Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 06.djvu/393

* DOBROVSKY. 339 DOCENT. to scientific pursuit;-, and gradually dcvelojjcd into an ardent -tudcnt of everything lonnecled with the Bohemian nationality, antiquitie?, lan- guage, and literatire. and during 1780-S7 issued several periodical publications dealing with those questions. Appointed >uhr(vtor (1787) and then rector (1789) of the ticneral Seminary at llra- discli, near tJlmiitz. he acquired many cni'mies by his outspokenness and fearless criticisms of men prominent in the political and social life of the country. In 17"J0 the seminary was closed and Uohrovsky retired into private life. Two years later the Royal Bohemian Scientific So- ciety, founded shortly before, sent him on a scientilic mission. At the society's expense. Dobrovsky visited Dennuirk, Sweden. Finland, and Russia, in 1702, and Germany. Switzerland, and Italy, in 17SI4, in search of ancient Bohemian manuscripts and books i)lundered during the Thirty Years' War. In 1801 he manifested symptoms of insanity. Though he presently re- covered, the fits of mental aberration kept re- curring until his death. Whenever in the throes of the malady Dobrovsky was eager to destroy his works, and it was during one of these fits that he burned the Lusatian Dictionary, which was ready for the press. Although one of the most important figures in the period of the revival of Czech literature (q.v.), he did not lielieve in the possibility or even desirability of Bohemian renaissance, his favorite advice to the enthusiasts being: "Leave the dead alone." His interest in the literary remains of the nation was nothing beyond that of scientific investiga- tion. This difference from the point of view of the younger enthusiastic scholars turned into a serious breach when Dobrovsky attacked the authenticit.v of the famous .lurlqmcnt of Libiisha, discovered by Hanka in 1817. .fungmann, llanka, felakovsky. Palacky, and even Safarik bitterly denounced him as a "Slavonizing German,' but Dobrovsk.v. though keenly grieved at the ani- mosity of his erstwhile friends, never changed his views. His principal works are: Hcriptores Tterum Bohemiranim (1783-84); Geschichte der holiiiiiacheii Sprarhc nnd iiltern Litteratiir (17!,'2; 2d ed. 1818) ; Die liildsrtmkeit der .tldwist-hcn Siirarhe (17!)9> : Driit.sch-hijhmisches Wiirterburh (1802-21) : Lehrqehaude der bohmischen Spraclie (1809; 2d ed. 1819) — the first scientifitt exposi- tion of the structure of the Czech language, re- markable for its analysis of the formation of words from roots and for the simplified theory of inflection, classifying declensions and conjuga- tions according to their stems; and hi.ttifutionis Linyuce Slavicw Diiilccti Ceteris (1822) — an epoch-making work in that field. DOBRXJDJA, di'ibrfTTT'jii (anciently Sri/thin Miiiiir. A name applied to the eastern portion of Rumania (q.v.), bounded bv the Danube on the north and west, Bulgaria on the south, and the Black Sea on the east. Its area exceeds .")930 square miles (AIa|i: Balkan Peninsula, G 2). Its population in 1809 was .528,242, consisting of Bulgarians, Rumanians, Tatars, Circassians, Turks, Greeks, .Armenians, and Jews. Previous to 1878 the Dobrudja formed part of Bulgaria. For further details, see RrxiANiA. DOBSON. See CoRVn.^us. DOB'SON, Henry Aistin (1840—). An English pfK't and critic. He was born at Plym- outh, and was educated at Beaumaris, Coven- try, and Strassburg. He intended to adopt the profession of his father, civil engineering, but in 18.511 entered the Board of Trade as a clerk, from which he did not retire until 1902. In 18(i8 he published some poems in Trollope's Saint I'uul's .i(i!iiiziiii;, and .soon attracted attention by his skillful and graceful handling of French arti- ficial forms of verse — tlie rondeau, ballade, and others — and by his delicate satire. In 1902 he received the degree of I-L.D. from the Uni- versity of Edinburgh. Among his volumes of poetry are: Viynettes in Rhyme (1873); Prov- erbs in Porcelain (1877) ; Old World Idylls (1883); and .It the Sign of the Lyre (1885). Collected poems appeared in 1897. His prose in- cludes Lives of Hogarth (1879: enlarged, 1900), Fielding (1883), Steele (188(i), and Gold.sniith ( 1888) ; Thomas Heuick and His J'uiiils ( 1884) ; .l/(Hioi»- of Horace Watpole (1890). He has edited Eighteenth-Century Essays (1882) ; Gay's Fables (1882); Goldsmith's Vicar of Wakefield (1883); Beaumarchais's Le Barbier de Seville (1884); Selections from Steele (1885); Eigh- teenth Century Vignettes (1892-04-96); a Pala- din of Philanthropy (1899) ; Samuel Richardson in ■•English Men of Letters" Series (London, 1902). etc. His critical and biographical work is excellent. DOBSON, WiLLi.iM (1010-46). An English painter, liorn in London, and a pupil of Sir Robert I'eake. He attracted the attention of Van Dyck and was presented by him to Charles I., who' called him the •Englisli Tintoretto.' He succeeded Van Dyck at the Court, and painted the portraits of the King, Prince Rupert, and others of the Court, During the Protectorate, Dobson became very poor and died in want. There are pictures by him at many of the Eng- lish country places — Blenheim, Chatsworth. Wil- ton, Stowe, and Windsor. His work resembles that of Van Dyck, whom he always imitated. DOCEN, do'tsen, Bernhard .Joseph (1782- 1828). A German philologist, born at Osna- briick. He studied at Gottingen. where he was a pupil of He™e, and at .Jena, and from 1804 was eonnected w'ith the State library at llunich, of which he was, in 1811, appointed custodian. His reputation is based largely on the critical exami- nation of the Old and' Middle High German manuscripts, which were deposited at Jlunich in consequence of the secularization of the cloisters in Bavaria. He was the first to call atten- tion to the importance, in the study of the his- tory of the German language, of the short frag- ments of early prose, the first Latin-German dictionaries, and the Gernum glosses to Latin }ii:uiuscripts of the period from the eighth to the twclllli icntury. DOCENT', do-tsent' ( Lat. docerc. to teach). A teacher in Gennan universities, with full offi- cial rclaticms. In its more general sense, the term inchntes professors of all grades and the privat-docent (q.v.). fn American universities it indicates a member of the teaching stafV of the lowest grade. Tn Clark University (q.v.) it is a distinction bestowed annually upon those "whose work has alrciidy marked a distinct advance be- yond ihe doctorate and who wish to engage in re- search." The appointee is expeited tfl deliver some lectures, ma.v receive a salary, and may be "formally invested with the liccnlia docendi . . . the highest formal academic honor." In the Uni-