Viliorjaci
(See Slavs.) Villanova, Arnold de: Arnold de Villanova was a physician by profession, and is reported to have been something of a theologian besides a skilled alchemist. His natal place has never been determined, but Catalonia, Milan and Montpellier have all been suggested; while as to the precise date of his advent, this too is uncertain yet appears to have been about the middle of the thirteenth century. Arnold studied medicine for many years at the Sorbonne in Paris, which in mediæval times was the principal European nursery of physicians; and thereafter he travelled for a long time in Italy, while subsequently he penetrated to Spain. Here, however, he heard that a friend of his was in the hands of the dreaded Inquisition; and, fearing that he likewise might be trepanned by that body, he withdrew speedily to Italy. For a considerable period he lived at Naples, enjoying there the friendly patronage of the Neapolitan sovereign, and spending his time less in the actual practice of his profession than in the compilation of various scientific treatises; while at a later date he was appointed physician in ordinary to Pope Clement V., so presumably the rest of his life was spent mainly at Rome, or possibly at Avignon. Meanwhile his interest in alchemy had become widely known, and indeed many people declared that his skill herein was derived from communications with the arch-fiend himself, and that the physician accordingly deserved nothing less than burning at the stake; while he also elicited particular enmity from the clergy by sneering openly at the monastic régime, and by declaring boldly that works of charity are more acceptable to God than the repetition of paternosters. Thanks to Papal favour, nevertheless, Arnold went unscathed by his enemies; but soon after his death, which occurred about the year 1310, the Inquisition decided that they had dealt too leniently with the deceased, and in consequence they signified their hatred of him, by ordering certain of his writings to be burned publicly at Tarragona. Arnold was acquainted with the preparation of oil of turpentine and oil of rosemary, while the marcasite frequently mentioned by him is supposed to be identical with bismuth. His most important treatises are his Thesaurus Thesaurorum, Rosarium Philosophorum, Speculam Alchemiæ and Perfectum Magisterum; while two others of some moment are his Testamentum and Scientia Scientiæ. A collected edition of his works was issued in 1520, while several writings from his pen are embodied in the Bibliotheca Chemica Curiosa of Mangetus, published in 1702. Villars, l'Abbe de Montfaucon de: French Mystic (1635-1673.) This Churchman, author and mystic was what the French style" un méridional," being a native of southern Franch. He was born in 1635 at Toulouse, not very far from the seaport town of Bordeaux ; and at an early age he espoused holy orders, while in 1667 he left the south and came to Paris, eager to win fame as a preacher. Nor did this ambition of his go wholly ungratified, his eloquence in the pulpit winning him numerous admirers; but he soon grew more interested in literature than in clerical affairs, and in 1670 he published his first and most important book, Comte du Gabalis. Ostensibly a novel, this volume is largely a veiled satire on the writings of La Calprenède, at this time very popular both in France and in England; but the satirical element in Villars' paper is supplemented by a curious blend of history, philosophy and mysticism; and, as much of the last-named is of a nature distinctly hostile to the dogmas of Rome, the author soon found himself in ill odour with his brother clerics. Probably it was for this reason that he renounced the pulpit, yet his literary activities were not vitiated by persecution; and in 1671 he issued De la Délicetesse, a speculative treatise, couched in the form of dialogues, in which the author takes the part of one, a priest who had lately been writing in opposition to Port Royal doctrines. Like its predecessor this new book made a considerable stir, and Villars began to write voluminously, at the same time plunging deeply into the study of various kinds of mysticism; but his activities were suddenly terminated in an unexpected fashion, for in 1673 he was murdered on the public highroad not far from Lyons, whither he was journeying from Paris. Presumably he had incurred the hatred of some one but the question is shrouded in mystery; and, be the solution what it may, no attempt appears to have been made to frustrate the posthumous publication of divers works from Villars' pen. Within the first decade succeeding his death three such works appeared, L'Amour sans Faiblesse, Anne de Bretague et Ailmanzaris, and Critique de la Bérénice de Racine et de Corneille, the last-named subsequently winning the enconiums of a shrewd judge, Mme. de Sévigné; while so late as 1715 a further production by Villars was issued, a sequel to the Comte du Gabalis, bearing the significant title of Nouveaux Entretiens sur les Sciences secrètes. This volume elicited ready and wide interest among thinkers in the eighteenth century, and it may be briefly defined as a treatise opposing the philosophical theories of Descartes, or rather, opposing the popular misapprehension and abuse of these.
Vintras, Eugene: A Norman peasant of great devoutness, who in the year 1839 was fixed upon by the Saviours of Louis XVII. (q.v.), as a fitting successor to their prophet Martin who had just died. They addressed a letter to the pretended Louis XVII. and arranged that it should fall into the hands of Vintras. It abounded in good promises for the reign to come and in mystical expressions calculated to inflame the brain of a person of weak and excitable character such as Vintras was. In a letter Vintras himself describes as follows the manner in which this communication reached him :- “
Towards nine o'clock I was occupied in writing, when there was a knock at the door of the room in which I sat, and supposing that it was a workman who came on business, I said rather brusquely, 'Come in.' Much to my astonishment, in place of the expected workman, I saw an old man in rags. I asked merely what he wanted. He answered with much tranquillity, 'Don't disturb yourself, Pierre Michel.' Now, these names are never used in addressing me, for I am known everywhere as Eugène, and even in signing documents I do not make use of my first names. I was conscious of a certain emotion at the old man's answer, and this increased when he said: 'I am utterly tired, and wherever I appear they treat me with disdain, or as a thief.' The words alarmed me considerably, though they were spoken in a saddened and even a woeful tone. I arose and placed a ten sous piece in his hand, saying, 'I do not take you for that, my good man,' and while speaking I made him understand that I wished to see him out. He received it in silence but turned his back with a pained air. No sooner had he set foot on the last step Visions than I shut the door and locked it. I did not hear him go down, so I called a workman and told him to come up to my room. Under some business pretext, I was wishing him to search with me all the possible places which might conceal my old man, whom I had not seen go out. The workman came accordingly. I left the room in his company, again locking my door. I hunted through all the nooks and corners, but saw nothing. "
I was about to enter the factory when I heard on a sudden the bell ringing for mass, and felt glad that, notwithstanding the disturbance, I could assist at the sacred ceremony. I ran back to my room to obtain a prayer book and, on the table where I had been writing, I found a letter addressed to Mme. de Generès in London; it was written and signed by M. Paul de Montfleury of Caen, and embodied a refutation of heresy, together with a profession of orthodox faith. The address notwithstanding, this letter was intended to place before the Duke of Normandy the most important truths of our holy Catholic, Apostolic and Roman religion. On the document was laid the ten sous piece which I had given to the old man."
Vintras immediately concluded that the bringer of the letter was a messenger from heaven, and became devoted to the cause of Louis XVII. He became a Visionary. He had bloody sweats, he saw hearts painted with his own blood appear on hosts, accompanied by inscriptions in his own spelling. Many believed him a prophet and followed him, among them several priests, who alleged that they partook of his occult vision. Doctors analysed the fluid which flowed from the hosts and certified it to be human blood. His enemies referred these miracles to the Devil. Vintras' followers regarded him as a new Christ. But one of them, Gozzoli, published scandalous accounts of his doings, alleging that horrible obscenities and sacrilegious masses took place in their private chapel at Tilly-sur-seules. The unspeakable abominations alluded to are contained in a pamphlet entitled Le Prophète Vintras (1851). The sect was formally condemned by the Pope, and Vintras constituted himself sovereign Pontiff. He was arrested on a charge of exploiting his cult for money, was tried at Caen, and sentenced to five years' imprisonment. When freed in 1845 he went to England, and in London resumed the head-ship of his cult which seems to have flourished for some time afterwards.
Virgil, the Enchanter: (See Italy.)