Vase
a vessel of various forms and materials applied to the purpose of domestic life, sacrificial uses, etc. They were often used merely for ornament, or were at least primarily ornamental in character and design. The antique vases found in great numbers in ancient tombs and catacombs in Etruria, southern Italy, Greece, Sicily, etc., and used to contain the ashes of the dead, were for the most part made of baked clay, painted and glazed, though by the Egyptians, Greeks and Ottomans other materials, such as pre precious stones, gold, silver, bronze, ivory, and glass were used. One form of vase seems to have been peculiar in Etruria-viz., black or red vessels, with figures in relief upon them. A favorite kind of vase, introduced into Rome by Pompey, was called Murrhine. Another kind was the cameo vase, made of two layers of glass, the outer of which was opaque, and was cut down so as to leave figures standing out upon the lower layer as a ground. To this class belongs the celebrated Portland Vase in the British Museum. The glass vases of Venice became famous in the beginning of the 16th century, and in the same and following centuries many vases of the highest artistic performance were produced in Italy, France, and Germany. The porcelain vases of China and Japan are also characterized by great elegance of form and beauty of ornamentation.
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Vasey, George
va'si, George (1822-1893), an American botanist. He was a native of Scarborough, England, but he was brought to this country by his parents when an infant. He began life for himself as a practicing physician at Elgin, Illinois. Being interested in botany he was privileged to accompany the Powell expedition of 1868 to Colorado. In 1873 he became botanist of the department of agriculture at Washington. His specialty was grasses. Several government monographs covering the new species found in the western part of the United States gave him rank as the highest world authority on grasses. See Gray
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Vassar
MATTHEW, an American philanthropist; born in Norfolk co., England, April 29, 1792. He emigrated to the United States, where he accumulated a large fortune. In 1861 he gave $428,000 to found VASSAR COLLEGE, (q. v.). He died while reading an address to the trustees of the college, June 23, 1868. By his will he left over $400,000 additional to the institution.
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Vatican Council
the First Council of the Vatican, or the Nineteenth General Council, which assembled on Dec. 8, 1869. At the opening sitting 719 prelates were present, and the number rose in the following year to 764. The work done consisted of two constitutions -one, "Of the Catholic Faith," treating of the primary truths of natural religion, revelation, faith, and the connection between faith and reason; the other, "Of the Church of Christ," treating of the primacy of the Roman See, and defining the papal claims to authority over all Christians. The first constitution was unanimously accepted in a session of 667 prelates, es, and confirmed by the Pope (Pius IX.) on April 20, 1870. The second constitution led to a long discussion; on May 13 the scheme, with the added clauses on Papal Infallibility, was laid before the Council, and on July 18 the bull Pastor Æternus, containing the constitution and the definition of Papal Infallibility, was read; 525 prelates voted in favor of it, two voted against it, while several absented themselves from the public session. The degree was then confirmed by the Pope. On the same day Napoleon III. declared war against Prussia; on Sept. 20 the Italian royalists took possession of Rome, and on Oct. 20 the Pope prorogued the Council, which has never reassembled.
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Vaud
vo, a canton of Switzerland. Lausanne is its capital. See Switzerland ; Agassiz
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Vaudoux
(See West Indian Islands .)
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Vaughan, Diana
Authoress of Memories of an ex-Palladist in which she states that she was a member of a Satanist association of Masonic origin in Charleston, U.S.A., presided over at one period by Albert Pike (q.v.). Her pretentions, which will scarcely bear a strict investigation, are that she was the chosen bride of Asmodeus and was on terms of intimacy with Lucifer , the deity worshipped by the Palladist confraternity.
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Vault
an arched roof; a concave roof, or roof-like covering, hence applied figuratively to the sky. In architecture, an extended arch covering an apartment so constructed that the stones, bricks, or other material of which it is composed sustain and keep each other in their places. Vaults are of various kinds; a a semi-circular cylindrical vault has arch; a covered vault has an arch which springs from all sides of its plan; a groined vault is one formed by two ght angles. vaults intersecting at right When a vault is of greater height than half its span, it is said to be surmounted, and when of less height surbased. A rampant vault is one which springs from planes not parallel to the horizon; the vault placed over another constitutes a double vault. A conic vault is formed of part of the surface of a cone, and a spherical vault of part of the surface of a sphere. A vault is simple when it is formed by the surface of some regular solid, and compound when compounded of more than one surface of the same solid, or of two different solids.
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Veda
. See Sanskrit
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Vedangas
what the Brahmans call "members of the Veda." They are six in number, but this name, says Max Müller ("Ancient Sanskrit Literature," p. 109), "does not imply the existence of six books or treatises intimately connected with their sacred writings, but merely the admission of six subjects, the study of which was necessary either for the reading, the understanding, or the proper sacrificial employment of the Veda." The six subjects or doctrines usually comprehended under the name Vedangas are: Siksha (=pronunciation), Chhandas (=meter), Vyakarana (grammar), Nirukta (explanation of words), Jyotisha (=astronomy), and Kalpa (ceremonial). The first two are consid considered necessary for reading the Veda, the two next for understanding it, and the last two for employing at sacrifices. The writers of the Vedangas do not claim inspiration.
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