V I G 



V I G 



a rock near the fouth coait of Cuba. N. lat. 20" 53'. W. 

 long. 80° 55'. 



VIGIL, or Eve, in Church Chronology, the day before 

 any feaft, (3cc. 



Though the civil day begins at midnight, yet the eccle- 

 ilailical or fcriptural day begins at fix o'clock in the evening, 

 and holds till fix in the evening the enfuing day. 



Hence, the collect for every Sunday and holiday, by 

 order of the church, is to be read, at the preceding evenin^r 

 fervice, that is, at fix o'clock the day before ; from which 

 time the riJhgious day was flippofed to begin. 



And this firil part of the holiday, from fix o'clock the 

 day before, was, by the primitive Chriflians, fpent in hymns, 

 and other devotions ; and, being often continued till late in 

 the night, was called tugil. 



Thefe vigils came by degrees to be fo enlarged, that, at 

 laft, all the day preceding the hohday was called by the 

 name. 



The origin of vigils is deduced by Forbes from a cuftom 

 in the ancient church, for the people, both men and vi'omen, 

 to meet together in the evening before Eafter-day, and 

 watch and pray, as expefting the coming of our Lord, who 

 was to rife early in the morning. This praftice, TertuUian 

 obftrves, ad uxorem, afterwards got to other feafls, and 

 faints' days. But abufes creeping in, they were forbidden by 

 a council, in 1322, and, in lieu of them, fadings were infti- 

 tuted on the day before, though Hill called by the ancient 

 name of vigils. See Wakes. 



V1GIJ-, Coma. See Co.MA. 



VIGILANTIUS, in Biography, an ecclefiaftic of the 

 fifth century, was born in Gaul, and removing to Spain, 

 became a parifli prieft in the diocefe of Barcelona. He is 

 faid to have written treatifes on religious fubjefts in a po- 

 lifhcd (lyle ; but he incurred the cenfure of Dupin, becaufe 

 he expo'led levoral fuperltitions of the time in which he lived. 

 After his return from a voyage to Palelline and Egypt, he 

 propagated'opiiiions that were hoftile to the corrupt Hate of 

 Cliriltianity at that period. He denied that the tombs and 

 remains of tlie martyrs are entitled to any kind of adoration, 

 and cenfured pilgrimages to holy places. He derided the 

 miracles pretended to be wrought at the fhrincs of martyrs, 

 and condemned the nofturnal alTemblies held at fuch places. 

 rie affirmed that the praftice of burning tapers by day-light 

 at the tombs of lioly perfons was a fuperilition, borrowed 

 from the P.igans ; that prayers addrefied to departed faints 

 were of no avail ; and he I'poke with contempt of fallings 

 and mortilicatjons, the celibacy of tlie clergy, and the 

 aufterities of monallic life. He alfo afierted, that the vo- 

 luntary poverty of thofe who dillribule all their fubllance to 

 the poor, and the praftice of fending donations to Jerufalem 

 for pious purpofes, are in no reipeft acceptable to the 

 Deity. Thefe opinions were favourably received by fevcral 

 of the bifhops in Gaul and Spain ; but Jerom, the great ad- 

 vocate for monkifli difciplinc, cenfured them with feverity, 

 and rancoroufly .ibufed Vigilantins for adopting and propa- 

 gating them. His oppofition, and that of perfons of fimilar 

 lentiinents prevailed, and prevented every kind of reform. 

 The refentment and hoftility of Jerom, to whom Vigilantins 

 had been reconnnended by Paulinus, feem to have commenced 

 with his declaring hinifelf an enemy to fupcrftition. Bayle. 

 Dupin. Mofhoim. 



VIGILIA, in yliic'urit Chronology. See Watch. 



ViGii.iA, that Hate of an animal which is oppofitc to 

 fleep, and is popularly called •waking or watching. See 

 Sj.eei" and Watc iiisd. 



VIGILTiE, in yliittquity, denote the watches and guards 

 among the Roman foldiers, who performed duly by night, 



in contradiftinAion to the excubit, who kept guard by day, 

 cither in the camp, or at the gates and intrenchments : of 

 thefe laft there feem to have been affigned one company of 

 foot and one troop of horfe to each of the four gates every 

 day ; and it was a moft unpardonable crime to defert their 

 poll, and to abandon their corps of guards. In the camp, 

 there was allowed a whole manipulus to attend before the 

 prxtorium, and four foldiers to the tent of every tribune. 

 The night-guards alTigned to the general and tribunes were 

 of the fame nature as thofe in the day. But the proper 

 vigils were four in every manipulus, keeping guard three 

 hours, and then relieved by four others ; fo that there were 

 four fets in the night, according to the four watches, which 

 took their name from this cuftom. The night-guard was 

 fet by a tally or teffera, with a particular inicription given 

 from one centurion to another through the army, till it came 

 again to the tribune who firft delivered it. Upon the re- 

 ceipt of this, the guard was immediately fet. But becaufe 

 this regulation was not fufficieiit, they had the circuitio vi- 

 giliiim, or a rifiting of the watch, commonly performed 

 about four times in the night by fome of the horfe. Upon 

 extraordinary occafions, the tribunes and lieutenant-generals, 

 and fometimes the general himfelf, made thefe circuits in 

 perfon, and took a flrift view of the watch in every part of 

 the camp. Rennet's Ant. Rom. p. 206. 



VlGH.i.'E Florum, in Botany, a term ufed by Linnaeus to 

 cxprefs a peculiar faculty, belonging to the flowers of fe- 

 veral plants, of opening and clofing their petals at certain 

 hours of the day. Previous to the explanation of this phe- 

 nomenon, it is necefiary to obferve, that the flowers of moft 

 plants, after they are once opened, continue fo night and 

 day, until they drop off, or die away. Several others, 

 which fliut in the night-time, open in the morning fooner or 

 later, according to their refpedlive fituation in the fun or 

 ftiade, or as they are influenced by the manifeft changes of 

 the atmofphere. But the clafs of flowers, to which this 

 article refers, open and fluit regularly at certain hours, ex- 

 clufive of any manifeft changes in the atmofphere. This 

 property is fo evident in one of our common Englifli plants, 

 the tragupogon luleum, that our country people have called it 

 J uhn-go-to-hcd-at-noon. Linnxus's obfervations in the Phi- 

 lofophia Botania, p. 273, extend to near fifty fpecies, which 

 are fubjcft to this law : fucli arc the male pimpernel, the 

 blue-flowered pimpernel witli narrow leaves, the little blue 

 convolvulus or bindweed, the day-lily, the proliferous pink, 

 the common purdain, the wliite-wator-lily, the garden let- 

 tuce, the dandelion, t'lC rough dandelion, feveral fpecies of 

 hawkweeds, wild fuccory, wild marygold, &c. See an 

 account of this phenomenon by Dr. Pulteney, in Phil. 

 Tranf. vol. 1. p. 506, &c. See alfo Si.eef nf Plants. 

 VIGILIUM PurFECTUs. See Pueeect. 

 VIGII^IUS, in Biography, a pope, was raifed to the 

 pontificate by the emprefs Tiieodora, when his predeceffor 

 Silvcrius did not anfwer her purpofe, on certain ftipulatej 

 conditions, to which a perfon like him, deftitute of prin- 

 ciple, could have no obje<ftion. He was, therefore, fent 

 from Conllantinople to Italy with a fum of gold, and an 

 order to Belifarius, then mafter of Rome, to depofe Sil- 

 vcrius, and to eleft Vigibus. Accordingly the meafure was 

 accomplifhed in November 537 : Silverius was baniflicd, 

 and Vigilius, a Roman by birth of a noble family, was or- 

 dained to the fee of Rome. Silverius appealed to the em- 

 peror Juftinian, and obtained an order for a rehearing ; but 

 upon his return to Rome, he was baniflud to a dillant iflajid, 

 in confequence of the intrigues of Vigilius, and there died 

 in 538. After the dcith of Silverius, the church of Rome 

 acknowledged Vigibus as lawful pope. Although lie 



pundtuolly 



