Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XVI.djvu/290

 270 VARRO all branches of knowledge and literature. All these have perished except the Eerum Rusti- carum Libri III., the only one that has been preserved entire, and De Lingua Latino, of the original 24 books of which only books v. to x. remain in a mutilated state. The former is a dialogue after the manner of Cicero's philo- sophical writings, but far more graphic, and replete with puns on the names of his char- acters. The best edition is in the Scriptoret Rei Rustic Veteres Latini of J. G. Schneider (4 vols. 8vo, Leipsic, 1794-7). It has been translated into English by the Rev. T. Owen (Oxford, 1 800). The linguistic value of Varro's grammatical fragment is very unequal, and the style is uncouth and awkward. The first edi- tion is by Pomponius Lsetus (Rome, 1471); recent editions are by Muller (Leipsic, 1833) and Egger (Paris, 1837). Varro was some- times called Reatinus from his estate at Reate. YARRO, Pnblius Terentlns, a Latin author, sur- named Atacinus, from the Atax (now Aude), a river of Gallia Narbonensis, where he was born, according to Jerome, in 82 B. 0., died in 37. At first he wrote satires and epic and elegiac poems, but he became more famous as a translator of Greek poems, as the Argonau- ta, Chorographia, and Ephemeris. Only frag- ments of his works are extant. VARUS, Pnblins Qnintilius. See ARMixirs. VAS (Ger. Eisenburg), a county of Hungary, in the Trans-Danubian circle, bordering on Lower Austria, Styria, and the counties of Oedenburg, Veszprem, and Zala; area, 1,944 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 331,602, chiefly Magyars and Germans, and about three fourths Catho- lics. It is traversed in the west and south by spurs of the Alps. The principal river is the Raab. The chief products are grain, wine, and fruit. Vas is called after the village of Vas- var, once a free town and a strong fortress under Matthias Corvinus. The capital is Szom- bathely (anc. Sabaria ; Ger. Steinamanger) another important town is Guns. VASA. I. A "W. Ian or government of Fin- land, Russia, bordering on the gulf of Bothnia ; area, 16,146 sq. m. ; pop. in 1872, 310,937. The surface is level, and there are fewer lakes than in any other part of Finland. II. A town, capital of the Ian, on a small bay of the Baltic, 230 m. K W. of Helsingf ors ; pop. in 1867, 4,551. Its port has become greatly ob- structed by sand. VASA, Gnstftvns. See GUSTAVTS I. VASARHELY, also called H6d-Mez6-Vasarhely, a town of S. Hungary, in the county of Cson- grad, near the E. bank of the Theiss, 14 m. N. E. of Szegedin, with which it is connected by rail; pop. in 1870, 49,153, mostly Protestants. It lias a Protestant gymnasium and well at- tended fairs. The inhabitants are nearly all agriculturists of Magyar or Slavic race. (For Vasarhely in Transylvania see MABOS-VASAB- HELT.) YASARI, Giorgio, an Italian artist, born in Arezzo in 1512, died in Florence, June 27, VASSAR COLLEGE 1574. He belonged to a family of painters, was brought up at Florence by his kinsman Cardinal Passerini, together with Ippolito and Alessandro de' Medici, and became the friend and pupil of Michel Angelo and Andrea del Sarto. After returning to Arezzo in 1527 he produced his first religious painting. Subse- quently he was also engaged as a sculptor in that city and in Rome, where he acquired a fortune. His chief works are a " Descent from the Cross " in Rome ; the design for the villa Giulia, finally executed by Michel Angelo and Vignola ; decorations for the Medici palace at Florence, including the "Adoration of tho Magi;" and "Martyrdom of St. John the Bap- tist" at Rome, one of his masterpieces. He was one of the founders of the Florentine academy of fine arts. His biographical work on Italian artists is still a standard authority. It is entitled Le vite de 1 pid eccellenti pittori, scultori e architetti (in 8 parts, Florence, 1560 ; 2d ed. enlarged, 2 vols. 4to, 1568; best recent ed., 13 vols. 12mo, Florence, 1846-'57). It has been translated into English by Mrs. Jona- than Forster (5 vols., London, 1850-'52). YASCO DA GAMA. See GAHA. YASSAR COLLEGE, an institution of learning near Poughkeepsie, N. Y., founded by Matthew Vassar for the advanced education of young women. The founder was born in Norfolk county, England, April 29, 1792, and in 1796 came to the United States with his father, who settled on a farm near Poughkeepsie. The father engaged in brewing, in which his son subsequently accumulated a large fortune. In February, 1861, Mr. Vassar delivered to trus- tees, incorporated for the purpose by the legis- lature in the preceding January, $408,000 for the founding of Vassar female college, accom- panying tho gift with a statement of his wishes concerning the plan of the college and its system of instruction. About half of this sum was to be expended in the erection of build- ings, for which he pave a beautiful site of 200 acres nearly two miles E. of Pouphkeepsie and a little greater distance from the Hudson river, and the remainder to form an endowment for the partial support of the professorships, &c. It was not his purpose to make it a charity school, but to afford to women opportunities for obtaining a collegiate education at moder- ate cost, and gratuitous instruction to those nnable to pay for it. All sectarian influences were to " be carefully excluded, but the train- ing of onr students should never be intrusted to the skeptical, the irreligious, or the immo- ral." Mr. Vassar died June 23, 1868, and left a bequest of $50,000 to constitute a lecture fund, the income to be used in maintaining, without extra charge to the students, lectures on literature, science, and art; $50,000 as a library, art, and cabinet fund ; and $50,000 as an "auxiliary fund for aiding students of su- perior promise and high scholarship, who are unable to pay the full charges for board and tuition in the college." The construction of