Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Volume 2.djvu/954

 V E R

[ 297 ]

V E R

VERNAL, fornething belonging to the Spring Seafon. See Spring.

Hence, Vernal leaves, are thofe Leaves of Plants which come up in the Spring, He. See Leaves.

Vernal .Signs, are thole which the Sun is in during the Spring Seafon, viz. Aries, Taurus, and Gemini. See Signs.

Vernal Equinox, is that which happens when the Sun is al'cending from rhe Equator towards the North Pole. See Eo^yiNox.

VERONICA, a Term abbreviated from Vericonica, of Veraicon, q.d. true Image 5 and applied to Portraits or Re- prefentations of the Face of our Saviour on Handkerchiefs.

Veronica's are Imitations of that celebrated Original one, prcferv'd with great Veneration at St. Voter's in Rome ; and imagin'd by fome to be the Handkerchief laid over our Saviour's Pace in the Sepulchre.

The firft mention we find of that celebrated Relick, is in a Ceremonial compiled in 114.3, dedicated to Pope Celefiin, by Benedict a Canon of St. Peter's : But there is no men- tion made of the Time when it was brought to Rome. A Feaft is kept in honour thereof in mod Churches, on the Ttlefday in Qtli'.iquagefima Week.

It is to be obferv'd, that the Name Veronica is only given to fuch Handkerchiefs as reprefent no more of our Saviour than his Face : For fuch as reprefent his whole Body, as that of Befancon, which (hews his Fore-part at length, and that of Turin, which reprefents both his fore and hind Part, as having cover'd him all over ; were never call'd by this Name.

The Painters fometimes make the Veronica to be held up by an Angel, but moll commonly by a Woman ; which Wo- man the common People imagine to be a Saint, call'd Saint Veronica.

On this Principle, fome People, towards the Ctofe of the IXth Century, began to fancy there might have been a Wo- man of that Name in Jerufale?n, who had prefented her Handkerchief to our Saviour, as he went toCalvary, to wipe his Face withal, befmear'd, as it was, with Sweat and Blood ; and that the Picture of his Face had been miracu- loufly imprefs'd thereon.

This was no fooner imagin'd by fome, than it was be- liev'd by others : And accordingly, we find by the Travels of 'Bernard de Bredemlack Dean of Mentz, to the Holy Land in 1483, printed in 1502, that it was not long ere her very Houfe was found out.

From that time the Fiction gain'd ground, and became a current Legend.

It was at length added, that this fame Woman, S. Ve- ronica, was the Woman troubled with the Flux of Blood in the Gofpel : and accordingly, file was foon join'd with S. Fiacrius, and invok'd together with him againft the Hemor- rhoids. — And hence the Ellablifhment of Featts in honour of S. Veronica, in the Churches dedicated to S. Fiacrius.

In fome of thefe Churches, particularly at S. Giles's in Valenciennes, this Saint is commonly call'd S. Venice, by Abreviation from the Genitive Veronica .- And the Women have a Cufiom at certain times of the Year, to hang linen Swathes, wherewith they had girt themfelves for nine Days, near her Statue. — And 'tis thence, or rather, from our Sa- viour's Picture exprefs'd on the linen Handkerchief, that the Milleners have raken S. Veronica, or, as they call her, S. Venijfe, or S. Venecia, or Venifa, for their tutelary Saint.

VERRUCA, in Medicine. See Wart.

Hence, Verrucous is applied to any Excrefcencies which have a refemblance to Warts.

VERRY, in Heraldry. See Vairy.

VERSE, in Poetry, a Line, or Parr of a Difcourfe, con- fitting of a certain Number of long and fhorr Syllables, which run with an agreeable Cadence ; the like being rei ■ terated in the Procefs of the Piece. See Poetry.

This Repetition, according to F. Soffit, is neceffary to diftinguifli the Notion of Verfe from that of Profe : for in Profe, as well as Verfe, each Period and Member are Parts of Difcourfe, confining of a certain Number of long and ihort Syllables 5 only, Profe is continually diverfifying its Meafures, and Cadences j and Verfe repeats 'em. See Prose.

This Repetition of the Poets, appears even in the manner of Writing ; for one Verfe being finifh'd, they return to the beginning of another Line to write the Verfe following : and 'tis to this Return, that Verfe owes its Name 5 Verfus com- ing from Vertere, to turn, or return.

Accordingly, we find the fame Name ufed to fignify any thing that is placed in a certain, regular Order : Cicero ufes the Word for a Line in Profe ; Virgil for a Row of Trees, and even of Oars in a Galley. Bur, as the Regularity of Verfe carries with it more Charms, and requires a greater de- gree of Exattnefs, the Word has, in time, become appro- priated to Poetry.

To make Verfe, 'tis not enough that the Meafures and Quantities of Syllables be obferv'd, and fix juft Feet put, one after another, in the fame Line : There are further re-

quired certain agreeable Cadences, particular Tenfes, Moods; Regimens, and even fome Words unknown in Profe.

But what is chiefly requir'd, is an elevated, bold, figu- rative Manner of Diction : This Mannar, is a thing fo peculiar to this kind of Writing, that without it, the moft exact Arrangement of Longs and Shorts, does not conftitute Verfe, fo much as a kind of meafur'd Profe. See Versi- fication.

The Greek and Latin Verfes, confifl: of a certain Number of Feet, of a certain Quantity. See Foot.

Some have attempted to make French and Englijb Verfes on the fame Foundation ; but without Succefs. See Quan- tity, and Hexameter.

Vojjius is very fevere on the modern Verfe, and makes it altogether unfit for Mufick : Our Verfes, fays he, run all as it were on one Foot ; without diflinction of Members, or Parts, and without regard to the natural Quantities of Sylla- bles. We have no Rythmus at all : and we mind nothing but to have a certain Number of Syllables in a Verfe, of whatever Nature, and in whatever Order. See Rytbmus.

But Mr. Malcolm vindicates our Verfe from this Imputa- tion. 'Tis true, we don't follow the Metrical Compofition of the Antients ; yet we have fuch a Mixture of ftrong and foft, long and ihort Syllables, as makes our Verfes flow, fmooth or rumbling, flow or rapid, agreeably to the Subject* Inflances of all which we have in the following Lines :

( Soft is the Strain when Zephyr gently blows j

' The hoarfe rough Verfe fliould like the Torrent roar:

' The Line too labours, and the Words move flow,

' Flies o'er the unbended Ears, and ikims along the Main.

By making a fmall Change, or Tranfpofition of a Word or Syllable, in any of thefe Verfes, any body who has an Ear will find, that we make a great Matter of the Nature and Order of the Syllables.

Voffius adds, that the antient Odes were fung, as to the Rytbmus, in the fame manner as we fcan 'em : every 'Pes being a diflinct Bar or Meafure, feparated by a diltinct. Paufe : Tho, in reading, that Diflinction was not accurately obferv'd.

Laftly, he obferves, that their Odes had a regular Return of the fame kind of Verfe j and the fame Quantity of Syl- lables in the fame Place of every Verfe : whereas, in the modern Odes, ro follow the natural Quantity of our Syllables, every Stanza would be a diflinct Song. See Ode.

'Tis next to impoffible to write Profe, without fometimes intermixing Verfe with it ; So that Vaugelas's Rule, which enjoins us to avoid 'em, is next to impracticable. This may be further faid, that for fhort Verfes, they are fo little per- ceiv'd, that 'tis fcarce worth while to flrain one's felf to avoid 'em ; and as to long Verfes, they are chiefly to be avoided in the Ends of Periods ; for in the Middle they are fcarce felt.

In the general, Rules of this kind mull be confider'd as principally regarding numerous Verfes, and fuch as are rea- dily difliiiguiih'd by ibcir Cadence : Thus, in Latin, 'tis fcarce poffible to avoid Iambick Verfes ; but Hexameters muft by all means be avoided, their Cadence being more fenfible and more ftudy'd. See Rhime, (gc.

The Greek and Latin Verfes, are Hexameters, 'Pentame- ter, Iambicks, Hendecafyllabs, Trocbaicks, &c. See each under its proper Article.

The Moderns have invented Heroic, or Alexandrian Ver- fes, which confifl: of twelve or thirteen Syllables. See Ale- xandrian.

The Antients have likewife invented various Kinds of Verfes, or Poetical Devifes ; as Centos ; Echos'; Mino- rimes; Equivocal Verfes, where the fame Words contain'd in two Lines carry a different Senfe. See Cento, Echo, and Equivocal.

Reciprocal Verfes, which read the fame backwards as for- wards. See Retrograde.

Verse, isalfo a part of a Chapter, Section, or Paragraph, fubdivided into feveral little Articles. See Chapter.

The whole Bible is divided into Chapters ; and the Chapters fubdivided into Verfes. See Bible.

The Diflinction of Verfes in the New Teftament, was on- ly made by Robert Stephens : And lb negligently was it done, that his Son Henry Stephens affures us, he work'd at it as he travell'd from "Paris to Lions. Many learned Men find a great many Faults with that Divifion ; and yet 'tis every where follow'd.

M. Simon obferves, that the Greeks and Latins meant by Verfe, a Line, containing a certain number of Words. He adds, that the Authors of thole Days, to prevent any thing being added or taken away from their Works, ufed to mark at the End the number of Verfes they contain'd 5 but the Books themfelves were wrote all running, without any Divi- sions,. Points, $$c.

VERSED Sine, of an Arch, is the Segment of the Dia- meter of a Circle lying between the Foot of the right Sine, and the lower Extremity of the Arch. See Arch.

G g g g Thus,