OIAZ
777
DICCONSON
Francisco de C6rdoba in 1517. He proceeded to Mex-
ico with Grijalva in 1518 and returning to C>iba, set
out a thin! time for Mexico under tlie banner of Ilcr-
nando Cortes. He tooli part, lie tells us, in 1 19 battles,
and was present at the surrender of the city of Mexico
in 1521. As a reward for distinguished services he
received a commission as regidor or governor of Santi-
ago de los Caballeros in Guatemala, where he made his
home. In 1552, Goraara, secretary and chaplain to
Cortfe, published at Saragossa his "Cronica de la Con-
quista de Nueva Espaiia" in which Diaz thought he
gave undue credit to Cortes. Diaz, therefore, in 1568,
undertook to write his " Verdadera Historia de la Con-
quista de Nueva Espaiia", and though despairing of
his abihty to equal Gomara's literary polish, he deter-
mined to write a faithful narrative of the stirring
events in which he had taken part, in order to correct
the gross inaccuracies of Gomara, who had never even
been in America, and to vindicate the valour of him-
self and others who had been completely overshad-
owed by the exaggerated reputation of Cort6s. The
work lay neglected and unpublished until, in 1632,
Father Alonso Remon of the Order of Our Lady of
Mercy, found it in a private library and had it pub-
lished at Madrid. The work is crude and devoid of
style, and shows the ignorance and vanity of the au-
thor, but it will always be read with interest as being
the work of an eyewitness and participant in the
events described.
In 1689, Francisco de Fuentes, in his history of Guatemala, set forth his claim to be a descendant of Diaz, and gave certain facts concerning him and his work that had been until then unknown. It would seem that, although poor, the family of Diaz was noble and distinguished, for his father was regidor of the important town of Medina del C'ampo. Fuentes also declared that the work w.as not published as written by Diaz, as it was not printed from the original manu- script but from an unauthorized copy in the library of one Ramirez del Prado which fell into the hands of Father Remon. The original manuscript, he claims, was in his own possession. "La Biblioteca de .\u- tores Espaiioles" (1848-86) of Rivadeneira contains the entire works of Diaz. A German translation by P. J. de Rehfues-Bonn-Marcas was published in 1838.
Keatixge, Verdadera Historia de la Cojiquista de Nueva Espaiia (tr. London, 1800); Diaz del Castillo, Verdadera Historia de la Conqitista de Nueva Espaiia (Madrid, 1796); LocKHABT, Memoirs of Bemal Diaz del Castillo^ written by him-
self (London, 1844).
Ventura Fuentes.
Diaz de Soli's, Juan, Spanish navigator and ex-
plorer, b. about 1470 at Lebrija (Seville), or, according
to some accounts, in .\sturias; d. in South .\merica in
1516. After some explorations in Central America in
1506 and in Brazil in 1508, he succeeded Amerigo
Vespucci as pilot-major, upon the latter's death in
1512. This title had been conferred upon Vespucci
by Ferdinand of Spain 22 March, 1509, and carried
with it a high salarj'. Two years after appointment
to this office, de Soh's prepared an expedition to ex-
plore the southern part of the new continent. His
ships sailed from Lepe on 8 Oct., 1515, following the
eastern coast as far as the mouth of the Rio de la
Plata. He went up that river for some distance, and,
wishing to take possession of the country in the name
of the Crown, landed on the eastern bank of the river,
somewhere near the junction of the Uruguay and
Parang Rivers, with two officers and seven men. This
region was inhabited by wild tribes, and the little
party had not proceeded far when they were attacked
from ambush, and Diaz de Soh's and most of his fol-
lowers were kille<l. Wien he did not come back, those
who had remained behind on the ships determined to
return to Spain. Francisco de Torres, the brother-in-
law of Diaz de Soli's, then took charge, and after nam-
ing the river Rio de Soli's, they set sail, arriving in
Spain, 4 Sept., 1516. The news of the disastrous end-
ing of the expedition was communicated to Cardinal
Ximenes de Cisneros who was then regent of Spain.
Varnhagen, in his "History of Brazil", published in
Portuguese (Rio de Janeiro, 1854-58), states that
Nuiio Manuel visited the La Plata before Diaz de
Soil's. Manuel Trelles gives the same honor to Diego
Garcia in a pamphlet published in Buenos Aires in
1879.
Frejeiro, Jzian Diaz de Sotisi y el Descuhrimiento del Rio de la Plata (1879-80): Trelles, Diego Garcia, Primer Descubridor del Rio de la Plata (Buenos .\irea, 1879); Berra, Bosquejo His- torico de la Republica Oriental del Uruguay (Montevideo. 1881).
Ventura Fuentes.
Dibon, a titular see in Pala>stina Tertia. Dibon (Sept., Daibon, Dcbon, or DehOn) is mentioned in Num., xxxiii, 45, as a station of the Hebrews on their way to the Promised Land. It was soon after occu- pied and rebuilt by the tribe of Gad (Num., xxxii, 34). It belonged later to the Rubenites (Jos., xiii, 17). At the tune of the Prophets it was in the power of the Moabites. The ruins of the town stand at Diban, one and a half miles west of 'Ani'ir (.\roer), ten miles south-east of M'kaour (Machoerous), in the vilayet of Damascus. The masses of black basolt present a mournful aspect, strangely contrasting with that of the fertile table-land of Jloab and the vicinity of the .\rnon (Wadi Modjib). There are an acropolis, cis- terns, sepulchral grottoes, and a few Roman and Cliristian fragments. It was here also that Clermont Ganneau found the famous stele of Mesa, King of Moab, now at the Lou\Te. Mesa calls himself "the Dibonite". Dibon, as far as is known, never was a Greek see, but in the course of time became a Latin titular see.
Sayce, />' ' r' ■' ' 'Ji^ Ancient AfonuTnents, 77; Trist- ram. TAe ion ~-i\a Palestine Explnr. Fund. Quart. Statement (1^" k, a plan of the ruins, in Zeilschr. d. Deutschcn I' ' »i ■, II.
S. Petrides.
Dicastillo, Juan de, theologian, b. of Spanish par- ents at Naples, 28 December, 1584; d. at Ingolstadt 6 March, 1653. He entered the novitiate of the Soci- ety of Jesus in 1600, and was professor of theology for twenty-five years at Toledo, Murcia, and Vienna. In moral questions, Dicastillo followed the principles of the probabilists. His principal works are: "De jus- titia et jure ceterisque virtutilius cardinalibus libri duo" (Antwerp, 1641); "De Sacramentis in genere disputationes scholasticae et morales" (Antwerp, 1646-52); "Tractatus duo de juramento, perjurio, et adjuratione, necnon de censuris et poenis ecclesi.a.s- ticis" (Antwerp, 1662); "Tractatus de incamatione" (.Antwerp, 1642).
HuRTER, Somendator; Sommervogel, Bibliothhque de la e. de J., Ill, col. 49; Langhorst in Kirchenlex., a. v.
Dicconson, Edw.\rd, titular Bi.shop of Malla, or Mallus, Vicar .\postolic of the English Northern Dis- trict; b. 30 Nov., 1670; d. 5 May, 17.52. He was the son of Hugh Dicconson of Wrightington Hall, Lan- cashire. At the age of thirteen or fourteen he was sent to the English College at Douai, where he com- pleted his course of philosophy in 1691. He returned to Douai about 1698, having resolved to become a priest, and on being ordained in June, 1701, remained at the college many years as procurator ;ind professor, and became vice-president in 1713, while .still continu- ing to teach theology. At lishaw there is preserved a portion of a diary kept by him at this period, which gives a glimpse of the life he then led at Douai, besides mentioning some other events of interest. In it he has recorded a visit paid by him to Paris in June, 1704, when he and his brother "at St. Germain made the compliments of the College to King and Queen on the King's birthday." The king here referred to was James II's youthful son, who was recognized as king,
