Diocletian (dī′ō̇-klē′shan), Valerius Diocletianus, a Roman emperor, was born in Dalmatia in 245, and reigned from 284 to 305. He entered the army and held important commands under the Emperors Probus and Aurelian. After the death of Numerianus he was chosen to succeed him by the troops at Chalcedon. With his reign began a new form of government in Rome. He appointed Maximian as his companion in authority, styling him Augustus, and soon after he appointed Constantius Chlorus and Galerius as subordinate rulers, each with the title of Caesar. Each of the four rulers had a different capital and governed a different region. In 305 Diocletian, being worn out by work, resigned his position as emperor and went to Salona, in Dalmatia, where he died eight years later. His reign has become memorable for the persecution of the Christians.
Diœcious Plants (dī̇-ē′shŭs). Those in which the staminate and pistillate flowers occur on different plants. See Dichogamy.
Diogenes (dī̇-ŏj′ē̇-nē̇z), a famous Greek philosopher, lived from about 412 to 323 B. C. He and his father were caught adulterating coins, and compelled to leave their native city of Sinope. He went to Athens, where he got rid of all of his dress and furniture, except his cloak and purse and a wooden bowl, because he believed the more things a man has the greater are his wants. He even threw away the bowl, when he saw a boy drinking from the hollow of his hand. He went to Cynosarges, where he lived in a cask, and in order to harden himself he used to roll in hot sand in summer, and in winter he embraced snow-covered statues. He afterward made a voyage and was captured by pirates, who sold him as a slave in Crete. His master took him to Corinth to conduct the education of his children, and he became famous there. Once Alexander the Great came to see him at Corinth and asked him if there was any favor he could do him. Diogenes replied that the only thing Alexander could do for him was not to stand between him and the sun. Alexander was so struck with his answer, that he is said to have cried: “If I were not Alexander, I would be Diogenes.” Diogenes died at Corinth, and a pillar was erected to his memory.
Dionysius (dī′ō̇-nĭsh′ĭ-ŭs), The Elder, an ancient ruler of Syracuse in Sicily, was born about 430 B. C. When Sicily was invaded by the Carthaginians, he became a general in the service of Syracuse, which was then a republic. In the year 405, he made himself tyrant or ruler of Syracuse. He later continued the war against the Carthaginians, and was at first defeated, but afterward gained a complete victory. He also engaged in many other military expeditions, and was one of the most distinguished rulers of his time. Not content with his military renown, he wrote poems and tragedies, and at one time gained a prize at Athens for a work on tragic poetry. He died at Syracuse in 367 B. C.
Diplomatic Service, that branch of a government's service which has to do with political relations with other nations. It aims to secure between the home-nation and any other nation such understanding as will make for their independence, peace and mutual benefit, but particularly for advantages to the home-nation. The diplomatic serivice seeks to secure its ends without resort to force. It works for such agreements as treaties, alliances and trade-reciprocity. Its work is constructive and educational. The agents of the diplomatic service are (1) ambassadors, (2) ministers plenipotentiary and envoys extraordinary, (3) ministers resident, (4) charges d'affaires and (5) secretaries of legation and attachés. These agents and their order of ranking were agreed upon by the Congress of Vienna in 1814, and have been quite generally adhered to. These various agencies have developed from the early messenger-service between sovereigns and governments, and were inevitable because something must always be left to the good sense of the messenger. The early heralds or ambassadors carried special messages, but it finally became obvious that advantages would come from having a representative on the ground. The Congress of Westphalia, held in 1648, is usually regarded as the starting-point of diplomacy in the modern sense.
Dipper. See Bear, Greater and Lesser.
Directory, the name given to the executive department of the French republican government by the constitution of 1795. There were in France two legislative bodies like our senate and house of representatives. The directory was composed of five directors, elected by the upper legislative house, corresponding to our senate, from a list of names proposed by the lower body, which corresponded to our house of representatives. One of the number retired each year and a new one was elected. Under their management France was very successful in war, but they did not succeed in quieting internal disturbances, nor did they agree among themselves. Three of the directors, of whom Barras was the leader, managed to get the other two removed and new ones appointed. Many other such changes took place, Barras being the only one who remained a director during the four years the directory lasted. On Nov. 9, 1799, Napoleon succeeded in abolishing the directory, and practically became ruler of France, at first under the title of Consul.
Dismal Swamp, Great, a vast swamp in Virginia and North Carolina, about 30 miles long and 10 wide. The soil is black
