D I E 
I’m partly led to diet my revenge, 
For that I do fufpePt the lufly Moor 
Hath leapt into my feat. Shakcfpeare. 
To DI'ET, v. n. To eat by rules of phyfic. To eat; 
to feed : 
I join with thee calm peace and quiet; 
Spare fad, that oft with gods doth diet. Milton. 
DI'ET-DRINK,/! Medicated liquors; drink brewed 
with medicinal ingredients.—The obfervation will do 
that better than the lady’s diet-drinks, or apothecary’s 
medicines. Locke. 
DI'ET,/! [from dies, an appointed day, Skinner; from 
diet, an old German word fignifying a multitude, Junius. ] 
An alfembly of princes or eftates. It is principally ap¬ 
plied to the general meetings of the Hates of Germany, 
wherein the emperor prelides.—An emperor in title with¬ 
out territory, who can ordain nothing of importance but 
by a diet, or alfembly of the eftates of many free princes, 
ecclefiaftical and temporal. Raleigh. 
DIE'TA, f. in old records, a day’s work, a day’s 
journey. 
DI'ETARY, adj. Pertaining to the rules of diet. 
DI'ETER, f. One who prefcribes rules for eating ; 
one who prepares food by medicinal rules : 
He fauc’d our broth as Juno had been lick, 
And he her dieter. Shakcfpeare. 
DIETE'RIC (John Conrad), a learned German Lu¬ 
theran divine, born at Butzbach, a town of Wetteravia, 
in 1612. He diftinguilhed himl’elf by his ftudious appli¬ 
cation and literary proficiency, in the univerfities of Jena 
and Stralburgh. Having finifhed his academical coui-fe, 
he travelled into Holland, where he had an opportunity 
of profiting by the acquaintance and converfation of Vof- 
lius, Buxhorn, Barlaeus, Heinfius, and other learned men; 
and made fome ftay at Leyden, to confult the libraries of 
that univerlity. Afterwards he vifited Denmark and 
PruIlia for farther improvement, and then returned to 
his native country, where George II. landgrave of Helfe, 
gave him the appointment of profelfor of the Greek lan¬ 
guage and of hiftory. Upon the eftablilhment of the 
univerfity of Gielfen, he was fent to difcharge the duties 
of his profeffbrfhips in that place, where he maintained 
an honourable and refpePtable character until his death, 
in 1667. He was the author of, 1. De Perigrinatjcne Stu- 
diorum. 2. Gracia exulans, feu de infelicitatefuperioris feculi, 
in Gracarum Literarum Ignoratione. 3. Antiquilates Romance. 
4. latrenm Hippocraticum. 5. Breviarium fiareticorum & Con- 
ciliorum. 6. Lexicon Etymologico-Gracum. 7. Antiquitates Bi- 
blica, in quibus Decrcta, Prophetic, Sermones, Conf 'uetudines, 
ritufque ac DiLla Veter is Teflamenti de rebus Judceorum & Gtn- 
tilium, qua facris, qua prefanis, expenduntcr, ex Editionc Jo. 
Juft. Piftorii, 1671, folio. 8. Antiquitates Novi Teflamenti, 
feu Illuflramentum Novi Teflamenti ; five Lexicon Ph/lologico- 
theologicum Graco-latinum in Novum Tef amentum, 1680, folio. 
From the dates of the two lad-mentioned publications, it 
appears that they were pofthumous. 
DIE'TERSTORFF, a town of Germany, in the arch¬ 
duchy'of Auftria: four miles fbuth-fouth-weft of Tuln. 
DIETE'TIC, or Dietetical, adv. [^airrjTix'/i, Gr.] 
Relating to diet; belonging to the medicinal cautions 
-about the ufe of food.—He received no other counfel than 
to refrain from cold drink, w hich was but 0. dietctical cmw- 
tion, and fuch as culinary prefeription might have af¬ 
forded. Brown. —This book of Cheyne’s became the fub- 
je6t of converfation, and produced even feels in the die¬ 
tetic philofophy. Arbuthnot. 
Dl'ETFURTH, a town of Germany, iq the circle of 
Bavaria, fttuated on the north coaft of the Altmuhl : 
nineteen miles weft of Ratilbon. In 1703, the Bava¬ 
rians were defeated here, and the town was taken by the 
imperialifts. Lat. 48. 59. N. Ion. 29. 21. E. Ferro. 
DI'ETMANFRIED, a town of Germany, in the cir- 
x 
DIE 315 
cle of Swabia, belonging to the abbey of Kempten : eight 
miles north-north-weft of Kempten. 
DI'ETRICH (John William Erneft), a celebrated mo¬ 
dern painter, born at Weimar, on the 30th of October, 
1712. His father, John George Dietrich, was painter to 
the court of Weimar, and efteemed for his portraits and 
battles. Young Dietrich was taught the principles of 
drawing by his father, who afterwards fent him to Dref- 
den, where he enjoyed the advantage of being inltrudted 
by the celebrated landfcape painter, Alexander Thiele. 
Though he had obtained the title of painter to the court 
under Auguftus II. he remained with count Bruhl till 
he entered into actual fervice under Auguftus III. who, 
in 1743, fent him to Italy for improvement. In 17(13, 
when the academy of Drefden was eftablillied on its pre- 
fent footing, Dietrich was made one of the firft profef- 
fors; and at the fame time w-as appointed director of the 
fchool of painting at the porcelain manufactory of Meif- 
fen, which place he refigned in 1765, but he retained the 
falary attached to it till the period of his death. As long 
as his health allowed, he laboured with unwearied dili¬ 
gence and extraordinary quicknefs, of which the great 
number of his paintings, drawings, and engravings, dif- 
pierled throughout Europe, are a proof. This clofe ap¬ 
plication, however, at length rendered him ftckly and 
totally unfit for exercifing his art, fo that he died com¬ 
pletely exhanfted, in April 1774, in the fixty-fecond year 
of his age. Dietrich exercifed four kinds of painting 
with great fuccefs. Firft, Landfcape painting, in which 
he excelled. His landfcapes dilplay fertility of inven¬ 
tion, a great deal of judgment and tafte, happinels of 
choice, and variety in the arrangement; infomuch that 
he was reckoned the firft landfcape painter of his time. 
Second, His feripture pieces, both paintings and engrav¬ 
ings, are chiefly in the ftyle of Rembrandt; his old fi¬ 
gures, in particular, have a likenefs to thofe of that cele¬ 
brated painter. In young figures, and efpecially females, 
his drawing is more juft and elegant; his touches fofter, 
and his fleth tints more agreeable. Third, His pieces 
reprefenting boors, which difplay a great deal of nature 
and expreflion. Fourth, His converfation pieces, formed 
chiefly after Watteau. In all his paintings the colouring 
is excellent: and his colours,are not only exceedingly 
lively, without glare; but they are alfo very durable. 
He alfo engraved a great many plates, which he began 
to collett after his return from Italy, and which are now 
of great value. Dietrich, according to the opinion of 
Hagcdorn, and other connoifleurs, was an original genius, 
DI'ETRICHSTEIN, a town of Germany, in the •du¬ 
chy of Carinthia, 'on the Geyl: one league welt of Aru- 
oldftein. 
DI'ETZ, a town of Germany, in the circle.of the Up¬ 
per Rhine, and capital of a county to which it gives 
name, formerly independent, but now united to the 
principality of NaiTau, under the name of Naffau Dietz, 
fttuated on the Lahn. It contains three churches, two for 
Calvinifts, the other Lutherans : twenty-three miles weft 
of Wetzlar, and twenty-five north of Mentz. Lat. 50. 
23. N. Ion. 25. 39. E. Ferro. 
DIEU (Lewis de), a Dutch proteftant divine, emi¬ 
nent for his acquaintance with the oriental languages, 
born at Flufhing in 1590. He profecuted his ftudies un¬ 
der the inftructions of his maternal uncle, Daniel Colo- 
nius, who was profelfor in the Walloon college at Ley¬ 
den ; and when he was of a proper age to engage in the . 
work of the miniftry, he fettled for two years as pallor 
to the French church at Flufhing. His pulpit fervices 
were fo acceptable, that prince Maurice of Orange, who 
heard him preach when lie was in Zealand, wasdelirous 
of giving him the appointment of court-minifter at the 
Hague : but that refpedtable lituation he chofe to de¬ 
cline. In 1619, he was called to Leyden, to aftilt his 
uncle Colonius in the profeflorlhip of the Walloon col¬ 
lege ; which office he diligently dilcharged until his 
' “ deaths 
