DEB 
Ephraim, whither the children of Ifrael reforted to her 
for advice, and the decifion of differences; about that 
time Jabin, king of Canaan, had been permitted to punifh 
the Ifraelites for their vices, by conquering their coun¬ 
try, and opprefling them with grievous exadtions for 
twenty years. At the expiration of that period, Debo¬ 
rah called Barak, the fon of Abinoam, who lived in a 
city of fome note belonging to the tribe of Naphtali, and 
encouraged him to draw together a body of 10,000 men 
towards Mount Tabor, alluring him that God would en¬ 
able him with fuch. a force to emancipate his country, 
and ruin the power of its opprelfor. When Sifera, the 
commander in chief of Jabin, heard of Barak’s move¬ 
ment, he aflembled a very formidable army, with which 
he proceeded to crufh the Ifraelitifh infurgents. But 
Barak’s fmall body utterly defeated his numerous holt; 
and Sifera himfelf fell by the hand of Jael, the wife of 
Heber, to whofe tent he had fled for concealment, who, 
when he was overpowered with fatigue and deep, dit- 
patched him by driving a tent-pin through his temples. 
On the occafion of this victory, Deborah compofed an 
inimitable ode, abounding in fublime fentiments, lofty 
images, and all the choiceft flowers of poetry. Judges, 
ch. iv. v. 
DEBOSH'ED, adj. [from dcbauche, Fr.] Debauched. 
—Thou debofldd filh ! ShakeJ'peare. — Debojh'd and daily 
drunkards. Beaumont and Fletcher. —Spoilt for fervice.—• 
Laft year his barks and galleys were debojh’d. Fuimus Trocs. 
DE'BRA LIBANO, a town of Africa, in the country 
of Abyflinia : 180 miles fouth of Gondar. 
DE'BRA SELALO, a town of Africa, in the country 
of Abyflinia: ninety miles fouth-weft of Gondar. 
DE'BRA SEMONA, a town of Africa, in the coun¬ 
try of Abyflinia: no miles fouth of Gondar. 
DEBREC'ZIN, a large and populous town of Hun¬ 
gary, without walls. It was taken by the Turks in 1684, 
but retaken by the imperialifts in the fame year: fixty- 
feven miles weft-north-wefl of Colofvar, and 165 eafl- 
fouth-eaft of Vienna. Lat. 47. 16. N. Ion. 38. 27. E. Ferro. 
DEBT, f. \_debitum, Lat. dette, Fr.] That which one 
■man owes to another.'—There was one that died greatly 
in debt: Well, fays one, if he be gone, then he hath car¬ 
ried five hundred ducats of mine with him into the other 
world. Bacon. 
To this great lofs a fea of tears is due ; 
But the whole debt not to be paid by you. Waller. 
That which any one is obliged to do or fuffer : 
Your fon, my lord, has paid a foldier’s debt ; 
He only liv’d but till he was a man, 
But like a man he dy’d. ShakeJ'peare. 
“ Out of Debt, out of danger.” Gr. ’EvU’a.ifj.ov 0 p.x- 
o'sii o$n 7 \av : Happy he that owes nothing. Lat. Felix qui 
nihil debet. High Germ. Wohl dem der nichts fuchidigijl. 
Happy is he who is out of debt; or, Okne borgen, ohne Jor- 
gen, No debts, no forrows. The Italians fay as we, Chi 
r.on deve niente, a J'uor di pericolo. —No one can appreciate 
the juflnefs and truth of this proverb, fo well as thofe 
who have experienced the diflrefling fituation of exifting 
on the bounty of a creditor. 
DEBT, J. in law, is in common parlance a fum of 
money due from one perfon to another. And if an ac¬ 
tion be brought, and the plaintiff recovers judgment, he 
may by law take either the perfon, or his real or per- 
fonal eflate in execution, i. e. the moiety of his real ef- 
tate, or the whole of the perfonal, if not more than fuf- 
ficient for payment of the fum recovered and charges. 
In the legal fenfe of the word, debt is faid to be an ac¬ 
tion which lieth where a man oweth another a certain 
fum of money, either by a debt of record, by fpecialty, 
or by Ample contradt; as on a judgment, obligation, or 
bargain for a thing fold, or by contradt, &c. and the 
debtor will not pay the debt at the day agreed ; then the 
-creditor fhail hjive adtion of debt againfl him for the 
DEB 635 
Lime. If a man contradt to pay money fora thing which 
he hath bought, and the feller takes bond for the money, 
tlm contradt is difeharged, fo that he fhail not have ac¬ 
tion of debt upon the contrad, but on the bond. New 
Nat. Br. 268. 
The legal acceptation of debt, is therefore a fum of 
money due by certain and exprefs agreement : as, by a 
bond for a determinate fum; a bill, or note; a fpecial 
bargain; or rent referved on a leafe; where the quan¬ 
tity is fixed and fpecific, and does not depend upon any 
fubfequent valuation to fettle it. The non-payment of 
thefe is an injury, for which the proper remedy is by ac¬ 
tion of debt, to compel the performance of the contrad, 
and recover the fpecific fum due. This is the fhortefl 
and fureft remedy ; particularly where the debt arifes 
upon a fpecialty, that is, upon a deed or inftrument un¬ 
der feal. So alfo, if I verbally agree to pay a man a 
certain price for a certain parcel of goods, and fail in the 
performance, an adion of debt lies againfl me ; for this 
is alfo a determinate contrad! ; but if I agree for no fet¬ 
tled price, I am not liable to an adion of debt, but a 
fpecial adtion on the cafe, according to the nature of my 
contrad. And indeed adtions of debt are now feldcm 
brought but upon fpecial contrads under feal, wherein 
the turn due is clearly and precifely exprefled ; for, in 
cafe of fuch an adion upon a Ample contrad, the plaintiff 
labours under two difficulties ; Firfl, the defendant has 
here the fame advantage as in an adion of detinue, that 
of waging his law, or purging himfelf of the debt by 
oath, if he thinks proper. 4^72.94. Secondly, in an 
adion of debt, the plaintiff mull prove the whole debt 
he claims, or recover nothing at all. For the debt is 
one Angle caufe of adion, fixed and determined ; and 
which therefore, if the proof varies from the claim, can¬ 
not be looked upon as the fame contrad, whereof the 
performance is fued for. But in adions of debt, where 
the contrad is proved or admitted, if the defendant can 
ffievv that he has difeharged any part of it, the plaintiff 
fhail recover the refidue. Salk. 664. 2 Comm. 154. When 
alfo the damages can be reduced by the averment to a 
certainty, debt will lie ; as on a covenant to pay fo much 
per load for wood, &c. So if in an adion, in which the 
plaintiff can only recover damages, there be judgment 
for him, he can afterwards bring debt for thofe damages. 
Bull. N. P. 167. Doug. 6, 732. 
If one binds himfelf in a Angle obligation, or with 
condition, to pay money at a day ; or to deliver corn, or 
the like, and do not perform it accordingly, the obligee 
may bring adion of debt for it. F. N. B. 120. A man 
acknowledges by deed, that he hath fo much of the mo¬ 
ney of J. S. due to him in his hands • here debt may be 
brought: and debt will lie on a tally fealed. 1 Hcn.V I. 
55. A. delivers twenty poundsto B. to buy goods, and B. 
gives a receipt to A. teftifying the delivery and receipt 
of the twenty pounds, but doth not promife to deliver 
the goods, &c. A. may maintain debt upon this receipt. 
Dyer 20. zBulJl.2^6. If one binds himfelf to pay A.B. 
ten pounds at one day, and ten pounds at another, after 
the firfl day action of debt lies for ten pounds, being a 
feveral duty. 2 Danv. Abr. 501. The nature of the bond, 
and of the condition, if there is any, muft be carefully 
attended to, to fee if by non-payment of the firfl fum 
the bond is forfeited. Co. Lit. 292. Adtion of debt lies 
upon a parol contradt, and fo doth adtion on the cafe. 1 
Lit. 403. If goods or money are delivered to a third 
perfon for my ufe, I may have adtion of debt or account 
for them. 2 Danv. 404. Where money is delivered to a 
perfon, to be re-delivered again, the property is altered, 
and debt lies: but where a horfe, or any goods are thus 
delivered, there detinue lies, becaufe the property is not 
altered ; and the thing is known, whereas money is not. 
1 Nelf. Abr. 603. Action of debt lies againfl the hutband, 
for goods which were delivered or fold to the wife, if 
they come to the ufe of the hutband. 1 Lil. 400. If one 
delivers meat, drink, or clothes, to an infant, and he 
promifes 
