DEFINITION. 68 DEFOREST. objects denoted bv tlic dcthticndum from the ob- jects denoted bv other terms within the yciHS. Ilie^e dillerentiatinf; attributes or combination of attril)iil(s .ire culled the specific ilill'erciice. A Uiflical delinition then is the designation of genus and specilic dilVcreiice. The tiucstion has been debated whether defini- tions should deal with names or tliiii;:*. The simple answer seems to be that it deals with names of things, meaning by things objects of thought, whcth.-r existing in the external w.irld or in the realm of imagination, or in any other oonceivablc sphere. See l.OGIC, and consult the authorities referred to there. DE FLO 'RES. A scoundrel in the service of
eniiaiulero. in Middleton's ChanncUitg. He
loves Heatri.e. his master's daughter, and, at her instigation, murders dc Pivac<iuo. When Beatrice refus'es to reward him by returning his passion, lie murders her and then commits suicide. DEFOE', Oaxiei. (c.1G01-17.31). An English novelist, the author of Uobinsoii Crusot: He was born in London, and was the son of James Foe a buU-hcr. The family name was changed to IJefoe about 1703. Defoe, whose father was a Dissenter, was educated at a Dissenting acad- ciiiv at Newington Green, with a view to the ministry. About lOSo he went into business, but was unsuccessful. The same year he took some part in the Monmouth Rebellion, and in 1088 he joined King William's army. Engaging in for- eign trade, he four years )atcr became bankrupt. In" 1098 appeared liis Essay on I'lojccls. which was followed in 1701 with a famous satirical poem, 77ic Trucliorn Kiiglishman. in vindication of King William, 80,000 copies, mostly pirated editions, being sold on the streets. In I70.S a complaint being made in the House of Commons regariling one of his recent publications, called The Shorlcsl lV.ii/ irith P iasrit I r r.« (1702), in which he argue<l with masterly irony that the Dissenters should be banished ami their preachers han-ed, he was pilloried an<l imiirisoned in New- gate! While in the pillory be published his spirited Hymn to the Pillory, lie was released from prison in August, 1704: but before this he had bemm 7'/ic licriew (February 17. 1,04), a periodical which he continued for nine years. It was at fir^t a weekly, then a semi weekly, and linallv a tri-weeklv. Its appearance marks an epoch in the history of periodical literature In 1700 appeared 7'/ic .1;<;'<"-i(io" of Oitr Mrs. I eat. one of Defoe's masterpieces in realistic coinposi- tion The same year he was sent by the .Ministry on a secret mission to Scotland to iiromote the Iiiion. A literary outcome of this was his llis- Ion/ of the Viiioli (1700). Defoe contimied to take an active part in political controversies, and was again imprisoned fcir a short time m 17l.{. He died in 17:n. Whatever may be Hie literary value of his miscellaneous writings, numbering above two hundred works, his fame rests upon his fictions. Ilohitisoii Crusoe (Isl part 1719) was the most popular fiction of its time. It was translated into many languages, and still maintains its original interest. It was immediately followed by several other notable .iilveiitures.' amimg which are: Memoirs of a Cnviilur (1720): Cnjitnin S^inijlcton (1720); VoU ri'in.lrrs (1722): .lourmil of the I'lague Vr.n- (1722): and foloml .Inric (1722). Defoe j»o»»er*s4'd perhaps the most remarkable narrative talent of all Knglish writers. Fiction he made appear like fact. He was a realist, and employe.l all the literary devices that give probability to fiction. For fact in itself he did not greatly care, and was rather fond of the lilcriiry hoax. His method was the very practical ohsenation of common things about him, but to these un- observed commoiiplaces his genius comiminuate<l breath. W liile his style is apt to be journalistic, at its best, it is characterizeil by a nervous energj- an<l a Inmiely simplicity which in his peciiliar work leave nothing to be desired. Con- sult- Aitkin, 7'/ic h'omames and ynrralivcs of Defoe (London, I89:->) ; Lee, yeuly Discovered Writings, with Life (3 vols., London,..18ti!l) ; Dobson", the reprint of Roftiiisoii Crii.ioe. with bibliography ( Lomlon and New York, 1883); Minto, Defoe (London, 1879) ; and Wright, Life (London, 1894). DEFORCEMENT (OF., from deforcer, from ilL. tliflvridin. to deprive by force). In Kng- lish law, an ouster or deprivation of the freehold (q.v.). 'it is the holding of any lands or telle- iiients to which another person has right. In this sense it includes as well an abatement, in- trusion, disseizin, or discoiilinuaiiee, as any other species of wrong whatsoever, whereby he that has right to the freehold is kept out of jiosses- sion. liut in its strict sense it is only such a detainer of the freehold from him that has the ri"ht of iiropcrtv, !>ut never had any possession under that right, as falls within none of those injuries. The party thus wrongfully retaining possessi.m was called the deforeiunt. and was said bv Blackstone (2 Com. 190) to have an apparent right of possession. There was this ditrcrence between a party retaining possession of the frecludd by means of deforcement and one who occupied by any of the other modes of ouster, that in the fonuer case the party oustetl had no right of entr>- (q.v.). This, previous to the reign of William IV.. was a matter of some importance, inasmuch as the claimant was llierebv d.'b;iried from recovering possession l>y means' of entry or ejectment, and was driven to Hie more tedious process of asserting his right liy a real action (q.v.). But by 3 an.l 4 William IV e 27. all real actions, except four, having liecn abolished, this distinction between deforce- ment and the other means of ouster has ceased to have the same practical importance. DEFOR'EST, .Ton N William (1820—). An American author and soldier, born at Huniphreys- ville (now Seymour). Conn. He was edu.ated in a desultory fashion in Europe, and spent some years in the Levant. Before the Civil War he "wrote quite a number of stories, novels, and sketches of travel, among them (Oriental .cnuainlanee (l.S.W): Enropenn Aetiunxnlanee ( 18.-,8) : and Scieliff ( 18r.n) , a novel. He entered the Civil War as captain of voliinteers. and served throughout the contest, especially in the Shenandoah N'alley and Louisiana, emerging with the brevet of major. After the war he served under Hie Freedman's Bureau for three years, then took up the life of a voluminous writer and frequent traveler. Between 1870 and 1880 he piiblish.Ml no fewer than nine novels, among them: The Wetherell Affair (1873); Honest John Vane (1875) ; and .lustine's Loreri (1878).
