kittel in 1895.
See the articles in Herzog-Hauck, _Realencyklopadie_, and the
_Allgemeine deutsche Biographie_; F. Lichtenberger, _History of German
Theology in the Nineteenth Century_ (1889); Wolf Baudissin, _A.
Dillmann_ (Leipzig, 1895).
DILLON, ARTHUR RICHARD (1721-1807), French archbishop, was the son of
Arthur Dillon (1670-1733), an Irish gentleman who became general in the
French service. He was born at St Germain, entered the priesthood and
was successively cure of Elan near Mezieres, vicar-general of Pontoise
(1747), bishop of Evreux (1753) and archbishop of Toulouse (1758),
archbishop of Narbonne in 1763, and in that capacity, president of the
estates of Languedoc. He devoted himself much less to the spiritual
direction of his diocese than to its temporal welfare, carrying out many
works of public utility, bridges, canals, roads, harbours, &c.; had
chairs of chemistry and of physics created at Montpellier and at
Toulouse, and tried to reduce the poverty, especially in Narbonne. In
1787 and in 1788 he was a member of the Assembly of Notables called
together by Louis XVI., and in 1788 presided over the assembly of the
clergy. Having refused to accept the civil constitution of the clergy,
Dillon had to leave Narbonne in 1790, then to emigrate to Coblenz in
1791. Soon afterwards he went to London, where he lived until his death
in 1807, never accepting the Concordat, which had suppressed his
archiepiscopal see.
See L. Audibret, _Le Dernier President des Etats du Languedoc, Mgr.
Arthur Richard Dillon, archeveque de Narbonne_ (Bordeaux, 1868); L. de
Lavergne, _Les Assemblees provinciales sous Louis XVI_ (Paris, 1864).
DILLON, JOHN (1851- ), Irish nationalist politician, was the son of
John Blake Dillon (1816-1866), who sat in parliament for Tipperary, and
was one of the leaders of "Young Ireland." John Dillon was educated at
the Roman Catholic university of Dublin, and afterwards studied
medicine. He entered parliament in 1880 as member for Tipperary, and was
at first an ardent supporter of C. S. Parnell. In August he delivered a
speech on the Land League at Kildare which was characterized as "wicked
and cowardly" by W. E. Forster; he advocated boycotting, and was
arrested in May 1881 under the Coercion Act, and again after two months
of freedom in October. In 1883 he resigned his seat for reasons of
health, but was returned unopposed in 1885 for East Mayo, which he
continued to represent. He was one of the prime movers in the famous
"plan of campaign," which provided that the tenant should pay his rent
to the National League instead of the landlord, and in case of eviction
be supported by the general fund. Mr Dillon was compelled by the court
of queen's bench on the 14th of December 1886 to find securities for
good behaviour, but two days later he was arrested while receiving rents
on Lord Clanricarde's estates. In this instance the jury disagreed, but
in June 1888 under the provisions of the new Criminal Law Procedure Bill
he was condemned to six months' imprisonment. He was, however, released
in September, and in the spring of 1889 sailed for Australia and New
Zealand, where he collected funds for the Nationalist party. On his
return to Ireland he was again arrested, but, being allowed bail, sailed
to America, and failed to appear at the trial. He returned to Ireland by
way of Boulogne, where he and Mr W. O'Brien held long and indecisive
conferences with Parnell. They surrendered to the police in February,
and on their release from Galway gaol in July declared their opposition
to Parnell. After the expulsion of Mr T. M. Healy and others from the
Irish National Federation, Mr Dillon became the chairman (February
1896). His early friendship with Mr O'Brien gave place to considerable
hostility, but the various sections of the party were ostensibly
reconciled in 1900 under the leadership of Mr Redmond. In the autumn of
1896 he arranged a convention of the Irish race, which included 2000
delegates from various parts of the world. In 1897 Mr Dillon opposed in
the House the Address to Queen Victoria on the occasion of the Diamond
Jubilee, on the ground that her reign had not been a blessing to
Ireland, and he showed the same uncompromising attitude in 1901 when a
grant to Lord Roberts was under discussion, accusing him of
"systematized inhumanity." He was suspended on the 20th of March for
violent language addressed to Mr Chamberlain. He married in 1895
Elizabeth (d. 1907), daughter of Lord justice J. C. Mathew.
DILUVIUM (Lat. for "deluge," from _diluere_, to wash away), a term in
geology for superficial deposits formed by flood-like operations of
water, and so contrasted with alluvium (q.v.) or alluvial deposits
formed by slow and steady aqueous agencies. The term was formerly given
to the "boulder clay" deposits, supposed to have been caused by the
Noachian deluge.
DIME (from the Lat. _decima_, a tenth, through the O. Fr. _disme_), the
tenth part, the tithe paid as church dues, or as tribute to a temporal
power. In this sense it is obsolete, but is found in Wycliffe's
translation of the Bible--"He gave him dymes of alle thingis" (Gen. xiv.
20). A dime is a silver coin of the United States, in value 10 cents
(English equivalent about 5d.) or one-tenth of a dollar; hence
"dime-novel," a cheap sensational novel, a "penny dreadful"; also
"dime-museum."
DIMENSION (from Lat. _dimensio_, a measuring), in geometry, a magnitude
measured in a specified direction, i.e. length, breadth and thickness;
thus a line has only length and is said to be of one dimension, a
surface has length and breadth, and has two dimensions, a solid has
length, breadth and thickness, and has three dimensions. This concept is
extended to algebra: since a line, surface and solid are represented by
linear, quadratic and cubic equations, and are of one, two and three
dimensions; a biquadratic equation has its highest terms of four
dimensions, and, in general, an equation in any number of variables
which has the greatest sum of the indices of any term equal to n is said
to have n dimensions. The "fourth dimension" is a type of non-Euclidean
geometry, in which it is conceived that a "solid" has one dimension more
than the solids of experience. For the dimensions of units see UNITS,
DIMENSIONS OF.
DIMITY, derived from the Gr. [Greek: dimitos] "double thread," through
the Ital. _dimito_, "a kind of course linzie-wolzie" (Florio, 1611); a
cloth commonly employed for bed upholstery and curtains, and usually
white, though sometimes a pattern is printed on it in colours. It is
stout in texture, and woven in raised patterns.
DINAJPUR, a town (with a population in 1901 of 13,430) and district of
British India, in the Rajshahi division of Eastern Bengal and Assam. The
earthquake of the 12th of June 1897 caused serious damage to most of the
public buildings of the town. There is a railway station and a
government high school. The district comprises an area of 3946 sq. m. It
is traversed in every direction by a network of channels and water
courses. Along the banks of the Kulik river, the undulating ridges and
long lines of mango-trees give the landscape a beauty which is not
found elsewhere. Dinajpur forms part of the rich arable tract lying
between the Ganges and the southern slopes of the Himalayas. Although
essentially a fluvial district, it does not possess any river navigable
throughout the year by boats of 4 tons burden. Rice forms the staple
agricultural product. The climate of the district, although cooler than
that of Calcutta, is very unhealthy, and the people have a sickly
appearance. The worst part of the year is at the close of the rains in
September and October, during which months few of the natives escape
fever. The average maximum temperature is 92.3 deg. F., and the minimum
74.8 deg.. The average rainfall is 85.54 in. In 1901 the population was
1,567,080, showing an increase of 6% in the decade. The district is
partly traversed by the main line of the Eastern Bengal railway and by
two branch lines. Save between 1404 and 1442, when it was the seat of an
independent _raj_, founded by Raja Ganesh, a Hindu turned Mussulman,
Dinajpur has no separate history. Pillars and copper-plate inscriptions
have yielded numerous records of the Pal kings who ruled the country
from the 9th century onwards, and the district is famous for many other
antiquities, some of which are connected by legend with an immemorial
past (see _Reports, Arch. Survey of India_, xv.; _Epigraphia Indica_,
ii.).
DINAN, a town of north-western France, capital of an arrondissement in
the department of Cotes-du-Nord, 37 m. E. of St Brieuc on the Western
railway. Pop. (1906) 8588. Dinan is situated on a height on the left
bank of the Ranee (here canalized), some 17 m. above its mouth at St
Malo, with which it communicates by means of small steamers. It is
united to the village of Lanvallay on the right bank of the river by a
granite viaduct 130 ft. in height. The town is almost entirely encircled
by the ramparts of the middle ages, strengthened at intervals by towers
and defended on the south by a castle of the late 14th century, which
now serves as prison. Three old gateways are also preserved. Dinan has
two interesting churches; that of St Malo, of late Gothic architecture,
and St Sauveur, in which the Romanesque and Gothic styles are
intermingled. In the latter church a granite monument contains the heart
of Bertrand Du Guesclin, whose connexion with the town is also
commemorated by an equestrian statue. The quaint winding streets of
Dinan are often bordered by medieval houses. Its picturesqueness
attracts large numbers of visitors and there are many English residents
in the town and its vicinity. About three-quarters of a mile from the
town are the ruins of the chateau and the Benedictine abbey at Lehon;
near the neighbouring village of St Esprit stands the large lunatic
asylum of Les Bas Foins, founded in 1836; and at no great distance is
the now dismantled chateau of La Garaye, which was rendered famous in
the 18th century by the philanthropic devotion of the count and countess
whose story is told in Mrs Norton's _Lady of La Garaye_. Dinan is the
seat of a subprefect and has a tribunal of first instance, and a
communal college. There is trade in grain, cider, wax, butter and other
agricultural products. The industries include the manufacture of
leather, farm-implements and canvas.
The principal event in the history of Dinan, which was a stronghold of
the dukes of Brittany, is the siege by the English under the duke of
Lancaster in 1359, during which Du Guesclin and an English knight called
Thomas of Canterbury engaged in single combat.
DINANT, an ancient town on the right bank of the Meuse in the province
of Namur, Belgium, connected by a bridge with the left bank, on which
are the station and the suburb of St Medard. Pop. (1904) 7674. The name
is supposed to be derived from Diana, and as early as the 7th century it
was named as one of the dependencies of the bishopric of Tongres. In the
10th century it passed under the titular sway of Liege, and remained the
fief of the prince-bishopric till the French revolution put an end to
that survival of feudalism. In the middle of the 15th century Dinant
reached the height of its prosperity. With a population of 60,000, and
8000 workers in copper, it was one of the most flourishing cities in
Walloon Belgium, until it incurred the wrath of Charles the Bold. Belief
in the strength of its walls and of the castle that occupied the centre
bridge, thus effectually commanding navigation by the river, engendered
arrogance and overconfidence, and the people of Dinant thought they
could defy the full power of Burgundy. Perhaps they also expected aid
from France or Liege. In 1466 Charles, in his father's name, laid siege
to Dinant, and on the 27th of August carried the place by storm. He
razed the walls and allowed the women, children and priests to retire in
safety to Liege, but the male prisoners he either hanged or drowned in
the river by causing them to be cast from the projecting cliff of
Bouvignes. In 1675 the capture of Dinant formed one of the early
military achievements of Louis XIV., and it remained in the hands of the
French for nearly thirty years after that date. The citadel on the
cliff, 300 ft. or 408 steps above the town, was fortified by the Dutch
in 1818. It is now dismantled, but forms the chief curiosity of the
place. The views of the river valley from this eminence are exceedingly
fine. Half way up the cliff, but some distance south of the citadel, is
the grotto of Montfat, alleged to be the site of Diana's shrine. The
church of Notre Dame, dating from the 13th century, stands immediately
under the citadel and flanking the bridge. It has been restored, and is
considered by some authorities, although others make the same claim on
behalf of Huy, the most complete specimen in Belgium of pointed Gothic
architecture. The baptismal fonts date from the 12th century, and the
curious spire in the form of an elongated pumpkin and covered with
slates gives a fantastic and original appearance to the whole edifice.
The present prosperity of Dinant is chiefly derived from its being a
favourite summer resort for Belgians as well as foreigners. It has
facilities for beating and bathing as well as for trips by steamer up
and down the river Meuse. It is also a convenient central point for
excursions into the Ardennes. Although there are some indications of
increased industrial activity in recent years, the population of Dinant
is not one-eighth of what it was at the time of the Burgundians.
DINAPUR, a town and military station of British India, in the Patna
district of Bengal, on the right bank of the Ganges, 12 m. W. of Patna
city by rail. Pop. (1901) 33,699. It is the largest military cantonment
in Bengal, with accommodation for two batteries of artillery, a European
and a native infantry regiment. In 1857 the sepoy garrison of the place
initiated the mutiny of that year in Patna district, but after a
conflict with the European troops were forced to retire from the town,
and subsequently laid siege to Arrah.
DINARCHUS, last of the "ten" Attic orators, son of Sostratus (or,
according to Suidas, Socrates), born at Corinth about 361 B.C. He
settled at Athens early in life, and when not more than twenty-five was
already active as a writer of speeches for the law courts. As an alien,
he was unable to take part in the debates. He had been the pupil both of
Theophrastus and of Demetrius Phalereus, and had early acquired a
certain fluency and versatility of style. In 324 the Areopagus, after
inquiry, reported that nine men had taken bribes from Harpalus, the
fugitive treasurer of Alexander. Ten public prosecutors were appointed.
Dinarchus wrote, for one or more of these prosecutors, the three
speeches which are still extant--_Against Demosthenes_, _Against
Aristogeiton_, _Against Philocles_. The sympathies of Dinarchus were in
favour of an Athenian oligarchy under Macedonian control; but it should
be remembered that he was not an Athenian citizen. Aeschines and Demades
had no such excuse. In the Harpalus affair, Demosthenes was doubtless
innocent, and so, probably, were others of the accused. Yet Hypereides,
the most fiery of the patriots, was on the same side as Dinarchus.
Under the regency of his old master, Demetrius Phalereus, Dinarchus
exercised much political influence. The years 317-307 were the most
prosperous of his life. On the fall of Demetrius Phalereus and the
restoration of the democracy by Demetrius Poliorcetes, Dinarchus was
condemned to death and withdrew into exile at Chalcis in Euboea. About
292, thanks to his friend Theophrastus, he was able to return to Attica,
and took up his abode in the country with a former associate, Proxenus.
He afterwards brought an action against Proxenus on the ground that he
had robbed him of some money and plate. Dinarchus died at Athens about
291.
According to Suidas, Dinarchus wrote 160 speeches; and Dionysius held
that, out of 85 extant speeches bearing his name, 58 were genuine,--28
relating to public, 30 to private causes. Although the authenticity of
the three speeches mentioned above is generally admitted, Demetrius of
Magnesia doubted that of the speech Against Demosthenes, while A.
Westermann rejected all three. Dinarchus had little individual style and
imitated by turns Lysias, Hypereides and Demosthenes. He is called by
Hermogenes [Greek: o critinos Demosthenes], a metaphor taken from barley compared
with wheat, or beer compared with wine,--a Demosthenes whose strength
is rougher, without flavour or sparkle.
Editions: (text and exhaustive commentary) E. Metzner (1842); (text)
T. Thalheim (1887), F. Blass (1888); see L. L. Forman, _Index
Andocideus, Lycurgeus, Dinarcheus_ (1897); and, in general, F. Blass,
_Attische Beredsamkeit_, iii. There is a valuable treatise on the life
and speeches of Dinarchus by Dionysius of Halicarnassus.