DEV 
DE'VA, or DeUna, anciently a town of the Cornavii, 
in Britain. Now Chester. 
' DEVASTA'TION,/'. [ devafio, Lat.] Waiiej havock ; 
defolation ; deftru&ion : 
By devajlation the rough warrior gains, 
And farmers fatten mod when famine reigns. Garth. 
[In 1 aw.] Wafte of the goods of the deceafed by an ex¬ 
ecutor or adminiftrator.—Ncceflary funeral expences are 
allowed previous to all other debts and charges ; but, 
if the executor or adminillrator be extravagant, it is a 
fpecies of devajlation, or wafte of the fubftance of the de¬ 
ceafed. Blackjlone. 
DEVAST A'VIT,/. In law, a writ that lies againft ex¬ 
ecutors or adminiftrators, for paying debts upon fimple 
contract, before debts on bonds and fpecialties, &c. for, 
in this cafe, they are liable to aftion, as if they had 
fquandered away or wafted the goods of the-deceafed, 
or converted them to their own ufe ; and are compella¬ 
ble to pay fuch debts by fpecialty out of their own goods, 
to the value of what they fo paid illegally. But, if-an 
executor pays debts upon Ample contract, before he hath 
any notice of bonds, it is no devajlavit ; and regularly 
this notice is by an aftion commenced againft him, for 
the law doth not oblige him to take notice of ic himfelf, 
nor of a judgment againft his teftator, becaufe he is not 
privy to adts done either by or againft him. i Mod. 175. 
1 Lev. 215. Where an executor Jiays legacies before 
debts, and hath not fufficient to pay both, it is a devajla- 
vit. Alfo, Where an executor fells the teftator’s goods 
at an under value, it is a devajlavit ; but this is under- 
ftood where the fale is fraudulent ; for, if more money 
could not be had, it is otherwife. 1 Nelf. Ahr. 649. Ex¬ 
ecutors, keeping tlie goods of the deceafed in their 
hands, and not paying the teftator’s debtsor felling 
them, 'and not paying off debts, &c. or not obferving 
the law which directs them in the management thereof; 
or doing any thing by negligence or fraud, whereby the 
eftate of the deceafed is milemployed, are guilty of a dc- 
ziajlavit, or wafte ; and they fliall be charged for fo much 
de bonis propriis, as if for their own debt. 8 Rep. 133. But 
the fraud or negligence of one executoris not chargeable 
on the reft, where there are feveral executors. 1 Rol. 
Abr. 929. 
There are fopne cafes in the old books, in which it hath 
been held, if an executor waftes the goods of the tefta¬ 
tor, and afterwards makes his executor, and dies, leaving 
aftets, that an aftion of debt will not lie againft the exe¬ 
cutor of the wafting executor, upon a fuggeftion of a de- 
vajlavit or wafte by the firft executor, becaufe it is a per- 
fonal wrong which died with him. 3 Leon. 241. But, in 
this cafe, there is a difference between a lawful executor, 
and an executor de Con tort ; for, as an executor deJ'on tort 
poflefles himfelf of the goods wrongfully, if he after¬ 
wards waftes them, and dies, leaving aftets, his executor 
fhall be charged upon the fuggeftion of a devajlavit in his 
teftator, becaufe he came wrongfully by the goods, and 
therefore the wrong fliall not die with his perl'on. 2 Lev. 
133. And before the 30 Car. 2. c. 7, it was decreed, in 
equity againft the executor of a lawful executor, w ho 
had waited the goods, and died, that fitch executor 
fliould be liable to make good to the creditors of the tef¬ 
tator, fo much as the firft executor had wafted, and fo far 
as he had aftets of the laid firft executor. By the faid 
30 Car. II. c. 7. it is enacted, that if an executor de fon tort 
waftes the goods, and dies, his executors fhall be liable, 
in the fame manner as their teftator would have been, if 
he had been living. And it has been lince- adjudged, 
that a rightful executor, who waftes the goods of the tef¬ 
tator, is in effedt an executor de Jon tort, for abufing' his 
trull. JMod.113. And his executor or adminillrator is 
made liable to a devajlavit, by 4 & 5 V/. & M. c. 24, which 
makes the 30C. II. c. 7. perpetual. 
Debt lies againft an executor in the debet and detinet, 
where there is a judgment againft his teftator, upon a 
D E U 771 
fuggeftion only, that he had wafted the goods ; and this 
is a more expeditious w.ay than the old method of Jci. fac. 
inquiry, which was ifi’ued to (hew caufewhy the plaintiff 
fliould iiot have execution againft the executor, de bonis pro¬ 
priis, and thereupon the fljerilT returned a devajlavit, &c. 
1 Lev. 147. A hufoand is to be charged for wafte done 
by his wife dumfoia ; but the hu(band is not chargeable 
after the death of a wife executrix, on fuggeftion of a de- 
vajlc.vit in a declaration againft him- Lutw.G 72. And it 
has been adjudged, that a feme covert executrix cannot 
do any wafte during the coverture, though, for wafte done 
by the hufband, flie fliall be charged, if fhe furvive him ; 
but then it 11111ft be on a judgment obtained againft him, 
and not on a bare fuggeftion of a devajlavit, See. 2 Lev. 145. 
If an executor or adminiftrator confelles judgment, or 
fuffers'it to go by default, lie thereby admits aftets, and 
is eftopped to fay tile contrary in an adtion on fuch judg¬ 
ment fuggefting a devajlavit. 1 i'Vilj'. 258. 
DEUCAI.EDO'NIA.N SEA, Deucaj-edonius Oce- 
anus, or DuacaJ.edonius, [To called from Duah Gad, 
the northern Highlanders.] The fea on the north-weft-cf 
Scotland ; called alio the Sarmatian fea. 
DEUCA'LION, a Con of.Prometheus, who married 
Pyrrlia, the daughter of Epimetheus. He reigned over 
part of Theffaly, and in his age the whole earth was 
overwhelmed with a deluge. The impiety of mankind 
had irritated Jupiter, who refolved to deftroy mankind, 
and immediately the earth exhibited a boundlefs feene 
of waters. The higheft mountains w^ere climbed up by 
the frightened inhabitants of the country ; but this feem- 
ing place of fecurity was foon overtopped by the riling 
waters, and no hope was left of efcaping the univerfal 
calamity. Prometheus adviled his fon to make himfelf 
a fliip, add, by this-means, lie faved himfelf and his w ife 
Pyrrlia. The veifel was toiled about during nine fuc- 
celiive days, and at laft- (topped qp_ the top of mount Par- 
naflus,’ where Deucalion remained, till the waters had 
fublided. Pindar and Ovid make no mention of a veffel 
built by the advice of Prometheus ; but, according to 
their relation, Deucalion faved his life by taking refuge- 
on the top of Parnaftlis; or, according.to Ilyginus, of 
yEtna in Sicily. As fooh as the waters had retired 
from the furface of the earth, Deucalion and his wife 
went to confult the; oracle of Themis, and were directed 
to repair the lofs. of mankind, by throwing-behind them 
the bones of their grandmother. This was nothing but 
the (tones of the earth ; and„after fome hefitation about 
the meaning -of the oracle, they obeyed. The ftones 
thrown by Deucalion became men, and thofe of Pyrrlia 
women. According to Juftin, Deucalion was not the 
only one who efcaped from the univerfal calamity. Ma¬ 
ny faved their lives by afeending the higheft mountains, 
or irufting themfelves in fmall velfels to the mercy of the 
waters. This deluge, which chiefly happened in Theflaly, 
according to the relationof fome writers, was produced by 
the inundation of the waters of the river Peneus, whofe 
regular courfe was (topped by an earthquake near mount 
Olfa and Olympus. According to Xenophon, there were 
no lefs than five deluges. The firft happened under 
Ogyges, and lafted three months. Thejecond, which 
was in the age of Hercules and Prometheus, coulinued 
but one month. During the third, which happened in 
the reign of another Ogyges, all Attica was laid wafte by 
the waters. Theffaly was totally covered by the waters 
during the fourth, which happened in the age of Deuca¬ 
lion. The laft was during the Trojan war, and itsefledls 
were feverel.y felt by the inhabitants of Egypt. There 
prevailed a report in Attica,, that the waters of Deuca¬ 
lion’s deluge had difappeared through a fmall aperture, 
about a cubit wide, near Jupiter Olympiu-s’s temple; and 
Paufanias, who faw it, further adds, that a yearly offer¬ 
ing of flour and honey was-thrown into it with religious 
ceremony. The deluge of Deucalion, fo much celebrated 
in ancient hiftory, is fuppofed to have happened 1503 
years before Chrift Herod. Apollod. Pauf. &c. Dr.Bryant, 
however^ 
