FLA 
449 
FLA 
prefbytev and treafurer of tlie great qhtirch in that city, 
after the death of Proclus, in 447. It was his misfortune 
to be upon ill termswith Chryfaphius, the firft chamber- 
lain and favourite of the emperor Theodofius the Younger, 
which led to the depofition and banifliment of Flavianus. 
His place of exile was Hypaepa in Lydia, where he died 
in 450. He was the author of Two Letters to Pope Leo, 
again ft Eutyches, which are extant in the fourth volume 
of the ColleElio Gonciliorum, the firft in Latin, and the fe- 
cond in Greek and Latin ; and of A Declaration of Faith 
delivered to the Emperor Theodofius, which is preferved 
in the fame collection. 
FLAVIC'OMUS, adj. [ flavus, Lat. yellow, and coma, 
hair.] Having yellow hair. Not muck u/ed. 
FLAVIGNAC', a town of France, in the department 
of the Upper Vienne : twelve miles fouth-weft of Limoges. 
FLA VIGNY', a town of France, in the department of 
the Cote-d’Or, and chief place of a canton, in the diftriit 
of Semur, on the Ozerain: nine leagues weft-north-weft 
of Dijon. 
FLAVIGNY' (Valerian de), a learned French eccle- 
fiaftic, born in the diocefe of Laon. He was admitted to 
the degree of doftor of divinity by the faculty of the Sor- 
bonne, in 1628, and foon afterwards was made a canon 
of Rheims. In 1630, he was nominated profelfor of the 
Hebrew language in the college-royal of France, and dif- 
charged the duties of that appointment for many years 
with honour and high reputation. In 1656, he became 
dean of the college-royal, and died at Paris in 1674, at a 
'Very advanced age. His acquaintance with theology, the 
belles-lettres, and the oriental languages, was conlider- 
able, and he was noted for the attention which he paid 
to laborious and curious fubjefts. M. de Flavigny had 
a great difpute with fome divines of the faculty of Paris, 
on the fubjeft of a thefts maintained in the Sorbonne by 
Louis de Cleves, of which he had fignedhis approbation 
in his official capacity. It contained the dodirir.e, that 
epifcopacy, as diftindt from the priefthood, is no facra- 
ment. Flavigny drew up a long defence of this doftrine, 
which he printed at Tournay in 1668, under the title of 
Ad Thefin Cleveflanam ubi de Epifcopatu Expect at <e Vindicue, 
4to. His controverfies relative to the Polyglot of M. le 
Jay, and the purity of the Hebrew text, are extant under 
the title of Epiflolce de Heptaplis Pariflenfibus, &c. 
FLA'VIN, a town of France, in the department of the 
Aveiron, and chief place of a canton, in the diftridt of 
Rhodez : four miles fouth of Rhodez. 
FLAVI'NIA, a town of Latium, which affifted Turnus 
againft ./Eneas. Virgil. 
To FLAUNT, v. n. To make a fluttering (hew in appa¬ 
rel.—Thefe courtiers of applaufe deny themfelves things 
convenient to jlaunt it out, being frequently enough fain 
to immolate their own defires to their vanity. Boyle. 
Here, attir’d beyond our purfe, we go, 
For ufelefs ornament and Jlaunting fhow : 
We take on truft, in purple robes to fhine. 
And poor, are yet ambitious to be fine. Dry den. 
To be hung with fomething loofe and flying. This feems 
not to be proper : the words jlaunt and flutter might with 
more propriety have changed their places : 
Fortune in men has fome fmall difference made ; 
One flaunts in rags, one flutters in brocade. Pfl e ’ 
FLAUNT, f. Any thing loofe and airy : 
How would he look to fee his work fo noble, 
Wildly bound up, what would he fay! or how 
Should I in thefe my borrow’d flaunts behold 
The fternnefs of his prefence! Shakcfpeare. 
FLA'VOUR,yi Power of pleafing the tafte.—-They 
have a certain flavour, at their firft appearance, from fe- 
veral accidental circumftances, which they may lofe, if 
not taken early. Addifon. —Sweetnefs to the fmell; odour ; 
fragrance : 
Vol. VII. No. 440. 
Myrtle, orange, and the blufhing rofe. 
With bending heaps, fo nigh their bloom difclofe, 
Each feems to fmell the flavour which the other blows. 
Dry den. 
FLA'VOROUS, adj. Delightful to the palate. Fra* 
grant; odorous: 
Sweet grapes degen’rate there, and fruits declin’d 
From their firft flav'rous tafte, renounce their kind. Drydcn. 
FLAW, f. [tp^oue, Gr. to break; ploh, Sax. a gar¬ 
ment.] A crack or breach in any thing.—This heart lhall 
break into a thoufand flaws. Shakcfpeare. 
Whether the nymph fliall break Diana’s law. 
Or fome frail China-jar receive a flaw. Pope. 
A fault; defedt; fomething that weakens or invalidates.—■ 
Their judgment has found a flaw in what the generality 
of mankind admires. Addifon. 
Traditions were a proof alone, 
Could we be certain fuch they were, fo known: 
But fince font t flaws in long defcents may be. 
They make not truth, but probability. Drydcn. 
A fudden guft ; a violent blaft; [from flo, Lat.] Obfolcte; 
Burfting their brazen dungeon, arm’d with ice, 
And fnow, .and hail, and ftormy guft, and flaw, 
Boreas, and Caecias, and Argeftes loud, 
And Thrafcias, rend the woods, and feas upturn. Milton. 
A tumult; a tempeftuous uproar: 
The gates are open’d, the portcullis drawn, 
And deluges of armies from the town 
Came pouring in ; I heard the mighty flaw. 
When firft it broke, the crowding enfigns faw 
Which choak’d the paffage. Dryden. 
A hidden commotion of mind : 
Oh thefe flatus and ftarts, 
Impoftors to true fear, would become 
A woman’s ftory at a winter’s fire. Shakcfpeare. 
To FLAW, v. a. To break ; to crack ; to damage with 
fi(litre.—The cup was flawed with fuch a multitude of 
little cracks, that it looks like a whiter not like a cryftaL 
line, cup. Boyle. 
The brazen cauldrons with the frofts are flaw'd. 
The garment ftiff with ice, at hearths is thaw’d. Dryden. 
To break; to violate. Out of ufc: 
Fiance hath flaw'd the league, and hath attach’d 
Our merchants’ goods. , Shakcfpeare. 
FLAW'LESS, adj. Without cracks ; without defetffs. 
—A ftar of the firft magnitude, which the more high, 
more vaft, and more flawlefs, ftiines only bright enough 
to make itfelf confpicuous. Boyle. 
FLAWN, f. [plena, Sax. flan, Fr. vlaye, Dut.] A 
fort of cuftard; a pie baked in a difti : 
Fill oven full of flawns, Ginny pafs not for deep, 
To-morrow thy father his wake-day will keep. Tujfer. 
To FLAW'TER, v.a. To fcrape orparea fk\n,Ainfworth. 
FLAW'Y, adj. Full of flaws. 
F'LAX,yi [pleax, plex, Sax. vlas, Dut.] The fibrous 
plant of which the fineft thread is made. The fibres of 
flax cleanfed and combed for the fpinner.—For the feve- 
ral fpecies, cultivation, See. fee the article Limum. 
FI.AX'COMB,/. The inftrument with which the fibres 
of flax are cleanfed from the brittle parts. 
FLAX'DRESSER,/. He that prepares flax for the 
fpinner. 
FLAX’EN, adj. Made of flax.—The beft materials 
for making ligatures are the flaxen thread that flioemakers 
ufe. Sharp. 
The matron, at her nightly talk, 
With petifive labour draws th e flaxen thread. Tltomfn. 
5 Y. Fair, 
