836 



VITTORIA VIVIANI. 



vols.). An Etigliwh tranilation of the work of\i- 

 truvius, with a commentary, by William Newton, 

 appeared in 1771, folio, republished 1791, 2 vols., 

 folio; and a new translation, by W. Wilkins, with 

 an Introduction, containing an Historical View of 

 the Rise and Progress of Architecture among the 

 Greeks, was published in 1812, folio. 



VITTORIA, BATTLE or, was fought on June 

 21, 1813. In the middle of February, 1813, the 

 diastrous state of the French army in Russia was 

 made known to the French troops in Spain, with 

 orders to send whatever forces could be spared to 

 Germany. 30,000 troops set off immediately for 

 that country. Their departure, and Marmont's 

 defeat in the year previous, obliged the French to 

 give up Madrid, and to retire behind the Ebro. 

 Wellington followed, and passed the Ebro, June 15. 

 At last, the armies met on the great plain of Vit- 

 toria (a town in Alava, Ion. 2 41' W., lat. 42 47' 

 N., with a population of 6500, much occupied in 

 the manufacture of sword-blades). The French 

 were commanded by king Joseph and Jourdan. 

 They had on their left a chain of gentle hills, on 

 their right Vittoria, in front the rivulet of Zadora. 

 On the 20th, Wellington united all his columns, 

 and ordered general Hill, on the 21st, to pass over 

 the Zadora at day-break, and to attack the centre of 

 the French. He was repulsed, but the struggle was 

 obstinate ; and general Graham, in the mean time, 

 turned the right wing of the French, and came upon 

 their rear, so that they were cut off from the road 

 to Bilboa, and forced to retreat towards Pampeluna, 

 which they did in the greatest disorder. They had 

 been so certain of victory, that little provision had 

 been made for the case of defeat ; and many of the 

 wives of the officers, the whole of Joseph's baggage, 

 &c., fell into the hands of the British. 15,000 

 dead and wounded lay on the field of battle ; 3000 

 French were taken prisoners. The British took 

 151 cannons, and 400 wagons with military stores, 

 and the military chest. Their booty was immense. 

 General Clauzel arrived the day after the battle, 

 with two divisions, at Vittoria, and, with great 

 skill, retreated towards Saragossa, so that the pur- 

 suit was less destructive than it would otherwise 

 have been, and the remains of the French army 

 were enabled to rally at the foot of the Pyrenees, 

 where Scult put them again in order, and strove to 

 oppose Wellington, who was prevented also, by 

 other circumstances, from following up his victory 

 as he could have wished ; since Suchet, after the 

 unsuccessful attempt of general Murray on Tarra- 

 gona, kept possession of Valencia, and general Mau- 

 rice Matthieu of Barcelona. 



VITUS'S DANCE, ST, OB CHORE A SANCTI 

 VITI (from %(ua, a dance), is a spasmodic or con- 

 vulsive disease, in which the muscles of the extremi- 

 ties and other parts are thrown into various involun- 

 tary motions, and perform, in an irregular manner, 

 those motions which are dictated by the will. The 

 approach of the disease is commonly slow, and is in- 

 dicated by a loss of the usual vivacity, by a variable 

 and often ravenous appetite, a swelling and hardness 

 in the lower belly, in most cases, but, in some, a 

 lank and soft belly, and, in general, a constipated 

 state of the bowels. Slight, irregular, involuntary 

 motions are soon observed, especially of the muscles 

 of the fpce, which after a while become more vio- 

 lent. These convulsive motions vary considerably. 

 The muscles of the extremities, and of the face, 

 those moving the lower jaw, the head and the trunk 

 of the body, are. at different times and in different 



instances, affected by it. In this state, the patient 

 does not walk steadily : his gait resembles jumping 

 or starting : he sometimes cannot walk, and seems 

 palsied ; nor can he perform the common motions 

 with the arms. In a word, when he wishes to be 

 at rest, the muscles are perpetually moving, and 

 distorting the limbs, face and trunk ; and when any 

 motion is attempted by the will, it is performed 

 irregularly and with difficulty, after several efforts. 

 The convulsive motions sometimes continue even 

 in sleep. In the progress of the disease, articula- 

 tion becomes impeded, and is frequently completely 

 suspended. Deglutition is also occasionally per- 

 formed with difficulty. The eye loses its lustre 

 and intelligence ; the countenance is pale and ex- 

 pressive of languor. This disease attacks both 

 sexes, but chiefly those who are of a weak constitu- 

 tion, or whose health and vigour have been impaired 

 by confinement, or by the want of sufficient or pro- 

 per nourishment. It appears most commonly from 

 the eighth to the fourteenth year. Many causes 

 have been assigned for this disorder, such as worms 

 in the alimentary canal, and the repulsion or drying 

 up of cutaneous eruptions; also rheumatisms, acute 

 fevers, diseases of the stomach, the use of mercury, 

 terror, and other strong mental impressions. The 

 remedies which have been adopted belong to the 

 two classes of tonics and evacuants. The connex- 

 ion of the name of St Vitus with this disease seems 

 to have originated, during the days of fanaticism 

 and superstition, in the seventeenth century. Gre- 

 gorius Horsius and Juncker relate that a belief 

 prevailed among the people of Germany, that, by 

 presenting gifts, and dancing before the image of St 

 Vitus, on his festival, in May, they should live in 

 health and safety during the ensuing year ; and that, 

 for this purpose, they repaired to a chapel dedicated 

 to their saint, where they danced night and day, 

 until they were seized with delirium, and fell down 

 in a sort of trance. 



VIVES, GIOVANNI LUDOVICO, one of the revivers 

 of literature, was born at Valentia, in Spain, in 

 1492, and studied at Paris and Louvain. He then 

 visited England, having previously become one of 

 the first fellows of Corpus Christ! college, Oxford. 

 He was patronised by Catharine of Arragon, and, 

 in 1522, dedicated his Commentary upon St Augus- 

 tine's De Civitate Dei to king Henry VIII. He 

 was also appointed to instruct the princess Mary in 

 polite literature and the Latin language. During 

 his residence at Oxford, he was admitted doctor of 

 laws, and acquired much favour with Henry VIII. ; 

 but, venturing to write against his divorce from 

 Catharine, he was disgraced and imprisoned. On 

 regaining his liberty, he repaired to Brussels, where 

 he married, and remained, for the rest of his life, 

 as a teacher of the belles-lettres. He died in 1541. 

 His works were printed at Basle in 1555, in 2 vols., 

 folio ; but this collection does not include his Com- 

 mentary on St Augustine, which was esteemed too 

 bold and free by the Louvain doctors. Among his 

 works are De prima Philosopkia ; De Explanations 

 Essentiarum. ; De Censura Veri ; De Imtiis, Sectis 

 et Laudibus Philosophies ; and De corruptis Artibus 

 et tradendis Disciplinis. 



VIVIANI, VINCENT, a celebrated Italian mathe- 

 matician, was born at Florence, in 1622. From 

 the sixteenth year of his age, he pursued the study 

 of geometry with such diligence and success, that 

 the great Galilei gave him the advantage of his own 

 instructions, and treated him as a son. After Gali- 

 lei's death, he undertook the restoration of the rive 



