VOIGT. 201 VOIGT, foot, Gkoug (1827-91). A German liistdiiun. horn at Kiinigsbeif;, son of Johannc.-* Voifjt. Hi' was I'lUu-ated in Kdnifisbcrg. In 1858 ho bec-ann' protVssor at Munich, in 1800 he wi-nt to Rostock as professor of liistory, and in 18(i(i to l^cipzig, where he remaineil till his death. In 18o4 appeared his Wiederhrlcbuny den lidssischcn Allertums oder das erste ,lahrhundert den Jfuiiianismus, and from 1856 to 18(i,'! his chief work, Enea Silmo dc' Pinaolomini als I'apst I'itis II., und sein Zeitalter. VOIGT, Johannes (1786-1863). A German historian. He was born at Bettenliausen, Thuringia. In 1817 he was called to Kiinigs- bcrg as professor of historj% which jiosition be held dnring the remainder of his life. His best known works are UUdchrand als I'apst Oref/or VII. und sein Zeitalter (1815); (lesrliiehte MdrienJjurgs (1824); the excellent (lesrhielite Preusseiis (1827-39); €ode,r Diplomatieuf: I'm.'!- sicus (1836-61); and GeschiclUe des Deutschen Ritterordens (1857-59). VOIGTEL, foG'td, Richard (1S29-1902). A GeriiKUi arcliitect, born at Magdeburg, and edu- cated at the Berlin Academy. After Zwirner'a death in 1862 he became head architect in the work on the Cologne Cathedral. He drew up plans for many elmrches in the Province of Posen, and restored several small Gothic churches and the beautiful church at Sinzig. VOIB DIKE, vwiir der (OFr.. to say the truth). A Norman French term employed to de- note the examination of a witness or juror in order to determine his legal competency. By the common law, a person having a financial interest in the result of a cause could not be a witness therein, and a. person called as a witness might I)e examined to determine his competency in this respect. This rule no longer prevails in the United States. It is customary to exnmine jurors on voir dire in order to ascertain whether they have anj' bias or prejudice for or against either party, and whether they possess the neces- sary qualifications to act as jurors in the cause. See Jury. VOIRON, vwii'roN'. A town of the Depart- ment of Is&re, France, on the left bank of the Merge, 14 miles northwest of Grenoble. The modern Church of Saint Bnmo is attractive. A conspicuous copper statue of Notre Dame de Vouise stands on a tower 50 feet high. Silk, paper, straw hats, and chemical products are manufactured. Population, in 1901, 12.625. VOIT, foit. Karl von (1831—). A German physiologist. He was born at Amberg, Bavaria, and w'as educated in Munich. Wiirzburg, and Gottingen. He entered the Physiological Institute of JIunich in 1856 as Bischofl'"s assistant, and became professor of physiology in 1863. In 1865 he founded the Zeit.ichrift fiir liioloaie, in which most of his important writings on the subject of nutrition appeared. These include: I'lii/siolo- giseh-chemisclie Vntcrsuchungcn (1857); Ueber die Thecyrien der Erniihrunfi der tierischen Organ- ismen (1868); Veher die Ko,st in offentlichen Ansfalten (1876); ZJntersuchung der Knst in einigen iiffenthehen Anstatten (1877); Physiol- ogie des allgetneincn Staff a^echsels und der Erniih- rung (in vol. vi. of Hermann's Uandhuch der Physiologic, 1881). VOLAPUK. VOITURE, vwa'tur', Vince.N't (15971648). A French poet and courtier. He was born at Amiens, and educated at the College of CalvC et Boneour and at the University of Orleans, where he ])ursued the study of law. He was intro- duced to the fashionable life of Paris and soon became a favorite at the Hotel de Ram- bouillet among such men as Corneille. Bal- zac, and Chapelain. His wit was redoubtable. On the formation of the French .cademy in 1635 he was one of the first members admitted, but took no active part in its proceedings. Voiture's brilliant verse delighted the salons during his lifetime, but remained unpublished till 1650, when his CEuvres appeared. They have gone through many editions, as successive generations have been pleased by the liglitucss of his touch (e.g. ed. Roux, 185i>). The Lettres were pub- lished by Uzanne (1880). Consult: Sainte-Beuve, Gauseries du lundi, xii. (Paris, 1851-62) ; Rahstede, Wanderungen dureJi die franziisisehe Litteralur, Vincent Voiture (Oppein, 1891). VOKES, voks, Rosina (1858-94). An Eng- lish actress, the youngest of the famous 'Vokea family,' which included her brother Frederick (1846-88) and her sisters Jessie (1851-84) and Victoria (1853-94). She participated in many of the early successes of the family, including the popular Tliimpty Dumptij and other panto- mimes during the sixties. In 1870 she was married to Cecil Clay and retired from the stage. Fifteen years afterwards she appeared in America, where for several successive seasons her vivacious talents were warmly appreciated in light comedies like .4 Pa>itomitne Rehearsal' (written by her husband), The Schoolmistress, The Circus Rider, Wig and Gown, and others. She finally left the stage late in 1893 because of ill health, and died at Torquay, England. VOLANT. In heraldry (q.v.), a term mean- ing Hying. VOLAPtJK, vo'la-puk. An artificial language invented by Johann ilartin Schleyer (born 1837), a German priest in 1879, and intended to be used as an international language. The aim in the for- mation of Volapid<, as in the formation of most other 'universal languages,' has been to exclude elements supposed not to be universal, and there- fore presumed to be too hard for some persons to acquire or manage. This theory, if strictly ap- plied, would le.ave a poor minimum of speech, which would be inadequate for any scientific use ; but it has never been strictly applied. The sounds admitted into Volapiik are those repre- sented by the following 27 letters : a ii e i o 6 u ii h c d f g h j k I m n p r s t v x y z. The letters, with a few exceptions, are used in their Latin, Italian, or Cierman values. The vowels are nominally long. Shortening is not allowed, theo- retically, to weaken or obscui'e the vowel. The 'umlaut" vowels, ii ii ii. though far from universal, are admitted to fill out the inflexive sclieme, which depends much on vowel distinctions. The consonants, q, w, ng, th (thin), dh (this), zh, etc.. are excluded; c and ; are perversely used. The words are arbitrarily formed from the ag- gregate European vocabulary. The Latin. Eng- lish, German, or other national Avord for a given notion is chosen, and is cut down to its simplest form, the root, stem, or first syllable, with the omission or alteration of sounds or sequences of
