ms 



DIS 



pious, faithful, and laborious ministers, 

 undaunted and courageous in their mas- 

 ter's work, standing close to their people 

 in the worst times, diligent in their studies, 

 solid, affectionate, powerful, awakening 

 preachers, aiming at the advancement of 

 real vital religion in the hearts and lives 

 of men, which flourished wherever they 

 had influence." 



Before the revolution, many sta- 

 tutes were in force against Dissenters, 

 but by William I. stat. 1. cup. 18. com- 

 monly called the " Toleration Act," it is 

 enacted that none of the acts made against 

 persons dissenting from the Church of 

 England (except the Test Acts 25 Charles 

 II. cap. 2. and 30 Charles II. stat. 2. cap. 

 1.) shall extend to any person dissenting 

 from the Church of England, who shall at 

 the general sessions ot the peace, to be 

 held for the county or place where such 

 person shall live, take the oath of allegi- 

 ance and supremacy, and subscribe the 

 declaration against popery, of which the 

 court shall keep a register ; and no officer 

 shall take more than 6d. for registering 

 the same, and 6d. for a certificate there- 

 of, signed by such officer. Provided that 

 the place of meeting be certified to the 

 bishop of the diocese, or to the archdea- 

 con of the archdeaconry, or to the justices 

 of the peace at the general or quarter ses- 

 ^ions ; and the register or clerk of the 

 peace shall register on record the same, 

 and give certificate thereof to any one 

 who shall demand the same ; for which 

 no greater fee than 6d. shall be taken ; 

 and provided that, during the time of 

 meeting the doors shall not be locked, 

 barred, or bolted. 



Dissenters chosen to any parochial or 

 ward offices, and scrupling to take the 

 oaths, may execute the office by deputy, 

 who shall comply with the law in this be- 

 half. But it seems they are not subject to 

 fine, on refusing to serve corporation offi- 

 ces ; for they may object to the validity of 

 their election, on the ground of their own 

 non -conformity. 



DISSONANCE, in music, the effect 

 which results from the unison of two 

 sounds not in accord with each other. 



DISSYLLABLE, among grammarians, 

 a word consisting only of two syllables : 

 such as nature, science, &c. 



DISTAFF, an instrument about which 

 flax is tied in order to be spun. 



DISTANCE, in general, an interval be- 

 tween two things, either with regard to 

 time or place. Dr. Berkley, in his essuy 

 on vision, maintains, that distance cannot 



of itself and immediately be seen, for, dis- 

 tance being a line directed endwise to 

 the eye, it projects only one point in the 

 fund of the eye, which point remains in- 

 variably the same, whether the distance 

 be longer or shorter. But Mr. M'Laurin 

 observes, that the distance here spx>ken 

 of is distance from the eye ; and that 

 what is said of it must not be applied to 

 distance in general. The apparent dis- 

 tance of two stars is capable of the same 

 variations as any other quantity or mag- 

 nitude. Visible magnitudes consist of 

 parts into which they may be resolved, as 

 well as tangible magnitudes, and the 

 proportions of the former may be assign- 

 ed as well as those of the latter : so that 

 it is going too far to tell us, that visible 

 magnitudes are no more to be account- 

 ed the object of geometry than words ; 

 and that the ideas of space, and things 

 placed at a distance, are not, strictly 

 speaking, the object of sight ; and are .not 

 otherwise perceived by the eye than by 

 the ear. 



DISTANCE, in navigation, the number 

 of minutes or leagues a ship has sailed 

 from any given place or point. 



DISTANCE, in astronomy. The dis- 

 tance of the sun, planets, and comets, is 

 only found from their parallax, as it can- 

 not be found either by eclipses or their 

 different phases : for from the theory of 

 the motions of the earth and planets, we 

 know, at any time, the proportion of the 

 distances of the sun and planets from us ; 

 and the horizontal paralaxes are in a re- 

 ciprocal proportion to these distances. 

 See ASTRONOMY. 



DISTANCE of 'the eye, in perspective, is 

 a line drawn from ttie eye to the principal 

 point. See PERSFECTIYE. 



DISTANCES accessible, in geotnetry, are 

 such as may be measured by the chain, 

 &c. 



DISTANCES inaccessible, are such as can- 

 not be measured by the chain, &c. by rea- 

 son of some river, or the like, which ob- 

 structs our passing from one object to 

 another. See MENSURATION. 



DISTICH, a couplet of verses mak- 

 ing a complete sense. Thus hexameter 

 and pentameter verses are disposed in 

 distichs. 



DISTILLATION, a chemical process, 

 which consists in separating bodies which 

 are volatile from those which are more 

 fixed, by the application of heat. All bo- 

 dies which are susceptible of the elastic 

 or vaporous form, at the same time that 

 they are not decomposed, or otherwise 



