GEORGIC GERMANICUS. 



413 



of Gamba (Paris, 1826), has shed much light upon 

 these countries. 



GEORGIC (from the Greek y and ijyi, to work) ; 

 a rural poem ; a poetical description of agricultural 

 pursuits, applied particularly to a didactic poem of 

 Virgil. 



GEORGICON ; a celebrated agricultural institu- 

 tion, founded by count Festetics, of Tolna, at Kestz- 

 hely, in Hungary, where over 300 pupils are 

 instructed in all the sciences relating to agriculture, 

 and in practical agriculture itself. Natural philoso- 

 phy, natural history, chemistry, the veterinary art, 

 mathematics and surveying, architecture, book-keep- 

 ing, &c., are taught here. Here is a forest academy, 

 (see Forests) and a riding school. Gardens, fields, 

 meadows, vineyards, forests belong to the institution, 

 and cattle, horses, sheep, bees, and silk-worms are 

 raised. 



GEORGIUM SIDUS. See Planets. 



GEPIDJE ; a German tribe of the family of the 

 Goths. According to Jornandes, this name signified 

 indolent, and originated from the circumstance, that 

 when the whole nation passed from Scandinavia in 

 three vessels, one of them sailing slower than the 

 others, was called Gepanta, signifying in the Gothic 

 tongue, slow. Hence the name of Gepantee or Ge- 

 pidce, which was, at first, a term of reproach. They 

 first lived on the banks of the Vistula, made con- 

 quests in the 'south, and advanced to Galicia and 

 Lodomiria, but were defeated by the Goths, whom 

 they afterwards joined in their irruptions into the 

 Roman empire. Lands were subsequently assigned 

 them in Thrace by Probus. Of Attila's army they 

 formed a considerable part. After his death, they 

 shook off the yoke of his successor, became allies of 

 the Romans, and remained, for a long time, quiet. 

 In the year 550, a quarrel arose between them and 

 the Lombards, and, in 570, they were defeated, with 

 great slaughter, by these enemies, and thenceforth 

 lived in subjection to the Lombards, the Huns, &c. 



GERANIUM ; a genus of plants, containing a 

 vast number of species, many of which are cultivated 

 on account of the elegance of their flowers. The 

 calyx is persistent, of five leaves ; the petals are five, 

 alternate with the calyx leaves ; the stamens are 

 ten, more or less connected at the base ; the style 

 single, terminating in five stigmas. The species are 

 herbaceous or suffruticose, with the younger stems 

 articulate. Most of the cultivated species belong to 

 the subgenus pelargonium, and are natives of South- 

 ern Africa, where they are exceedingly numerous, 

 and form a striking feature in the peculiar vegetation 

 of that region. They are of easy cultivation, and 

 may be raised from seed sown in the spring ; but in 

 the winter they require protection. 



GERHARD, PAUL, a German poet, born in Sax- 

 ony, 1506 or 1507, died in 1576. He contributed 

 largely to the great stock of German hymns. Some 

 of his hymns are very popular in Germany, and often 

 quoted. He was all his life an officiating clergyman, 

 very pious, and attentive to his parochial duties. 



GERMAIN, ST ; the name of a number of places 

 in France, among which is St Germnin-en-Laye, a 

 town in the department of Seine-et-Oise, above two 

 leagues north from Versailles, and four leagues west- 

 north-west from Paris, on the left bank of the Seine. 

 It contains 11,011 inhabitants. The most remarkable 

 huilding there is the royal palace, commenced by 

 Charles V., in 1370, and embellished by several of his 

 successors, including Henry IV. and Louis XIV. 

 Its site is fine, and the apartments very beautiful. 

 On the first Sundays of August and September, fairs 

 begin to be held in the forest near St Germain, each 

 of three days' continuance. They are real fetes 

 champetres , and many Parisians go there. Under 



Louis XIV., the castle was the asylum of James II. 

 and his family. James II. died here in 1701, his 

 daughter hi 1712, and his wife in 1718. Charles 

 IX., Henry II., and Louis XIV., were born here. 

 The manufactures of St Germain are inconsiderable. 



GERMAIN, COUNT ST ; afamous adventurer and 

 alchymist, whose name and origin are unknown. He 

 sometimes called himself Aymar, or marquis de Bet- 

 mar, and was probably a Portuguese by birth. Cagli- 

 ostro (q. v.), on his first journey to Germany, became 

 acquainted with him in Holstein, and learned new 

 arts of deception under his instructions. St Germain 

 was versed in chemistry and other sciences ; but his 

 irresistible inclination for magic did not permit him 

 to seek reputation in the usual paths. He spent 

 his time in travelling about, and, by his impudence 

 and cunning, he imposed on the credulity of the 

 weak, and even gained access to several courts. 

 According to his own account, he was 350 years old, 

 and had in his album a sentence written by the cele- 

 brated Montaigne. He always had in his possession 

 a powerful elixir, which would restore youth to the 

 old, and which always preserved his strength. On 

 his second voyage to India, svhich he pretended to 

 have made in 1755, he succeeded, as he said, in gain- 

 ing the chief object of all adepts, namely, the making 

 of precious stones ; and it is reported, that, in 1773, 

 while with the French atnbassador at the Hague, he 

 broke to pieces a valuable diamond of his own manu- 

 facture, after having sold a similar one for 5500 

 louis d'or. Nor were the secrets of futurity hidden 

 from his eyes. He foretold to the French the death 

 of Louis XV. His power extended even to brute 

 animals ; he inspired serpents with a sensibility to 

 the charms of music. He possessed, we are told, 

 the rare power of being able to write with both 

 hands at the same time, on two different sheets of 

 paper, whatever was dictated to him, so that it was 

 impossible to distinguish the hand-writings. He 

 played in so masterly a manner on the violin, as to 

 produce the effect of several instruments. In short, 

 he was neither destitute of talents nor of knowledge, 

 and he would have become famous, if he had not pre- 

 ferred to become notorious. New light has been 

 thrown on his history by the Memoires de Mad. Du- 

 hausset. 



GERMANICUS, C^SAR ; a Roman general cele- 

 brated for his victories over the Germans, son of 

 Claudius Drusus Nero, and the younger Antonia, a 

 niece of Augustus, justly esteemed for her virtues, 

 which her son inherited. Tiberius, his paternal uncle, 

 adopted him. He afterwards administered theques- 

 torship, and was made consul before the lawful age. 

 Augustus died while Germanicus, with Tiberius, was 

 at the head of the armies in Germany. Tiberius 

 succeeded to the government. Germanicus was 

 invited by several rebellious legions to assume the 

 sovereign authority, but he refused. He then crossed 

 the Rhine, and, surprising the Marsi in a drunken 

 riot, made a horrible slaughter among them, and de- 

 stroyed the temple of Tanfana. In a similar man- 

 ner he defeated, in the following year, the Catti, and, 

 after having burnt their city of Mattiurn (according 

 to Mannert, Marburg}, he victoriously returned over 

 the Rhine. Here some deputies of Segestes ap- 

 peared before him, soliciting in the name of their 

 master, his assistance against Arminius, the son-in- 

 law of Segestes, by whom the latter was besieged. 

 Germanicus hastened to his rescue, delivered him, 

 and made Thusnelda, wife of Arminius, prisoner. Ar- 

 minius then prepared for war, and Germanicus col- 

 lected his forces on the Ems. A battle ensued. The 

 Roman legions were already receding when Germani- 

 cus renewed the attack with fresh troops,and thns hap- 

 pily averted the rout that threatened him. Arminius 



