Chapter Virgilius to VXL of V by Brewer's Phrase & Fable

jumping procession on Whit-Tuesday to a chapel in Ulm dedicated to St. Vitus, is given in Notes and Queries, September, 1856. (See Tarantism.)

Viva Voce Orally; by word of mouth. A viva voce examination is one in which the respondent answers by word of mouth. (Latin, “with the living voice.”)

Vivien A wily wanton in Arthur's court “who hated all the knights.” She tried to seduce “the blameless king,” and succeeded in seducing Merlin, who, “overtalked and overworn, told her his secret charm”-

“The which if any wrought on anyone
With woven paces and with waving arms,
The man so wrought on ever seemed to lie
Closed in the four walls of a hollow tower,
From which was no escape for evermore.”

   Having obtained this secret, the wanton “put forth the charm,” and in the hollow oak lay Merlin as one dead, “lost to life, and use, and name, and fame.” (Tennyson: Idyls of the King; Vivien.)

Vixen A female fox. Metaphorically, a woman of villainous and ungovernable temper. (Anglo-Saxon, fixeu.)

Vixere “Vixere fortes ante Agamemnoua” (Horace). You are not the first great man that ever lived, though you boast so mightily. Our own age does not monopolise the right of merit.

Viz A contraction of videlicet. The z is a corruption of , a common mark of contraction in the Middle Ages; as hab- i.e. habet; omnib- i.e. $$$; vi- i.e. videlicet.

Vogue (1 syl.). A French word. “In vogue” means in repute, in the fashion. The verb voguer means to sail or move forwards. Hence the idea of sailing with the tide.

Vogue la Galere Let the world go how it will; “arrive qua pourra.”

Vole He has gone the vole- i.e. been everything by turns. Vole is a deal at cards that draws the whole tricks. The verb vole means to win all the tricks. Vole is a French word Faire la vole- i.e. “Faire soul toutes les levées,” de voler- i.e. enlever.

“Who is he [Edie Ochiltree]? Why, he has gone the vole- has been soldier, ballad-singer, travelling tinker, and now a beggar.”- Sir W. Scott: The Antiquary, chap. iv.

Voltaic Battery An apparatus for accumulating electricity. So called from Volta, the Italian, who first contrived it.

Voltaire His proper name was Francois Marie Arouet. The word Voltaire is simply an anagram of Arouet L. I. (le jeune). Thus have we Stella, Astrophel (q.v.), Vanessa and Cadenus (q.v.), and a host of other names in anagrams.
   Voltaire, the infidel, built the church at Ferney, which has this inscription: “Deo erexit Voltaire.” Cowper alludes to this anomaly in the following lines:

“Nor he who, for the bane of thousands born,
Built God a church, and laughed His Word to scron.”

   Voltaire. Dr. Young said of him-
   Thou art so witty, profligate and thin,
   Thou seemst a Milton, with his Death and Sin.”
   An excellent comparison between Voltaire and Gibbon is given by Byron in Childe $$$, canto iii. 106, 107.
   The German Voltaire. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1838).
   Christoph Martin Wieland (1733-1813).
   The Polish Voltaire. Ignatius Krasicki (1774-1801).

Volume (2 syl.). A roll. Anciently books were written on sheets fastened together lengthwise and rolled; some were rolled on a pin or roller. The rolls were placed erect on shelves. Each one was labelled in red letters or rubrics. Rolls of great value were packed in cases or boxes. (Latin, volvo, to roll up.)

Vox et Praeterea Nihil Echo; a threat not followed out. When the Lacedemonian plucked the nightingale, on seeing so little substance he exclaimed, “Vox tu es, et nihil praeterea.” ($$$. Plut. Opp. Mor. Apophthegmata Laconica.)