The usual words in the NT are Spafia and dTrraata, the latter probably having a less objective signifi- cance th.an the former. In the report given to our Lord by the two disciples on their way to Emmaus of the vision of angels seen by the women, the word iwTaaia is used (Lk 24^). When St. Paul referred before Agrippa to tlie heavenly vision he spoke of the (Jirrodia (Ac 26'"), but in the account of the actual occurrence given by St. Luke the word Spa/ici was used (Ac Q'"- '-). That this word con- notes a high degree of reality and objectivity is evidenced by the fact that it was used by our Lord when, referring to the Transfiguration, He warned His dis<'i[iles to tell the vision (6'pa/xa) to no man (Mt 17"). I'eter's vision, whilst it conveyed to him God's revelatiim as to his treatment of the consci- entious Gentile, was presented in a concrete form, the objectivity of which seems never to have been questioned (Ac 10). On the other hand, when he doubted the actu.ality of the presence of the angel (12"), and the deliverance whicli had been wrought, he thought he had seen a vision (6()a^a).
Probably no recital of visions engageii the minds of the Christians in the 1st (if the earlier date be
accepted) or the 2nd cent, more than that of 'The Shepherd of Hernuis,' in which, somewhat after the style of Dante's Divinn Commedia, teachings are presented for the instruction of the Church. The ' Shepherd ' is the divine teacher, who imparts his lessons by means of preee])t and allegory, and the Church appears as an aged woman, whoso features beconte increasingly youthful the oftener she is gazed upon.
LiTRRATURB. — IIDB, artt. 'Vision' and 'Prophecy'; Shep- herd of tiermas (Lijthtfoot [Ai»>stotic Fatherx. London, 1891J and othe? editions) ; F. W. H. Myers, Human I*er«onaUty
and its Surriral o/ Bodily Death, <lo., 1907.
J. G. Jame.s.
YITELLIUS.— Aulus Vitellius, son of Lucius VilcUius (consul .\.l). 34) and Sextilia, was born either at Luceria or at Nuceria (in Italy) on 7th or '24th Sei)teniber A.D. 15. He spent his boy- hood and early youth in the rnloiirnrje of the Emperor Tiberius on the island of Capre;e (modern Cajiri). His addiction to chariot -racing made him a friend of (iaius (Caligula), anil his fondness for dice-plaj^ing brought him the favour of Claudius ; nor was he le.ss accejitable to Nero. He attained the consulship in A.l>. 48 along with L. Vipstanus Poblicola, am! was al.so elected into various priest- hoods. He held the proconsulship of Africa, one of the very highest posts in the Empire, apparently in A.D. 60-61, and in the following year was legntus to his own brother, who succeeded him in the proconsulship. His government is highly praised. After having superintended various public works, he was sent by (Jalba to northern Germany as governor. He entered the province on 1st December 68, and on 3rd January 69 he was hailed by the legions in Germany as Emperor, receiving also the honorary surname Germanicus. On conquering Otlio (see art. Otho), he was recog- nized as Emperor at Home (19th April). He post- poned the adoption of the title Augustus, and refused at lirst the name of Ca'sar. He entereil Home, apparently in May, and wa.s henceforth known officially sometimes as Imperator Aulus Vitellius Caesar, sometimes as Aulus Vitellius Imperator (iermanicus. He took over the office of chief ])ontill'on 18th July, and, after arranging the elections for ten years, he ap])ointed himself perpetual consul. He was put to deaf h at Kome about 20th December, after ruling eight months and some days.
His first wife was Petronia, daughter of Publius Pc^tronius, consul suffcctus of A.D. 19. She bore him a son, Petronianus. After divorcin" Petronia, who became the wife of (Gna'us Cornelius) Dola- bella, he married Galeria Kundana, whose father had held the pnetorship, and had a son Germanicus, who >\-.is put to death by Mucianus (see art. Vespasian), and a daughter, who was betrothed to Valerius Asiaticus in A.i>. 69 and befriended by Vespasian. It is reported that flie pleasures of the table were Vitellius' chief concern, and certain dishes were named after him.
LiTERATURB. — Ancient authorities are Suetonius. VilcUius ; Tacitus, Histories, bks. i.-iii. ; Die Cassius (Xiphilinns' epitome), bks. Ixiv., Ixv. ; Plutarch, Gafha ; inscriptions, partioularlv those of the Arval Ilrothers. Modern authorities are A. v. Domaszewski, Gcschichle dcr rinnischcn Kaiser, ii. [Leipzig, 19091 97-113; V. Duruy. History oj Home, Eng. tr., 6 vols., I^ndon, 1883-SO ; J. B. Bury. .1 History of the. Iloman Empire", do., ISUU.pp. 337-319; E. Klebs. P. de Rohden, and H. Dessau, Prosopographia Imperii Romani, 3 vols., Herlin, 1S97-98, iii. 449 f. (the facta succinctly stated by H. Dessau).
A. SOUTER.
VOCATION.— See Call.
VOICE. — The word 'voice' ((pui'-/i) is used in the NT of any tone or inarticulate sound, whether of animate beings or inanimate things, e.g. Lk 1", ' the voice of thy salutation,' or the sound of
tliuntler, winil, water, and musical instruments. .More frequently it iMiplies the articulated utterance of a speaker, whether the sjieech be jargon or intelligible. The exact signihcation of tpuvi) — a very common word in early Christian literature — whether literal or metapliorical, articulate or in- articulate, is to be determined by tlie context.
In 1 Co 14'-" St. I'aul treats of the subject of tongues (7. !'.) and declares that mere articulation without intelligiliility is of no moment. Even tlie sound of iiumimate instruments such as the Hute or the harp is useless, if there are no intervals in the music ; for no air can be made out by the listener if the laws of harmony are ignored. Pro- phecy is superior to glossolalia because it conveys a spiritual message in language tliat can be under- stood. Tlie Apostle adds, ' I'here are ever so many kinds of language (t^ki; (tyoivGiv) in the world, every one of them meaning something' (v.'") (Mott'att, The NT: A New Translation, Lcmdon, 1913). In his use of the word St. Paul includes both the speech of the human voice in its many languages and the notes of musical instruments.