Part 26

The council of Constance, which revealed the eminence of Gerson, became in the end the cause of his downfall. He was the prosecutor in the case of Jean Petit, and the council, overawed by the duke of Burgundy, would not affirm the censure of the university and archbishop of Paris. Petit's justification of murder was declared to be only a moral and philosophical opinion, not of faith. The utmost length the council would go was to condemn one proposition, and even this censure was annulled by the new pope, Martin V., on a formal pretext. Gerson dared not return to France, where, in the disturbed state of the kingdom, the duke of Burgundy was in power. He lay hid for a time at Constance and then at Rattenberg in Tirol, where he wrote his famous book _De consolatione theologiae_. On returning to France he went to Lyons, where his brother was prior of the Celestines. It is said that he taught a school of boys and girls in Lyons, and that the only fee he exacted was to make the children promise to repeat the prayer, "Lord, have mercy on thy poor servant Gerson." His later years were spent in writing books of mystical devotion and hymns. He died at Lyons on the 12th of July 1429. Tradition declares that during his sojourn there he translated or adapted from the Latin a work upon eternal consolation, which afterwards became very famous under the title of _The Imitation of Christ_, and was attributed to Thomas a Kempis. It has, however, been proved beyond a doubt that the famous _Imitatio Christi_ was really written by Thomas, and not by John Gerson or the abbot Gerson.

The literature on Gerson is very abundant. See Dupin, _Gersoniana_, including _Vita Gersoni_, prefixed to the edition of Gerson's works in 5 vols, fol., from which quotations have here been made; Charles Schmidt, _Essai sur Jean Gerson, chancelier de l'Universite de Paris_ (Strassburg, 1839); J. B. Schwab, _Johannes Gerson_ (Wurzburg, 1859); H. Jadart, _Jean Gerson, son origine, son village natal et sa familie_ (Reims, 1882). On the relations between Gerson and D'Ailly see Paul Tschackert, _Peter von Ailli_ (Gotha, 1877). On Gerson's public life see also histories of the councils of Pisa and Constance, especially Herm. v. der Hardt, _Con. Constantiensis libri iv._ (1695-1699). The best editions of his works are those of Paris (3 vols., 1606) and Antwerp (5 vols., 1706). See also Ulysse Chevalier, _Repertoire des sources hist. Bio-bibliographie_ (Paris, 1905, &c.), s.v. "Gerson." (T. M. L.; X.)

FOOTNOTE:

[1] Born c. 1360; rector of the university of Paris 1393; afterwards treasurer of Langres and archdeacon of Bayeux; died at Paris in 1437.

GERSONIDES, or BEN GERSON (GERSHON), LEVI, known also as RALBAG (1288-1344), Jewish philosopher and commentator, was born at Bagnols in Languedoc, probably in 1288. As in the case of the other medieval Jewish philosophers little is known of his life. His family had been distinguished for piety and exegetical skill, but though he was known in the Jewish community by commentaries on certain books of the Bible, he never seems to have accepted any rabbinical post. Possibly the freedom of his opinions may have put obstacles in the way of his preferment. He is known to have been at Avignon and Orange during his life, and is believed to have died in 1344, though Zacuto asserts that he died at Perpignan in 1370. Part of his writings consist of commentaries on the portions of Aristotle then known, or rather of commentaries on the commentaries of Averroes. Some of these are printed in the early Latin editions of Aristotle's works. His most important treatise, that by which he has a place in the history of philosophy, is entitled _Milhamoth 'Adonai_ (The Wars of God), and occupied twelve years in composition (1317-1329). A portion of it, containing an elaborate survey of astronomy as known to the Arabs, was translated into Latin in 1342 at the request of Clement VI. The _Milhamoth_ is throughout modelled after the plan of the great work of Jewish philosophy, the _Moreh Nebuhim_ of Moses Maimonides, and may be regarded as an elaborate criticism from the more philosophical point of view (mainly Averroistic) of the syncretism of Aristotelianism and Jewish orthodoxy as presented in that work. The six books pass in review (1) the doctrine of the soul, in which Gersonides defends the theory of impersonal reason as mediating between God and man, and explains the formation of the higher reason (or acquired intellect, as it was called) in humanity,--his view being thoroughly realist and resembling that of Avicebron; (2) prophecy; (3) and (4) God's knowledge of facts and providence, in which is advanced the curious theory that God does not know individual facts, and that, while there is general providence for all, special providence only extends to those whose reason has been enlightened; (5) celestial substances, treating of the strange spiritual hierarchy which the Jewish philosophers of the middle ages accepted from the Neoplatonists and the pseudo-Dionysius, and also giving, along with astronomical details, much of astrological theory; (6) creation and miracles, in respect to which Gerson deviates widely from the position of Maimonides. Gersonides was also the author of a commentary on the Pentateuch and other exegetical and scientific works.

A careful analysis of the _Milhamoth_ is given in Rabbi Isidore Weil's _Philosophie religieuse de Levi-Ben-Gerson_ (Paris, 1868). See also Munk, _Melanges de phil. juive et arabe_; and Joel, _Religionsphilosophie d. L. Ben-Gerson_ (1862). The _Milhamoth_ was published in 1560 at Riva di Trento, and has been published at Leipzig, 1866. (I. A.)

GERSOPPA, FALLS OF, a cataract on the Sharavati river in the North Kanara district of Bombay. The falls are considered the finest in India. The river descends in four separate cascades called the Raja or Horseshoe, the Roarer, the Rocket and the Dame Blanche. The cliff over which the river plunges is 830 ft. high, and the pool at the base of the Raja Fall is 132 ft. deep. The falls are reached by boat from Honavar, or by road from Gersoppa village, 18 m. distant. Near the village are extensive ruins (the finest of which is a cruciform temple) of Nagarbastikere, the capital of the Jain chiefs of Gersoppa. Their family was established in power in 1409 by the Vijayanagar kings, but subsequently became practically independent. The chieftaincy was several times held by women, and on the death of the last queen (1608) it collapsed, having been attacked by the chief of Bednur. Among the Portuguese the district was celebrated for its pepper, and they called its queen "Regina da pimenta" (queen of pepper).

GERSTACKER, FRIEDRICH (1816-1872), German novelist and writer of travels, was born at Hamburg on the 10th of May 1816, the son of Friedrich Gerstacker (1790-1825), a celebrated opera singer. After being apprenticed to a commercial house he learnt farming in Saxony. In 1837, however, having imbibed from _Robinson Crusoe_ a taste for adventure, he went to America and wandered over a large part of the United States, supporting himself by whatever work came to hand. In 1843 he returned to Germany, to find himself, to his great surprise, famous as an author. His mother had shown his diary, which he regularly sent home, and which contained descriptions of his adventures in the New World, to the editor of the _Rosen_, who published them in that periodical. These sketches having found favour with the public, Gerstacker issued them in 1844 under the title _Streif-und Jagdzuge durch die Vereinigten Staaten Nordamerikas_. In 1845 his first novel, _Die Regulatoren in Arkansas_, appeared, and henceforth the stream of his productiveness flowed on uninterruptedly. From 1849 to 1852 Gerstacker travelled round the world, visiting North and South America, Polynesia and Australia, and on his return settled in Leipzig. In 1860 he again went to South America, chiefly with a view to inspecting the German colonies there and reporting on the possibility of diverting the stream of German emigration in this direction. The result of his observations and experiences he recorded in _Achtzehn Monate in Sudamerika_ (1862). In 1862 he accompanied Duke Ernest of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Egypt and Abyssinia, and on his return settled at Coburg, where he wrote a number of novels descriptive of the scenes he had visited. In 1867-1868 Gerstacker again undertook a long journey, visiting North America, Venezuela and the West Indies, and on his return lived first at Dresden and then at Brunswick, where he died on the 31st of May 1872. His genial and straightforward character made him personally beloved; and his works, dealing as they did with the great world hitherto hidden from the narrow "parochialism" of German life, obtained an immense popularity. This was not due to any graces of style, in which they are singularly lacking; but the unstudied freshness of the author's descriptions, and his sturdy humour, appealed to the wholesome instincts of the public. Many of his books were translated into foreign languages, notably into English, and became widely known on both sides of the Atlantic. His best works, from a literary point of view, are, besides the above-mentioned _Regulatoren_, his _Flusspiraten des Mississippi_ (1848); the novel _Tahiti_ (1854); his Australian romance _Die beiden Straflinge_ (1857); _Aus dem Matrosenleben_ (1857); and _Blau Wasser_ (1858). His _Travels_ exist in an English translation.

Gerstacker's _Gesammelte Schriften_ were published at Jena in 44 vols. (1872-1879); a selection, edited by D. Theden in 24 vols. (1889-1890). See A. Karl, _Friedrich Gerstacker, der Weitgereiste. Ein Lebensbild_ (1873).

GERSTENBERG, HEINRICH WILHELM VON (1737-1823), German poet and critic, was born at Tondern in Schleswig on the 3rd of January 1737. After studying law at Jena he entered the Danish military service and took

## part in the Russian campaign of 1762. He spent the next twelve years in

Copenhagen, where he was intimate with Klopstock. From 1775 to 1783 he represented Denmark's interests as "Danish Resident" at Lubeck, and in 1786 received a judicial appointment at Altona, where he died on the 1st of November 1823. In the course of his long life Gerstenberg passed through many phases of his nation's literature. He began as an imitator of the Anacreontic school (_Tandeleien_, 1759); then wrote, in imitation of Gleim, _Kriegslieder eines danischen Grenadiers_ (1762); with his _Gedicht eines Skalden_ (1766) he joined the group of "bards" led by Klopstock. His _Ariadne auf Naxos_ (1767) is the best cantata of the 18th century; he translated Beaumont and Fletcher's _Maid's Tragedy_ (1767), and helped to usher in the _Sturm und Drang_ period with a gruesome but powerful tragedy, _Ugolino_ (1768). But he did perhaps even better service to the new literary movement with his _Briefe uber Merkwurdigkeiten der Literatur_ (1766-1770), in which the critical principles of the _Sturm und Drang_--and especially its enthusiasm for Shakespeare,--were first definitely formulated. In later life Gerstenberg lost touch with literature, and occupied himself mainly with Kant's philosophy.

His _Vermischte Schriften_ appeared in 3 vols. (1815). The _Briefe uber Merkwurdigkeiten der Literatur_ were republished by A. von Weilen (1888), and a selection of his poetry, including _Ugolino_, by R. Hamel, will be found in Kurschner's _Deutsche Nationalliteratur_, vol. 48 (1884).

GERUZEZ, NICOLAS EUGENE (1799-1865), French critic, was born on the 6th of January 1799 at Reims. He was assistant professor at the Sorbonne, and in 1852 he became secretary to the faculty of literature. He wrote a _Histoire de l'eloquence politique et religieuse en France aux XIV^e, XV^e, et XVI^e siecles_ (1837-1838); an admirable _Histoire de la litterature francaise depuis les origines jusqu'a la Revolution_ (1852), which he supplemented in 1859 by a volume bringing down the history to the close of the revolutionary period; and some miscellaneous works. Geruzez died on the 29th of May 1865 in Paris. A posthumous volume of _Melanges et pensees_ appeared in 1877.

GERVAIS, PAUL (1816-1879), French palaeontologist, was born on the 26th of September 1816 at Paris, where he obtained the diplomas of doctor of science and of medicine, and in 1835 he began palaeontological research as assistant in the laboratory of comparative anatomy at the Museum of Natural History. In 1841 he obtained the chair of zoology and comparative anatomy at the Faculty of Sciences in Montpellier, of which he was in 1856 appointed dean. In 1848-1852 appeared his important work _Zoologie et paleontologie francaises_, supplementary to the palaeontological publications of G. Cuvier and H. M. D. de Blainville; of this a second and greatly improved edition was issued in 1859. In 1865 he accepted the professorship of zoology at the Sorbonne, vacant through the death of L. P. Gratiolet; this post he left in 1868 for the chair of comparative anatomy at the Paris museum of natural history, the anatomical collections of which were greatly enriched by his exertions. He died in Paris on the 10th of February 1879.

He also wrote _Histoire naturelle des mammiferes_ (1853, &c.); _Zoologie medicale_ (1859, with P. J. van Beneden); _Recherches sur l'anciennete de l'homme et la periode quaternaire_, 19 pl. (1867); _Zoologie et paleontologie generales_ (1867); _Osteographie des cetaces_ (1869, &., with van Beneden).

GERVASE OF CANTERBURY (d. c. 1210), English monk and chronicler, entered the house of Christchurch, Canterbury, at an early age. He made his profession and received holy orders in 1163; but we have no further clue to the date of his birth. We know nothing of his life beyond what may be gathered from his own writings. Their evidence suggests that he died in or shortly after 1210, and that he had resided almost continuously at Canterbury from the time of his admission. The only office which we know him to have held is that of sacrist, which he received after 1190 and laid down before 1197. He took a keen interest in the secular quarrels of the Canterbury monks with their archbishops, and his earliest literary efforts were controversial tracts upon this subject. But from 1188 he applied his mind to historical composition. About that year he began the compilation of his _Chronica_, a work intended for the private reading of his brethren. Beginning with the accession of Stephen he continued his narrative to the death of Richard I. Up to 1188 he relies almost entirely upon extant sources; but from that date onwards is usually an independent authority. A second history, the _Gesta Regum_, is planned on a smaller scale and traces the fortunes of Britain from the days of Brutus to the year 1209. The latter part of this work, covering the years 1199-1209, is perhaps an attempt to redeem the promise, which he had made in the epilogue to the _Chronica_, of a continuation dealing with the reign of John. This is the only part of the _Gesta_ which deserves much attention. The work was continued by various hands to the year 1328. From the _Gesta_ the indefatigable Gervase turned to a third project, the history of the see of Canterbury from the arrival of Augustine to the death of Hubert Walter (1205). A topographical work, with the somewhat misleading title _Mappa mundi_, completes the list of his more important writings. The _Mappa mundi_ contains a useful description of England shire by shire, giving in

## particular a list of the castles and religious houses to be found in

each. The industry of Gervase was greater than his insight. He took a narrow and monastic view of current politics; he was seldom in touch with the leading statesmen of his day. But he appears to be tolerably accurate when dealing with the years 1188-1209; and sometimes he supplements the information provided by the more important chronicles.

See the introductions and notes in W. Stubbs's edition of the _Historical Works of Gervase of Canterbury_ (Rolls edition, 2 vols., 1879-1880). (H. W. C. D.)

GERVASE OF TILBURY (fl. 1211), Anglo-Latin writer of the late 12th and early 13th centuries, was a kinsman and schoolfellow of Patrick, earl of Salisbury, but lived the life of a scholarly adventurer, wandering from land to land in search of patrons. Before 1177 he was a student and teacher of law at Bologna; in that year he witnessed the meeting of the emperor Frederic I. and Pope Alexander III. at Venice. He may have hoped to win the favour of Frederic, who in the past had found useful instruments among the civilians of Bologna. But Frederic ignored him; his first employer of royal rank was Henry fitz Henry, the young king of England (d. 1183), for whom Gervase wrote a jest-book which is no longer extant. Subsequently we hear of Gervase as a clerk in the household of William of Champagne, cardinal archbishop of Reims (d. 1202). Here, as he himself confesses, he basely accused of heretical opinions a young girl, who had rejected his advances, with the result that she was burned to death. He cannot have remained many years at Reims; before 1189 he attracted the favour of William II. of Sicily, who had married Joanna, the sister of Henry fitz Henry. William took Gervase into his service and gave him a country-house at Nola. After William's death the kingdom of Sicily offered no attractions to an Englishman. The fortunes of Gervase suffered an eclipse until, some time after 1198, he found employment under the emperor Otto IV., who by descent and political interest was intimately connected with the Plantagenets. Though a clerk in orders Gervase became marshal of the kingdom of Arles, and married an heiress of good family. For the delectation of the emperor he wrote, about 1211, his _Otia Imperialia_ in three parts. It is a farrago of history, geography, folklore and political theory--one of those books of table-talk in which the literature of the age abounded. Evidently Gervase coveted but ill deserved a reputation for encyclopaedic learning. The most interesting of his dissertations are contained in the second part of the _Otia_, where he discusses, among other topics, the theory of the Empire and the geography and history of England. We do not know what became of Gervase after the downfall of Otto IV. But he became a canon; and may perhaps be identified with Gervase, provost of Ebbekesdorf, who died in 1235.

See the _Otia Imperialia_ in G. Leibnitz's _Scriptores rerum Brunsvicensium_, vols. i. and ii. (Hanover, 1707); extracts in J. Stevenson's edition of _Coggeshall_ (Rolls series, 1875). Of modern accounts the best are those by W. Stubbs in his edition of _Gervase of Canterbury_, vol. i. introd. (Rolls series, 1879), and by R. Pauli in _Nachrichten der Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Gottingen_ (1882). In the older biographers the _Dialogus de scaccario_ of Richard Fitz Neal (q.v.) is wrongly attributed to Gervase. (H. W. C. D.)

GERVEX, HENRI (1852- ), French painter, was born in Paris on the 10th of December 1852, and studied painting under Cabanel, Brisset and Fromentin. His early work belonged almost exclusively to the mythological genre which served as an excuse for the painting of the nude--not always in the best of taste; indeed, his "Rolla" of 1878 was rejected by the jury of the Salon _pour immoralite_. He afterwards devoted himself to representations of modern life and achieved signal success with his "Dr Pean at the Salpetriere," a modernized paraphrase, as it were, of Rembrandt's "Anatomy Lesson." He was entrusted with several important official paintings and the decoration of public buildings. Among the first are "The Distribution of Awards (1889) at the Palais de l'Industrie" (now in the Versailles Museum), "The Coronation of Nicolas II." (Moscow, May 14, 1896), "The Mayors' Banquet" (1900), and the portrait group "La Republique Francaise"; and among the second, the ceiling for the Salle des Fetes at the hotel de ville, Paris, and the decorative panels painted in conjunction with Blanchon for the mairie of the 19th arrondissement, Paris. He also painted, with Alfred Stevens, a panorama, "The History of the Century" (1889). At the Luxembourg is his painting "Satyrs playing with a Bacchante" as well as the large "Members of the Jury of the Salon" (1885). Other pictures of importance, besides numerous portraits in oils and pastel, are "Communion at Trinity Church," "Return from the Ball," "Diana and Endymion," "Job," "Civil Marriage," "At the Ambassadeurs," "Yachting in the Archipelago," "Nana" and "Maternity."

GERVINUS, GEORG GOTTFRIED (1805-1871), German literary and political historian, was born on the 20th of May 1805 at Darmstadt. He was educated at the gymnasium of the town, and intended for a commercial career, but in 1825 he became a student of the university of Giessen. In 1826 he went to Heidelberg, where he attended the lectures of the historian Schlosser, who became henceforth his guide and his model. In 1828 he was appointed teacher in a private school at Frankfort-on-Main, and in 1830 _Privatdozent_ at Heidelberg. A volume of his collected _Historische Schriften_ procured him the appointment of professor extraordinarius; while the first volume of his _Geschichte der poetischen Nationallitteratur der Deutschen_ (1835-1842, 5 vols., subsequently entitled _Geschichte der deutschen Dichtung_; 5th edition, by K. Bartsch, 1871-1874) brought him the appointment to a regular professorship of history and literature at Gottingen. This work is the first comprehensive history of German literature written both with scholarly erudition and literary skill. In the following year he wrote his _Grundzuge der Historik_, which is perhaps the most thoughtful of his philosophico-historical productions. The same year brought his expulsion from Gottingen in consequence of his manly protest, in conjunction with six of his colleagues, against the unscrupulous violation of the constitution by Ernest Augustus, king of Hanover and duke of Cumberland. After several years in Heidelberg, Darmstadt and Rome, he settled permanently in Heidelberg, where, in 1844, he was appointed honorary professor. He zealously took up in the following year the cause of the German Catholics, hoping it would lead to a union of all the Christian confessions, and to the establishment of a national church. He also came forward in 1846 as a patriotic champion of the Schleswig-Holsteiners, and when, in 1847, King Frederick William IV. promulgated the royal decree for summoning the so-called "United Diet" (Vereinigter Landtag), Gervinus hoped that this event would form the basis of the constitutional development of the largest German state. He founded, together with some other patriotic scholars, the _Deutsche Zeitung_, which certainly was one of the best-written political journals ever published in Germany. His appearance in the political arena secured his election as deputy for the Prussian province of Saxony to the National Assembly sitting in 1848 at Frankfort. Disgusted with the failure of that body, he retired from all active political life.

Gervinus now devoted himself to literary and historical studies, and between 1849 and 1852 published his work on _Shakespeare_ (4 vols., 4th ed. 2 vols., 1872; Eng. trans. by F. E. Bunnett, 1863, new ed. 1877). He also revised his _History of German Literature_, for a fourth edition (1853), and began at the same time to plan his _Geschichte des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts_ (8 vols., 1854-1860), which was preceded by an _Einleitung in die Geschichte des neunzehnten Jahrhunderts_ (1853). The latter caused some stir in the literary and political world, owing to the circumstance that the government of Baden imprudently instituted a prosecution against the author for high treason. In 1868 appeared _Handel und Shakespeare, zur Asthetik der Tonkunst_, in which he drew an ingenious parallel between his favourite poet and his favourite composer, showing that their intellectual affinity was based on the Teutonic origin common to both, on their analogous intellectual development and character. The ill-success of this publication, and the indifference with which the latter volumes of his _History of the 19th Century_ were received by his countrymen, together with the feeling of disappointment that the unity of Germany had been brought about in another fashion and by other means than he wished to see employed, embittered his later years. He died at Heidelberg on the 18th of March 1871.