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44 [

gencral alT,mbly of the

11m!,

or cirdes of Ihe cm·

pire of Germany, and of Poland, to dcliberatc ami

concert mealufes proper tO be taken for Ihe good of

the public.

The general diet of the cQ1pire is ufu,lIy hcld , t

Ratilbon: il conli/ls of the emperor, Ihe nine eledors,

and lhe ecd,fia/lical princes;

vit.

Ihe archbilhops,

bilhops, abbots, and abbeWes; the fecular princes,

who are dukcs,

mar~uilfcs,

couots, ,'ifcounts, or bao

rons; and the reprefentalives of the imperial cilies. [1

meets on the emperor's fummons, and any of the

prinm may fend their deputies thilher ilt Iheir lIead.

The diet makes I.IVs, "i(es laxes, delermines di!fe–

rences belween Ihe feveral princes and /lales, and can

relieve Ihe fubjeéls from Ihe oppreflions of Iheir (ove·

reigns.

The diet of Poland, or the aflembly of Ihe /lales,

confi/ls of Ihe

(en.le

and deputies, or repre(entative

of every palalin'le or coumy and cilY, and meel u(u–

aUy every IWO yem, and oflener upon eXlraordinary

occaGons, if fummoned by Ihe king, or, in his abo

fence, by the archbilhop of Goefna. The general

?iel of Poland fils but r.x weeks, and oflen breaks up

.n alumult much fooner: for one dilTenling voice pre–

venlS Iheir pafling any laws, or coming 10 any refolo·

tions on wltal is propofed tO lhem from the Ihrone.

Swilaerlaod has alfo a general diel, which is ufually

held every year at Baden, and reprefeots Ihe whole

Heioelic body: it feidom lalls longer Ihan a monlh.

Befides Ihis general diel, Ihere are dim of Ihe prote·

lIant caOlons, and dieu of Ihe catholic ones; Ihe fir/l

affemble al Araw, and are convoked by Ihe canIon of

Zurich ; the fecond at Lucern, conl'oked by the cao·

ton of Ihat name.

DIETETIC, denotes fomething belonging to diet, but

particularly that part of phyfic which treals of Ihis

fubj eél.

DIETS, a town in the cirde of Ihe Upper Rhine in

Germany, filuated on the river Lohn, Iwenty miles

nonh of Meolz, and fubieél to the houfe of Naffau–

Orange: E. long.

7·

40, and N. lal. 50 28'.

DIEU

ET MON DRO'T,

i. e.

GDd and

111)

,igM,

the

molto of the royal arms of England, firll affumed by

king Richard

to inlimate lhal he did nOI hold his

cmpire io vaffalage of any monal.

was aflerwards laken up by Edward 1lI. and

was conrinued without intmuption 10 Ihe time of lhe

lale king WiUi.m, who ufed the motto

le 1IIain-/ien–

¿ray,

though Ihe former was (lill relained upon Ihe

greal feal. Afler him queen Anne ufed rhe molto

Se",p"

talltl/l,

whieh h.d been before ufed byqueen

Elizabelh; but ever finee queen Anne,

D¡eu

mln

d'Di/

continues to he Ihe royal molto.

DlEXAHEDRI.'\, in natural hi/lory, a genus of pellu.

cid and cryllalliform fpars, compofcd of IWO pyramids,

joined baCe to bafe, WilhoUI any

inlermerlial~

column :

rhediexahedria are dodccahcdral, or compofed

01"

IWO

hexangular pyramids.

D[FFUSE, an epilhet applicJ to fuch wrilings as are

wrote in a prolil< manncr. Among hi/lorians, Sallu¡!

VOL .

[1.

No. H .

is reckoneJ fenlentiolls, and Livy diffu(e. Thus

31r~

among Ihe orators, DeOl?lIhencs is do (e and concile .

Cicero, on lhe olher hand, is

diffuf~.

DIFFUSlON, Ihe di¡perfion of Ihe fublile e/lluvia of

undies iOlo a kind of atmofphere all round Ihem.

Thus Ihe lighr di!fufed by Ihe "ys of Ihe fun, iO·u"

all round from Ihal amning body of

~re.

DlG

~STR.ICUS,

in anal?my. See Vol.

p. 222.

DIGEST,

111

m,ltCrs of hleralure, a collel1ion of Ibe

dccifions of the Rom.n lawyers properly dige/l,d, or

arranged under di/linél heads, by order of Ihe em–

peror Jullinian.

conHilules Ihe firll part or volume

of Ihe civil "w.

D[GESTION, in medicine, is Ihe dilfolution of Ihe ali·

menlS inlo Cuch minule partS as are lit 10 enter Ihe

la/leal vtffels, and circulale IVilb Ihe mafs of blood.

Va:ious are ,he fy/lems and hypo.heles IraOled by

phyfic.ans and plulofophers 10 account for rligdlion .

Some conlend, Ihal il is done by a kind of elixalion

of Ihe folid aud grofTer partS of lhe food iD lbe liquid

by Ihe heal of Ihe Ilomach, and of lhe ad:aeent pans

the liver, fpleen,

&c.

Olhers will have' il done

amilion, as if lhe Ilomach, by rhofe repealed mo–

tions, which are Ihe e!feéls of refpiralion, rubbed off

the minuter partieles from Ihe groffer matte.s, and a–

gilaling the re/l again/l e. ch olher, altenuated and

dilfolved lhem.

Olhers Ihink the bilious juiee, others Ihe Cpirits,

chiefly concerncd in digc/lion.

Olhers will have Ihe fooá diffolved by a men/lru .

um; bUI then Ihey are gr.,tly divided as 10 lhe nalure

and origin of lhis meollruum; fome fuppoGng il an acid

furniflled by Ihe glands of Ihe /lomach; olhers, aoi–

tro·aerial fpirit, which, by penelraling lhe mafs of

food, breaks lhe eonoexion of Ihe moll folid parts :

and olhers, a faline juice, which divides and ool"i–

lizes the pari! of Ihe food. Olhers, again, Cuppofe

dige/lion 10 be performed by means of afermeoror lea–

ven, which mixing wilh Ihe aliment, exciles an iOle–

/line motion in Ihe pans thereof, by which

me.ns

the

pans are 3tleouated and diffolved. BUI Ihefe likewife

di!fer in Iheir opinion of lhis ferment; fome takiog

il to be Ihe remains of rhe food la/l dige/led, which,

by its continuance iD Ihe 1I0mach, has conlraded an

acid quality and become a fermenl: olhers take Ihe

principies of fermenlalion 10 be eonlained in lhe ali–

ment itfelf, whieh when inelofed in Ihe 1I0mach, heM–

ed rhere, and pUl in mOlion, enters onilS ollice of fer·

mentation: olhers fuppofe Ihe malter of lhe ferment

fupplied by lhe glands of Ihe 1I0maeh; and lafll)', o·

lhers contend for Ihe fati,'a, and make thal rhe fer·

ment lerving prineipally for .tlte digellion of Ihe food.

Some fuppo(e digcHion owing 10

g~lltle

hcal anJ

mOlion . Dy Ihis hcat and otOlIOn, fay rhry, the lex·

lure of Ihe nOllrifhmcll1 is eh;¡ngcd in Ihe bodies 01 a·

nim:.ls; ami then lhe con/lilllenl folid pans

ate

iudu–

ed wilh peculiar ;\tIradive rOlVcrs of cendin magni·

tudes, by which Ihey draw, OUI uf dlC HUlds

mo\ in~

through IIIem, like pans in ccn .•iu qllanlilics, and

thmby rrdervc Ihdr fornlS and jutl magniludes .

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