valetudinarian A person in poor health, or one who is constantly anxious about his or her state of health.
Vane, Sir Henry (1613-62) Vane, a Puritan statesman and colonial governor of Massachusetts (1636-37), opposed the restoration of Charles II and was executed for treason.
Viasa A legendary Hindu credited with authoring a substantial part of the Sanskrit scriptures of the four Vedas and the Upanishads.
Vitruvius First-century B.C. Roman architect.
Vulcan In Roman mythology, the god of fire and metal-working.
Whigs Naming themselves after the British party of the common people (as opposed to the aristocratic Tories), the Whig party in the United States was active from 1834 to 1854.
Whim Emerson is recalling Exodus 12, in which God instructs Moses to mark the doors of Hebrew homes with blood so that the inhabitants will be spared when God passes through Egypt to "smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast." Here, Emerson is saying that instead of marking the house with blood, he would mark the house with the word "Whim," thereby characterizing the inhabitants as utterly devoid of personal integrity.
Winkelreid, Arnold von (d. 1386) A legendary Swiss hero.
Woden The Anglo-Saxon form of Odin, chief among the Norse and Germanic gods.
Wordsworth, William (1770-1850) An English poet, his most important collection, Lyrical Ballads (1798), helped establish romanticism in England.
Xanthus An ancient city of Lycia in present-day Turkey
Xenophanes (c. 560-478 B.C.) A Greek philosopher, he taught the unity of existence, that "All is one."
York Minster A cathedral in York, England.
Zeno (335-263 B.C.) Greek philosopher and founder of the Stoic school of philosophy.
Zoroaster (sixth century B.C.) The Persian prophet who founded a religious system that taught that life was a continual struggle between the forces of light and dark.
