DIGITS OF CEETE issued in 1828, in New York (2 vols. 4to), when the author was in his 70th year. A re- vised edition appeared in 1840 (2 vols. 8vo), with the addition of several thousand words which in the intervening 12 years had passed from technological science into common lan- guage ; and a revised appendix was added in 1843. A new edition, revised and enlarged by Prof. 0. A. Goodrich, was published in Spring- field, Mass., in 1848 (1 vol. 4to, 1400 pages). In 1864 a still larger edition was published, with illustrations, after a revision of the work by Prof. Noah Porter of Yale college, who was aided by many able collaborators. For this edition much valuable matter has been added, such as a dictionary of noted names of fiction, names distinguished in modern biography, &c. Prof. James Hadley contributed to it a brief history of the English language, and an entire revision of the etymologies was made under the direction of Dr. C. A. F. Mahn of Ber- lin, Prussia. It forms a 4to volume of 1840 pages, containing about 114,000 words. Dr. J. E. Worcester's illustrated quarto dictionary, which had been preceded by two minor and preparatory works, was published in 1860, in Boston. This work, which contests with that of Webster the place of highest authority among American scholars, is the result of more than 30 years of labor, and contains about 104,000 words. The chief differences between it and Webster's dictionary are found in the spelling adopted for certain classes of words. Words like centre, theatre, &c., the last syl- lable of which is spelled by Worcester tre, and by Webster ter, are specimens of one of the most prominent of these classes. The parti- ciples and nouns formed from verbs ending in el, &c., form a still larger class; in these Wor- cester doubles the I (traveller, travelling, &c.), while Webster does not (traveler, traveling, &c.). Other differences exist, both in methods of spelling and in definition, and to some extent in pronunciation ; but for the understanding of these a thorough study of the two works is ne- cessary. (For other dictionaries, see the arti- cles upon the different languages.) DICTYS OF CRETE, the reputed author of a history of the Trojan war. The MS., writ- ten in Phoenician characters, but in the Greek language, is said to have been found in the au- thor's tomb at Onossus in the reign of Nero. A Latin version in six books has come down to us, but the work is commonly regarded as a forgery. Dictys is said to have followed Ido- meneus, king of Crete, to the siege of Troy, and some ancient grammarians have imagined that Homer drew materials for the Iliad and Odyssey from his history. It was the chief basis of the mediseval literature relating to the siege of Troy, and was among the first books printed in the 15th century. DIDEROT, Denis, a French writer and phi- losopher, born inLangres, Oct. 5, 1713, died in Paris, July 30, 1784. He was the son of a cutler, and was first educated for the church, 263 VOL. vi. 7 DIDEROT 95 but soon gave up theology to enter an attor- ney's office in Paris. Law, however, did not occupy his time so much as literature and science. Failing to select a profession, he was deprived of his allowance by his father, and for a time obtained a livelihood by teaching. He married unfortunately, translated a history of Greece, wrote sermons, and furnished arti- cles for a dictionary of medicine. In 1745 he wrote his Essai sur le merite et la vertu, and in 1746 his Pensees pliilosopTiiques, the boldness of which was punished by a sentence of the parliament, and Bijoux indiscrets, a collection of obscene tales, of which he himself was ashamed. His Lettres sur les aveugles a Vusage de ceux qui voient (1749) procured him at once an acquaintance with Voltaire and three months' imprisonment at Yincennes, where he was often visited by Rousseau. On his liberation, in conjunction with D'Alembert, he framed the plan of the work upon which his reputation is mostly founded, the Encyclo- pedic. Its professed aim was to present in a single work the truths of science, the princi- ples of taste, and the processes of all the arts ; but it was in fact a vehicle for the diffusion of new ideas. He wrote nearly all the articles on ancient philosophy, and all those on the trades and industrial pursuits ; and after the with- drawal of D'Alembert he had the supervision of the whole. Two volumes of the Encyclo- pedic appeared in 1751; but they were sup- pressed, and the printing of others was forbid- den during 18 months, owing to its alleged hostility to Christianity. This suspension was revoked, and five new volumes had appeared in 1757, when it was again assailed with a tempest of denunciations, the result of which was a second suspension of the work. D'Alem- bert deserted his partner, and Voltaire subse- quently advised Diderot to leave the country, and complete his work enjoying the hospitality of Catharine of Russia. He, however, strug- gled against all obstacles, and was finally per- mitted to continue the publication at Paris, without subjecting it to censorship ; but on the title page Neufchatel was to be printed instead of Paris, and the name of the editor was left blank. The ten additional volumes were thua produced with no further difficulty. While engaged on the Encyclopedic, Diderot wrote books of various kinds in his own name, and greatly contributed to those by his friends. Thus a large portion of Raynal's history of the Indies belongs to him, while the most eloquent pages of De Vesprit, by Helv6tius, and of the Systeme de la nature, by D'Hol- bach, are attributed to his pen. The artistic part of Grimm's correspondence, known as Les salons, was written by him, and several letters on different subjects bear unmistakable marks of his hand. Diderot was always ready to help the needy, and his personal influence could scarcely be overrated. In 1757 and 1758 he produced two domestic dramas, Lefils naturel and Le pere de famille, which paved the way
