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DIGNITARY, in the canon law, a person who holds a dignity,that is, a benefice which gives him some pre-eminence over merepriests and canons. Such is a bishop, dean, arch-deacon, preben-dary, Arc. See Bishop , Dean Ac.

DIGNITY , as applied to the titles of noblemen, signifies bo-Uotir and authority. And dignity may be divided into superior andinferior; as the titles of duke, marquis, earl, baron, Ac . are thehighest names of dignity: and those of baronet, knight, Serjeant atlaw, &c. the lowest. "Nobility only can give so high a name ofdignity as to supply the want of a surname in legal proceedings ;and as the omission of a name of dignity may be pleaded in abate-ment of a writ, Ac . so it may be where a peer who has more thanone name of dignity, is not named by the Most Noble. Notemporal dignity of any foreign nation can give a man a higher titlehere than that of Esquire.

Dignity, in the human character, the opposite of Meanness.Man is endued with a sense of the worth and excellence of hisnature: he deems it more perfect than that of the other beingsaround him ; and he perceives that the perfection of his natureconsists in virtue, particularly in virtues of the highest rank. Toex-press that sense, the term dignity is appropriated. Further, tobehave with dignity, and to refrain from all mean actions, is feltto be, not a virtue only, but a duty; it is a duty every man owesto himself. By acting in that manner, he attracts love andesteem : by acting meanly, or below himself, he is disapproved andcontemned.

Dignity, in oratory, one of the three parts of general elocu-tion ; consisting cf the right use of tropes and figures. SeeOratory.

DIGRESSION, in oratory, is defined by Quintilian , agreeablyto the etymology of the word, to be, a going of! from the subjectwe are "upon to some different thing, which, however may be ofservice to it. See Oratory.

D1GYNIA, [from Jit twice, and ■/■jv’t a woman,] the name ofan order in the first 13 classes, except the ninth, in Linnaeus 'ssexual method; consisting of plants, which have two femaleorgans.

Dll, the divinities of the ancient heathens, were very nume-rous. Every object which caused terror, inspired gratitude, orbestowed affluence, received the tribute of veneration. Man sawa superior agent in the stars, the elements, or tiie trees, and sup-posed that the waters which communicated fertility to his fieldsand possessions, were under the influence and direction of some in-visible power inclined to favour and to benefit mankind. Thusarose a train of divinities which imag nation arrayed in differentforms, and armed with different powers. They were supposedto be endowed with understanding, and actuated by the samepassions which daily afflict the human race; and to be appeased orprovoked, like the imperfect beings whose fears gave them birth.Their wrath was to be mitigated by sacrifices and incense; andsometimes human victims bled; and thus real crimes were commit-ted, to expiate crimes, which superstition alone supposed toexist.

DIJON, or DIGON, an ancienttown of France , in the depart-ment of Coted’Or, 48 miles N. E. of Autun .

DIJONNOIS, a late territory of France in the late province ofBurgundy, now included in the department ol Cote d’Or. Dijon was the Capital .

DIKE a ditch or drain, made for the passage of waters. Theword 6eeins formed from the verb to dig ; though others deriveit from the Dutch, diilc, or dyke, a dam, sea-bank, or wall.

Dike also signifies a work of stone, timber, earth, fascines, Ac .raised to oppose the entrance of the waters of the sea, a river,lake, Ac . 'The most stupendous works of this kind are the Dikesof Holland.

DILAPIDATION, \_dilapidatio, Latin, ] The incumbent'ssuffering tiie chancel, or any other edifices o: his ecclesiasticalliving, to go to ruin or decay, by neglecting to repair the same:and it likewise extends to his committing, or suffering to lie com-mitted, any wilful waste in or upon tiie glebe-woods, or any otherinheritance of the church.

DILATATION, in physics, a motion of the parts of any body,by which it is so expanded as to occupy a greater space. Thisexpansive motion depends upon the elastic power of the body ;whence it appears that dilatation is different from rarefaction, thislast being produced by the means of heat.

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DILATATORES, in anatomy, a name given to several musclesin the human body.

DILATORY PLEAS, in law, are such as are put in merely fordelay ; and there may be a demurrer to a dilatory plea, or thedefendant shall be ordered to plead better, &c. '1 he truth of di-

latory pleas is to be made out by affidavit of tiie fact, by stat. 4.and 5. Anne. See Plea.

D1LATRIS, a genus of tiie monogynia order, and triandria classof plants. No calyx ; corolla si\-petaled, shaggy; stigma simple.Three species natives of the Cape.

DILEMMA [Jix, )| u.jaa,] an argument equally conclusive bycontrary suppositions. A young rhetorician applied to an oldsophist "to be taught the art of pleading, and bargained for a certainreward to be paid, when lie should gain a cause. The mastersued for his reward, and tiie scholar endeavoured to elude iiis claimby a dilemma: If l gain my cause, I shall withhold your pay, be-cause tiie judge’s award will be against you ; if I lose it, L maywithobl it, because I shall not yet have gained a cause. On thecontrary, says the master, if you gain your cause, you must payme, Ixecause your are to pay me when you gain a cause; if youlose it, von must pay me, because tiie judges will award it.

DILIGENCE, in Scots law, signifies, 1. that care and attentionwhich parties are bound to give, in implementing certain contractsor trusts, and which varies according to the nature of the con-tract. 2. Certain forms of law, u hereby die creditor endeavours tooperate his payment, either by affecting tiie person or estate of thedebtor.

DILL, in botany. See Anethijh.

DILLA, or MOUNT Dll,LA, a remarkable promontory ofHindostan, on the coast of Malabar, 20 miles N. by \Y. of

DILLiiMBURG, or DILLENBURGH, a country of Ger-many , in Weteravia.

Dillenburgh, the capital of the county, 14 miles N. \V. ofWetzlar.

Dl EEENGEN, a town of Germany, in the circle of Suabia , ISmiles N. E. of Tim.

DILLENIA, a genus of the polygynia order and polyandriaclass of plants. Caiy.x pentaphyllous: petals five; capsule, poly-spermous, coalited, full of pulp. There are seven species, veryhandsome trees natives of the East Indies.

DILOG Y, [AiXoyire, Gr.] a rhetorical figure, when a doubtfulword signifies two tilings.

DILUENT, that which has the power to thin and attenuateother matter.

DILUTE, to dilute a body is to reader it liquid; or, if it wereliquid before, to render it more so, by the addition of a thinnerthereto. These things thus added, are called diluents, or di-lators.

DIM AC ILL, [from Ji;, double, and fight,] in antiqui*ty, a kind of horsemen, first instituted by Alexander, Theirarmour was Tighter than that of tiie infantry, and at the samelime heavier than that used by horsemen, so that they could actas horse or foot a*occasion required.

DIMENSION, in geometry, is either length, breadth, or thick-ness ; hence, a line hath one dimension, viz. length ; a superficiestwo, viz. length and breadth; and a body, or solid, has three, viz.length, breadth, and thickness.

Dimension is used with regard to the power of tiie roots of anequation, which are called the dimensions of that root. Tims ina simple equation x re a -f- b, tiie unknown quantity is only of onedimension: in a quadratic equation .v- = a' 1 -f- b-, it is of two di-mensions : in a cubic a 3 -f-it is of three dimensions; and soon. See Algebra .

DIMET.E, the name given by tiie Romans to the ancientBritons, who inhabited tiie territories now called Caermarthenshirc,l’embrokeshire, and Cardiganshire .

DIMINUTION, in architecture, a contraction of the upperpart of a column, by which its diameter is made less Ilian that of thelower part. See Architecture.

Diminution, in law, is where tiie plaintiff or defendant in awrit of error, alleges on an appeal to a superior- court, that part oftiie record is omitted, and remains in the inferior court not certified;whereon lie pravs that it may be certified by certiorari. Co. Ent.222. 242.

Diminution, in music, is when there are several words which

are