general). But the title of captain-general probably did not long remain in use; for, in the list of the army raised by Elizabeth in 1588, the highest officer is styled lieutenant-general, the queen herself being probably considered as the commander-in-chief. In the army which, in 1620, it was proposed to raise for the recovery of the Palatinate, and in that raised by Charles I. in 1639, the commander is entitled the lord-general; a lieutenant-general appears as the second in command, and the third is designated sergeant-major-general. It was probably soon after this time that the last officer was called simply major-general; for we find that in 1656 Cromwell appointed twelve officers under that title to have civil and military jurisdiction over the counties of England. (Clarendon, b. 15). It is evident, from the histories of the northern states, that the armies in that part of Europe have always been commanded nearly in the same manner as those of France and England. Sir James Turner, who wrote his 'Military Essayes' in 1670, states that in Germany, Denmark, and Sweden, the commander-in-chief was designated fieldmarshal, and that he had under him lieutenant-generals of the whole army, besides generals and major-generals of horse and foot. With respect to the first title, he considers it to have been granted, as a more honourable distinction than that of lieutenant-general, only within about fifty years from his time: and he appears to ascribe the introduction of it to the king of Sweden (Gustavus Adolphus), who, when he invaded Poland, thought fit to gratify some of his generals by designating them lieutenant-field-marshals. (Pallas Armata,' ch. 13.) From that time, both in Germany and Great Britain, such title, omitting the word lieutenant, has been considered the highest in the army. In France, during the reign of Louis XIV., and perhaps at an earlier time, the naval commander immediately below the rank of vice-admiral was entitled lieutenant-general. A simar designation seems to have been early employed in the English service, for in the time of Queen Elizabeth the commander of a squadron was called the general; and, as late as the time of the Commonwealth, a joint commission of admiral and general was given to Blake and Montague, though the expedition on which the fleet was sent was confined to an object purely naval. The administration of military affairs in the great nations of Europe becoming highly complicated during the eighteenth century, the commanders-in-chief, even when not actually on the field of battle, found themselves fully occupied with the higher departments of the service; and it became indispensable that the number of subordinate generals should be increased, in order that all the steps which were to be taken for the immediate security of the armies, and for the acquisition of the necessary supplies, might be duly superintended by responsible officers. The division of an army into brigades and divisions for the purpose of organisation and also of occupying important positions or of obtaining subsistence, led also to the appointment of several distinct commanders, each of whom required his own particular staff; and this circumstance, added to the necessity of having a number of officers prepared at once to assume the command of troops when circumstances should require it, will explain why military men holding the rank of general appear now to be so numerous. In the British service there are about 60 full generals, and 100 lieutenant- and 160 major-generals; of this number many command particular regiments as colonels, or hold military governments in the country and colonies; many of them have only local rank; and many have retired from the service, retaining the title, but without receiving the pay or being qualified for obtaining any progressive promotion. The adjutant- and quarter-master-general are officers of the staff. [STAFF.] In the English army, a general of division is either a major or lieutenant-general placed in command of a division of an army in the field, and a brigadier-general is either a colonel or major-general in command of a brigade-the titles only lasting while the officer is actually holding the command. In the French service however, general de brigade and general de division are permanent ranks answering to our major-general and lieutenant-general. The first notice of a commander of the artillery occurs in the time of Richard III.: this officer was designated simply master of the ordnance till 1603, when the Earl of Devon was dignified with the title of General. The head of this department was, till lately, styled master-general of the ordnance. The office is now abolished. GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND. This is the Scottish ecclesiastical parliament; it is a representative, legislative, and judicial body, which differs essentially in its constitution from the Convocation of the English church [CONVOCATION], in being composed of representatives of the laity, as well as of the clergy; and, therefore (like the British House of Commons), may be considered as a delegation from its constituency, the church. [CHURCH.] The General Assembly consists of representatives from the various presbyteries, of which there are 84; of lay elders sent from Edinburgh and many other royal burghs, and from the universities (the representatives of the universities may be either ministers or elders);--and one minister and one elder to represent the churches in India in connection with the church of Scotland. The kirk of Scotland in 1859 had 1023 parishes, with 1194 ministers. The General Assembly meets annually, in the month of May, in Edinburgh. The session lasts only ten days; but special business not decided within the period of the session may be referred to a commission, which is, in fact, the Assembly under another name: the commission can hold quarterly meetings. The speaker, or president of the assembly, is called moderator: he is chosen annually, and is, in modern times, a clergyman, it being a rule that the moderator should preach a sermon before the opening of the Assembly; but laymen have occasionally filled the chair. Each parish in Scotland has its kirk session, composed of the minister and lay elders of the parish, which manages the parochial business. From the decision of the kirk session there is an appeal to the presbytery in which the parish lies. Each presbytery is composed of the ministers and elders of a certain number of parishes; but the presbyteries vary considerably in the number of parishes of which they are formed. A higher court, called a synod, (of these there are sixteen) is composed of two or more presbyteries. From the decision of a synod an appeal lies to the General Assembly, whose decision is final. The functions of the Assembly are analogous to a combination of the functions of both houses of parliament. Its members speak and vote; it judges all matters connected with the government of the church; and it can proceed judicially against any member of the church, clerical or laical, for alleged impropriety or inconsistency of conduct or doctrine. The The connection of the Church of Scotland with the State is indicated in the General Assembly by the presence of a functionary, who, under the title of lord-high-commissioner, represents the king or queen. Scottish church however does not recognise the king or queen as head of the church, but as head of the state, with which the church is allied, for purposes of protection and civil authority. The lord-highcommissioner has no voice in the assembly; business is not necessarily interrupted by his absence; and his presence merely implies the sanction of the civil authority. On the conclusion of the session of the General Assembly, the moderator, after mentioning the day in the following year on which the Assembly meets again, dissolves the meeting in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the head of the church (sometimes the words 'the only head' are used), and then the lordhigh-commissioner adds the sanction of the civil authority by appointing in the name of the king or queen the Assembly to meet on the day named by the moderator. The Free Church, since the disruption, has held a General Assembly of its own, about the same time as that of the established Church, but it is not recognised by the government more than the assemblies of other sects for the internal management of their own ecclesiastical affairs. GENERAL ISSUE. [PLEADING.] GENERALISSIMO, the commander-in-chief of an army which consists of two or more grand divisions under separate commanders. The title is said by Balzac to have been first assumed by Cardinal Richelieu, when he led a French army into Italy, and it has been since occasionally given to officers at the head of armies on the continent, but it has never been adopted in this country. GENERATING FUNCTIONS. The term generating function is a name given by Laplace to any function of x, considered with reference to the coefficients of its expansion in powers of x, as follows: If px=40+41.x+¥2.x2 + . + in.x2 +.... ... then pa is the generating function of n. Thus, the generating func tion of n is x-(1-x), since the coefficient of x" in the expansion of the preceding is n. The theory of generating functions was investigated by Laplace, and it may be found in his Théorie des Probabilités,' or in Lacroix, Treatise on the Differential Calculus' (in the third volume of the quarto edition), in the Appendix to the Cambridge translation of Lacroix, or in the article on 'Probability' in the Encyclopædia Metropolitana.' Its principal use is in the solution of equations of differences, and in the deduction of theorems connected with that subject. 6 GENESIS, THE BOOK OF, is the first of the five books of Moses, and derives its name from the principal event recorded in it, namely, the creation of the world and the human race, which in the Septuagint Greek translation is expressed by the word Genesis (Féveσis), "creation," or "production." In the original Hebrew it is named, according to the usual custom, from the first word in the book, Bereshith (N7), "In the beginning." It is also the first book of the Pentateuch, so called from the Greek werтe, ' five,' and teʊxos, an 'implement' or 'volume;' that is, the five-fold volume, which comprises the five books of Moses,-Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, and which down to the present time form one continuous rolled volume in the Hebrew manuscripts. It has been thought by many critics that the book of Genesis was not written by Moses. There are some passages in it which evidently could not have been the composition of Moses, since they refer to events which happened after his death. See c. xiii. 18, c. xxiii. 2, and c. xiv. 14, where Hebron and Dan are mentioned, which, we learn from other parts of the Bible, had different names in the time of Moses. See also Gen. xxxvi. 31, where an allusion is made to the kings of Israel, and a list is given (31--43) of the princes of Edom, which is the same as the list given in Chronicles i., c. i. 43-54. But these and similar passages might easily have been inserted in later times. Dr. Graves, in his Lectures on the Pentateuch,' and Faber, in his 'Horæ Mosaicæ,' show that there is no other period in the history of the Jews to which its composition can be so well referred. The preface to the first volume of the last edition of Rosenmüller's Scholia in Vetus Testament,' contains a fair view of the controversy, in which he gives many reasons for relinquishing the opinion he formerly held, that the book of Genesis was not written by Moses. : Supposing Moses to have been the author, it becomes an interesting question to ascertain in what manner Moses was enabled to give a faithful history of events which happened so many centuries before his own age. The book must have been composed in one of three ways: 1st, by immediate revelation of every circumstance from God; 2nd, by a collection of ancient traditions; or 3rd, from former documents. The first supposition is generally abandoned in the present day by all theologians, with the exception of those who believe in the verbal inspiration of the Scriptures. The second, which is a common opinion amongst theologians in this country, would not injure the credibility of the book: since Lamech, the father of Noah, was contemporary with Adam; Shem, the son of Noah, lived in the time of Abraham; his son Isaac was contemporary with Joseph; and some of the contemporaries of Joseph might have known Moses; so that few persons were required for the transmission of the traditions. The third opinion is the one generally received by the German theologians of the present day that they were few, is most probable, but the existence of written documents anterior to the time of Moses is unquestionable. In Genesis xxvii. the blessing of Isaac on his sons, and in xlix. the dying address of Jacob, are both apparently given verbatim. This opinion is strengthened by the fact that, in other books of the Pentateuch, reference is made to pre-existing sources. In Numbers xxi. 14, there is an avowed quotation, "It is said in the book of the wars of the Lord," &c.; and in xxiii. and xxiv. are given the hymns or parables of Balaam in his own words. This does not detract from, but rather adds to, the belief that the books were the inspired compositions of Moses; for though he may have used such pre-existing documents, and though his knowledge of many of the events might have been derived from contemporaries,-as, for instance, the Egyptian relation of the history of Joseph,-inspiration was not less necessary to enable him to distinguish the true from the false, and, while it was not needed in the case of the outward facts of Joseph's life and adventures, without it he could not have developed the scope of the mystery of Providence in those events as affecting the whole remaining history of the Hebrew nation. For a further investigation of this point, see Turner's 'Companion to the Book of Genesis,' New York, 1841. As to the attempts to prove a multiplicity of authorities from the designation of the Deity by different names,-as Elohim, God; Jehovah, Lord; and JehovahElohim, Lord-God,--Hengstenberg, in his Authentie des Pentateuches,' has proved that the variation is always adapted to the sense of the passage in which the writer has used it, and never arbitrarily or uncertainly. Ranke (Untersuchungen über der Pentateuch,' 1840), Dreschler (Die Einheit und Aechtheit der Genesis,' 1838), and Mr. Turner, have taken the same view, and their works contain disquisitions on these various significations, by which they endeavour successfully to establish grounds of their hypothesis. Objections have likewise been urged against the account of the Creation in the book of Genesis, as not agreeing with the facts of geology and natural history. These have been met by Dr. Pye Smith (Geology and Scripture'), Dr. Redford (Holy Scripture Verified'), Hugh Miller (Footprints of the Creator '), and others, to whose works we refer the reader. The chronology of the book of Genesis has occasioned great difficulty. This arises from the difference of the Hebrew text from the Septuagint. According to the Hebrew text, the Deluge happened A.M. 1656; according to the Septuagint, A.M. 2262; the former giving B.C. 4004, and the latter B.C. 5411, as the epoch of the Creation. Dr. Hales, with many other critics, considers the dates of the Septuagint to be more in accordance with profane history and with the various events related in the first chapters of Genesis. Our limits prevent us from giving an account of the controversy; we can only refer to the arguments in Dr. Hales'' Analysis of Chronology, vol. i. 273-303, and Clinton's 'Fasti Hellenici,' vol. i. pp. 283-301, the latter of whom defends the chronology of the Hebrew text, and observes, with much justice, that there does not appear any sufficient reason for inducing the Jews to change the numbers, while the translators of the Septuagint were naturally anxious to make the epoch of the Creation more conformable with the high pretensions of the Egyptians and Chaldæans. From the Deluge to the common date of the birth of Abraham, the Hebrew text gives 292 years, the Septuagint 1072. This date is given on the authority of Gen. xi. 26: And Zerah lived 70 years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran." But there is sufficient reason for believing that Abraham was not born till 60 years afterwards, and that his name is only placed first on the catalogue on account of his celebrity, not because he was the first-born. Adding 60 years to the former numbers, we obtain the birth of Abraham according to the Hebrew text, A.M. 2008, or B.C. 1996; according to the Septuagint, as corrected by Dr. Hales and Mr. Clinton, A.M. 3258, or B.C. 2153. Having obtained the birth of Abraham, there is no great difficulty in ascertaining the dates of the principal events that follow. The following table is abridged from Clinton's 'Fasti Hellenici;' the dates are reckoned from the birth of Abraham : Birth of Abraham in 130th year of Zerah. Gen. xi. 32, xii. 3–5, compared with Acts vii. 4. Gen. xxiii. 1, 2. Gen. xxv. 20. 10. Birth of Sarah, ten years younger than Abraham. Gen. xvii. 17. 75. The call of Abraham. Gen. xii. 1–4. 86. Birth of Ishmael. Gen. xvi. 16. 100. Birth of Isaac. Gen. xvii. 17. 137. Death of Sarah, at the age of 127. 140. Marriage of Isaac, at the age of 40. 160. Birth of Esau and Jacob. Gen. xxv. 26. 175. Death of Abraham. Gen. xxv. 7, 8. 237. Jacob goes to Haran at the age of 77. 257. Jacob returns to Canaan. Gen. xxxi. 41. 268. Joseph, at the age of 17, sold into Egypt. Gen. xxxvii. 2. 280. Death of Isaac, at the age of 180. Gen. xxxv. 28. 281. Joseph, at the age of 30, governor of Egypt. Gen. xli. 46. 290. Jacob, at the age of 130, goes into Egypt. Gen. xlvii. 9. 307. Death of Jacob, at the age of 147. Gen. xlvii. 28. 360. Death of Joseph, at the age of 110. Gen. 1. 26. The following passages are supposed by most Christian divines to be prophecies relating to Christ :-iii. 15; xii. 3; xviii. 18; xxii. 18; xxvi. 4; xxviii. 14; xlix. 10. (Eichhorn's Einleitung in's Alte Testament; Augusti's Grundriss einer historisch-kritischen Einleitung in's Alte Testament; Faber's Hora Mosaica; Graves On the Pentateuch; Rosenmüller's Scholia; Holden's Dissertation on the Fall of Man; Horne's Introduction to the Scriptures; Von Bohlen, Die Genesis übersucht, mit Aumerkkungen, 1835; Tush, Kommentar über die Genesis, 1838.) GENEVA; GIN; HOLLANDS. There is a confusion in the popular meaning of the names of these three kinds of distilled liquor. Geneva is frequently confounded with gin. It is, however, a fermented liquor, which bears the same relation to gin as wine does to any distilled spirit. It is procured by the fermentation of the berries of the Juniperus communis. These berries consist of a peculiar saccharine principle (which exists to the amount of about 33 per cent. along with acetate of lime), and a volatile oil, which is contained in peculiar cells lying close to the seeds; as the oil assumes a resinous state in old berries, these cells may be easily seen in such specimens. The green one-year-old berries contain much more volatile oil, and are to be preferred to the ripe berries. The oil rarely exceeds one per cent. From the quantity of sugar which they contain the berries can easily be caused to ferment and yield a spirit, or vinegar may be made from them. Geneva is a very powerfully stimulating liquor, containing a large proportion of alcohol. The volatile oil having a special action on the kidneys renders it the most proper cordial in cases of dropsy from debility, or even connected with diseased heart, when the system requires support. The usual acceptation of geneva as a beverage is incorrect; nothing deserving of the name is sold in the spiritshops of this country. There appears to be no real difference between the so-called Geneva and Hollands; indeed these two names, as well as Hollands Gin, are now only different designations for the same liquid; but originally, as just observed, Geneva (not named from the Swiss city, but from the French name, genièvre, of the juniper), was a different liquid. Hollands, or Hollands geneva, or Hollands gin, is a kind of corn-spirit, which was originally wholly imported from Holland. The best kinds now made are those of Schiedam, Rotterdam, and Weesoppe, by various distillers, each of whom has his own peculiar process. Strasburg turpentine, fennel seeds, oil of fennel, and hops are used, as well as juniper, as flavouring ingredients; but it is supposed that the superiority of Hollands geneva over English_gin depends rather on some peculiar mode of manufacture than on the ingredients employed, and on the fact that it becomes aged, or mellowed, or creamed, by remaining some time in bond before use. Some of the English rectifiers endeavour to produce a spirit exactly like Hollands; but a difference can always be detected by good judges. Pure Hollands have less acidity than any other spirit in common use. Concerning the more familiar liquid, gin, this name was an abbreviation of Geneva, and was adopted when English rectifiers began to make a liquid that might share the favour with which Hollands geneva was regarded. English gin, in the present day, consists of plain corn spirit, flavoured with oil of turpentine, and with a small quantity of other substances. Juniper may possibly be an essential element in Hollands geneva, but it is not in English gin. Each rectifier has a recipe of his own, which he does not divulge; and hence the difference in flavour between Booths', Hodges', Smith's, Nicholson's, Bristol, Plymouth, and other kinds of gin. Of all these it can scarcely be said that one is better than another, only that they differ, as one kind of London porter differs from another. Different kinds of gin have the plain-gin flavour, the Hollands flavour, the whiskey flavour, the smokey flavour, &c.; some are intended to present the qualities of fulness or richness, others piquancy or biting, &c.; and all these differences depend on the vegetable substances distilled with or added to the crude spirit-such as sugar, juniper, bitter almonds, turpentine, creosote, lemon, cardamoms, carraways, cassia, garlic, Canada balsam, Strasburg turpentine, horse-radish, grains of paradise, cayenne pepper, and various other berries, seeds, fruits, herbs, &c. Sometimes such chemical agents as sulphate of zinc, caustic potash, and sulphuric acid, are added; but this is usually for some fraudulent purpose. It is believed that London gin, as retailed, is more frequently adulterated than any other; because there is a taste in the metropolis for sweetened gin; and the addition of sugar masks the taste of some strong substance which has been added to facilitate a large dilution with water. The processes of manufacturing these various kinds of spirit are described under DISTILLERY. The importation of geneva, so called in the official returns, has varied in the last fifteen years from 130,000 to 430,000 gallons per annum; but there are other kinds, called "other foreign and colonial spirits," distinct from geneva, rum, and brandy, of which quantities have been imported varying from 30,000 to 1,100,000 gallons annually, and which are probably varieties of corn-spirit. This last-named entry has rapidly increased within the last few years. The computed real value of the geneva and corn-spirit imported in 1858 was about 130,000l. The British spirit charged with home duty, most of which is either gin or whiskey, has varied from 20,000,000 to 26,000,000 gallons yearly in the last few years. The difference between gin and whiskey, chemically and commercially, is noticed under DISTILLERY. GENII, called in the East Ginn or Djinn, are supposed to be a race of beings created from fire, capable of assuming any form and becoming invisible at pleasure. All Moslems are obliged to believe in their existence, since they are said in the Koran (c. vi.) to be created by God. It is imagined that they inhabited this world many ages before man was created, and were governed by forty successive monarchs of the name of Solomon, the last of whom was called Gân Ebn Gân, and that from him they derived their name. that they frequently rebelled against God, who at length deprived It is also said them of their possessions and gave them to man. Koran (c. 72) that many of these wicked spirits were converted by We learn from the hearing Mohammed reading a portion of it, and that those who continue unbelievers (called, in c. 27, Ifrit) will be condemned to the fires of hell. They are believed to take great interest in human affairs, and to be the authors of much happiness and misery to mankind. (An interesting account of the superstitions of the modern Arabs respecting Genii is given in Lane's Modern Egyptians.') The belief in such an intermediary class of beings between divinity and humanity has been very extensive. The Greeks had their daiμoves; the Romans their Genii [GENIUS]; the Chinese have their good and evil beings, and every town or province chooses one for its protector, to whom the governor prays, on his admittance to office, for support and assistance in his charge; and the Africans have their fetishes. admitted, however, that none are so fanciful and poetical as the genii It must be of the orientals. The Roman genii are represented in works of art as winged figures; they are frequently figured contending in chariot races: in friezes in the British Museum their chariots are drawn by dogs, but they often are seen driving horses. Genii are commonly introduced by sculptors on monuments, &c.; sometimes they carry a cornucopia; at others they support the portrait of the deceased, or bear his armour, &c. GENITIVE. [ABLATIVE CASE.] GENIUS, in its original acceptation, denoted the tutelary god or dæmon which, according to an ancient and common superstition, was allotted to every individual at his birth, to guide and rule him during life, to preside over his fortunes and destiny, and eventually to lead him from existence; and it was supposed that the variety observable in the characters and capacities of different men was dependent upon the higher or lower nature of their attendant genii. Afterwards the word came to signify the disposition itself, without reference to its supposed cause; and lastly, in modern times it has been employed, in a restricted but peculiar sense, to designate either that high mental pre-eminence which is occasionally found in a few individuals, or, by a metonymy, the person possessed of such rare excellence. Like every thing else that is truly beautiful and great, Genius has in it a something undefinable; and hence the variety of notions as to its origin and nature, in all of which there is and must be something deficient. Dr. Johnson's definition (Life of Cowley,') is this: "The true genius is a mind of large general powers accidentally determined in some particular direction." Generally it is understood to be the perfection of human intelligence. And as this consists in the highest possible activity of the mental energies, genius is essentially creative, and all its productions are indelibly stamped with the impress of originality and grandeur. It is at once a law and a model to itself; it produces what has never before been accomplished, and which all, in all ages, are constrained to admire. from enthusiasm, for nothing great can be accomplished without that It receives therefore its impulse enthusiasm which is enkindled by some dominant idea, to which all else is made subordinate and postponed; and its chief faculties are the reason and the imagination, which alone are inventive and productive. But according as one or other of these faculties predominates, genius becomes either scientific, artistic, or poetic. In the first case it seizes at once those hidden affinities which otherwise do not reveal themselves, except to the most patient and rigorous application; and as it were intuitively recognising in phenomena the unalterable and eternal, it produces truth. In the two latter, seeking to exhibit its own ideal ARTS AND SCI. DIV. VOL. IV. GENTIANA LUTEA. 338 in due and appropriate forms, it realises the infinite under finite types, by a careful contemplation of the beautiful and true which the great In active life the grand and ambitious designs of successful states- pre-eminent capacity, but it exerts itself rather to imitate than to Genius and fancy are often confounded: the latter is undeniably a invent, and is devoid of all enthusiasm. GENOUILLÈRE. This is the term applied in fortification to that the embrasure and in front of and covering the gun-carriage. portion of the interior slope of the parapet, which is below the sill of tainous and sub-alpine districts of Switzerland, Germany, &c. Though GENTIA NA LU'TEA, a perennial plant, common in the mounthe whole plant is bitter, yet as this property is most concentrated in the root, that part only is officinal. The root should be taken up in autumn, and is best when the plant is only one year old. It is generally cylindrical, often an inch thick at the summit, but below rather branched, of a dark or brown colour externally; internally fleshy from six inches to a foot in length. A transverse section displays and yellow. In commerce it is met with in pieces, cut longitudinally, three distinct circles. many; the specimens from Switzerland are generally thicker and darker coloured. The greater portion is procured from Ger When fresh it has some smell, which is almost entirely lost by bitter. According to the analysis of Henry and Caventou, it contains drying. The taste is at first somewhat sweet, then purely and strongly odorous principle, a greenish fixed oil, a free organic acid, uncrystallisable sugar, gum, colouring matter, &c. The oil is in very minute a principle termed Gentianin, which is crystallisable; a volatile proportion; three cuts. yield only half a drachm of oil. The so-called gentianin consists of two distinct principles: one tasteless and crystalline, gentisin or gentisic acid, the other bitter gentianite. Owing to its saccharine matter it soon moulds in a damp place, and should therefore be kept in a dry airy situation. From the abundance distilled a spirit, called Enziangeist, or "bitter snaps," much employed of the sugar, it is easily susceptible of fermentation, and from it is by the peasants on the Swiss Alps to fortify the system against the fogs and damps of these lofty regions. Strangers should be sparing in the use of this, as it contains a narcotic principle in addition to the spirit. species of this genus, a circumstance attended with no bad consequences, but unfortunately roots of very poisonous plants, growing in Yellow gentian-root is often confounded with the roots of other the same locality, are often taken up instead of the proper one; these are, the Veratrum album (white hellebore), the leaves of which resemble those of gentian in their peculiar venation, but are alternate, while this, it contains Veretria; and the Atropa Belladonna (deadly nightshade), which, besides differences in the physical characters, is devoid those of gentian are opposite-the root is very different, and besides of the peculiar bitter of gentian, and acquires a bluish-black colour from tincture of iodine. Ranunculus Thora are occasionally confounded with gentian-root. The roots of Aconitum Lycoctonum and of debility, whether of the stomach only, or of the system generally. Gentian-root is a pure and excellent bitter tonic, useful in all cases It possesses facilities, from not being decomposed, of being administered along with many metallic salts. It yields its properties to water, particularly when warm, to alcohol, and to wine. The simple infusion, and not the compound, of the London Pharmacopœia' formula. The extract is an eligible means of giving bulk, when should be employed, when any salts of iron are prescribed in the same several antispasmodic remedies, of which the dose is minute, are to be made into pills, such as oxide of zinc, protosulphate of iron, or extract of aconite. In the West Indies a preparation of gentian is used daily elixir, which is what is commonly used for this purpose, is only a before meals, to give tone to the languid stomach. quackish imitation of the compound tincture of gentian of the Pharmacopoeia. Stoughton's Chirayita, or Chiretta, in the form of a cold infusion, is much prized for its tonic and febrifugal virtues. Guibourt contends that this plant In the East Indies several species are used as bitter tonics. The is the Calamus aromaticus of the ancients, an opinion from which Dr. Royle dissents. (Flora of the Himalaya,' p. 277.) GENTIANIC ACID (CH0010?); Gentianin; a crystalline acid extracted from the root of the Gentiana lutea. It is very slightly soluble in water, little more so in ether, but readily soluble in boiling alcohol. It does not redden litmus. Acted upon by nitric acid, it gives nitro-gentianic acid (C,,Hg(NO,)2010 + 2Aq.). GENTIANIN. [GENTIANIC ACID.] GENTLEMAN, a corruption of gentilhomme, our Saxon ancestors having very early substituted "mon," or "man," for the corresponding term of the Norman-French, from which they originally received the term. Some form of this word (a compound of gentilis and homo) is found in all the Romance languages (gentil-homme in French, gentiluomo in Italian, and gentil-hombre in Spanish), and it is undoubtedly one of the many traces of the great influence which the laws and polity of Rome exercised upon modern society and civilisation. In the earliest form of the Roman constitution the populus, or ruling portion of the community, was divided into gentes, who were united by a common name, and the performance of certain sacred rights. Each gens was again subdivided into several familiæ, distinguished by a surname in addition to the common gentile appellation. Thus, the gens Cornelia comprised the families of the Scipiones, the Lentuli, the Syllæ, &c. Now, in default of the Agnati, or of heirs in the male line, the property of the family reverted, not to the whole populus, in whom, of strict right, the sovereignty lay, but to the gens to whom it had transferred its rights. This right of reversionary succession, especially in the case of usufructuary possessions of the public lands, being the most valuable and important privilege of the patricians, was brought prominently forward in the quarrels between the nobles and the plebeians, and the phrase gentem habere (Livy, x. 8) is often employed as distinctive of the former. Afterwards, when the members of the plebs obtained the right of intermarriage with the patrician families, and an access to the honours of the state, which conferred the jus imaginum, or nobility, they also received the rights and privilege of gentes. To be admitted into a gens, became henceforward equivalent to a patent of nobility in modern times, and gentilis is accordingly widely defined by Cicero (Top.' 6) as denoting those who were of the same name and stock, free-born, in the full enjoyment of all the rights of citizenship, and whose ancestors were always free. Hence, also, in an opposite sense, "sine gente" is employed by Horace ('Sat.' ii., v. 15) and Suetonius (Tib.' 1) for ignobly born and of servile parentage. This privilege of succession, which was called jus gentilitatis, or simply gentilitas (Cic., 'De Oratore,' i. 38), and formed one of the enactments of the Twelve Tables, was gradually undermined by the encroachments of the prætors on the civil law, and finally disappeared (Gaius, iii. 25); but the name has survived in all the languages of Western Europe. According to Selden (Titles of Honour,' p. 852), "a gentleman is one that either, from the blood of his ancestors, or the favour of his soveraigne, or of those that have the vertue of soveraigntie in them, or from his own vertue, employment, or otherwise, according to the customes of honour in his countrie, is ennobled, made gentile, or so raised to an eminencie above the multitude, that by those lawes and customes he be truly nobilis, or noble, whether he have any title, or not, fixed besides on him." That the word was formerly employed in this extensive signification is clear from a patent of Richard II., by which one John de Kingston is received into the estate of a gentleman and created an esquire ("Nous lui avons resceivez en l'estate de gentilhome et lui fait esquier "); and from another of Henry VI., who there, by the term "nobilitamus," creates one Bernard Angevin, a Bourdelois, a gentleman. And, according to Smith (De Rep. Ang.,' lib. i., c. 20, 21), under the denomination of gentleman are comprised all above yeomen, whereby noblemen are truly called gentlemen. one In a narrower sense, a gentleman is generally defined to be" who, without any title, bears a coat of arms, or whose ancestors have been freemen; and by the coat that a gentleman giveth, he is known to be, or not, descended from those of his name that lived many hundred years since." (Jacobs' Law Dictionary.') There is also said to be a gentleman by office and in reputation, as well as those that are born such (2 Inst.' 668); and, according to Blackstone, quoting Sir Thomas Smith (1 'Comm.,' p. 406), "Whosoever studieth the laws of the realm, who studieth in the universities, who professeth the liberal sciences, and (to be short) who can live idly and without manual labour, and well bear the port, charge, and countenance of a gentleman, he shall be called master, and taken for a gentleman." The learned author must have been somewhat puzzled with his definition of a gentleman, as understood in his time. Having defined a gentleman to be one who studieth the laws, &c., he adds (to be short) that he who can live idly and bear the port, &c., of a gentleman, is a gentleman; that is, if he can live idly, and if he can also do as a gentleman does (it not being said what this is), he is a gentleman. Perhaps a definition of the term, as now used, would not be easily made; it being extended by the courtesy of modern manners to many who do not come within the ancient acceptation of the term, and denied by public opinion to many whose rank and wealth do not make up for the want of other qualifications. GENUS, in Physics, signifies a multitude or class of objects possessing some common quality or qualities. In logic it denotes the material part of the definition. When we direct our attention to a particular object, we discover under its apparent unity a great variety of characters and qualities; and, upon an examination of several objects, we observe many points of agreement and difference between them. By the power which we possess of concentrating our faculties, we are enabled to consider these mutual relations and resemblances without any regard to their differences: we, as it were, draw the one away from the other; in short, we abstract them. Now, by abstraction, we may either confine our view to a quality inherent in some object independently of that object; or else, neglecting the many points of disagreement which exist between a number of objects, we may seize upon the qualities that belong to all in common, in order to combine them into a single idea. In the former case the notion is simply abstract; in the latter it is abstract and general; and the multitude of objects to which we apply the general notion or common term constitutes a genus. In this operation we may proceed continually by neglecting in succession a greater number of differences, and comprising under the common denomination fewer points of agreement and resemblance. In this manner we form a series of notions or genera of higher and lower order, until we ultimately arrive at the highest possible-that of being. In this co-ordination of genera, every intermediate genus is called a subaltern genus or species, being such in respect of different other terms; for that of which a higher genus is predicated is called a species, while relatively to all lower species it is itself a genus. Lastly, that which is not contained under any higher, is called the summum genus, and that under which individuals only are comprised is usually called the infima species. These general notions and genera are the principles of classification and arrangement, and without them the knowledge of facts and nature itself would be, if not absolutely impossible, at best a confused mass of conceptions and objects without beauty, order, or coherence. But at the same time that we thus admit the utility of such general notions, we must remember that they are purely relative to human science and its objects; that even as such they are imperfect, and very far from conveying an adequate expression of the truth of nature, wherein there is nothing really corresponding to them, but only a something in the individual objects from which we derive them, which not only is the cause and the occasion of our forming them, but also transferring to them, as it were, a part of its own verity and existence, justifies us in according to them our confidence in science and action. GEOCENTRIC (having the earth as centre), a term applied to the place of a planet, as seen from the centre of the earth, in opposition to its heliocentric place, as seen from the centre of the sun. [PARALLAX.] GEODESY is that branch of applied mathematics which determines the figures and areas of large portions of the earth's surface, the general figure of the earth, and the variations of the intensity of gravity in different regions, by means of direct observation and measurement. Some of the ancient philosophers, who lived several centuries before the Christian era, were acquainted with the nearly spherical form of the globe, and even devised methods for measuring approximately a meridional circumference. [ERATOSTHENES, in BIOG. DIV.] The Arabs long afterwards pursued the same object, and the Caliph Almamoun, in A.D. 814, ordered the measurement of a degree in the plains of Mesopotamia, an example which, after another long interval, was imitated by Snellius in Holland, Norwood in England, and by several French and Spanish mathematicians. Richer observed a variation in the length of the seconds' pendulum when sent to Cayenne by the French Academy of Sciences, the true cause of which phenomenon was explained by Newton; for the centrifugal force arising from the earth's rotation round its axis in twenty-four hours is directly opposed to the force of gravity at the equator, and in other latitudes the part of this force which acts in the direction of the plumb-line is nearly proportional to the square of the cosine of the latitude. He has also proved in his Principia' that a uniform fluid spheroid, in which the ratio of the centrifugal force to the attraction at the surface was the same as in the earth, would be in equilibrium when the axis of revolution was less than the equatorial diameter by 1-230th of the latter. From that time measurements have been undertaken under the directions of the various governments of Europe, to determine if the globe were really flattened at the poles, and also for the purpose of forming exact maps with respect to the latitude, longitude, and altitude, above the level of the sea, of places in their respective dominions; and lastly, the French have deduced their legal metre of length from the measurement of a particular meridian arc. Jacobi has lately shown that a revolving fluid ellipsoid, having three unequal axes, may also present a surface of equilibrium. The result of so many geodetic enterprises has not been as successful as could be wished. Some of the earliest attempts by the French were faulty in computation, and gave results directly contrary to Newton's theory, and some able mathematicians of that day appear to have been misled by a feeling akin to envy, to the extent of supporting these false conclusions by plausible reasonings. The error of that survey has been since discovered, and all the methods which have been employed in the numerous trials undertaken in this and the last century agree in proving that the polar axis of the earth is shorter than the equatorial by about 1-300th; but they have served at the As the method of conducting ordinary surveys for topographical purposes will be explained under another head [SURVEYING], we shall here treat of geodetical measurements in reference only to general geography and the figure of the earth. We propose therefore to give a short historical notice of the principal trigonometrical surveys which have been undertaken in different parts of the world for measuring terrestrial degrees, or accurately delineating_considerable portions of the earth's surface; to describe the general nature and objects of the operations to be performed in carrying on such surveys, and the principles upon which the computations are made; and to state the dimensions of the earth, considered as the spheroid of revolution, which have been deduced from the comparison of those measures of meridional arcs which appear to have been executed with the greatest precision. The merit of first applying trigonometry to geodetic operations belongs to Willebrord Snell [SNELL, in BIOG. Div.], who in 1617 undertook a survey of Holland, for the double purpose of establishing the geographical positions of the principal cities in that country, and measuring a degree of the terrestrial meridian. The method which he followed was the same in principle as that which would be adopted at the present time. Having formed a series of triangles extending over the country, he observed their angles with a quadrant, and computed their sides from a base which was carefully measured with wooden perches on the ground. He also determined the direction of the meridian at Leyden, and observed its inclination to a side of one of his triangles, and thereby obtained the bearings of the different angular points. Lastly, by observing the altitude of the pole-star with a five-feet quadrant at Alkmaar, Leyden, and Bergen-op-zoom, he determined the amplitudes of two celestial arcs; and on comparing the amplitudes with the terrestrial distances computed from the triangles, and reduced to the direction of the meridian, he concluded the length of a degree to be 28,500 Rheinland perches, or 55,100 French toises, equivalent to about 66 English miles. The result is about three miles too small. In 1621 Snell measured a new base, and was preparing to correct some errors which he had detected in the calculations, when his labours were cut short by his early death. Musschenbroek, a century afterwards, re-observed the latitudes, and revised the calculations, and found 1°=57,003 toises, or 69 miles. (Snellius, 'Eratosthenes Batavus de Terræ ambitus vera quantitate,' &c., Lugduni Bat., 1617; Musschenbroek, 'Dissertationes Physicæ,' &c., Ib., 1729.) About the middle of the same century Riccioli and Grimaldi undertook to measure an arc of a great circle of the earth in Lombardy. They formed a chain of triangles between Bologna and Modena, observed their angles with a quadrant, and computed their sides from a base measured on the road leading out of Bologna. The distance between the two cities was found to be 20,439 paces. Instead of reducing this distance to the meridian, according to the method of Snell, Riccioli sought to determine the arc of the vertical circle in the heavens intercepted between the zeniths of the two stations. This determination, which presumes an accurate knowledge of the latitudes and the declinations of the stars, could not, in the state of astronomy at that time, be made with sufficient precision, and accordingly the result was still more erroneous than that of Snell. He found the amplitude of the celestial are to be 19′ 25", whence 1°=63,159 paces of Bologna, or nearly 744 English miles. (Riccioli, Geographiæ et Hydrographia Reformate Libri XII.,' &c., Bonnoniæ, 1661.) Picard, in 1669, undertook to measure the meridional arc between Paris and Amiens. This operation was conducted with far greater precision than any previous one of the same kind, and the result had a memorable application, as it furnished Newton with a sufficiently accurate knowledge of the earth's diameter, and consequently of the dimensions of the lunar orbit, to enable him to compute the force of terrestrial attraction at the distance of the moon, and thereby establish the law of gravitation. The angles were measured with a quadrant, furnished with telescopes having cross-wires in their foci (an improvement in the art of observing then newly introduced), and the sides computed from a base of 5663 toises. The latitudes were observed with a zenith sector at Malvoisine (near Paris), at Amiens, and at an intermediate point, so that two comparisons of celestial and terrestrial arcs were obtained, the mean of which gave 1°=57,060 toises, equivalent to 364,876 English feet, or about 69.1 miles. This is a very near approximation to the true length of the degree at the same place, as it is given by recent and more exact determinations, but it proceeded, in part, from an accidental compensation of errors. (Picard, Mesure de la Terre,' folio, 1671; 'Dégré du Méridien entre Paris et Amiens, par M. Picard, avec les Observations de MM. de Maupertuis, Clairaut, | Camus, Le Monnier, 8vo.' 1740.) Picard's measurement gave rise to a more extensive operation,--the prolongation of the meridian through the whole extent of the French territory, and the construction of a geometrical map of France. The triangulation for this purpose was begun in 1683 by Dominic Cassini, but after a few angles had been measured, the work was suspended till 1700, when it was resumed, and in the following year the triangles were extended to the Pyrenees. The northern part, from Paris to Dunkirk, was completed by James Cassini, in 1718. Cassini adopted Picard's base, but two bases of verification were measured near the extremities of the arc. A very unexpected result was deduced from this operation. On comparing the celestial arc with the measured distance between the parallels of Paris and Collioure (the southern extremity), the length of the degree was found to be 57,097 toises, while the arc between Paris and Dunkirk gave 1° = 56,956 toises. From this it appeared that the degrees of the meridian become shorter as the latitude increases-a consequence directly opposed to the theory of attraction. (Cassini, Traité de la Grandeur et de la Figure de la Terre,' Paris, 1720; Amsterdam, 1723.) The discussions to which this result gave rise in the Academy of Sciences were the immediate cause of the two celebrated expeditions to Peru and Lapland, which a few years later were undertaken under the auspices of the French government for the purpose of definitively settling the question of the compression of the earth. In 1735 Bouguer, La Condamine, and Godin, members of the Academy, set sail for Peru, where they were joined by two Spanish officers, Juan and Ulloa. From the unfavourable nature of the country, the defective state of their instruments, and other causes, this party encountered very great difficulties, and several years elapsed before they were enabled to complete their object. An arc was at length measured on the plain of Quito, between the parallels of 2′ 31" N. and 3° 4' 32" S. lat. A primary base of 6274 toises was measured by Bouguer and Godin separately; and a base of verification at the southern extremity of 5259 toises was found to differ less than a toise from the length computed from the first base through the series of triangles. The measuring-rods were of deal, 20 feet in length, and compared daily with an iron toise, which from this application has been called the toise of Peru, and become celebrated in the history of geodesy, being in fact the standard to which all the degrees measured on the Continent have been ultimately referred, and in terms of which the greater number of them have been expressed. The angles were measured with quadrants of 24 feet radius, and reduced to the horizon by calculation; in some instances the difference of altitude of two signals observed from the same station exceeded a mile. The latitudes at the extremities were observed simultaneously with zenith sectors. Three different results were computed. Bouguer found the length of the degree, reduced to the sea-level, to be 56,753 toises at the temperature of 13° of Réaumur's scale (61° Fahrenheit); Condamine found 56,749 toises, and the Spanish officers 56,768 toises. (Bouguer, La Figure de la Terre,' &c., 1749; Condamine, Mesure des Trois Premiers Dégrés de Méridien dans l'Hemisphère Australe,' 1751; Juan and Ulloa, Voyage Historique de l'Amérique méridionale,' 1752.) While Bouguer and his associates were carrying on their operations in Peru, an arc of the meridian was measured near the polar circle by Maupertuis, Clairaut, Camus, Lemonnier, and Outhier. This party reached Tornea, at the extremity of the Gulf of Bothnia, in 1736, and established a chain of triangles along the line of the river stretching northward to the parallel of 66° 48′ 22′′ N. lat. A base was measured on the frozen surface of the river. The latitudes were observed with a zenith sector by Graham. The amplitude was found to be 57′ 29′′·6, and the terrestrial distance between the parallels 55,023 toises; whence 1° 57,422 toises, exceeding Picard's degree by 362 toises. result (which however is now supposed to err considerably in excess) put an end to all doubts respecting the decrease of the meridional degrees on going from the equator, and the consequent compression of the earth at the poles. (Maupertuis, La Figure de la Terre déterminée par les Observations au Cercle Polaire,' 1738.) This Soon after the return of Maupertuis and his party from the polar |