GNTJ GOAT. 



493 



origin of good and evil, upon Gnosticism, On the 

 whole, when we take into consideration the philoso- 

 phical tendency of that age, the passion for the mar- 

 vellous, that had taken possession of the effeminate 

 nations of the Roman empire, and the custom of pre- 

 tending to a deeper insight into the secrets of nature 

 ,-iiKl the divinity, it is not to be wondered at that a 

 religious philosophy, which adopted the most brilliant 

 parts of Platonism, and which afforded nourishment 

 alike to the imagination and to the vanity of secret 

 wisdom, should have met with such universal suc- 

 cess. By the austerity of its precepts, and its care 

 for the wellbeing of the soul, it even prepossessed 

 good men in its favour. The Gnostics were the 

 Tietists of the third and fourth centuries. The Ca- 

 tholic church took occasion, from their heresy, to 

 give greater precision to the articles of the orthodox 

 faith. There have been no Gnostic sects since the 

 fifth century; but many of the principles of their 

 system of emanations re-appear in later philosophical 

 systems, drawn from the same sources as theirs. 

 Plato's lively representation had given to the idea of 

 the Godhead something substantial, which the Gnos- 

 tics transferred to their ssons ; and Leibnitz's efful- 

 gurations of God, Ploucquet's real presentations of 

 God, saint Martin's pictures and mirrors, and the 

 like, as well as the Gnostic aeons, are a proof that 

 the essays of the human understanding to explain the 

 creation, and the origin of imperfect beings from the 

 perfect, always end in similar results. The latest 

 and most learned writings upon this subject are 

 those of Lewald and Neander, particularly a work 

 of the latter, entitled, Genetische Entwickelung der 

 vornehmsten gnostischen Systeme (Berlin, 1818). 



GNU. This curious animal belongs to the genus 

 antelope, and subgenus boselaphus (Blainville). It is 

 called gnu by the Hottentots, and wilde beest by the 

 Dutch. Though arranged by naturalists among the 

 antelopes, it appears to form one of those intermedi- 

 ate links, which connect, as it were, the various 

 tribes of animals in one harmonious whole. This 

 animal resembles, in form, partly the horse, partly 

 the buffalo, and partly the stag. It is as large as a 

 middle sized horse. Its neck, though neither so long 

 or slender as that of the horse, is more so than that 

 of the buffalo, and is adorned with a stiff erect mane. 

 On the forehead, between the nose and flexures of 

 the horns, the face is covered with an obtong tuft of 

 titiff black hairs, turned upwards. Beneath the lower 

 jaw is also a thick, shaggy beard. Its legs are long, 

 and elegantly formed, fike those of the stag ; the 

 space between the fore legs is covered with lotg 

 bushy hair. Its horns are rough, and are enlarged 

 at their base, like those of the buffalo ; they spring 

 from the hinder part of the head, and, after bending 

 forward beyond the eye, turn suddenly upwards. 

 Both sexes are furnished with these appendages. In 

 the young animal, they are perfectly straight, acquir- 

 ing their flexure as the animal grows older. They 

 are provided with lachrymal openings under the 

 eyes. The gnu is a lively, capricious animal. It 

 is affected by the sight of scarlet, like the buffalo or 

 bull. When irritated, it expresses its resentment by 

 plunging, curveting, tearing the ground with its 

 hoofs, aixl butting with its head. When wounded, 

 it is reported to be sometimes dangerous to the 

 hunter. These animals feed in large herds, and it is 

 only when stragglers have been accidentally separated 

 from the herd, that any of them are found in a soli- 

 tary state. Their flesh is very juicy, and more 

 agreeable and nourishing than beef. When taken 

 young, they are readily tamed ; but the inhabitants 

 of South Africa seldom attempt to domesticate them, 

 as they are said to have a tendency to catch and 

 communicate to the other cattle a dangerous infec- 



tion. This animal is by no means common in our 

 collections. There is, we understand, a tolerably 

 good one belonging to the Liverpool zoological gar- 

 dens. 



GO A ; a district of India, belonging to the Portu 

 guese, in the province of Bejapoor, forty miles long 

 by twenty broad, situated on the western coast of 

 India, between the fifteenth and sixteenth degrees of 

 north latitude. 



Goa ; a city of India, and the capital of all the 

 Portuguese settlements in that country. It is situated 

 on an island of about twenty-four miles in circumfer- 

 ence, at the mouth of the Mandova river. It in fact 

 consists of two cities, the old and the new. The 

 former is eight miles up the river, and, though almost 

 deserted, contains many magnificent churches,- and 

 excellent specimens of architecture. The viceroy 

 and principal inhabitants reside in the new city, 

 which is at the mouth of the river, within the forts. 

 It possesses two harbours, well defended by various 

 castles and batteries, mounting very heavy cannon. 

 It still carries on an inconsiderable trade with the 

 mother country, with China, and the coast of Africa ; 

 but its expenses far exceed its revenues. The inha- 

 bitants of the city and island are computed to amount 

 to 20,000, but of these there are very few genuine Por 

 tuguese. Lon. 73 57' E.; lat. 15 3CK N. The island 

 was called, formerly, Tissuari, and was inhabited by 

 an Arabian tribe, when, in 1510, Albuquerque con- 

 quered the city, with the peninsulas Bardes and Sal- 

 sette. Ever since 1559, it has been the residence of 

 the Portuguese governor-general. The port is only 

 open for the Portuguese flag. The air is unwhole- 

 some. The still existing edifices are silent witnesses 

 of its former magnificence. The inquisition of Goa 

 formerly had jurisdiction over all Christians in the 

 Portuguese settlements ; but, in 1815, its papers 

 were burnt, and the inquisition abolished. The 

 commerce is in the hands of Christians, the smaller 

 trade in those of Jews and Banians. Since 1812, 

 twenty-four large vessels annually carry the mer 

 chandise received there from the other Portuguese 

 colonies, and from Canton, to Europe. The crown 

 has the monopoly of sugar, snuff, pepper, saltpetre, 

 pearls, and sandal wood. 



GOAT (capra). This genus of quadrupeds is 

 distinguished by the horns almost joining at the bases, 

 and bending backwards ; having eight cutting teeth 

 in the lower, but none in the upper jaw, and generally 

 a beard on the chin. Desmarest gives three species, 

 of which there are numerous varieties. These are 

 the C. ibex, the C. caucasica, and the C. eegagnts or 

 domestic goat. The goat, even in a state of domes- 

 tication, is vicious, subtle and lecherous. Like the 

 wild species, it is amazingly swift and agile, climbing 

 the most rugged mountains, and fearlessly browsing 

 at the very edge of the steepest precipices. The 

 female goes five months witli young, and commonly 

 brings forth one or two, but sometimes even three or 

 four, at a birth. The kids are generally produced 

 early in the spring. The buck has a rank, nauseous 

 smell, which proceeds from his skin. Though fond 

 of the summits of bleak and lofty mountains, the goat 

 cannot bear extreme cold. The domestic goat is 

 known in almost all parts of the globe. If we may 

 judge from the expressions of the ancient pastoral 

 poets, goats were formerly tended in Greece and Italy 

 with no less care than sheep. The flesh is much 

 esteemed by some nations, though it is far inferior to 

 mutton. The milk is excellent, and has been thought 

 peculiarly serviceable for consumptive persons. But 

 the skin is the most valuable part of this animal. It 

 is prepared for a variety of purposes, and takes a dyt 

 better than any other skin, and is well known under 

 the name of morocco. The tallow of the goat i3 



