Encyclopaedia Britannica > Volume 8, DIA-England

D O I
With shields of proof thy half-arm’d bands protect,
Each random lance, each wav’ring shaft direct,
Till deeply sped, it reach the deadly wound,
And stretch some champion breathless on the ground,
Till heaps of carnage choak th’ impurpled flood.
And all these fields are drench’d in hostile blood.
I see Caernarvon pale, aghast with fear,
Fly swift, great Douglas thundering in his rear :
111 fare the faithless churl who shelter lends,
And homeward safe the trembling tyrant sends.
These are the only works which Dr Doig published in
a separate form. For the reputation of authorship he
appears to have felt no particular ambition : he was how¬
ever an indefatigable student, and wrote many tracts
which were never printed, which he probably had no in¬
tention of printing. He wrote an elaborate dissertation
On the Ancient Hellenes, which appeared in the Transac¬
tions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, vol. iii. He
afterwards prosecuted the same subject, and transmitted
his manuscript to one of the secretaries of the society;
but on the decease of that gentleman, no vestige of it
could be found among his papers. His contributions to
the third edition of the present work, and particularly the
article Philology, exhibit the most conspicuous monument
of his erudition. In the articles Mysteries and Mythology,
although they bear marks of the same hand, he has not
taken so wide a range; but the article Philology is a long
and elaborate treatise, distinguished by ingenuity as well
as learning. “ In addition,” says Lord Woodhouselee, “ to
the most profound knowledge of the Greek and Latin lan¬
guages, which he wrote with a classical purit}', Dr Doig
had successfully studied the Hebrew, Arabic, and other
kindred dialects, and was deeply versed in Oriental lite¬
rature.” Of this variegated knowledge he has fully availed
himself in his treatise on Philology. That portion of the
Encyclopaedia Britannica which contains it, was published
in,, London during the same week with a tract on the
Greek verb, written by Dr Vincent, afterwards dean of
Westminster,1 “ who was so struck with the coincidence
of Dr Doig’s opinions on many points with his own, that
he began an epistolary correspondence with the author;
and these two eminent scholars went hand in hand in
their researches, and in a free communication of their
opinions, with a liberality of sentiment which did honour
to both. Such likewise was the conduct of the learned
Mr Bryant, who had entered into a correspondence with
Dr Doig on the subject of ancient mythology.”2
Dr Doig, who was married and left descendants, died
on the 16th of March 1800, at the mature age of eighty-
one. The following epitaph, written by himself, has been
engraved on a marble monument erected to his memory
by the town of Stirling, where he was respected for his
worth, and admired for his learning;
Edidici qusedam, perlegi plura, notavi
Paucula, cum domino mox peritura suo.
Lubrica Pieriae tentarem prsemia palmae,
Credulus, ingenio heu nimis alta meo.
Extincto famam ruituro crescere saxo
Posse putem, vivo quae mihi nulla fuit ?
Of his Latin versification we subjoin a more consider¬
able specimen, which relates to the erection of a monu¬
ment to the memory of Buchanan.
En, Buchanane, pii, longo post tempore, cives
Ingenio statuunt haec monumenta tuo.
D O L 93
Scotia te natum, te Gallia jactat alumnum,
Te canit Europe, qua plaga cunque patet.
Nil opus est saxo, nil indice: laeta sonabunt
Carmine Levinium saecula cuncta decus.
Seu decoras Latio divina poemata cultu,
Seu recinis nugas, ludicra, festa, sales,
Grandia seu tragico devolvis verba cothurno,
Seu reseras varii claustra viasque poli,
ACmula seu captas Patavi praeconia linguae,
Foedera dum patriae, bella virosque refers,
Eloquio, gravitate, sono, vi, lumine, verbis,
iEquiparas veteres, exsuperasque novos.
Quod iGraii potuere simul, quod Romula virtus,
Tu solus numeris, arte, lepore potes.
Sin aliqua titubas patriae labefactus amore,
Aut nimium vera pro pietate pius,
Ipsa notam lecti Libertas plorat alumni,
Ipsa tegit lauri Calliopea comis.
Saepe nitor veri spissis latet obrutus umbris,
Nec semper Lynceus cuncta videnda videt.
Besides Latin and English poems, Dr Doig left an
immense variety of works in manuscript. The subse¬
quent list includes his most considerable treatises. 1.
A rational Demonstration of the Divinity and Incarna¬
tion of Christ, 36 pp. fol. 2. The History of the Pas¬
sion, 45 pp. 4to. 3. On Vicarious Punishments, 19 pp.
fol. 4. Strictures on Dr Campbell’s Translation of the
Sermon on the Mount, 15 pp. 4to. 5. An Analysis of the
Epistle to the Romans, 48 pp. fol. 6. An Analysis of the
Epistle to the Hebrews, 60 pp. 4to. 7. A Dissertation
on the Place where the Ark rested after the Deluge, 30
pp. fol. 8. An Essay on the Situation of Tarshish and
Ophir, 66 pp. 4to. 9. A Dissertation on the Origin of
Idolatry, 21 pp. 4to. 10. An Enquiry into the Origin of
Statue-Worship, 84 pp. fol. 11. A Philological Disserta¬
tion on Chain and Remphan, 135 pp. fol. 12. A Philolo¬
gical Dissertation on the Gods of the Egyptians, 344 pp.
4to. 13. The History of the Titans, 146 pp. 4to. 14.
On the Doctrine of Demons, 199 pp. 4to. 15. Letters on
Mr Bryant’s Ancient Mythology, 133 pp. fol. 16. An
Essay on the Origin of the Greeks, 406 pp. fol. 17. Elu¬
cidations of Grecian Antiquities, 98 pp. 4to. 18. On the
Origin of the Scots, 33 pp. 4to. 19. On the Origin of
Language, 59 pp. fol. 20. Letters to Lord Kames on
Language, 112 pp. fol. 21. Strictures on Dr Smith’s
Considerations on the Formation of Language, 33 pp. fol.
22. Letters to Dr Vincent on the Formation of Greek
Verbs, 48 pp. fol. 23. An Essay on the Utility of the
Learned Languages, 49 pp. 4to. 24. Figures of Rhetoric
poetically described, 16 pp. 4to. (x.)
DOLAH, a town and district of Hindustan, in the pro¬
vince of Gujerat, ceded to the British in 1803. Long. 72.
25. E. Lat. 22. 47. N.
DOLCI, Carlo, or Carlino, a painter of considerable
celebrity, was born at Florence in 1616. He was a dis¬
ciple of Jacopo Vignali, and when only eleven years of
age he attempted a whole figure of St John, which receiv¬
ed extraordinary approbation. He afterwards painted a por¬
trait of his mother, and displayed a new and delicate style,
which brought him into notice, and procured him exten¬
sive employment at Florence and other parts of Italy.
Dolci appears to have used his pencil chiefly in sacred
subjects, afld bestowed much labour on his pictures. In
his manner of working he was remarkably slow; and it
is said of him that his brain was affected by seeing Luca
Giordano dispatch more business in four or five hours
J
1 On this subject, Dr Vincent published two different tracts. The Origination of the Greek Verb ; an Hypothesis. . Lond. 1794,
8vo. The Greek Verb analyzed ; an Hypothesis, in which the Source and Structure of the Greek Language in general is considered.
Lond. 1795, 8vo.
2 Woodhouselee’s Memoirs of Lord Kames, vol. ii. p. 142.