DINOSAURIA 



1798 



DIOGENES 



is long and bushy. In its wild state the dingo 

 does not bark, its cry being a wolflike howl, 

 but when associated with domestic dogs it 

 learns to bark. If captured as a puppy and 

 well treated, a dingo makes a faithful and 

 affectionate companion and will valiantly de- 

 fend its master's sheep against the attacks of 

 its wild relatives. 



DINOSAURIA, dinosaw'ria, a word derived 

 from Greek words meaning terrible lizard, and 

 now applied to a group of fossil reptiles whose 

 remains are found in rocks of great age. They 

 were apparently intermediate between lizards 



SKELETONS OF DINOSAURIA 



and birds; some ate vegetables, while others 

 devoured other animals. The crocodiles of the 

 present day were probably from the same 

 original stock, though vastly inferior in size 

 to the prehistoric reptiles. The megalosaurus, 

 one of the largest species, attained a length of 

 more than forty feet and was a flesh-eating rep- 

 tile. The diplodocus was probably sixty feet 

 in length, and according to expert calculations 

 required about 500 pounds of vegetable food 

 daily. The iguanodon, which was about twenty- 

 five feet in length, also lived on a vegetable 

 diet. The chief characteristic of most of 

 these was the smallness of their heads in com- 

 parison with their enormous bodies. The brain 

 development was very slight, indicating a very 

 low order of intelligence. From fossil remains 

 scientists have been able to reconstruct skele- 

 tons showing what these reptiles were in life. 

 See FOSSIL. 



DINWIDDIE, din'imdi, ROBERT (1690-1770), 

 a colonial gbvernor of Virginia who hastened 

 the outbreak of the threatening French and 



Indian War. This was unintentionally accom- 

 plished by sending George Washington, in 1753, 

 to the French commander with the demand 

 that the French withdraw from Western Penn- 

 sylvania, where they were occupying land 

 claimed by Virginia. In the war which fol- 

 lowed Dinwiddie urged the colonies to help the 

 English drive the French from the Ohio Val- 

 ley, and he gave valuable aid to the expedition 

 of 1755 sent against forts Duquesne, Niagara, 

 Frontenac and Crown Point. He was con- 

 tinually quarreling with the colonial assembly, 

 however, because of its reluctance to vote funds 

 for carrying on the war; and his unpopularity 

 was increased by his arrogance and miserliness. 

 In 1758 he was recalled. See FRENCH AND 

 INDIAN WARS. 



DIOCLETIAN, diokle'shan, (A.D. 245-313), 

 one of the emperors of Rome. He was of 

 obscure parentage, but showed bravery and 

 ability as a soldier, and the army in 284 raised 

 him to the highest power. He introduced 

 many reforms and installed Maximian, a rude, 

 uncouth soldier, as his colleague. Two assist- 

 ant emperors called Caesars were also ap- 

 pointed and were promised the imperial power 

 in succession. Diocletian and Maximian re- 

 signed in 305, their places being taken By 

 Constantius Chlorus and Galerius. The reign 

 of Diocletian was marred by bitter persecution 

 of Christians, the responsibility for which, 

 however, rested mainly with Galerius. 



The farmer who loves his life work above all 

 else will understand the serenity of Diocle- 

 tian's old age. Maximian took unkindly 

 his forced abdication with Diocletian and 

 sought to have the latter regain for the two 

 the power they had lost. The old man replied, 

 "Were you but to come to Salona and see 

 the cabbages which I raise in my garden with 

 my own hands, you would no longer talk to me 

 of empire." 



DIOGENES, dioj'eneez (412-323 B.C.), a 

 famous philosopher of Athens, commonly called 

 "the Cynic," because of his extreme and literal 

 interpretation of the teachings of the Cynic 

 school. He may be regarded as one of the 

 earliest and most pronounced advocates of the 

 simple life. The many stories told of his 

 surly manners, his bitter humor and his mock- 

 ery of his fellow citizens, while they do not 

 represent his true character, are nevertheless 

 suggestive of his independent, uncompromising 

 nature. His father, a native of Sinope, in Asia 

 Minor, was imprisoned for coining false money, 

 and Diogenes went to Athens, where he became 



