The Nuttall Encyclopaedia Part 220

GORGIAS, a celebrated Greek sophist, born at Syracuse, in Sicily; settled in Athens, a swashbuckler of a man, who attached himself to the ELEATICS (q. v.), and especially Zeno, in order that by their dialectic "he might demonstrate that nothing exists, or if something exists, that it cannot be known, or if it can be known, that it cannot be communicated"; his work bore characteristically enough the t.i.tle "Of the Non-Existent, or of Nature"!

GORGONS, three sisters, Medusa, Euryale, and Stheino, with hissing serpents on their heads instead of hair, of whom Medusa, the only one that was mortal, had the power of turning into stone any one who looked on her. See PERSEUS.

GORHAM, GEORGE CORNELIUS, an English ecclesiastic; being presented to the vicarage of Bramford Speke, N. Devon, was refused inst.i.tution by Dr. Philpotts, the bishop of Exeter, because he was unsound in the matter of baptismal regeneration, upon which he appealed to the Court of Arches, which confirmed the bishop's decision, but the sentence of the court was reversed by the Privy Council, and inst.i.tution granted (1787-1857).

GoRLITZ (62), a fortified town in Prussian Silesia, 52 m. W. of Liegnitz, on the Meuse, where JACOB BOEHME (q. v.) lived and died.

GORTSCHAKOFF, MICHAEL, Russian general, brother of the succeeding; served in the war between Russia and Turkey in 1828-1829; commanded in the Danubian Princ.i.p.alities in 1853; distinguished himself in the defence of Sebastopol (1795-1861).

GORTSCHAKOFF, PRINCE, an eminent Russian general; was engaged in Finland in 1809, in the Turkish War in 1810, in the French War 1812-14, and the Crimean War (1789-1866).

GOSCHEN, GEORGE JOACHIM, English statesman, born in London; entered Parliament in the Liberal interest in 1863; served in office under Lord John Russell and Mr. Gladstone; was opposed to Home Rule, joined the Liberal-Unionist party and holds office under Lord Salisbury as First Lord of the Admiralty; _b_. 1831.

GOSHEN, a fertile district along a branch of the Nile, in the eastern part of the delta of Lower Egypt; a.s.signed by Pharaoh to the children of Israel when they came to sojourn in the land.

GOSPELS, the name by which the four accounts in the New Testament of the character, life, and teaching of Christ are designated; have been known since as early as the 3rd century, of which the first three are called "Synoptic," because they are summaries of the chief events, and go over the same ground in the history, while the author of the fourth gospel follows lines of his own; the former aim mainly at mere narrative, while the object of the latter is dogmatic, as well as probably to supply deficiencies in the former; moreover, the interest of John's account centres in the person of Christ and that of the others in His gospel; the writers were severally represented as attended, Matthew by a man, Mark by a lion, Luke by an ox, and John by an eagle.

GOSPORT (25), a fortified port and market-town in Hants, on the W.

side of Portsmouth harbour, opposite Portsmouth, with which it is connected by a floating bridge; its industries embrace flourishing iron-works, barracks, the Royal Clarence Victualling Yard, and Haslar shipyard for the repair of gunboats.

GOSSE, EDMUND, poet, essayist, and critic, born in London, the son of the succeeding; author of "History of Eighteenth Century Literature,"

a collection of lyrics, and a series of monographs, in particular "Life of Gray"; _b_. 1849.

GOSSE, PHILIP HENRY, naturalist, horn at Worcester, in business in Newfoundland, Canada, and the United States; spent his leisure hours in the study of natural history, chiefly insects; after a visit of two years to Jamaica wrote an account of its birds; compiled several works introductory to the study of animal life, and latterly devoted himself to the study of marine animals (1810-1888).

GOTHA (30), northern capital of the duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and seat of the reigning prince, the present Duke of Edinburgh, situated on the Leine Ca.n.a.l, 6 m. from the northern border of the Thuringian Forest; is picturesquely laid out, and has considerable manufactures, the famous Perthes' geographical publishing-house; Friedenstein Castle, the ducal residence, built in 1643, has a library of 200,000 vols. and 6000 MSS.

GOTHAM, a village of N. Nottinghamshire, the natives of which were made a laughing-stock of for their foolish sayings and doings, an instance of the latter being their alleged joining hand in hand round a bush to hedge in a cuckoo.

GOTHAMITES, American c.o.c.kneys, New York being called Gotham.

GOTHARD, ST., the central mountain ma.s.s (9850 ft. high) of the Middle Alps and core of the whole Alpine system; it forms a watershed for rivers flowing in four different directions, including the Rhone and the Rhine; the famous pa.s.s (6936 ft.) from Lake Lucerne to Lake Maggiore forms an excellent carriage-way, has two hotels and a hospice at its summit; on the lower slopes is the St. Gothard railway (opened 1882), with its celebrated tunnel (9 m.), the longest in the world.

GOTHENBURG (109), the second town of Sweden, at the mouth of the Gotha, 284 m. SW. of Stockholm, is a clean and modernly built town, intersected by several ca.n.a.ls; it has a splendid harbour, and one of the finest botanical gardens in Europe; its industries include shipbuilding, iron-works, sugar-refining, and fisheries; its licensing system has become famous; all shops for the sale of liquor are in the hands of a company licensed by government; profits beyond a five per cent. dividend to the shareholders are handed over to the munic.i.p.ality.

GOTHIC ARCHITECTURE, a varied style of architecture distinguished by its high and sharply-pointed arches, cl.u.s.tered columns, which had its origin in the Middle Ages, and prevailed from the 12th to the 15th centuries, though the term Gothic was originally applied to it as indicating a _barbarous_ degeneracy from the _cla.s.sic_, which it superseded.

GOTHLAND: 1 (2,595), the southernmost of the three old provinces of Sweden; chiefly mountainous, but with many fertile s.p.a.ces; forest and lake scenery give a charm to the landscape; Gothenburg is the chief town.

2 (51), a Swedish island in the Baltic, 44 m. E. of the mainland, area 1217 sq. m.; forms, with other islands, the province of Gothland or Wisby; agriculture, fishing, and shipping are the main industries; Wisby is the chief town (also called Gottland).

GOTHS, a tribe of Teutons who in formidable numbers invaded the Roman empire from the east and north-east from as early as the third century, and though they were beaten back at the battle of Chalons, eventually broke it up.

GOTTFRIED VON STRASBURG, a medieval German poet and one of the famous _minnesingers_; flourished in Strasburg at the close of the 12th century and beginning of the 13th; his great poem "Tristan und Isolde,"

completed in 1210, extends to 19,552 lines, and has a grace and freshness suggestive of Chaucer.

GoTTINGEN (24), an ancient Hanoverian town, prettily situated in the valley of the Leine, 50 m. S. of Hanover; is chiefly noteworthy on account of its university (1734), with its library of 500,000 vols. and 5000 MSS.; the students exceed 800, and are instructed by 120 professors; there is a flourishing book-trade.

GOTTSCHED, JOHANN CHRISTOPH, a German literary notability, born near Konigsberg, professor of philosophy and belles-lettres at Leipzig; was throughout his life the literary dictator of Germany; did much to vindicate the rights and protect the purity of the German tongue, as well as to improve the drama, but he wrote and patronised a style of writing that was cold, stiff, and soulless (1700-1766).

GOUGH, HUGH, VISCOUNT, a distinguished English general, born at Woodstown, in Limerick; he first saw service at the Cape and in the West Indies; afterwards fought with distinction in the Peninsular war; subsequently, as major-general, he took part in the Indian campaign of 1827, and in 1840 commanded the forces in China; during seven years (1843-50) he was commander-in-chief of the Indian army, and carried through successfully the Sikh Wars, which added the Punjab to the British dominions; in 1849 he was created a viscount, and a field-marshal in 1862 (1779-1869).

GOUGH, J. B., temperance orator, born in Kent; bred a bookbinder; early a victim to intemperance; took the pledge in 1842, and became an eloquent and powerful advocate of the temperance cause both in England and America (1817-1886).

GOUJON, JEAN, a celebrated French sculptor and architect, born at Paris; he did the reliefs on the Fountain of the Innocents and the facade of the old Louvre; was a Huguenot, but died before the ma.s.sacre of St.

Bartholomew in 1572.

GOULD, JOHN, eminent ornithologist, born at Lyme Regis, Devonshire; his works are ent.i.tled "A Century of Birds from the Himalaya Mountains,"

"The Birds of Europe," "The Birds of Australia," "The Birds of Asia,"

"The Birds of Great Britain," and "Humming-Birds," of which last he had an almost complete collection, only one wanting; the volumes in which these works were published were large folios and very expensive, with coloured ill.u.s.trations of the birds described, the whole done under Mr.

Gould's own eye, and in many cases by his own hand (1804-1881).

GOUNOD, CHARLES FRANcOIS, an eminent French composer, born at Paris; a prize gained at the Paris Conservatoire followed by a government pension enabled him to continue his studies at Rome, where he gave himself chiefly to the study of religious music; the "Messe Solenelle"

was published on his return to Paris; turning his attention to opera he produced "Sappho" in 1851, a popular comic opera "Le Medecin malgre lui"

in 1858, and a year later his famous setting of "Faust," which placed him in the front rank of composers; other operas followed, with various ma.s.ses, anthems, hymns, &c.; his oratorio "Redemption," perhaps his masterpiece, appeared in 1882 (1818-1893).

GOVAN (63), a town in Lanarkshire, Scotland, on S. bank of the Clyde, virtually a western suburb of Glasgow; the staple industry is shipbuilding.

GOW, NATHANIEL, youngest son of Neil, won celebrity as a composer of songs and other pieces; his 200 compositions include the popular "Caller Herrin'" (1766-1831).