759 



WINER, CEORQ BENEDICT. 



WINSLOW, JACQUES-BENIGNE. 



760 



private secretary, to which we have been chiefly indebted for this 

 account. 



* WINER, GEORQ BENEDICT, ccclosiaatical counsellor and pro- 

 fessor of theology in the University of Leipzig, was born at Leipzig, 

 April 13, 1789. He studied in the Nicholaischule and the university 

 of that town, in the latter of which ha passed his examination in 1817. 

 In the following year lie became professor extraordinary of theology, 

 and received the degree of D.D. from the Universities of Halle and 

 Rostock. His scientific studies were at first directed to the yet but 

 little explored critical and exegedcal examination of the oriental trans- 

 lations of the Bible, and then turned his attention to an investigation 

 of the exegesis of the New Testament, grounding it firmly upon a 

 knowledge of the language. In his 'Biblische Realworterbuch' (Dic- 

 tionary of Biblical Matters), 1820, particularly in the second and third 

 editions of 1833 and 1845-47, will be found an abundant mine of acute, 

 learned, and trustworthy disquisitions. In his expositions of the ' Ad 

 Galatum Epistola ' (Epistle to the Galatians), 1821, he applied G. 

 Hermann's philosophical principles to the language of the New Testa- 

 ment. The other fruits of his labours in this province are ' Gram- 

 matik des biblischen und targumischen Chaldaismus,' 1824 ; ' Chal- 

 diiischen Lesebuch,' 1825; his preparation of Simon's 'Lexicon 

 manuale hebraicum,' 1828 ; his excellent ' Grammatik des neutes- 

 tainentlichen Sprachidioms,' 1822, which has gone through several 

 editions ; and several of his vacation programmes, written at Erlan- 

 gen, whither he was called as professor of theology in 1823, an 

 account of his reputation as a teacher, and of his widely-extended 

 writings. In 1824 he published his 'Comparative Darstellung des 

 Lehrbegriffs der verschiedenen christlicheu Kirchenparteien, nebst 

 Belegen aus ihren symbolisehen Schriften* (Comparative Statement 

 of the Systems of the various Christian Church Sects, with Documents 

 out of their Symbolical Writings), and in 1825 the ' Handbuch der 

 theologischen Literatur, hauptsiichlich der protestantischen Deutsch- 

 lands ' (Handbook ot Theological Literature, principally that of Pro- 

 testant Germany) ; to which a supplement was issued in 1842, 'Die 

 Literatur von 1839 bis Ende 1841.' After having declined the pro- 

 fessorship of theology in the University of Jena, he returned in 

 1832 to Leipzig as professor of theology in that University, taking 

 the second place. In 1843 he issued the first part of his work 'De 

 verborum et prsepositionibus compositorum in Novum Testarnentum 

 usu.' 



WING, VINCENT, an English astronomer of the 17th century, 

 enjoyed some reputation during his life ; and his writings, at the time 

 they were published, possessed a certain value. Neither the year of 

 his birth nor of his death is known. 



He is principally distinguished by his work (in Latin) entitled 

 ' Astronomia Britannica,' which was published in London in 1669. 

 This is divided into five parts, of which the first is designated ' Logis- 

 tica Astronomica;' the second, ' Trigonometria ; ' the third, 'Docfcilna 

 Sphaerica ; ' the fourth, ' Theoria Planetarum ; ' and the fifth, ' Tabulae 

 Astronomicsc : ' to these is added a collection of astronomical obser- 

 vations. His theory of the planets is founded on the systems of 

 Copernicus and Kepler, for he supposes the orbits of the planets 

 to be t'llipses, and the sun to be placed in a common focus; but, 

 like Bullialdus and Dr. Seth Ward, he considers the other focus of 

 each orbit to be the centre of the planet's mean or uniform motion. 



The transit of Venus, which had been observed by Horrox and 

 Crabtree in 1639, indicated that the sun's parallax, did not exceed a 

 few seconds, but the evidence which it afforded was not, by some 

 astronomers, at that time considered conclusive ; and Wing, who 

 supposed that the parallax was equal to one minute (more than seven 

 times as great as it is in reality), endeavoured to account, from the 

 effects of refraction, for the smallness of that which was obtained 

 from the observation alluded to. The astronomical observations in 

 the work consist of several longitudes of the sun at the times of the 

 equinox, transits of Mercury over the sun, and eclipses of the sun 

 and moon, ancient aud modern : among those of the sun there is 

 mentioned one which was observed in 1652 ; and it is stated that at 

 the time when the eclipse should have been total, the moon was 

 surrounded by a luminous crown within which it appeared to turn on 

 its centre like a millstone. 



The ' Logistica Astronomica' contains a table of logistic logarithms, 

 with precepts for their use ; and in the ' Trigouometria ' are rather 

 complicated demonstrations of the theorems for plane and spherical 

 triangles. 



In the year 1651 Wing published (in English) a work entitled 'Har- 

 monicon Cceleste, or the Harmony of the Visible World, containing 

 an absolute and entire piece of Astronomic.' It is similar in its 

 arrangement to the 'Astronomia Britannica' above mentioned, but il 

 contains some subjects which are not in the latter; and among these 

 may be cited his refutation of the ancient opinion that the planets 

 are attached to solid and transparent spheres. He objects to the 

 opinion on the ground that if it were just the comets could not pass 

 without impediment from one part of the solar system to another 

 and that the spheres would produce great refractions in the ligh 

 which is transmitted to the earth from the fixed stars. The work 

 contains a table of the logarithms of the ten thousand first numbers 

 and also of the Bints and tangents of angles for every minute of the 

 quadrant. He appears to have criticised the Astronomia Carolina, 



which was published by Street in 1661, for the latter replied in 1667 

 x> his animadversions in a work containing, as appears in the title, ' a 

 castration of the envy and ignorance of Vincent Wing ; ' the points 

 u dispute between the two astronomers are however in the present 

 ige quite destitute of interest. 



Wing was the author of a series of Ephemerides for thirteen years, 

 iz. from 1659 to' 1671 inclusive; and he published annually for the 

 Stationers' Company a book and a sheet almanac, the latter of which 

 s still continued under his name. 



WINGATE, EDMUND, a younger son of Roger Wingate, a landed 

 >roprietor in Yorkshire and Bedfordshire, was born in Yorkshire in 

 593, entered of Queen's College, Oxford, in 1610, from whence, after 

 lis degree, ho removed to Gray's Inn. Here he mixed mathematical 

 studies with his legal ones, aud became well known in the former 

 sciences. In 1724 he removed to France, where he spent some years, 

 and seems to have been about the court : he taught English to the 

 Princess Henrietta Maria and her ladies. By the time the troubles 

 >roke out he had inherited some property in Bedfordshire ; he took 

 ;he Covenant, was justice of peace, recorder of Bedford, and held 

 other offices. In 1650, or thereabouts, he took the oath called the 

 Engagement, became known to the Protector, and served in parliament 

 ? or the county of Bedford : he was also one of tho commissioners in 

 ;hat county for the detection and ejection of those ministers and 

 schoolmasters who were called loyal by one party and ignorant and 

 scandalous by the other. He was buried at St. Andrew's in Holborn, 

 December 13, 1656. 



Wingate's writings have generally only the initials E. W., with the 

 description 'of Gray's Inn* sometimes appended. Hence several 

 works which have only initials have been attributed to him : thus 

 Wood makes him the author of Wy herd's ' Tactometria.' There are 

 several legal writings, of no note whatever, by 'E. W. of Gray's Inn,' 

 who is supposed to be Wingate. 



It has been said that Wingate was the first who earned logarithms 

 into France, which is not correct ; and some of those who have amended 

 the error state it was the sliding-rule which he took there, which is 

 equally incorrect. He did, in 1624, introduce into that couutry 

 Gunter's scale, in his ' Construction, Description, et Usage de la Regie 

 de Proportion/ Paris, 1624, dedicated to the Duke of Anjou. He did 

 intend to publish a table of logarithms, to which the preceding was 

 to have been an appendix, and he obtained the ' privilege du roi ' for 

 both works in one, dated November 4, 1624. But an advocate of 

 Dijon, to whom he had communicated the account of Gunter's rule, 

 broke confidence, and either published or was going to publish an 

 account of it ; whereupon Wingate altered his first intention, publi>hed 

 the account of the scale in 1624, as above noticed, and followed at 

 leisure with the ' Arithme"tique Logarithmetique,' Paris, 1626, which 

 last work is, by an easily explicable mistake, often set down as of 1624. 

 Besides the English tables of 1632 and 1635 attributed to Wingate, he 

 published on the same subject 'Ludus Mathematicus,' London, 1654, 

 a kind of logarithmic game; also a translation of his earlier French 

 work, ' The Use of the Rule of Proportion,' London, 1645 ; also a trans- 

 lation (probably) of the descriptive part of his second French work, 

 ' Construction and Use of the Logarithmeticall Tables,' London, 1 635. 



The work by which Wingate is best known is his ' Arithmetic,' of 

 which the first edition (according to Wood) was in 1630. Of this 

 work Kersey published an edition during Wingate's lifetime, at his 

 request : the sixth edition of the works, which is also Kersey's, was in 

 1673. Shelley published another edition in 1720, and Dbdson another 

 in 1760. Wood attributes to Wingate a work on surveying : we sus- 

 pect he ia here confounded with Wing. 



WIN RAM, JOHN, an ecclesiastic, whose name occurs very frequently 

 in connection with the history of the Reformation in Scotland, but 

 whose real influence in the struggle was not so great as to entitle him 

 to more than a brief notice. He took the degree of B.A. at St. 

 Andrews in 1515. In 1536 he was subprior of the monastery of St. 

 Andrews. His first public appearance was at the trial of George 

 Wishart [WISHABT] where he preached before the judges, a singular 

 duty for one who is said to have embraced the doctrines of the Refor- 

 mation, and as singularly performed by his preaching, as appropriate 

 to a trial for heresy, from the parable of the wheat aud the tares, " Let 

 both grow together until the harvest." He continued ostensibly to 

 hold office in the Roman Catholic Church, till the parliament of 

 1560, where, though sitting as prior of Portmoak, he appears to have 

 voted for the 'Confession of Faith' which was then passed. On the 

 establishment of the new polity in 1561, he was appointed superin- 

 tendent of the eastern districts. His influence in the new church was 

 very considerable, but it appears to have been merely that of a dex- 

 terous intriguer, who knew when and how to the best effect to remove 

 his support from a party who could not sufficiently reward his services. 

 Knox, while accepting his aid, seems always to have distrusted him. 

 He died on 28th September 1582. 



WINSLOW, JACQUES-BE IS! IGNE, was born at Odensee, a town 

 in Denmark, in the island of Fiinen, on the 9th of April 1669: hia 

 father was a Lutheran minister in the parish of Odensee. Wiuslow 

 was destined for the church, and early commenced his studies in 

 Lutheran theology. He however changed his mind and took to the 

 study of medicine, and obtained a pension from the king of Denmark 

 for the purpose of enabling him to study in the principal universities 



