composition of private deeds which in all countries form the mass of
material for historical and diplomatic research. The student of English
diplomatic will soon remark how readily the private charters, especially
conveyances of real property, fall into classes, and how stereotyped the
phraseology and formulae of each class become, only modified from time
to time by particular acts of legislation. The brevity of the early
conveyances is maintained through successive generations, with only
moderate growth as time progresses through the 12th, 13th and 14th
centuries. The different kinds of deeds which the requirements of
society have from time to time called into existence must be learned by
the student from the text-books. But a particular form of document which
was especially in favour in England should be mentioned. This was the
chirograph (Gr. [Greek: cheir], a hand, [Greek: graphein], to write),
which is found even in the Anglo-Saxon period, and which got its name
from the word _chirographum_, _cirographum_ or _cyrographum_ being
written in large letters at the head of the deed. At first the word was
written, presumably, at the head of each of the two authentic copies
which the two parties to a transaction would require. Then it became the
habit to use the word thus written as a tally, the two copies of the
deed being written on one sheet, head to head, with the word between
them, which was then cut through longitudinally in a straight, or more
commonly waved or indented (_in modum dentium_) line, each of the two
copies thus having half of the word at the head. Any other word, or a
series of letters, might thus be employed; and more than two copies of a
deed could thus be made to tally. The chirograph was the precursor of
the modern indenture, the commonest form of English deeds, though no
longer a tally. In other countries, the notarial instrument has
performed the functions which the chirograph and indenture have
discharged for us.
AUTHORITIES.--General treatises, handbooks,, &c., are J. Mabillon, _De
re diplomatica_ (1709); Tassin and Toustain, _Nouveau Traite de
diplomatique_ (1750-1765); T. Madox, _Formulare Anglicanum_ (1702); G.
Hickes, _Linguarum septentrionalium thesaurus_ (1703-1705); F. S.
Maffei, _Istoria diplomatica_ (1727); G. Marini, _I Papiri
diplomatici_ (1805); G. Bessel, _Chronicon Gotwicense (De diplomatibus
imperatorum ac regum Germaniae)_ (1732); A. Fumagalli, _Delle
istituzioni diplomatiche_ (1802); M. F. Kopp, _Palaeographia critica_
(1817-1829); K. T. G. Schonemann, _Versuch eines vollstandigen Systems
der Diplomatik_ (1818); T. Sickel, _Lehre von den Urkunden der ersten
Karolinger_ (1867); J. Ficker, _Beitrage zur Urkundenlehre_
(1877-1878); A. Gloria, _Compendio delle lezioni di paleografia e
diplomatica_ (1870); C. Paoli, _Programma scolastico di paleografia
Latina e di diplomatica_ (1888-1890); H. Bresslau, _Handbuch der
Urkundenlehre fur Deutschland und Italien_ (1889); A. Giry, _Manuel de
diplomatique_ (1894); F. Leist, _Urkundenlehre_ (1893); E. M.
Thompson, _Handbook of Greek and Latin Palaeography_, cap. xix.
(1906); J. M. Kemble, _Codex diplomaticus aevi Saxonici_ (1839-1848);
W. G. Birch, _Cartularium Saxonicum_ (1885-1893); J. Munoz y Rivero,
_Manuel de paleografia diplomatica Espanola_ (1890); M. Russi,
_Paleografia e diplomatica de' documenti delle provincie Napolitane_
(1883). Facsimiles are given in J. B. Silvestrestre _Paleographie
universelle_ (English edition, 1850); and in the _Facsimiles_, &c.,
published by the Palaeographical Society (1873-1894) and the New
Palaeographical Society (1903, &c.); and also in the following
works:--A. Champollion-Figeac, _Chartes et manuscrits sur papyrus_
(1840); J. A. Letronne, _Diplomes et chartes de l'epoque
merovingienne_ (1845-1866); J. Tardif, _Archives de l'Empire:
Facsimile de chartes et diplomes merovingiens et carlovingiens_
(1866); G. H. Pettz, _Schrifttafeln zum Gebrauch bei diplomatischen
Vorlesungen_ (1844-1869); H. von Sybel and T. Sickel, _Kaiserurkunden
in Abbildungen_ (1880-1891); J. von Pflugk-Harttung, _Specimina
selecta chartarum Pontificum Romanorum_ (1885-1887); _Specimina
palaeographica regestorum Romanorum pontificum_ (1888); _Recueil de
fac-similes a l'usage de l'Ecole des Chartes_ (not published) (1880,
&c.); J. Munoz y Rivero, _Chrestomathia palaeographica: scripturae
Hispanae veteris specimina_ (1890); E. A. Bond, _Facsimiles of Ancient
Charters in the British Museum_ (1873-1878): W. B. Sanders,
_Facsimiles of Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts_ (charters) (1878-1884); G. F.
Warner and H. J. Ellis, _Facsimiles of Royal and other Charters in the
British Museum_ (1903). (E. M. T.)
DIPOENUS and SCYLLIS, early Greek sculptors, who worked together, and
are said to have been pupils of Daedalus. Pliny assigns to them the date
580 B.C., and says that they worked at Sicyon, which city from their
time onwards became one of the great schools of sculpture. They also
made statues for Cleonae and Argos. They worked in wood, ebony and
ivory, and apparently also in marble. It is curious that no inscription
bearing their names has come to light.
DIPPEL, JOHANN KONRAD (1673-1734), German theologian and alchemist, son
of a Lutheran pastor, was born at the castle of Frankenstein, near
Darmstadt, on the 10th of August 1673. He studied theology at Giessen.
After a short visit to Wittenberg he went to Strassburg, where he
lectured on alchemy and chiromancy, and occasionally preached. He gained
considerable popularity, but was obliged after a time to quit the city,
owing to his irregular manner of living. He had up to this time espoused
the cause of the orthodox as against the pietists; but in his two first
works, published under the name "Christianus Democritus," _Orthodoxia
Orthodoxorum_ (1697) and _Papismus vapulans Protestantium_ (1698), he
assailed the fundamental positions of the Lutheran theology. He held
that religion consisted not in dogma but exclusively in love and
self-sacrifice. To avoid persecution he was compelled to wander from
place to place in Germany, Holland, Denmark and Sweden. He took the
degree of doctor of medicine at Leiden in 1711. He discovered Prussian
blue, and by the destructive distillation of bones prepared the
evil-smelling product known as Dippel's animal oil. He died near
Berleburg on the 25th of April 1734.
An enlarged edition of Dippel's collected works was published at
Berleburg in 1743. See the biographies by J. C. G. Ackermann (Leipzig,
1781), H. V. Hoffmann (Darmstadt, 1783), K. Henning (1881) and W.
Bender (Bonn, 1882); also a memoir by K. Bucher in the _Historisches
Taschenbuch_ for 1858.
DIPSOMANIA (from [Gr. dipsa], thirst, and [Greek: mania], madness), a
term formerly applied to the attacks of delirium (q.v.) caused by
alcoholic poisoning. It is now sometimes loosely used as equivalent to
the condition of incurable inebriates, but strictly should be confined
to the pathological and insatiable desire for alcohol, sometimes
occurring in paroxysms.
DIPTERA ([Greek: dis], double, [Greek: ptera], wings), a term (first
employed in its modern sense by Linnaeus, _Fauna Suecica_, 1st ed.,
1746, p. 306) used in zoological classification for one of the Orders
into which the _Hexapoda_, or Insecta, are divided. The relation of the
Diptera (two-winged flies, or flies proper) to the other Orders is dealt
with under Hexapoda (q.v.).
The chief characteristic of the Diptera is expressed in the name of the
Order, since, with the exception of certain aberrant and apterous forms,
flies possess but a single pair of membranous wings, which are attached
to the meso-thorax. Wing-covers and hind-wings are alike absent, and the
latter are represented by a pair of little knobbed organs, the halteres
or balancers, which have a controlling and directing function in flight.
The other structural characters of the Order may be briefly summarized
as:--mouth-parts adapted for piercing and sucking, or for suction alone,
and consisting of a proboscis formed of the labium, and enclosing
modifications of the other usual parts of the mouth, some of which,
however, may be wanting; a thorax fused into a single mass; and legs
with five-jointed tarsi. The wings, which are not capable of being
folded, are usually transparent, but occasionally pigmented and adorned
with coloured spots, blotches or bands; the wing-membrane, though
sometimes clothed with minute hairs, seldom bears scales; the
wing-veins, which are of great importance in the classification of
Diptera, are usually few in number and chiefly longitudinal, there being
a marked paucity of cross-veins. In a large number of Diptera an
incision in the posterior margin of the wing, near the base, marks off a
small lobe, the posterior lobe or alula, while connected with this but
situated on the thorax itself there is a pair of membranous scales, or
squamae, which when present serve to conceal the halteres. The antennae
of Diptera, which are also extremely important in classification, are
thread-like in the more primitive families, such as the _Tipulidae_
(daddy-long-legs), where they consist of a considerable number of
joints, all of which except the first two, and sometimes also the last
two, are similar in shape; in the more specialized families, such as the
_Tabanidae_ (horse-flies), _Syrphidae_ (hover-flies) or _Muscidae_
(house-flies, blue-bottles and their allies), the number of antennal
joints is greatly reduced by coalescence, so that the antennae appear to
consist of only three joints. In these forms, however, the third joint
is really a complex, which in many families bears in addition a jointed
bristle (arista) or style, representing the terminal joints of the
primitive antenna. Although in the case of the majority of Diptera the
body is more or less clothed with hair, the hairy covering is usually so
short that to the unaided eye the insects appear almost bare; some
forms, however, such as the bee-flies (_Bombylius_) and certain
robber-flies (_Asilidae_) are conspicuously hairy. Bristles are usually
present on the legs, and in the case of many families on the body also;
those on the head and thorax are of great importance in classification.
Between 40,000 and 50,000 species of Diptera are at present known, but
these are only a fraction of those actually in existence. The species
recognized as British number some 2700, but to this total additions are
constantly being made. As a rule flies are of small or moderate size,
and many, such as certain blood-sucking midges of the genus
_Ceratopogon_, are even minute; as extremes of size may be mentioned a
common British midge, _Ceratopogon varius_, the female of which measures
only 1-1/4 millimetre, and the gigantic _Mydaidae_ of Central and South
America as well as certain Australian robber-flies, which have a body
1-3/4 in. long, with a wing-expanse of 3-1/4 in. In bodily form Diptera
present two main types, either, as in the case of the more primitive and
generalized families, they are gnat- or midge-like in shape, with
slender bodies and long, delicate legs, or else they exhibit a more or
less distinct resemblance to the common house-fly, having compact and
stoutly built bodies and legs of moderate length. Diptera in general are
not remarkable for brilliancy of coloration; as a rule they are dull and
inconspicuous in hue, the prevailing body-tints being browns and greys;
occasionally, however, more especially in species (_Syrphidae_) that
mimic Hymenoptera, the body is conspicuously banded with yellow; a few
are metallic, such as the species of _Formosia_, found in the islands of
the East Indian Archipelago, which are among the most brilliant of all
insects. The sexes in Diptera are usually alike, though in a number of
families with short antennae the males are distinguished by the fact
that their eyes meet together (or nearly so) on the forehead.
Metamorphosis in Diptera is complete; the larvae are utterly different
from the perfect insects in appearance, and, although varying greatly in
outward form, are usually footless grubs; those of the _Muscidae_ are
generally known as maggots. The pupa either shows the appendages of the
perfect insect, though these are encased in a sheath and adherent to the
body, or else it is entirely concealed within the hardened and
contracted larval integument, which forms a barrel-shaped protecting
capsule or puparium.
Diptera are divided into some sixty families, the exact classification
of which has not yet been finally settled. The majority of authors,
however, follow Brauer in dividing the order into two sections,
Orthorrhapha and Cyclorrhapha, according to the manner in which the
pupa-case splits to admit of the escape of the perfect insect. The
general characteristics of the pupae in these two sections have already
been described.
In the Orthorrhapha, in the pupae of which the appendages of the perfect
insect are usually visible, the pupa-case generally splits in a straight
line down the back near the cephalic end; in front of this longitudinal
cleft there may be a small transverse one, the two together forming a
T-shaped fissure. In the Cyclorrhapha on the other hand, in which the
actual pupa is concealed within the hardened larval skin, the imago
escapes through a circular orifice formed by pushing off or through the
head end of the puparium. The Diptera Orthorrhapha include the more
primitive and less specialized families such as the _Tipulidae_
(daddy-long-legs), _Culicidae_ (gnats or mosquitoes), _Chironomidae_
(midges), _Mycetophilidae_ (fungus-midges), _Tabanidae_ (horse-flies),
_Asilidae_ (robber-flies), &c. The Diptera Cyclorrhapha on the other
hand consist of the most highly specialized families, such as the
_Syrphidae_ (hover-flies), _Oestridae_ (bot and warble flies), and
_Muscidae_ (_sensu latiore_--the house-fly and its allies, including
tsetse-flies, flesh-flies, _Tachininae_, or flies the larvae of which
are internal parasites of caterpillars, &c). It is customary to divide
the Orthorrhapha into the two divisions Nematocera and Brachycera, in
the former of which the antennae are elongate and in a more or less
primitive condition, as described above, while in the latter these
organs are short, and, as already explained, apparently composed of only
three joints.
Within the divisions named--Orthorrhapha Nematocera, Orthorrhapha
Brachycera and Cyclorrhapha--the constituent families are usually
grouped into a series of "superfamilies," distinguished by features of
structure or habit. Certain extremely aberrant Diptera, which, in
consequence of the adoption of a parasitic mode of life, have undergone
great structural modification, are further remarkable for their peculiar
mode of reproduction, on account of which the families composing the
group are often termed Pupipara. In these forms the pregnant female,
instead of laying eggs, as Diptera usually do, or even producing a
number of minute living larvae, gives birth at one time but to a single
larva, which is retained within the oviduct of the mother until adult,
and assumes the pupal state immediately on extrusion. The Pupipara are
also termed Eproboscidea (although they actually possess a
well-developed and functional proboscis), and by some dipterists the
Eproboscidea are regarded as a suborder and contrasted as such with the
rest of the Diptera, which are styled the suborder Proboscidea. By other
writers Proboscidea and Eproboscidea are treated as primary divisions of
the Cyclorrhapha. In reality, however, the families designated
Eproboscidea (_Hippoboscidae_, _Braulidae_, _Nycteribiidae_ and
_Streblidae_), are not entitled to be considered as constituting either
a suborder, or even a main division of the Cyclorrhapha; they are simply
Cyclorrhapha much modified owing to parasitism, and in view of the
closely similar mode of reproduction in the tsetse-flies the special
designation Pupipara should be abandoned. Before leaving the subject of
classification it may be noted in passing that in 1906 Professor
Lameere, of Brussels, proposed a scheme for the classification of
Diptera which as regards both the limits of the families and their
grouping into higher categories differs considerably from that in
current use.
Little light on the relationship and evolution of the various families
of Diptera is afforded by fossil forms, since as a rule the latter are
readily referable to existing families. With the exception of a few
species from the Solenhofen lithographic Oolite, fossil Diptera belong
to the Tertiary Period, during which the members of this order attained
a high degree of development. In amber, as proved by the deposits on the
shores of the Baltic, the proverbial "fly" is more numerous than any
other creatures, and with very few exceptions representatives of all the
existing families have been found. The famous Tertiary beds at
Florissant, Colorado, have yielded a considerable number of remarkably
well-preserved _Tipulidae_ (in which family are included the most
primitive of existing Diptera), as also species belonging to other
families, such as _Mycetophilidae_ and even _Oestridae_.
Diptera as an order are probably more widely distributed over the
earth's surface than are the representatives of any similar division of
the animal kingdom. Flies seem capable of adapting themselves to
extremes of cold equally as well as to those of heat, and species
belonging to the order are almost invariably included in the collections
brought back by members of Arctic expeditions. Others are met with in
the most isolated localities; thus the Rev. A. E. Eaton discovered on
the desolate shores of Kerguelen's Island apterous and semi-apterous
Diptera (_Tipulidae_ and _Ephydridae_) of a degraded type adapted to the
climatic peculiarities of the locality. Many bird parasites belonging to
the _Hippoboscidae_ have naturally been carried about the world by their
hosts, while other species, such as the house-fly, blow-fly and
drone-fly, have in like manner been disseminated by human agency. Most
families and a large proportion of genera are represented throughout the
world, but in some cases (e.g. _Glossina_--see TSETSE-FLY) the
distribution of a genus is limited to a continent. As a rule the general
_facies_ as well as dimensions are remarkably uniform throughout a
family, so that tropical species often differ little in appearance from
those inhabiting temperate regions. Many instances of exaggerated and
apparently unnatural structure nevertheless occur, as in the case of the
genera _Pangonia_, _Nemestrina_, _Achias_, _Diopsis_ and the family
_Celyphidae_, and, as might be expected, it is chiefly in tropical
species that these peculiarities are found. To a geographical
distribution of the widest extent, Diptera add a range of habits of the
most diversified nature; they are both animal and vegetable feeders, an
enormous number of species acting, especially in the larval state, as
scavengers in consuming putrescent or decomposing matter of both kinds.
The phytophagous species are attached to various parts of plants, dead
or alive; and the carnivorous in like manner feed on dead or living
flesh, or its products, many larvae being parasitic on living animals of
various classes (in Australia the larva of a species of _Muscidae_ is
even a parasite of frogs), especially the caterpillars of Lepidoptera,
which are destroyed in great numbers by _Tachininae_. The recent
discovery of a bloodsucking maggot, which is found in native huts
throughout the greater part of tropical and subtropical Africa, and
attacks the inmates when asleep, is of great interest.
It may confidently be asserted that, of insects which directly or
indirectly affect the welfare of man, Diptera form the vast majority,
and it is a moot point whether the good effected by many species in the
rapid clearing away of animal and vegetable impurities, and in keeping
other insect enemies in check, counterbalances the evil and annoyance
wrought by a large section of the Order. The part played by certain
blood-sucking Diptera in the dissemination of disease is now well known
(see MOSQUITO and TSETSE-FLY), and under the term _myiasis_ medical
literature includes a lengthy recital of instances of the presence of
Dipterous larvae in various parts of the living human body, and the
injuries caused thereby. That Diptera of the type of the common
house-fly are often in large measure responsible for the spread of such
diseases as cholera and enteric fever is undeniable, and as regards
blood-sucking forms, in addition to those to which reference has already
been made, it is sufficient to mention the vast army of pests
constituted by the midges, sand-flies, horse-flies, &c., from the
attacks of which domestic animals suffer equally with man, in addition
to being frequently infested with the larvae of the bot and warble flies
(_Gastrophilus_, _Oestrus_ and _Hypoderma_). Lastly, as regards the
phytophagous forms, there can be no doubt that the destruction of
grass-lands by "leather-jackets" (the larvae of crane-flies, or
daddy-long-legs,--_Tipula oleracea_ and _T. paludosa_), of divers fruits
by _Ceratitis capitata_ and species of _Dacus_, and of wheat and other
crops by the Hessian-fly (_Mayetiola destructor_) and species of
_Oscinis_, _Chlorops_, &c., is of very serious consequence.
With many writers it is customary to treat the fleas as a sub-order of
Diptera, under the title Aphaniptera or Siphonaptera. Since, however,
although undoubtedly allied to the Diptera, they must have diverged from
the ancestral stem at an early period, before the existing forms of
Diptera became so extremely specialized, it seems better to regard the
fleas as constituting an independent order (see FLEA). (E. E. A.)
DIPTERAL (Gr. for "double-winged"), the architectural term applied to
those temples which have a double range of columns in the peristyle, as
in the temple of Diana at Ephesus.
DIPTYCH (Gr. [Greek: diptychos], two-folding), (1) A tablet made with a
hinge to open and shut, used in the Roman empire for letters (especially
love-letters), and official tokens of the commencement of a consul's,
praetor's or aedile's term of office. The latter variety of diptych was
inscribed with the magistrate's name and bore his portrait, and was
issued to his friends and the public generally. They were made of
boxwood or maple. More costly examples were in cedar, ivory (q.v.),
silver or sometimes gold. They were often sent as New Year gifts.
(2)In the primitive church when the worshippers brought their own
offerings of bread and wine, from which were taken the Communion
elements, the names of the contributors were recorded on diptychs and
read aloud. To these names were early added those of deceased members of
the community whom it was desired to commemorate. This custom rapidly
developed into a kind of commemoration of saints and benefactors, living
and dead; especially, in each church, were the names of those who had
been its bishops recorded. The custom was maintained until the lists
became so long that it was impossible to read them through, and the
observance in this form had to be abandoned. The insertion of a name on
the diptych, thereby securing the prayers of the church, was a privilege
from which a person could be excluded on account of suspicion of heresy
or by the intrigues of enemies. His name could, if written, be expunged
under similar circumstances. The names thus written were read from the
ambo, in which the diptych was kept. The reading of these names during
the canon of the mass gave rise to the term _canonization_. By various
councils it was ordained that the name of the pope should always be
inserted in the diptych list.
The addition of _dates_ resulted from the custom of recording baptisms
and deaths; and thus the diptych developed into a calendar and formed
the germ of the elaborate system of festologies, martyrologies and
calendars which developed in the church.
The diptych went by various names in the early church--mystical tablets,
anniversary books, ecclesiastical matriculation registers or books of
the living. According to the names inscribed, bishops, the dead or the
living, a diptych might be a _diptycha episcoporum_, _diptycha
mortuorum_ or _diptycha vivorum_.
In course of time the list of the names swelled to such proportions that
the space afforded by the diptych was insufficient. A third fold was
consequently provided, and the tablet became a _triptych_ (though the
name _diptych_ was retained as a general term for the object). Further
room was afforded by the insertion of leaves of parchment or wood
between the folds. The custom of reading names from the diptychs died
out about the 8th century. The diptychs, however, were retained as altar
ornaments. From the original consular documents onwards, the outsides of
the folds had always been richly ornamented, and when they ceased to be
of immediate practical use they became merely decorative. Instead of the
list of names the inside was ornamented like the outer, and in the
middle ages the best painters of the day would often paint them. When
folded, the portraits of the donor and his wife might be shown; when
open there would be three paintings, one on each fold, of a religious
character. (R. A. S. M.)
DIR, an independent state in the North-West Frontier Province of India,
lying to the north-east of Swat. Its importance chiefly arises from the
fact that it commands the greater part of the route between Chitral and
the Peshawar frontier. The quarrels and intrigues between the khan of
Dir and Umra Khan of Jandol were among the chief events that led up to
the Chitral Campaign of 1895. During that expedition the khan made an
agreement with the British Government to keep the road to Chitral open
in return for a subsidy. Including the Bashkars, an aboriginal tribe
allied to the Torwals and Garhuis, who inhabit Panjkora Kohistan, the
population is estimated at about 100,000.
DIRCE, in Greek legend, daughter of Helios the sun-god, the second wife
of Lycus, king of Thebes. She sorely persecuted Antiope, his first wife,
who escaped to Mount Cithaeron, where her twin sons Amphion and Zethus
were being brought up by a herdsman who was ignorant of their parentage.
Having recognized their mother, the sons avenged her by tying Dirce to
the horns of a wild bull, which dragged her about till she died. Her
body was cast into a spring near Thebes, which was ever afterwards
called by her name. Her punishment is the subject of the famous group
called "The Farnese Bull," by Apollonius and Tauriscus of Tralles, in
the Naples museum (see GREEK ART, Plate I. fig. 51).
DIRECT MOTION, in astronomy, the apparent motion of a body of the solar
system on the celestial sphere in the direction from west to east; so
called because this is the usual direction of revolution and rotation of
the heavenly bodies.
DIRECTORS, in company law, the agents by whom a trading or public
company acts, the company itself being a legal abstraction and unable to
do anything. As joint-stock companies have multiplied and their
enterprise has extended, the position of directors has become one of
increasing influence and importance. It is they who control the colossal
funds now invested in trading companies, and who direct their policy
(for shareholders are seldom more than dividend-drawers). Upon their
uprightness, vigilance and sound judgment depends the welfare of the
greatest part of the trade of the country concerned. It is not to be
wondered at that in view of this influence and independence of action
the law courts have held directors to a strict standard of duty, and
that the parliament of the United Kingdom has singled out directors from
other agents for special legislation in the Directors Liability Act
1890, the Larceny Act 1861, the Companies Act 1867 and the Winding-up
Act 1890.
The first directors of a company are generally appointed by the articles
of association. Their consent to act must now, under the Companies Act
1908, be filed with the registrar of joint-stock companies. Directors
other than the first are elected at the annual general meeting, a
certain proportion of the acting directors--usually one-third--retiring
under the articles by rotation each year, and their places being filled
up by election. A share qualification is nearly always required, on the
well-recognized principle that a substantial stake in the undertaking is
the best guarantee of fidelity to the company's interests. A director
once appointed cannot be removed during his term of office by the
shareholders, unless there is a special provision for that purpose in
the articles of association; but a company may dismiss a director if the
articles--as is usually the case--authorize dismissal. The authority and
powers of directors are prima facie those necessary for carrying on the
ordinary business of the company, but it is usual to define the more
important of such powers in the articles of association. For instance,
it is commonly prescribed how and when the directors may make calls, to
what amount they may borrow, how they may invest the funds of the
company, in what circumstances they may forfeit shares, or veto
transfers, in what manner they shall conduct their proceedings, and what
shall constitute a quorum of the board. Whenever, indeed, specific
directions are desirable they may properly be given by the articles. But
superadded to and supplementing these specific powers there is usually
inserted in the articles a general power of management in terms similar
to those of clause 55 of the model regulations for a company, known as
Table A (clause 71 of the revised Table). The powers, whether general or
specific, thus confided to directors are in the nature of a trust, and
the directors must exercise them with a single eye to the benefit of the
company. For instance, in allotting shares they must consult the
interests of the company, not favour their friends. So in forfeiting
shares they must not use the power collusively for the purpose of
relieving the shareholder from liability. To do so is an abuse of the
power and a fraud on the other shareholders.
It would give a very erroneous idea of the position and functions of
directors to speak of them--as is sometimes done--as trustees. They are
only trustees in the sense that every agent is. They are "commercial men
managing a trading concern for the benefit of themselves and the other
shareholders." They have to carry on the company's business, to extend
and consolidate it, and to do this they must have a free hand and a
large discretion to deal with the exigencies of the commercial
situation. This large discretion the law allows them so long as they
keep within the limits set by the company's memorandum and articles.
They are not to be held liable for mere errors of judgment, still less
for being defrauded. That would make their position intolerable. All
that the law requires of them is that they should be faithful to their
duties as agents--"diligent and honest," to use the words of Sir George
Jessel, formerly master of the rolls. Thus in the matter of diligence it
is a director's duty to attend as far as possible all meetings of the
board; at the same time non-attendance, unless gross, will not amount to
negligence such as to render a director liable for irregularities
committed by his co-directors in his absence. A director again must not
sign cheques without informing himself of the purpose for which they are
given. A director, on the same principle, must not delegate his duties
to others unless expressly authorized to do so, as where the company's
articles empower the directors to appoint a committee. Directors may, it
is true, employ skilled persons, such as engineers, valuers or
accountants, to assist them, but they must still exercise their judgment
as business men on the materials before them. Then in the matter of
honesty, a director must not accept a present in cash or shares or in
any other form whatever from the company's vendor, because such a
present is neither more nor less than a bribe to betray the interests of
the company, nor must he make any profit in the matter of his agency
without the knowledge and consent of his principal, the company. He must
not, in other words, put himself in a position in which his duty to the
company and his own interest conflict or even may conflict. This rule
often comes into play in the case of contracts between a company and a
director. There is nothing in itself invalid in such a contract, but the
onus is on the director if he would keep such a contract to show that
the company assented to his making a profit out of the contract, and for
that purpose he must show that he made full and fair disclosure to the
company of the nature and extent of his interest under the contract. It
is for this reason that when a company's vendor is also a director he
does not join the board until his co-directors have exercised an
independent judgment on the propriety of the purchase.
A director must also bear in mind--what is a fundamental principle of
company management--that the funds of the company are entrusted to the
directors for the objects of the company as defined by the company's
memorandum of association and authorized by the general law, and that
they must not be diverted from those objects or applied to purposes
which are outside the objects of the company, _ultra vires_, as it is
commonly called, or outside the powers of management given by the
shareholders to the directors. This does not abridge the large
discretion allowed to directors in carrying on the business of the
company. The funds embarked in a trading company are intended to be
employed for the acquisition of gain, and risk, greater or less
according to circumstances, is necessarily incidental to such
employment; but it is quite another matter when directors pay dividends
out of capital, or return capital to the shareholders, or spend money of
the company in "rigging" the market, or in buying the company's shares
or paying commission for underwriting the shares of the company except
where such commission is authorized under acts of 1900 and 1907,
incorporated in the Companies Act 1908. Directors who in these or any
other ways misapply the funds of the company are guilty of what is
technically known as "misfeasance" or breach of trust, and all who join
in the misapplication are jointly and severally liable to replace the
sums so misapplied. The remedy of the company for misfeasance, if the
company is a going concern, is by action against the delinquent
directors; but where a company is being wound up, the legislature has,
under the Winding-up Act 1890, provided a summary mode of proceeding, by
which the official receiver or liquidator, or any creditor or
contributory of the company, may take out what is known as a misfeasance
summons, to compel the delinquent director or officer to repay the
misapplied moneys or make compensation. The departmental committee of
the Board of Trade in its report (July 1906) recommended that the court
should be given a discretionary power, analogous to that it already
possesses in the case of trustees under the Judicial Trustees Act 1896,
s. 3, to relieve a director (or a promoter) in certain cases from
liability. This recommendation has been given effect to by s. 279 of the
Companies Act 1908, which provides that, "If in any proceeding against a
director of a company for negligence or breach of trust it appears to a
court that the director is or may be liable in respect of the negligence
or breach of trust, but has acted honestly and reasonably and ought
fairly to be excused for the negligence or breach of trust, the court
may relieve him either wholly or partly from his liability on such terms
as the court may think proper."
Directors who circulate a prospectus containing statements which they
know to be false, with intent to induce any person to become a
shareholder, may be prosecuted under S 84 of the Larceny Act 1861. They
are also liable criminally for falsification of the company's books, and
for this or any other criminal offence the court in winding up may, on
the application of the liquidator, direct a prosecution. As to the
liability of directors for statements or omissions in a prospectus see
COMPANY.
In managing the affairs of the company directors must meet together and
act as a body, for the company is entitled to their collective wisdom in
council assembled. Board meetings are held at such intervals as the
directors think expedient. Notice of the meeting must be given to all
directors who are within reach, but the notice need not specify the
particular business to be transacted. The articles usually fix, or give
the directors power to fix, what number shall constitute a quorum for a
board meeting. They also empower the directors to elect a chairman of
the board. The directors exercise their powers by a resolution of the
board which is recorded in the directors' minute-book.
The court will not as a rule interfere with the discretion of directors
honestly exercised in the management of the affairs of the company. The
directors have prima facie the confidence of the shareholders, and it is
not for the court to say that such confidence is misplaced. If the
stockholders are dissatisfied with the management the remedy is in their
own hands--they can call a meeting and elect a new board.
A company's articles usually provide for the payment of a certain sum to
each director for his services during the year. When this is the case it
is an authority to the directors to pay themselves the amount of such
remuneration. The remuneration, unless otherwise expressly provided,
covers all expenses incidental to the directors' duties. A director, for
instance, cannot claim to be paid in addition to his fixed remuneration
his travelling expenses for attending board meetings.
When a company winds up, the directors' powers of management come to an
end. Their agency is superseded in favour of that of the liquidator.
(E. MA.)
DIRECTORY, a term meaning literally that which guides or directs, and so
applied to a book or set of rules giving directions for public worship.
The _directorium_ or _ordo_ of the Roman Church contains regulations as
to the Mass and office to be used on each day throughout the year, and
the word is found in the _Directory for the Publick Worship of God_
drawn up in 1644 at the Westminster Assembly. The term now usually
signifies a book containing the names, addresses and occupations, &c. of
the inhabitants of a town or district, or of a similar list of the users
of a telephone supply, or of the members of a particular profession or
trade. The name _Directoire_ or Directory was given to the body which
held the executive power in France from October 1795 until November 1799
(see FRENCH REVOLUTION).
DIRGE, a song or hymn of mourning, particularly one sung at funerals or
at a Service in commemoration of the dead. It is derived from the first
word of the antiphon _"Dirige, Domine, Deus meus, in conspectu tuo viam
meam"_ (Guide, O Lord, my God, my way in Thy sight), of the opening
psalm in the office for the dead in the Roman Church. The antiphon is
adapted from verse 8 of Psalm v.
DIRK, a dagger, particularly the heavy dagger carried by the Highlanders
of Scotland. The dirk as worn in full Highland costume is an elaborately
ornamented weapon, with cairngorms or other stones set in the head of
the handle, which has no guard. Inserted in the sheath there may be two
small knives. The dirk, in the shape of a straight blade, with a small
guard, some 18 in. long, is worn by midshipmen in the British navy. The
origin of the word is doubtful. The earlier forms were _dork_ and
_durk_, and the spelling _dirk_, adopted by Johnson, represents the
pronunciation of the second form. The name seems to have been early
applied to the daggers of the Highlanders, but the Gaelic word is
_biodag_, and the Irish _duirc_, often stated to be the origin, is only
an adaptation of the English word. It may be a corruption of the German
_Dolch_, a dagger. The suggestion that it is an application of the
Christian name "Dirk," the short form of "Dieterich," is not borne out,
according to the _New English Dictionary_, by any use of this name for a
dagger, and is further disproved by the earlier English spelling.
DIRSCHAU, a town of Germany, in the kingdom of Prussia, province of West
Prussia, on the left bank of the Vistula, 20 m. S. from Danzig and at
the junction of the important lines of railway Berlin-Konigsberg and
Danzig-Bromberg. Pop. (1905) 14,185. It has a Roman Catholic and a
Protestant church and several schools. The river is here crossed by two
fine iron bridges. The older structure dating from the year 1857,
originally used for the railway, is now given up to road traffic, and
the railway carried by a new bridge completed in 1891. Dirschau has
railway workshops and manufactories of sugar, agricultural implements
and cement. During the war with Poland, Gustavus Adolphus made it his
headquarters for many months after its capture in 1626.
DISABILITY, a term meaning, in general, want of ability, and used in law
to denote an incapacity in certain persons or classes of persons for the
full enjoyment of duties or privileges, which, but for their
disqualification, would be open to them; hence, legal disqualification.
Thus, married women, persons under age, insane persons, convicted felons
are under disability to do certain legal acts. This disability may be
absolute, wholly disabling the person so long as it continues, or
partial, ceasing on discontinuation of the disabling state, as
attainment of full age.
DISCHARGE (adapted from the O. Fr. _descharge_, modern _decharge_, from
a med. Lat. _discargare_, to unload, _dis-_ and _carricare_, to load,
cf. "charge"), a word meaning relief from a load or burden, hence
applied to the unloading of a ship, the firing of a weapon, the passage
of electricity from an electrified body, the issue from a wound, &c.
From the sense of relief from an obligation, "discharge" is also applied
to the release of a soldier or sailor from military or naval service, or
of the crew of a merchant vessel, or to the dismissal from an office or
situation. In law, it is used of a document or other evidence that can
be accepted as proof of the release from an obligation, as of a receipt,
on payment of money due. Similarly it is applied to the release in
accordance with law of a person in custody on a criminal charge, and to
the legal release of a bankrupt from further liability for debts
provable in the bankruptcy except those incurred by fraud or debts to
the crown. It is also applied to the reversal of an order of a court. In
the case of divorce, where the rule _nisi_ is not made absolute, the
rule is said to be discharged.
DISCHARGING ARCH, in architecture, an arch built over a lintel or
architrave to take off the superincumbent weight. The earliest example
is found in the Great Pyramid, over the lintels of the entrance passage
to the tomb: it consisted of two stones only, resting one against the
other. The same object was attained in the Lion Gate and the tomb of
Agamemnon, both in Mycenae, and in other examples in Greece, where the
stones laid in horizontal courses, one projecting over the other, left a
triangular hollow space above the lintel of the door, which was
subsequently filled in by vertical sculptured stone panels. The Romans
frequently employed the discharging arch, and inside the portico of the
Pantheon the architraves have such arches over them. In the Golden
Gateway of the palace of Diocletian at Spalato the discharging arches,
semicircular in form, were adopted as architectural features and
decorated with mouldings. The same is found in the synagogues in
Palestine of the 2nd century; and later, in Byzantine architecture,
these moulded archivolts above an architrave constitute one of the
characteristics of the style. In the early Christian churches in Rome,
where a colonnade divided off the nave and aisles, discharging arches
are turned in the frieze just above the architraves.
DISCIPLE, properly a pupil, scholar (Lat. _discipulus_, from _discere_,
to learn, and root seen in _pupillus_), but chiefly used of the personal
followers of Jesus Christ, including the inner circle of the Apostles
(q.v.).
DISCIPLES OF CHRIST, or CHRISTIANS, an American Protestant denomination,
founded by Thomas Campbell, his son Alexander Campbell (q.v.) and Barton
Warren Stone (1772-1844). Stone had been a Presbyterian minister
prominent in the Kentucky revival of 1801, but had been turned against
sectarianism and ecclesiastical authority because the synod had
condemned Richard McNemar, one of his colleagues in the revival, for
preaching (as Stone himself had done) counter to the Westminster
Confession, on faith and the work of the Holy Spirit in conversion. He
had organized the Springfield Presbytery, but in 1804 with his five
fellow ministers signed "The Last Will and Testament of the Springfield
Presbytery," giving up that name and calling themselves "Christians."
Like Stone, Alexander Campbell had adopted (in 1812) immersion, and,
like him, his two great desires were for Christian unity and the
restoration of the ancient order of things. But the Campbellite
doctrines differed widely from the hyper-Calvinism of the Baptists whom
they had joined in 1813, especially on the points on which Stone had
quarrelled with the Presbyterians; and after various local breaks in
1825-1830, when there were large additions to the Restorationists from
the Baptist ranks, especially under the apostolic fervour and
simplicity of the preaching of Walter Scott (1796-1861), in 1832 the
Reformers were practically all ruled out of the Baptist communion. The
Campbells gradually lost sight of Christian unity, owing to the
unfortunate experience with the Baptists and to the tone taken by those
clergymen who had met them in debates; and for the sake of Christian
union it was peculiarly fortunate that in January 1832 at Lexington,
Kentucky, the followers of the Campbells and those of Stone (who had
stressed union more than primitive Christianity) united. Campbell
objected to the name "Christians" as sectarianized by Stone, but
"Disciples" never drove out of use the name "Christians."
During the Civil War the denomination escaped an actual scission by
following the neutral views of Campbell, who opposed slavery, war and
abolition. In 1849 the American Christian Missionary Society was formed;
it was immediately attacked as a "human innovation," unwarranted by the
New Testament, by literalists led in later years by Benjamin Franklin
(secretary of the missionary society in 1857), who opposed all church
music also. Isaac Errett (1820-1888) was the most prominent leader of
the progressive party, which was considered corrupt and worldly by the
literalists, many of whom, in spite of his efforts, broke off from the
main body, especially in Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas and
Texas.
The main body appointed in 1890 a standing committee on Christian union;
their aim in this respect is not for absorption, as was clearly shown by
their answer in 1887 to overtures from the Protestant Episcopal Church
regarding Christian unity. The credal position of the Disciples is
simple: great stress is put upon the phrase "the Christ, the Son of the
living God," and upon the recognition by Jesus of this confession as the
foundation of His church; as to baptism, agreement with Baptists is only
as to the mode, immersion; this is considered "the primitive confession
of Christ and a gracious token of salvation," and as being "for the
remission of sins"; the Disciples generally deny the authority over
Christians of the Old Covenant, and Alexander Campbell in particular
held this view so forcibly that he was accused by Baptists of "throwing
away the Old Testament." The Lord's Supper is celebrated every Sunday,
the bread being broken by the communicants. The Disciples are not
Unitarian in fact or tendency, but they urge the use of simple New
Testament phraseology as to the Godhead. Their church government is
congregational.
The growth of the denomination has been greatest in the states along
the Ohio river, whence they have spread throughout the Union. In 1908
there were 6673 ministers and 1,285,123 communicants in the United
States. There are churches in Canada, in Great Britain and in
Australia. Bethany College, at Bethany, West Virginia, was chartered
in 1840, and Alexander Campbell, who had founded it as Buffalo
Seminary, was its president until his death in 1866; other colleges
founded by the sect are: Kentucky University, Lexington, Ky.; Hiram
College, Hiram, Ohio (1850, until 1867 known as Western Reserve
Eclectic Institute); Butler College, Indianapolis, Indiana (1855);
Christian University, Canton, Missouri (1851; coeducational); Eureka
College, in Woodford county, Illinois (1855; coeducational); Union
Christian College, Merom, Ind. (1859); Texas Christian University,
Waco, Texas (1873, founded as Add Ran College at Thorpe's Springs,
removing to Waco in 1895); Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa (1881);
Milligan College, Milligan, Tennessee (1882); Defiance College,
Defiance, O. (1885); Cotner University, Lincoln, Nebraska (1889); Elon
College, Elon, North Carolina (1890); American University, Harriman,
Tenn. (1893); the Virginia Christian College, Lynchburg, Virginia
(1903), and for negroes, the Southern Christian Institute, Edwards,
Mississippi (1877), and the Christian Bible College, Newcastle, Henry
County, Ky. Theological seminaries are the Berkeley Bible Seminary,
Berkeley, California (1896); the Disciples' Divinity House, Chicago,
Ill. (1894); and the Eugene Divinity School, Eugene, Oregon (1895).
"Bible chairs" were established in state universities and elsewhere by
the Disciples,--at the University of Michigan (1893), at the
University of Virginia (1899), at the University of Calcutta (1900)
and at the University of Kansas (1901). The denomination has
publishing houses in Cincinnati, St Louis, Louisville and Nashville.
See Errett Gates's _History of the Disciples of Christ_ (New York,
1905), in "The Story of the Churches" series, and his _Early Relation
and Separation of Baptists and Disciples_ (Chicago, 1904), a
University of Chicago doctoral thesis; and B. B. Tyler's _History of
the Disciples of Christ_ in vol. xii. of "The American Church History
Series" (New York, 1894).
DISCLAIMER, a renunciation, denial or refusal; a disavowal of claims. In
law the term is used more particularly in the following senses:--(1) In
the law of landlord and tenant, the direct repudiation of that relation
by some act on the part of the tenant. A disclaimer may be verbal or
written, but in such case it must be something more than a mere
renunciation of the tenant's title, or it may be an act which is wholly
inconsistent with the existence of such relation, as the setting up by
the tenant of a distinct title either in himself or some third party.
(2) In the law of bankruptcy, where any part of the property of a
bankrupt consists of land of any tenure burdened with onerous covenants,
of stocks or shares in companies, of unprofitable contracts, or of any
property that is unsaleable, or not readily saleable, by reason of its
binding the possessor to the performance of any onerous act, the
trustee, notwithstanding that he has endeavoured to sell or has taken
possession of the property, or exercised any act of ownership in
relation to it, may, subject to certain provisions, by writing signed by
him, at any time within twelve months after the first appointment of a
trustee, "disclaim" the property (see BANKRUPTCY). (3) In the law of
trusts, disclaimer is the refusal or renunciation of the office or
duties of a trustee. It is an undisputed rule that no one is compellable
to undertake a trust, so that as soon as a person knows he has been
appointed a trustee under some instrument, he should determine whether
he will accept the office or not. Disclaimer of trust should be by deed,
as admitting of no ambiguity, but it may be by conveyance to other
accepting trustees, or orally, or by written declaration, or even by
conduct. (4) In the law of patents, disclaimer is the renunciation, by
amendment of specifications, of the portion of an inventor's claim to
protection.
DISCOUNT. (1) A money-market term for the price paid in order to obtain
immediate realization of a bill not yet due. If a bill for L100 due six
months hence is discounted at the rate of 3% per annum, its holder will
obtain L98, 10s. in cash for it. (2) A Stock-Exchange term applied to a
security, not fully paid, which has fallen below its issue price, and so
is said to stand at so much discount. See PREMIUM.
DISCOVERY, in law, the revealing or disclosing of any matter. The
English common law courts were originally unable to compel a litigant
before a trial to disclose the facts and documents on which he relied.
In equity, however, a different rule prevailed, there being an absolute
right to discovery of all material facts on which a case was founded.
Now the practice is regulated by the Rules of the Supreme Court, 1883,
Order 31. Discovery is of two kinds, namely, by interrogatories and by
affidavit of documents, provision being also made for the production and
inspection of documents. Where a party to a suit can make an affidavit
stating that in his belief certain specified documents are or have been
in the possession of some other party, the court may make an order that
such party state on affidavit whether he has or ever had any of those
documents in his possession, or if he has parted with them or what has
become of them. A further application may then be made by notice to the
party who has admitted possession of the documents for production and
inspection. Copies also may be taken of the more important documents.
There is also discovery of facts obtained by means of interrogatories,
i.e. written questions addressed on behalf of one party, before trial,
to the other party, who is bound to answer them in writing upon oath. In
order to prevent needless expense the party seeking discovery must first
secure the cost of it by paying into court a sum of money, generally not
less than five pounds. See also EVIDENCE.
DISCUS (Gr. [Greek: diskos], disk), a circular plate of stone, later of
metal, which was used by the ancient Greeks for throwing to a distance
as a gymnastic exercise. Judging from specimens found by excavators, the
ancient discus was about 8 or 9 in. in diameter and weighed from 4 to 5
lb., although one of bronze, preserved in the British Museum, weighs
over 8 lb. Sometimes a kind of quoit, spherical in form, was used,
through a hole in which a thong was passed to assist the athlete in
throwing it. The sport of throwing the discus was common in the time of
Homer, who mentions it repeatedly. It formed a part of the _pentathlon_,
or quintuple games, in the ancient Olympic Games. Statius, in _Thebais_,
646-721, fully describes the use of the discus. In the British Museum
there is a restored copy of a statue by Myron (see GREEK ART, Plate IV.
fig. 68) of a discus-thrower (_discobolus_) in the act of hurling the
missile; but the investigations of N. E. Norman Gardiner show that a
wrong attitude has been adopted by the restorer.
Throwing the discus was introduced as an event in modern athletics at
the revived Olympic Games, first held at Athens in 1896, and since that
time it has become a recognized event in the athletic championship
meetings of several European nations, as well as in the United States,
where it has become very popular. According to the American rules the
discus must be of a smooth, hard-wood body without finger-holes,
weighted in the centre with lead disks and capped with polished brass
disks, with a steel ring on the outside. Its weight must be 4-1/2 lb.,
its outside diameter 8 in. and its thickness at the centre 2 in. It must
be thrown from a 7-ft. circle, which may not be overstepped in throwing,
and the throw is measured from the spot where the discus first strikes
the ground to the point in the circumference of the circle on a line
between the centre and the point of striking.
DISINFECTANTS, substances employed to neutralize the action of
pathogenic organisms, and prevent the spread of contagious or infectious
disease. The efficiency of any disinfectant is due to its power of
destroying, or of rendering inert, specific poisons or disease germs.
Therefore antiseptic substances generally are to this extent
disinfectants. So also the deodorizers, which act by oxidizing or
otherwise changing the chemical constitution of volatile substances
disseminated in the air, or which prevent noxious exhalations from
organic substances, are in virtue of these properties effective
disinfectants in certain diseases. A knowledge of the value of
disinfectants, and the use of some of the most valuable agents, can be
traced to very remote times; and much of the Levitical law of cleansing,
as well as the origin of numerous heathen ceremonial practices, are
clearly based on a perception of the value of disinfection. The means of
disinfection, and the substances employed, are very numerous, as are the
classes and conditions of disease and contagion they are designed to
meet. Nature, in the oxidizing influence of freely circulating
atmospheric air, in the purifying effect of water, and in the powerful
deodorizing properties of common earth, has provided the most potent
ever-present and acting disinfecting media. Of the artificial
disinfectants employed or available three classes may be
recognized:--1st, volatile or vaporizable substances, which attack
impurities in the air; 2nd, chemical agents, for acting on the diseased
body or on the infectious discharges therefrom; and 3rd, the physical
agencies of heat and cold. In some of these cases the destruction of the
contagium is effected by the formation of new chemical compounds, by
oxidation, deoxidation or other reaction, and in others the conditions
favourable to life are removed or life is destroyed by high temperature.
Among the first class, aerial or gaseous disinfectants, formic aldehyde
has of late years taken foremost place. The vapour is a powerful
disinfectant and deodorant, and for the surface disinfection of rooms,
fulfils all requirements when used in sufficient amount. It acts more
rapidly than equal quantities of sulphurous acid, and it does not affect
colours. It is non-poisonous, though irritating to the eyes and throat.
With the exception of iron and steel it does not attack metals. It can
be obtained in paraform tabloids, and with a specially constructed
spirit lamp disinfection can be carried out by any one. Twenty tabloids
must be employed for every 1000 cubic ft. of space. Disinfection by
sulphurous acid fumes is of great antiquity, and is still in very
general use; for the purpose of destroying vermin it is more powerful
than formic aldehyde. Camphor and some volatile oils have also been
employed as air disinfectants, but their virtues lie chiefly in masking,
not destroying, noxious effluvia. In the 2nd class--non-gaseous
disinfecting compounds--all the numerous antiseptic substances may be
reckoned; but the substances principally employed in practice are
oxidizing agents, as potassium manganates and permanganates, "Condy's
fluid," and solutions of the so-called "chlorides of lime," soda and
potash, with the chlorides of aluminium and zinc, soluble sulphates and
sulphites, solutions of sulphurous acid, and the tar products--carbolic,
cresylic and salicylic acids. Of the physical agents heat and cold, the
latter, though a powerful natural disinfectant, is not practically
available by artificial means; heat is a power chiefly relied on for
purifying and disinfecting clothes, bedding and textile substances
generally. Different degrees of temperature are required for the
destruction of the virus of various diseases; but as clothing, &c., can
be exposed to a heat of about 250 deg. Fahr. without injury, provision is
made for submitting articles to nearly that temperature. For the
thorough disinfection of a sick-room the employment of all three classes
of disinfectants, for purifying the air, for destroying the virus at its
point of origin, and for cleansing clothing, &c., may be required.
DISMAL, an adjective meaning dreary, gloomy, and so a name given to
stretches of swampy land on the east coast of the United States, as the
Dismal Swamp in Virginia and North Carolina. The derivation has been
much discussed. In the early examples of the use the word is a
substantive, especially in the expression "in the dismal," i.e. in the
dismal time or days. Later it became adjectival, especially in
combination with "days." It has been connected with "decimal," med.
Latin _decimalis_, belonging to a tithe or tenth, and thus the "dismal
days" are the unpleasant days connected with the extortion and
oppression of exacting payment of tithes. According to the _New English
Dictionary_, quoting Professor W. W. Skeat, "dismal" is derived, through
an Anglo-Fr. _dis mal_, from the Lat. _dies mali_, evil or unpropitious
days. This Anglo-French expression, explained as _les mal jours_, is
found in a MS. of Rauf de Linham's _Art de Kalender_, 1256. These days
of evil omen were known as _Dies Aegyptiaci_ (Du Cange, _Glossarium_,
s.v.) or Egyptian days, either as having been instituted by Egyptian
astrologers or with reference to the "ten plagues"; so Chaucer, "I trowe
hit was in the dismal, That were the ten woundes of Egipte" (_Book of
the Duchesse_, 1206). There were two such days in each month.
See Skeat, Trans. _Philol. Soc._ (1888), p. 2, and note on the line in
the "Book of the Duchesse," _The Complete Works of Geoffrey Chaucer_,
vol. i. (1894).
DISORDERLY HOUSE, in law, a house in which the conduct of its inmates is
such as to become a public nuisance, or a house where persons congregate
to the probable disturbance of the public peace or other commission of
crime. In England, by the Disorderly Houses Act 1751, the term includes
common bawdy houses or brothels,[1] common gaming houses, common betting
houses and disorderly places of entertainment. The keeping of such is a
misdemeanour punishable by fine or imprisonment, and in the case of a
brothel also punishable on summary conviction by the Criminal Law
Amendment Act 1885; the letting out for gain for indiscriminate
prostitution of a room or rooms in a house will make it as much a
brothel in law as if the whole house were let out for the purpose.
Where, however, a woman occupies a house or room which is frequented by
men for the purpose of committing fornication with her, she cannot be
convicted of keeping a disorderly house. See also PROSTITUTION.