VERA, Augusto (1817-1885), the chief representative of Hegelianism in Italian philosophy, was born at Amelia in the province of Perugia on 4th May 1817. He completed his education in Paris, and, after teaching classics for some years in Switzerland, was appointed professor of philosophy in connexion with the university of France. Attaching himself to Hegel’s system with the enthusiasm of a disciple, Vera (who wrote fluently both in French and English as well as in Italian) became widely influential in spreading a knowledge of the Hegelian doctrine. Without any marked originality, his writings are distinguished by the lucidity of their exposition, and by their genuine philosophic spirit. Among his numerous works may be mentioned Introduction à la Philosophie d'Hégel (1853, 2d ed. 1864); Problème de la Certitude (1861); Mélanges Philosophiques (1862); Essais de Philosophie Hégélienne (1864); Strauss, l’Ancienne et la Nouvelle Foi (1873), an attack upon Strauss’s last “confession,” written from the standpoint of an orthodox Hegelian; and a comprehensive work in Italian, Il Problema dell’ Assoluto, belonging to his later years. His English works are an Inquiry into Speculative and Experimental Science (1856), more recently an Introduction to Speculative Logic and Philosophy, and a translation of Bretschneider’s History of Religion and of the Christian Church. Vera also translated a number of Hegel’s works into French, with introductions and commentaries, including the Logic, the Philosophy of Nature, the Philosophy of Spirit, and the Philosophy of Religion. In 1860 Vera returned to Italy, where he was made professor of philosophy in the royal academy of Milan. In the following year he was transferred to Naples as professor of philosophy in the ...

VERA CRUZ, a fortified town and seaport of Mexico, formerly capital of the state of Vera Cruz, is situated in 19° 11' 50" N. lat. and 96° 20' W. long., at the south-west corner of the Gulf of Mexico, on a low and exposed seaboard, partly sandy partly marshy, where the true yellow fever is endemic, prevailing throughout the summer and occasionally breaking out even in winter. The town, which in 1884 had a population of 16,840, is distant 263 miles by rail from Mexico and 60 from Jalapa, the summer residence of the upper classes. It has few buildings of interest, except a superb cathedral decorated in the Moorish style. Most of the streets, which are laid out at right angles, are paved with cobble-stones and have a kennel or open gutter in the middle. A characteristic feature of the place are the turkey-buzzards, who do the scavangering, and are consequently protected by law. The open roadstead, although partly protected by the neighbouring islets of Los Sacrificios and San Juan de Ulloa, is greatly exposed to the fierce “nortes” (northers), which sweep over the Gulf at intervals from October to March. A French company, which contracted with the Mexican Government to form a harbour by constructing a breakwater between the islands, has lately suspended operations. Vera Cruz is, however, the largest seaport in the republic. In 1886 over one-half of the exports of Mexico (£3,002,000 altogether) were shipped from this place (£1,625,000 to Great Britain). Of these exports £2,180,000 represented the precious metals, the other chief items being coflee (£207,000), hides and skins (£99,000), mineral ores (£84,000), tobacco (£68,000), broom root (£25,000), and sugar (£12,000). In the same year the imports amounted to £1,941,000 (£498,000 from Great Britain), and ...

VERATRUM. The Greek physicians were acquainted with a poisonous herb which they called white hellebore, and which has been supposed to represent the existing Veratrum. Be this as it may, in modern times the name has been applied to a genus of herbaceous plants closely allied in their structure to Colchicum, but differing greatly in general appearance. Veratrum is a tall-growing herb, having a fibrous root-stock, an erect stem, with numerous broad, plicated leaves, placed alternately, and terminal much-branched clusters of greenish or purplish polygamous flowers. Each perfect flower consists of six regular segments, as many stamens, whose anthers open outwardly, and a three-celled superior ovary; this last ripens into a three-celled, many-seeded capsule. The genus is included in the order Melanthaceae, otherwise called Colchicaceae, and comprises a small number of species, natives of the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere, generally growing in pastures or woods. Some, and presumably all, contain a violently poisonous alkaloid called veratrin; but, given in small doses and under careful supervision, some of the preparations yielded by Veratrum are valuable medicinal agents, their effect being to lower the pulse and the heat of the body. Sabadilla seeds also furnish a drug once in more frequent use than at present. V. album and V. viride are commonly grown in gardens as ornamental perennials, but their poisonous qualities should be kept in mind, particularly as they bear a considerable resemblance in foliage to the harmless Gentiana lutea.