DOCENT. 340 DOCK. vcrsity of Chicago (see Chicago, University OK), (liicont is !i rank jvist above that of fellow. fSee Inivkh-sitv. DOCE'TJE (Ut., from (ik. Aoxi^roi, Duketai, from doKeif, dvl.tiii, to seem). The name "jiven in the early Chnreh to heretics who held that the human nature of Jesus Christ was a semblance and not a reality. The philosophers of poly- theism, as well as of .Tudaism. had explained the appearance of divinities and of an^'cls by holdinfr that the assumption of bodies was only momentary, or in appearance. And when the Gnostic Chris- tians found it impossible to con- ceive the essen- tial iHiion of the divine nature with a body com- posed of matter, which they held to lie the .seat of all evil, they had recoirse to the same expedient. The difficulty was got over in one of three ways: the body of Christ was either considered a real earthly body, but not belong- ing essentially to His nature, and only assumed for a time: or it was declared to be a mere appearance or illusion; or, hnally, it was believed to be a heavenly body, composed of ethereal sub- stance, though bavin;; the appearaiu-e of being material. All the Cnostic heretics held Docetism in one or otiu'r of these three forms, with the exception of those who were led by the same dilliculty to deny the divine nature of Jesus Christ, and reduce him to a mere human sage. Consult the Histories of Doctrine, by Xeander (trans, by Ryland, London, 1S:')8). and Harnack (trans, by Buchanan, Boston, 18!t5-n7). See GXOSTICI.SM. DOCK (Ger. Dock, of uncertain origin). Any space or structure in or tipon which a ship may be berthed or held for loading, unloading, repair- ing, or safe-keeping. Docks are of two kinds, wet docks, with the subclass of tidal docks: and dry docks, with the subclass of lloatiiig docks. A wet dock is a basin surrounded by quays, the entrance to which is closed by a gate and in which the water-level is constantly at the same height: a tidal dock is a similar basin open to the hiirbor waters, in which the water-level tinctiiates with the rise and fall of the tides. A dry dock is a basin of special shaiie, whose en- trance can be closed, and from whi<'h the water can Ik' pumped, leaving the vessel's hull dry for the purpose of making repairs, cleaning, paint- ing, etc.; a floating dock is a box-shaped struc- ture open at one end which is sunk jiarlly be- neath the water to jiermit the entrance into it of a vessel, and is then lloated so as to raise the vessel out of the water and leave the hull dry. The sinking and floating is done by filling cer- tain eomjinrtment-; of the stnicture with water and then by exhausting this water. Wet Bock.s. separated from the harbor waters b gates, are employed when the range of the tide is considerable, as at Liverpool, where the difTcrence in level is some 30 feet, and in the Itiver Thames, where it is about 20 feet. The gates usually take the form of a canal lock (see Ca.nals), and are operated by hand if small and by power if largi'. .Most Knglisli and many Continental docks are of this type. The nmnber of Kuropean docks and the great variation^ in their >ize anil arrangement preclude a descrip- tion of ni(ue than ii few typical structures. .t London, the Koyal .Vlbcrt and Victoria docks and the Tilbury Docks arc two of the most impor- / Royar/ Albert Dock ROVAl. ALIIERT AXD VICTOBIA DOCKS, LONUO.V, K.NOLAXD. tant. The Koyal Albert and Victoria docks are excavated across a neck of land formed by a bend in the River Thames, and thus have two entrances, one at each end. Beginning at one end there is a dock ."i.'iO feet long and 80 feet wide, which opens into a basin that is sepa- rated by a gate from the Koyal Albert Dock. This dock is t'i.500 feet long and 4'.H) feet wide anil has an area of 84 acres. A channel 80 feet wide connects the Koyal .Mbert Dock with the Royal Victoria Dock. This dock is 1050 feet wide and has a series of jetties or piers on one side to increase the anmunt of quay space: the total area is 74 a<-rcs. The Royal Victoria Dock opens into a tidal basin Hi acres in area, which in turn opens into the Thames by means of a canal and lock. The depth of water in the -Mbert Dock is 30 feet, and in the Victoria Dock 28 feet. The walls of these docks are built wholly of concrete. The Tilbury Docks are differently arranged from the Victoria and .Mbert docks, the basins extending inland from the bank of the Thames. They comprise a tidal basin, the entrance to which is 100 yards in width. The entrance to the main basin is through a lock 80 feet in width. The walls are of concrete and the gates of the large lock are opened and closed by hy- draulic power. Four large graving or dry docks form a feature of these works. These may he filled with water from the tidal basin or from the main dock through culverts. The total area of the outer tidal basin is lOij acres Tt eon- tains 20 feet of water at low tide and 40 feet nt high fide. The main dock covers about 2.3 acres and has a depth of 38 feet. Three branch docks contain !)'i. OV'i. and 11 acres. These fiirnres are sulTicient to illustrate the magnitude of the work. Tile docks of London also comprise the London Docks and the Saint Catharine's Docks, having an aggregate area of about ."iO acre*: (he Surrey Commercial Docks, having an area of ]:')."> acres; the East and West India Docks, with an
