VAKIAS, Ind. A weight nearly equal to a pound. It also signifies a measure.
VAKILIT, Ind. The first office in the empire.
VALET, Fr. An instrument which is used by carpenters to keep boards, that have been glued, close together.
VALETS de l’Armee, Fr. Officers’ servants; they are likewise called by the French, Tartares. In the American army, waiters.
Valets d’Artillerie, Fr. Men attached to the guns on board ships of war, for the purpose of assisting the regular cannoneers. In the American service they are classed by numbers and called, first, second, or third AIDS.
Valet à Patin, Fr. An instrument which is used by surgeons—A small pincer to rake up the arteries when it is found necessary to make a ligature.
| VALIANT, | - | |
| VALOROUS, |
personally brave, fearless of danger in war, &c.
VALLEY, (Val, Fr.) A hollow space of ground, generally between hills.
VALOR, (Valeur, Fr.) Courage, bravery, intrepidity. A generous quality, which, far from assuming brutality and violence, with-holds the fury of the soldier, protects helpless women, innocent infants, and hoary age. Nothing which is incapable of resistance, can ever be the object whereon true valor would exercise its prowess. Courage is that grandeur of soul, which prompts us to sacrifice all personal advantages, and even the preservation of our beings, to a love of our country and its liberty. The exercise of this determined courage in the profession of arms, is called valor. It is composed of bravery, reason, and force: by bravery we understand that lively ardor which fires us for the combat; reason points out to us the method of conducting it with justice and prudence; and force is necessary for the execution. It is bravery which animates the heart, reason springs from the soul, and force depends upon the body; without bravery we fear obstacles, danger, and death; without reason, courage would have no legitimate view; and without force it would be useless: these three qualities should concur to form the true military valor.