enteenth century. Gregorius Horstius and Juncker relate that a belief prevailed among the people of Germany, that, by presenting gifts, and dancing before the image of St. Vitus, on his festival, in May, they should live in health and safety during the ensuing year; and that, for this purpose, they repaired to a chapel dedicated to their saint, where they danced night and day, until they were seized with delirium, and fell down in a sort of

trance.

VIVES, Giovanni Ludovico, one of the revivers of literature, was born at Valentia, in Spain, in 1492, and studied at Paris and Louvain. He then visited England, having previously become one of the first fellows of Corpus Christi college, Oxford. He was patronised by Catharine of Arragon, and, in 1522, dedicated his Commentary upon St. Augustine's De Civitate Dei to king Henry VIII. He was also appointed to instruct the princess Mary in polite literature and the Latin language. During his residence at Oxford, he was admitted doctor of laws, and acquired much favor with Henry VIII; but, venturing to write against his divorce from Catharine, he was disgraced and imprisoned. On regaining his liberty, he repaired to Brussels, where he married, and remained, for the rest of his life, as a teacher of the belles-lettres. He died in 1541. His works were printed at Basle in 1555, in 2 vols., folio; but this collection does not include his Commentary on St. Augustine, which was esteemed too bold and free by the Louvain doctors. Among his works are De prima Philosophia; De Explanatione Essentiarum; De Censura Veri; De Initiis, Sectis et Laudibus Philosophia; and De corruptis Artibus et tradendis Disciplinis.

son.

VIVIANI, Vincent, a celebrated Italian mathematician, was born at Florence, in 1622. From the sixteenth year of his age, he pursued the study of geometry with such diligence and success, that the great Galilei gave him the advantage of his own instructions, and treated him as a After Galilei's death, he undertook the restoration of the five books of Aristæus, a celebrated Grecian mathematician, entitled De Locis solidis, which were lost, with the exception of the names of the propositions. This labor he, however, discontinued, in order to restore the lost fifth book of the Conic Sections of Apollonius. This work he published in 1659, in folio, under the title De Maximis et Minimis Geometrica Divinatio in quintum Conicorum Apollonii Pergai, which was esteemed

superior to Apollonius himself. In 1664, he was honored with a pension from Louis XIV, and, in 1666, the grand duke of Tuscany, who employed him both in public works and in negotiation, gave him the title of his first mathematician. In 1669, he was chosen to fill a chair in the royal academy of sciences of Paris, which honor induced him to finish three books of his Divination of Aristeus, and address them to the king of France (Divinatio in Aristæum, 1701). He died in 1703, in the eighty-first or eighty-second year of his age. Fontenelle speaks warmly of the integrity and simplicity of manners of Viviani, who composed several mathematical treatises in the Latin and Italian languages, besides those already alluded to, the principal of which is entitled Enodatio Problematum (1677), comprising the solution of three problems which had been submitted to all the mathematicians of Europe.

VIVIANITE.

69.)

(See Iron, vol. vii, p.

VIZIER is a title of honor with the Turks, belonging to all the pachas of three tails (i. e. the highest pachas). Besides these, there are at Constantinople six viziers, called viziers of the bench (i. e. of the council of state), because they have seats in the divan. Men acquainted with the laws, and such as have already held offices of importance, are chosen for this station; but they have no decisive voice in this council, and cannot give their opinion until the grand vizier asks it. They have small salaries, but are privileged to wear a turban like that of the grand viziers, this being a mark of high distinction with the Turks. They can also affix the name of the sultan to the orders sent into the provinces. The grand vizier (vizier azem) stands high above these. He is the representative of the sultan, conducts the deliberations of the divan, and decides alone. He receives a seal at the time of his appointment, on which the sultan's name is engraved, and which he must always wear on his bosom. By this seal, he is authorized to rule, with absolute power, in the name of the grand sultan.

VLIESSINGEN. (See Flushing.)

VOCAL MUSIC; music produced by the human voice (q. v.) alone, or accompanied by instruments. It is contradistinguished from instrumental music (q. v.), which is produced by instruments alone. The composer of such music must have a thorough knowledge of voices, and their musical effect, their power, and the peculiari

ties by which the human voice differs so decidedly from instruments. Vocal music has many advantages over instrumental, in the fine blending of the tones, in its endless variety of intonation and expression, and in the support which it derives from its connexion with words. The different forms of vocal music are, the air, arietta, cavatina, and the like; recitativo, duetto, terzetto, quartetto, &c.; the chorus, the song, hymn, &c.; the opera, oratorio, cantata, &c. (See Music, division History of; see also Voice.)

VOGLER, George Joseph, a distinguished practical and theoretical musician, was born at Würzburg, in 1749. He studied law, but early showed great talent for playing on the organ, and for composing. The elector of the Palatinate, Charles Theodore, sent him to Italy, about 1773, to study music. In about three years, he returned to Manheim, the residence of his princely patron. In the year 1780, and the following years, he travelled in Germany, France, Holland, Sweden, England, Spain, and (as Gerber says) even in Africa and Greece. In 1786, he was appointed chapel-master to the king of Sweden. In 1790, he was in London, where his performance on the organ was heard with great pleasure. He delivered lectures on music in Stockholm and in Prague. In 1807, he was appointed chapelmaster to the grand duke of Hesse-Darmstadt, and remained in Darmstadt until his death, in 1814. He invented a new instrument, called orchestrion, in which the tone was determined in quite a new way, by the increase and diminution of the wind; and the sound was increased by a suspended copper vessel. He also invented a mode of simplifying the construction of organs. He wrote various works on music, and likewise composed several pieces for the theatre, symphonies, &c.

VOICE is the body of sounds produced by the organs of respiration, especially the larynx of men or animals. It can, therefore, only be found in animals in which the system of respiration is developed, and the lungs and larynx actually exist. Many insects intentionally produce a noise by the motion of their wings, which takes the place of a voice, but cannot be called by this name. The fishes, being deprived of lungs, and breathing through gills, are dumb; but the amphibious animals, which have the lungs and larynx in an imperfect state, have, therefore, a limited voice. In birds, however, in which the lungs are so predomi

nant, and the larynx is double, and some of which (the singing birds) have lamellæ in the bronchiæ, capable of vibration, the voice is fitted for the most varied sounds. The mammalia possess but one larynx; and with them the sound is formed by a strong expiration, whilst the ligaments of the glottis (according to the opinion of Ferrein) vibrate like the strings of an instrument, and produce various sounds, as they are more or less tense; or (according to the opinion of Dodart and Cuvier) form certain cavities, in which the tones are produced, as in wind instruments; or, perhaps, operate in both ways at the same time. But the length of the windpipe, which can be increased or shortened, and the magnitude of the lungs in proportion to the width of the glottis, also contribute much, at least to the strength of the tone. The voice, however, is more influenced by the epiglottis, by the greater or less length of the canal which extends from the glottis to the opening of the mouth, and by all the voluntary modifications which can be there given to the tone. The influence of the nerves of the voice is also to be remarked: if the nerve is cut on one side, the voice becomes weaker, and if cut on both sides, ceases entirely. The positive pole of the galvanic battery affecting the nerve produces high, the negative pole deep, hoarse tones. Liscovius, in his Theory of the Voice (in German, Leipsic, 1814), maintains that the voice is produced by the pressure of the breath through the narrow opening of the windpipe, in a similar way as the tones are produced by the mouth in whistling. According to Gottfried Weber (Cæcilia, vol. i, p. 92), the organ of voice, as a sounding membrane, or lamella, acts like the tongue-work in the organ. The uvula has, of course, considerable influence in producing the tones, and is subject to diseases in singers, orators, and others accustomed to great exertion of the vocal organs.* The voice of men and animals is a very interesting subject of inquiry. The tones by which animals express their feelings, the sweet and powerful melodies of the small birds, the tones which convey the ideas and emotions of rational man, and furnish his noblest music, are well fitted to awaken the curiosity of the naturalist, physiologist and philosopher.For some remarks on the organs of the

(physician to the Italian opera in Paris) Memoir *See Magendie's Report on Doctor Bennati's on the Diseases of the Uvula, read March 7, 1831, in the French academy.

voice in animals and men, we refer the reader to Blumenbach's Manual of Comparative Anatomy (translated by W. Lawrence, revised by Coulson, London, 1827). Respecting the sounds of human language, by the various combinations of which such a variety of words is produced, we will add a few remarks. Besides the lungs, the windpipe, &c., the finely-arched roof of the mouth, and the pliability of the lips (enabling us to give a great variety of forms to the mouth, which are almost the sole means of giving their peculiar character to the different vowels), are of the greatest importance. Under the articles on the separate letters the reader will find an account of the way in which the sounds represented by them respectively are produced. "The modifications of voice, easily made (says Mr. Arnott, in his Elements of Physics), and easily distinguishable by the ear, and, therefore, fit elements of language, are about fifty in number; but no single language contains more than about half of them. They are divisible into two very distinct and nearly equal classes, called vowels (q. v.) and consonants." (q. v.) In the article Consonant, the natural division of words is shown to cease with syllables: they are one sound, and the division into vowels and consonants, ingenious and useful as it is, does not, in fact, exist to the degree which we usually take for granted, from the circumstance of considering them as totally distinct from early childhood. Consonants are, generally speaking, only the beginning or end of vowels; i. e. the mouth must in some way be opened to produce a vowel sound, and closed to conclude the vowel sounds; and this mode of opening or closing gives rise to that which we call a consonant. The circumstance that consonants cannot be pronounced without the aid of vowels, shows, that the strict division into vowels and consonants is one which nature has not made. Mr. Arnott says (p. 488 of the American ed.): "To explain the second class of the modifications of sound, called

consonants, we remark, that while any continued or vowel sound is passing through the mouth, if it be interrupted, whether by a complete closure of the mouth, or only by an approximation of parts, the effect on the ear of a listener is so exceedingly different, according to the situation in the mouth where the interruption occurs, and to the manner in which it occurs, that many most distinct modifications thence arise. Thus any continued sound, as a, if arrested by a closure of the mouth at the external confine or lips, is heard to terminate with the modification expressed by the letter p; that is, the syllable ap has been pronounced: but if, under similar circumstances, the closure be made at the back of the mouth, by the tongue rising against the palate, we hear the modification expressed by the letter k, and the syllable ak has been pronounced: and if the closure be made in the middle of the mouth, by the tip of the tongue rising against the roof, the sound expressed by t is produced, and the syllable at is heard: and so of others. It is to be remarked, also, that the ear is equally sensible of the peculiarities, whether the closure precedes the continued sound or follows it; that is to say, whether the syllables pronounced are ap, at, ak, or pa, ta, ka. The modifications of which we are now speaking appear, then, not to be really sounds, but only manners of beginning and ending sounds; and it is because they can thus be perceived only in connexion with vocal sounds, that they are called consonants."-We refer the reader to Mr. Arnott's work, for further remarks on the pronunciation of the various vowels and consonants, and add here only his table of articulations, in which, if we consider the perpendicular line on the left as the opening of the mouth, and the line on the right as the back part of the mouth, the four divisions indicate the places where the letters are pronounced. See the articles on the letters and on writing.

cal persons it indicates an approaching fit.

The effect of the sexual functions on the voice is well known; but the mode in which this effect takes place is not explained. This influence is observable even in birds, which delight us with their amorous melodies at the season of pairing; in woman, whose voice acquires its metallic tone and its fulness at the age of puberty; and particularly in man, who does not possess, till that period, the "voices" peculiar to him, the bass or tenor, and in whom the change of voice, as every one knows, is prevented by previous emasculation. But also many other causes, affecting especially the nervous system, produce considerable changes in the voice, which afford important symptoms in diseases, Thus it may be wanting altogether in a diseased state (this is called aphonia), or it may be changed morbidly (paraphonia, cacophonia). In the latter case, it is either too strong or too weak, too deep (vox clangosa, if it is at the same time too strong, and raucitas gravis, if it is at the same time too weak), or too high (oxyphonia, which again is divided into vox cucuriens or rudens, which is at the same time too strong, and raucitas acuta, at the same time too weak). Most of these affections appear as symptoms, but are seldom considered as a primary disease. They often enable the physician to draw conclusions respecting the true character of the disease. The entire loss of voice originates from cramp, weakness or paralysis. If it is caused by paralysis, it is almost always a fatal symptom. If it is connected with an excitable constitution, it indicates violent congestions and approaching apoplexy; occurring after delivery, it indicates convulsions; in the croup, suffocation and mortification. An unnaturally strong voice is very common in madness. The vox clangosa, sounding as if the person was speaking in an empty pot, is, in dangerous diseases, a very serious symptom. The hoarseness, in which the voice is too deep, indicates great danger in bilious fever, scarlatina, consumption, and dropsy of the chest. It is not a symptom of disease when caused merely by the arrival of the age of puberty, by catarrh, or by dust which has been inspired. The vor cucuriens, seu rudens, seu pipiens (sounding similar to the crowing of a cock, or the braying of an ass) is pathognomic in the hooping cough and croup, and is also sometimes found in dropsy in the head and small-pox, and is a bad symptom. The raucitas acuta originates partly from the same causes as the raucitas gravis. With hysteri

Voice, in music. A good musical voice depends chiefly upon the soundness and power of the organs of utterance and of hearing, and the necessary musical disposition, and is distinguished by clearness of intonation, ease, strength, duration, equality, harmoniousness and fulness of the sounds; whilst natural defects or diseases in those organs (for instance, narrowness of the chest, weak lungs) give rise to imperfections in the voice. As weakness of lungs necessarily affects the voice, so frequent singing developes and strengthens the lungs, which are strong enough to support it; and instruction in singing is, therefore, in a medical respect, of great importance. The rarity of consumption in most parts of Germany, compared to other countries, is ascribed by some, in a great measure, to the general instruction and frequent practice in singing. Practice in singing for several generations must undoubtedly have a decided influence in giving strength to the lungs, which may also be much promoted by gymnastic exercises that expand the chest. A fine voice requires a long, regular and strong breath. Some faults in singing, however, originate from a bad use of a good voice; as the singing through the nose, teeth, &c. A voice which has by nature the requisite properties, acquires compass and strength, correctness and pliability, by exercise. Thorough methodical practice in singing should not, in most cases, be begun before the ninth or tenth year, though the ear ought to be early exercised. The variety of voices is as great as that of individuals. In respect to depth and height, there are four principal classes of voices: discant, alto, tenor and bass. Discant, or soprano, moreover, is distinguished from lower, or mezzo soprano, tenor from counter tenor, and between tenor and bass comes the proper baritono. A good bass voice generally extends from F or G, below G gamut, to C or D, above the bass-clef note; the baritono from about G gamut to F, above the bass-clef note; the tenor from C, above G gamut, to G, the treble-clef note, or A above it; the counter-tenor from E or F, above G gamut, to B or C, above the treble-clef note; the mezzo soprano from A or B, above the bass-clef note, to E or F, above the treble-clef note; and the soprano from C, above the bass-clef note, to A, B or C, in alt, and something higher. Female voices are, by nature, treble and alto; those of boys, even if

they have the compass of high treble, are usually alto. When the boy arrives at the age of puberty, the alto changes into tenor or bass.-Voice is also the name given to a part assigned to a human voice or an instrument in a composition.

VOIGTLAND (in law Latin, Terra Advocatorum); in a wider sense, all that part of Germany which formerly belonged to the imperial bailiffs (in German, Voigte, Latin, advocati), the ancestors of the present princes and counts of Reuss. It comprised the Saxon circle of Voigtland, the bailiwic of Weida and Ziegenrück, in the grand duchy of Saxe-Weimar, the territories of the princes and counts of Reuss, the district of Hof, now included in the Bavarian circle of the Upper Maine, and the Saxe-Altenburg bailiwic of Ronneburg. From the eleventh century there were imperial officers, in the above described region, who bore the name of bailiffs (advocati, voigte) of the holy Roman empire, and who managed the affairs of the emperor. In a narrower sense, the term is applied particularly to a circle of Saxony, consisting of a part of the former Voigtland. It has 102,891 inhabitants on 680 square miles, and is also called the circle of Neustadt. The chief town is Plauen. It contains some mountainous and woody districts, and in some parts is well adapted for pasturage and tillage. The most remarkable peculiarity is the pearl-fishery in the river Elster (see Pearl), which is sometimes very productive, and has yielded some pearls of much beauty.

VOITURE, Vincent, a celebrated French wit, was born at Amiens, in 1598. His agreeable manners and conversation introduced him to good company; and he was a visitor at the Hôtel de Rambouillet, and was also well received at court, and by Gaston, duke of Orleans, who made him his master of the ceremonies. In 1634, he was admitted into the French academy, and was subsequently sent on a mission to Spain, where he composed some verses in such pure and natural Spanish, that every body ascribed them to Lope de Vega. He also visited Rome and England, and died in 1648. Voiture was one of the first persons in France distinguished by the title of bel esprit. He wrote verses in French, Spanish and Italian. The former are occasionally easy and sprightly, but have much strained wit and affected sentiment. His letters place him high in the class of epistolary writers, though they often degenerate into affec

tation, insipid pleasantries, and far-fetched allusions.

VOLATILE OILS. (See Essential Oils.) VOLATILITY, in chemistry; the quality of a substance, to evaporate in a certain degree of heat: it is the opposite to fixidity. It is very probable, that all substances are capable of being volatilized, and that we should be able to dissolve every one of them by fire, but for the want of a sufficient degree of heat.

VOLCANOES. The volcano and the earthquake might, perhaps, with no impropriety, have been treated of together, since both are undoubtedly effects of the same subterranean process; but we have preferred to devote to each a separate article, as the phenomena on the earth's surface, to which they give rise, are considerably different. The present article will, however, embrace several particulars relating to earthquakes, which were omitted in the article under that title, on account of their close connexion with the subject of volcanoes. There are certain regions to which volcanic eruptions, and the movements of great earthquakes, are confined: over the whole of vast tracts active volcanic vents are distributed at intervals, and most commonly arranged in a linear direction. Throughout the intermediate spaces there is abundant evidence that the subterranean fire is continually at work; for the ground is convulsed, from time to time, by earthquakes: gaseous vapors, especially carbonic acid gas, are disengaged plentifully from the soil; springs often issue at a very high temperature, and their waters are very commonly impregnated with the same mineral matters which are discharged by volcanoes during eruptions. Of these great regions, that of the Andes is one of the best defined. Commencing southward, at least in Chile, at the forty-sixth degree of south latitude, it proceeds northward to the twenty-seventh degree, forming an uninterrupted line of volcanoes. The Chilean volcanoes rise up through granitic mountains. Villarica, one of the principal, continues burning without intermission, and is so high, that it may be distinguished at the distance of 150 miles. A year never passes in this province without some slight shocks of earthquakes; and about once in a century, or oftener, tremendous convulsions occur, by which the land has been shaken from one extremity to the other, and continuous tracts, together with the bed of the Pacific, have been raised permanently from one to twenty feet above their former level.