WEE. 



jilanets in the week, bears little relation to that in which 

 they follow in the heavens : the former being founded on an 

 imaginary power each planet has, in its turn, on the firft 

 hour of each day. 



1 Dion. Caflius gives another reafon of the denomination, 

 fetched from the celeftial harmony. For it being obferved 

 that the harmony of the diateflaron, which confifts in the 

 ratio of 4 to 3, is of great force and effeft in mufic ; it 

 was judged meet to proceed direftly from Saturn to tlie 

 Sun ; becaufe, according to the old fyftem, there are three 

 planets between Saturn and the Sun, and four from the 

 Sun to the Moon. 



' Our anceftors the Saxons, before their converfion to the 

 Chriftian faith, named the feven days of the week from 

 the Sun and Moon and fome of their deified heroes, to 

 whom they were peculiarly confecrated, which names we 

 received and ftill retain : thus Sunday was devoted to the 

 Sun ; Monday to the Moon ; Tuefday, according to fome, 

 to Tuifto or Tuifco, mentioned by Tacitus ; but, according 

 to others, to Thyfa or Dyfa, the wife of Thor, and the 

 goddefs of jullice ; or, according to others, to Tyr ; Wed- 

 nefday to Woden, the god of war ; Thurfday to Thor, 

 'who prefided over the air, and was fuppofed to govern the 

 winds and clouds ; this is the fame with Lucan's Taranis, 

 Similar to the Welfh word for thunder ; Friday to Friga 

 or Frtea, the wife of Thor, and the goddefs of peace and 

 plenty ; and Saturday to Seater, called alfo Orodo, to 

 iwhom they prayed for proteftion, freedom, and concord, 

 and for the fruits of the earth. The origin of the lall ap- 

 pellation, however, is doubtful ; as fome have obferved, 

 that the name Seater is not mentioned by any writer before 

 Verftegan. See Verftegan's Reftitution of decayed Intel- 

 ligence, p. 68. Junii Etym. Angl. and Mallet's North. 

 Ant. vol. i. p. 91, &c. 



To find the accomplifhment of Daniel's propliecy of the 

 ;Meffiah, the deftruftion, rebuilding, &c. of the temple, 

 chap. ix. ver. 24, &c. the critics generally agree to under- 

 ftand lueeks of years, inftead of weeks of days. 

 I Accordingly, Dr. Prideaux, fixing the end of thefe 

 |weeks at the death of Chrift, in the year of the JuUan 

 Iperiod 4746, and in the Jewifh month Nifan, dates their 

 (commencement in the month Nifan, in the year of the 

 Julian period 4256, which was the very year and month 

 in which Ezra had his commiflion from Artaxerxes Lon- 

 ;gimanus, king of Perfia, for his return to Jerufalem, 

 'there to reftore the church and ftate of the Jews. And 

 I thus he finds, that from the one period to the other, there 

 I were exactly 70 weeks of years, or 490 years. Conned. 

 I vol. ii. p. 381, &c. 

 j Weeks, Ember. See Ember. 

 1 Weeks, Feajl of. See Pentecost. 

 I Week, Pajjlon, or the Holy Week, is the laft week in 

 I Lent, in which the church celebrates the myllery of our 

 I Saviour's death and paffion. 



This is alfo fometiraes called the^r^a/ iveek. Its inftitution 

 I is generally referred, both by Proteftants and Papifts, to 

 I the times of the apoftles. All the days of that week were 

 ^ held as falls ; no work was done on them ; no juftice was 

 ! diftributed ; but the prifoners were ordinarily fet at liberty, 

 j &c. even pleafures, otherwife allowed, were at this time 

 I prohibited. The ofculum charitatis was now forborn : and 

 I divers mortifications praftifed by all forts of people, and 

 j even the emperors themfelves. 

 i Week, Rogation. See Rogation. 

 I Week, or Wich of a Candle, &c. the cotton match in a 

 I candle or lamp. See Candle, Lamp, &c. 

 I WEEK-Fi/h, in Ichthyology, a nan;i« given by fome to a 



WEE 



very delicate fiih, caught on the Eaft Indian fhores, asd 

 called by the Dutch there the luit-vifch. See WiT-Fj/Ij. 



Weekly Markets and Fairs, in Agriculture, are of con- 

 fiderable ufe and convenience to the farmer and land-owner, 

 as affording the ready means of purchafing, providing, and 

 furnifhing them with the different articles they are conti- 

 nually in need of, as well as the various forts and defcrip- 

 tions of cattle and other Uve-ftock, which are always 

 wanted in fuch cafes ; as they are common in moil large 

 towns, the former once or oftener in the courfe of the 

 week, and the latter in fome iiiftances in that time, and at 

 more diftant periods. They give the means, too, of readily 

 difpofing of all forts of produce and Hock of the farm kind,, 

 which is often a very great accommodation and advantage 

 to the farmer and ftore-niailer, as is fully feen in the weekly 

 market of Smithfield in the metropolis, as well as in many 

 particular markets and fairs in the country, as at Liverpool, 

 Lancailer, Garftang, and many other towns in the north ; 

 and at Uxbridge, Reading, Chelmsford, Petworth, and a 

 variety of other towns in the fouth. See Owen's Book of 

 Fairs, &c. 



WEELING, Anselm, in Biography, born at Bois-le- 

 Duc in 1675, was an imitator of Godfrey Schalken and 

 Adrian Vanderwerf; but particularly of the former; and 

 many of his produttions have been taken for pidlui'es by 

 that mafter. He died in 1749. 



WEELS, in Geography, a river of Germany, which 

 rifes in the duchy of Oldenburg, and joining the Ochte, in 

 the county of Delmenhorll, falls into the Wefer, 8 miles 

 N.W. of Bremen. 



WEEN. See HwEN. 



WEENINX, John Baptist, in Biography, an excellent 

 artift, was born at Arafterdam in 1621, the fon of John 

 Weeninx, an artill of confiderable celebrity. He loft his 

 father when he was very young, and was placed by his 

 mother with a bookfeller ; but his taile for painting mani- 

 felling itfelf decidedly, he was allowed to indulge it, and 

 was placed as a difciple with John Micker, and afterwards 

 with Ab. Bloemart. He made a rapid progrefs, and drew 

 with fuperior power the principal buildings in Amfterdam 

 and its vicinity. Animals, birds, huntings, &c. he was 

 Ikilled in reprefenting, and he foon began to paint his 

 fubjefts with fuccefs. He left Bloemart, and ftudied a 

 fhort time with Moojaert ; but when he was 18, he found 

 himfelf fufficiently ellabhflied to truft to himfelf, and his 

 piftures were favourably received. 



A defire to improve led him to Rome, where his talents 

 recommended him to many of the principal perfonages ; 

 among others, the cardinal Pamphili gave him a penfion, 

 and honoured him with many commiflions : he would fain, 

 indeed, have retained him at Rome, but the fohcitations of 

 his family, and his natural defire of exhibiting his power 

 among his countrymen, induced him to return to Holland, 

 after an abfence of four years. On his return, he found 

 abundant admiration and employment, which, indeed, he 

 very well merited, as his extraordinary facility in painting 

 a vaft variety of fubjefts has rarely been equalled. He 

 painted hiftory, portraits, landfcapes, fea-ports, animals, and 

 dead-game ; but he particularly excelled in Itahan fea- 

 ports, enriched with noble architedlure, and decorated with 

 figures. There is a very beautiful fpecimen of his power 

 in the gallery of Cleveland-houfe, which in Britton's Cata- 

 logue is numbered 243. He unfortunately died very young, 

 in 1660, being only 39 years old. 



WEENINX, John, fon of Baptift, mentioned above, 

 was born at Amilerdam in 1644, and was inftrufted in 

 painting by his father until he was i6 years of age, when 



he 



