Vallee, Geoffroi, a French deist of the latter part of the IGth century, was the son of the contndler of the public domain, lie gave himself up to philosophical speculations, which ended in rejecting all religious be- lief. In consequence of an infidel work which he wrote, entitled La Beatitude des Chresfiens (2d ed. 1770, 8vo), he was imprisoned, and, after trial, was hanged, and his body burned at Paris, Feb. 9, 1574. See Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generale, s. v.
Vallee (or Valee), Simon, a French engraver, is said to have been born at Paris about 1700. He stud- ied under P. Drevet, and executed several plates in a neat and tasteful style. Among them are the follow- ing : The Transfiguration (Raphael) : — St. .John in the Desert {id):— The Flight into Egypt (Carlo Maratti) : — The Resurrection of Lazarus (Girolamo Muziano) : — The Finding of Moses (Francesco Komazelli): — and others. See Spooner, Biog. Hist, (f the Fine Arts, s. v.
Vallemont, Pierre le Lorraine, abhe de, a French writer, was born at Pont-Audemer, Sept. 10, 1649, of a Norman family. He entered the religious order; was made doctor of theology ; lived successivel}' at Kouen, where his pecidiar views encountered opposition ; at Paris, where he superintended the education of a young nobleman ; at Versailles, as prior of St. James de Bres- suire: and finally returned to his native place, where he died, Dec. 30, 1721. It is not known for what reason he took the surname of Vallemont. His writings, which are of a philosophico-religious character, are eimmerat- ed in Hoefer, Nour. Biog. Generale, s. v.
Valleilsis, Johannes, of xVutun, France, who lived in the 16th century, is the author of (Jrammatica Ile- hruica (Paris, s. a.): — Opus de Prosodia Ilebrceorum in JV Libros Divisum (ibid. 1545) : the first book contains Accentuum Jnrentio; the second, Grammat. et Musici I^ocus ; the third, Rhetorici Accent. Offic. etc.; the fourth, Natural. Accent. I^ocus. See Fiirst, Bibl. Jud. iii, 468 ; Steinschneider, Bibl. Handb. No. 2055. (B. P.)
Vallensis, Theophilus, who lived in the 17th century, is the author of Knrhiridion Linguce Sanvtie s. Kbraa Granimatica (Lijis. 1631). See Fiirst, Bibl. Jud. iii, 468 ; Steinschneider, /iibl. Handb. No. 2057. (B. P.)
Vallet (or Valet), Giili.au.aik, a French engraver, was born in Paris in 1636. After some study of his art he went to Kome, where he resided many years. His plates were executed with the graver, and his prints possess considerable merit. He died in 1704. Among his prints the following deserve mention : The Nativity ; The Holy Family ; Melchizedek bringing ['resents to A bra~ ham ; The Lust Supper — all after liaphael : — The Holy Family, after Guido, also after Albano: — and several others. See Spooner, Fiiog. Hist, (f the Fine A rts, s. v.
Vallette, William, a INIethodist Episcopal minis- ter, studied medicine early in life; joined the Illinois Conference in 1839 ; was transferred to Hock Itiver Con- ference in 1840 ; and in the following year was ordained deacon. In 1846 ha-morrhage of the limgs incapacitated him for further ministerial labor, and caused his retire- ment to P^lgin as a superannuate, where he spent the remainder of his days in the practice of medicine. He died in 1871. See Minutes of Annual Conferences, 1872, p. 113.
Valley (also Vale\ a hollow sweep of ground be- tween two more or less parallel ridges of high land. Vale is the poetical or provincial form. It is in the nature of the case that the centre of a valley should usually be occupied by the stream which forms the drain of the high land on either side, and from this it commonly receives its name. Valley is distinguished from other terms more or less closely related — on the one hand, from "glen," "'ravine," "gorge," or "dell," which all express a depression at once more abrupt and smaller than a vallej-; on the other hand, from "plain," which, though it may be used of a wide valley, is not ordinarily or necessarily so. It is to be regretted that with this quasi-precision of meaning the term should not have been employed with more restriction in the A.V. See Topooraphical Terms.
The structure of the greater part of the Holy Land does not lend itself to the formation of valleys in our sense of the word. The abrupt transitions of its crowded rocky hills preclude the existence of any extended sweep of valley ; and where one such does occur, as at Hebron, or on the south-east of Geri/.im, the irregular and un- symmetrical positions of the enclosing hills rob it of the character of a valley. The nearest approach is foinid in the space between the mountains of Gerizim and Ebal, which contains the town of Nablus, the ancient Shechem. This, however, by a singular chance, is not mentioned in the. Bible. Another is the "valley of Jezreel," the undulating hollow which intervenes be- tween Gilboa (Jebel Fukua) and the so-called Little Hermon (Jebel Duhy). See PALEsriNE.
Valley is employed in the A.V. to render the follow- ing Ileb. and Gr. words. See Dale ; Plain.
1. Bik' ah (i^Vpi^, from "\^2, to cleave ; Sept. Trf^i'oj') appears to mean rather a plain than a valley, wider than the latter, though so far resembling it as to be en- closed by mountains, like the wide district between Leb- anon and Antilebanon, which is still called the Bekd'a. It denotes a wide alluvial bottom, and its levclness is plainly referred to in Isa. xl, 4. It is usually rendered "valley" (Dent, viii, 7; xi, 1; xxxiv, 3; Josh, xi, 8, 17; xii, 7; 2 Chron. xxxv, 22; Psa. civ, 8; Isa. xli, 18; Ixiii, 14; Ezek. xxxvii, 1, 2; Zech. xii, 11); elsewhere "plain" ((ien. xi, 2; Neh. vi, 2; Isa. xl, 4; I'^zek. iii, 22, 23; viii, 4; Amos i, 5). This Heb. term is applied to the following places :