ant of them was his [Greek: bios tes Hellados] (_Life in Greece_),
in which the moral, political and social condition of the people was
very fully discussed. In his _Tripoliticos_ he described the best form
of government as a mixture of monarchy, aristocracy and democracy, and
illustrated it by the example of Sparta. Among the philosophical works
of Dicaearchus may be mentioned the _Lesbiaci_, a dialogue in three
books, in which the author endeavours to prove that the soul is mortal,
to which he added a supplement called _Corinthiaci_. He also wrote a
_Description of the World_ illustrated by maps, in which was probably
included his _Measurements of Mountains_. A description of Greece (150
iambics, in C. Muller, _Frag. hist. Graec_. i. 238-243) was formerly
attributed to him, but, as the initial letters of the first twenty-three
lines show, was really the work of Dionysius, son of Calliphon. Three
considerable fragments of a prose description of Greece (Muller, i.
97-110) are now assigned to an unknown author named Heracleides. The _De
re publica_ of Cicero is supposed to be founded on one of Dicaearchus's
works.

The best edition of the fragments is by M. Fuhr (1841), a work of
great learning; see also a dissertation by F. G. Osann, _Beitrage zur
rom. und griech. Litteratur_, ii. pp. 1-117 (1839); Pauly-Wissowa,
_Realencyclopadie der klass. Altertumswiss_. v. pt. 1 (1905).

DICE (plural of die, O. Fr. _de_, derived from Lat. _dare_, to give),
small cubes of ivory, bone, wood or metal, used in gaming. The six sides
of a die are each marked with a different number of incised dots in such
a manner that the sum of the dots on any two opposite sides shall be 7.
Dice seem always to have been employed, as is the case to-day, for
gambling purposes, and they are also used in such games as backgammon.
There are many methods of playing, from one to five dice being used,
although two or three are the ordinary numbers employed in Great Britain
and America. The dice are thrown upon a table or other smooth surface
either from the hand or from a receptacle called a dice-box, the latter
method having been in common use in Greece, Rome and the Orient in
ancient times. Dice-boxes have been made in many shapes and of various
materials, such as wood, leather, agate, crystal, metal or paper. Many
contain bars within to ensure a proper agitation of the dice, and thus
defeat trickery. Some, formerly used in England, were employe