VAUGHAN 173 VEDA Vaughan's poetry is very unequal — his vein seems to have been a very hard, flinty soil, from which the right Prome- thean fire could be struck but now and then. VAiraHAN, HEEBERT, a Roman Catholic archbishop of Westminster; born in Gloucester, England, April 15, 1832; the eldest son of Lieutenant- Colonel Vaughan. Educated at Stony- hurst and on the Continent, he entered the priesthood, and in 1872 was conse- crated bishop of Salford, in 1892 suc- ceeded Cardinal Manning as Archbishop of Westminster, himself shortly after being raised to the cardinalate. He was an eloquent preacher, the founder of St. Joseph's College for foreign missions at Mill Hill, Hendon, and proprietor of the "Tablet," and the "Dublin Review." He died June 20, 1903. VAULT, an arched roof; a concave roof, or roof-like covering, hence applied figuratively to the sky. In architectux*e, an extended arch covering an apartment so constructed that the stones, bricks, or other material of which it is composed sustain and keep each other in their places. Vaults are of various kinds; a cylindrical vault has a semi-circular arch; a covered vault has an arch which springs from all sides of its plan; a groined vault is one formed by two vaults intersecting at right angles. When a vault is of greater height than half its span, it is said to be surmounted, and when of less height surbased. A rajtnpant vault is one which springs from planes not parallel to the horizon; the vault placed over another constitutes a double vault. A conic vault is formed of part of the surface of a cone, and a spherical vault of part of the surface of a sphere. A vault is simple when it is formed by the surface of some regular solid, and compound when compounded of more than one surface of the same solid, or of two different solids. VAUX, FORT, fortified village of France, 4 miles N. E. of Verdun, which was the scene of much fighting during the spring and summer of 1916. On March 3 the Germans, having taken Fort de Douamont, about a mile to the N. E., turned their guns on Vaux. On March 8, the German infantry fought their way into the village from which the French succeeded in expelling them, a German bulletin announcing that the armored fort of Vaux had been occupied. The Germans hung on to the fringe till March 16, but did not reach the crest, and then after a fortnight's rest, an entire German division fought its way past the village of Vaux and Vaux Cyc 1: Pond, scrambling over the rim of the Plateau de Douaumont which repre- sented the northern slope of the Vaux Ravine through the Wood of La Cail- lette. The German loss of this attack was heavy, and within a few days the French had thrown them back on their old positions. This was part of what was called the "second phase" of the Battle of Verdun and the repulse of the Germans saved Verdun for the rest of the war. Attacks and counter-attacks were kept up during April, May and June. On June 1 the Germans began another important attack and on June 4 succeeded in isolating Fort Vaux. More German attacks followed on June 6 and on June 7 it was stormed and taken, remaining in German hands till November 2 when the French retook it. Later it fell again to the Germans who held it till its conquest by the American forces on June 1, 1918. VECTOR, in mathematics, the same as Radius Vector (g. v.). Also a directive quantity, as a straight line, a force, or a velocity. The simplest manner in which to represent such a quantity, which in- volves both direction and magnitude, is by means of a straight line in space. Then the vector may be regarded as a stepping from one extremity of the line to the other. Vectors are said to be equal when their direction is the same and their magnitudes equal. VEDA (from vid, "to know," hence "knowledge, [sacred] science"), the name of a body of religious writings which the Hindus believe to be divinely inspired. This body primarily consists of four collections (samhitd) of hymns, detached verses, and sacrificial formulas — viz., the Rig Veda, or Veda of praises or hymns; the Sania Veda, or Veda of chants or tunes; the Yajur Veda, or Veda of prayers; and the Atharva Veda, or Veda of the Atharvans — to each of which are attached certain theological prose works called Brahmana, and in- tended chiefly to elucidate the meaning and application of the sacred texts, especially from a sacrificial point of view. The first three Vedas are often referred to as the "tray! vidya," or three- fold science; and they alone must orig- inally have formed the sacred canon, while the fourth Veda, which is less archaic in language, was not recognized till a later period. The Sahmitas of the Sama Veda and Yajur Veda are of a purely sacrificial and professional char- acter, being intended to serve as text- books for two of the four chief classes of priests — viz., the chanters (Udgatar) and the offering priests (Adhvaryu) re- 2 Vol. X
