■m I) A c 
to Horace’s ep?files and fatircs by his own imitations of 
them. Some of Dacier’s Angular interpretations of paf- 
fage.s in his author, were cal led by that fatirift “ tlie re¬ 
velations of M. Dacier.” Boileau, however, effeemed Da¬ 
cier’s obfervat'ions on Longinus fufficiently to annex fo his 
own tranflation. Dacier proceeded in his cotirfe of editing 
and mandating the ancients, being conftantly aided in his 
labo-ars by his learned fpoufe. He was admitted into the 
academy of infcriptions, and the French academy, in 
1695, and was eledted perpetual fecretary to the latter. 
He had alfo the pod of keeper of the cabinet of the 
"Louvre. He died in 1722. Dacier has the character of 
poflefling more learning than tade; and it has been laid 
Of him, that he underdood every thing of the ancients 
except their elegance and delicacy. He was an enthu-- 
daft in favour of every author whom he mandated or 
commented, and would not admit the lead defeft in 
them. He was an outrageous opponent of Perrault in 
the famous difpute concerning the merit of the ancients 
and the moderns, but he did little honour-to his favour¬ 
ites by his difplays of the tade which he had imbibed 
from them. Boileau ufed to fay, that the ancients had 
more caufe to complain of their mandator, Dacier, than 
of their traducer, Perrault. Befides the works above 
mentioned, he publidied trandations, with notes, of 1. 
The Meditations of Marcus Antoninus. 2. The Poetics 
of Ariftotle. 3. The Oepidus and Eletlra of Sophocles. 
4. Parts of the Works of Hippocra es and Plato. 5. 
The Works and Lives of Pythagoras and Bierocles. 6. 
The Manual of Epiftetus : and 7. The Lives of Plu¬ 
tarch ; in the tranflation of which Mad. D.tcier bare a 
part. He likewife had a diare in the Medallic Hiltory of 
Lewis XIV. for which lie received a j enfion. 
DACI'ER (Anne le Fevre,) wife of the preceding, 
daughter of Tannegui le Fevre, born at Saumur, in 1631, 
She was educated in cladical erudition by heiAearned 
father, and became known to the literary world in 1674, 
by a valuable edition of Callimachus, She afterwards 
wrote learned commentaries on various authors in ufum 
Delphini ; Florus, Aurelius ViiStor, Eutropius, and Dic- 
tys Cretenfis. It is related that one of her early works, 
dedicated to the king, could not be prefented to him, oil 
account of the averfion lie openly expreifed againft all 
his fubjedts of the protedant religion, till the duke de 
Montaufier honourably undertook the office of her in¬ 
troducer; and being reprimanded by the king for his 
protection of a proferibed feet, the duke, in very fpirited 
language, expodnlated with his majefty for this narrow 
bigotry, and added, that he fhould fend mademoifelle 
le Fevre a hundred pidoles in the king’s name, wh.ich 
he might repay or not, as he thought proper. Soon 
after her marriage with M. Dacier, however, the couple 
thought it advifable to remove all obdacles to court fa¬ 
vour, by conforming to the eftablifhed religion ; but 
whatever might be the original motive of the converfion, 
madame Dacier, by her fubfequent conduit, never 
gave reafon to doubt the fincerity of her piety. ' She 
was remarkably charitable to the poor, even when in 
straitened circumlta'nces ; and difplaying in all the emer¬ 
gencies of life great firmnefs of mind, and all the vir¬ 
tues of her fex. Her literary reputation did not infpire 
her with prefumption; yet perhaps there was more af¬ 
fected than real modefty in the circumftanee of her writ¬ 
ing in the album of a German baron, a line of Sophocles, 
declaring, that “filence is the proper ornament. of a 
woman fined (lie had not fcriipled to /peak by her 
publications to all the literati in Europe. She was more 
confident when, upon being foliated to publifh fome re¬ 
marks fhe had drawn up on the Scriptures, file quoted 
the precept of St. Paul for the filence of females on fuch 
topics;, and in fa<St fhe kept them to herfelf. She un¬ 
dertook the defence Sappho’s'moral fcondu’ft; and in 
reply to fome known ftories againft her which Boileau 
hinted at in converfation, file coolly laid, that “ Sappho 
had her enemies.” Her profe tranflation of Homer’s 
4 
D A C 
Iliad and OdyfTey, in the learned notes to which fhe vin¬ 
dicates the old bard from every charge that has been 
made againft him, drew on the difpute between her and 
La Morte. In the controverfy on this topic, Mad. D.ri 
cier is faid to have written like a man of erudition, and 
her antagpnift like an ingenious lady. To the warm in- 
veTives of the female critic, he only replied by cool 
argument and pleafantry. He compared her railings to 
thofe charming Greek particles, which fignify nothing, 
and which are yet alleged to add fo much moreforce-and 
beauty to Homer’s verfe.” It is, however, after ted, that 
the rudenefs of Mad. Dacier in her literary encounters 
has been exaggerated ; and (lie certainly wrote with 
more .elegance than her hufb.md. She had compofed a 
diftertation to prove, that the Amphytrion of Plautus 
was much fuperior to its imitation by Mo Here; but 
hearing -that this comic writer was about to produce his 
Femmes Syavantes, (lie fupprelfed her piece. In the 
occurrences of domeftic life (lie exhibited great con- 
-ftancy of mind, which was tried by the lofs of a fon of 
great hopes, and of a darling daughter. She herfelf 
died, much efteemed and regretted, in 1720. Her works, 
befides thole which have been mentioned*, are, 1. A 
Tranflation of three Comedies of Plautus, with Notes, 
and a preliminary Diftertation on the ancient Stage. 2. 
A Tranfl tion of the Comedies of Terence, with Notes. 
3. A Tranflation of the Plutus and Clouds of Arifto- 
plfanes. 4. A Tranflation of Anacreon, and the Re¬ 
mains of Sappho. 5. Confiderations on the Caufes of 
the Corruption of Tafte. This is the work againft La 
Mutte. 6. Homer defended againft the Apology of F. 
Hardouin. Berverfionof Homer was reprinted in 1756, 
in eight volumes, nmo. 
DAC'RENEM, ur Dacquenem, a town of Flanders: 
eight miles norrh-eaft of Ghent. 
D ACRY'DIUM, J. [from S'ay.gv, a tear.] The infpif- 
fated juice of fcanimony. It is in {mall drops, and there¬ 
fore called a tear. 
DACRYGELO'SIS, f. [from frccy.gvcj, to weep, and 
ys\ctu:, to laugh.] A fpecies of infanity, where the pa¬ 
tient weeps and laughs at the fame time. 
DACRVO'DES, J. [from ocx-y.^va, to weep.] The 
medical term for a famous ulcer, or weeping fore. 
DACRYO'MA, f. [from ^coipvco, to weep.] A coa¬ 
lition of one or more of the puncta lachrymaliu, caufing 
an effufion of tears. 
DACR YOP/E'US, f. [from ccatgv, a tear, and roicw, 
to m.ke.] A medical epithet for fuch things as caufe 
tlie tears to flow ; as onions. 
DAC'TYL, J\ [dattylusj Lat.] A foot in the Latin and 
Greek poetry, confiding of a long fyllable, followed by 
two fliort ones: as carmine, Ivvette. Some fay it is derived 
from chzy.rvloc, a finger, becaufe it is divided into three 
joints, tlie firft of which is longer titan the other two. 
The dadlyl is faid to have been the invention of Diony- 
fius or Bacchus, who delivered oracles in this meafure 
at Delphos, before Apollo. The Greeks call it vjoXi-ty.oc. 
The daiftyl and fpondee are the moll confiderable of tlie 
poetical feet; as being the meafures ufed in heroic verfe 
by Homer, Virgil, &c. Thefe two are of equal time, 
but not equal motion. Tite fpondee has an even, ftrong, 
and fteady pace, like a trot: tlie dadtyl refembles the 
nimbler flrokes of a gallop. 
Dactylus was alfo a fort of dance among the an¬ 
cient Greeks, chiefly performed, Hefychius obferves, 
by the athletEe. Daftyls alfo denote the fruit of the 
palm-tree, more ufually called dates. 
DACTYLE'THRA, f. [from dccdlv?^, a finger.] A 
furgical inftrument fliaped like a finger, and thruft into 
tlie ftomach to excite vomiting, 
DAC'i'YLI, a name given to the priefts of Cybele, 
which fome derive from S)zy. toAo?, a finger, becaufe they 
were ten, the fame number as the fingers of the hands. 
Paufanias. 
DA'CTYLIC, adj. Something that has a relation to 
dactyls. 
