570 



GROTTA DEL CANE GROUSE. 



returned to his native country, relying on the. favour 

 of Frederic Henry, prince of Orange, who had writ- 

 ten him a sympathizing letter. Hut, by the influence 

 of his enemies, he was condemned to perpetual ban- 

 ishment. Grotius next proceeded to Hamburg. Dur- 

 ing his residence in tliat city, the kings of Denmark, 

 of Poland, and of Spain, made attempts to persuade 

 him to settle in their states; but the protection 

 which the chancellor Oxenstiern promised him, and 

 the inclination of queen Christina for learning, induc- 

 ed him to accept the oilers of this princess. In 1634, 

 he went to Stockholm, where he was appointed coun- 

 sellor of state and ambassador to the French court. 

 This choice displeased cardinal Richelieu, who was 

 irritated to see a man return, who had been denied 

 protection and a residence in France ; but Oxenstiern 

 would not allow any other minister to be nominated, 

 and Grotius appeared at Paris in 1635. He dis- 

 charged his duties, as ambassador, for ten years, and 

 gained universal respect. On his return to Sweden 

 by the way of Holland, he met, in Amsterdam, with 

 the most honourable reception. Most of his enemies 

 were dead, and his countrymen repented of having 

 banished the man who was the honour of his native 

 land. He was received with equal favour by the 

 queen in Sweden. He afterwards requested his dis- 

 mission, and, having finally obtained it, was on his 

 way to Holland, when a storm drove him to Pome- 

 rania. He fell sick at Rostock, where he died, Aug. 

 28, 1645. With the talents of the most able states- 

 man, Hugo Grotius united deep and extensive learn- 

 ing. He was a profound theologian, excellent in 

 exegesis, his Commentary on the New Testament 

 being still esteemed ; a distinguished belles-lettres 

 scholar, an acute philosopher and jurist, and an his- 

 torian intimate with the sources of history. His 

 writings have had a decisive influence on the forma- 

 tion of a sound taste, and on the diffusion of an en- 

 lightened and liberal manner of thinking in affairs 

 of science. As a philologian, he seizes the genius of 

 his author with sagacity, Illustrates briefly and perti- 

 nently, and amends the text with facility and success. 

 His metrical translations from the Greek are execut- 

 ed with the spirit of a poet. Among the modern 

 Latin poets, he holds one of the first places, and he 

 also tried his powers in Dutch verse. But the phi- 

 losophy of jurisprudence has been especially promot- 

 ed by his great work on natural and national law, 

 De Jure Belli et Pacts, which laid the foundation of 

 a new science ; besides which he wrote Annales Bel- 

 gicee usque ad Ann. 1609, Parallelon Rerumpublic. 

 De Veritate Eeligionis Christ., and Poemata (Leyden, 

 1617, 12mo). 



GROTTA DEL CANE (dog's cave) ; the most 

 remarkable of the many grottoes around Naples, 

 mentioned even by Pliny (lib. 2, c. 90), hollowed out 

 of a sandy soil, to the depth of ten feet, and the 

 breadth of four. A light vapour, resembling that of 

 coal, is always seen rising about six inches in height. 

 The walls do not exhibit any incrustation or deposit 

 of saline matter. No smell is emitted, except that 

 which is generally connected with a subterranean 

 passage. A dog is most commonly chosen to exhibit 

 the effects of this vapour. The animal, held in it, 

 at first struggles considerably, but loses all motion in 

 about two minutes, and would immediately die, if it 

 was not withdrawn into the open air. The effect is 

 the same on all animals, and is owing to the presence 

 of carbonic acid gas (see Carbon), which produces 

 death merely by suffocation. A man, however, may 

 enter the cave with impunity, as he may wade into 

 the water, because the specific gravity of the gas 

 prevents its rising above five or six inches from the 

 floor. See Damp. 



GROTTO ; a small artificial edifice made in a gar- 



den, in imitation of a natural grotto. The outsides 

 of these grottoes are usually adorned with rustic ar- 

 chitecture, and their inside with shell-work, coral, 

 &c. 



GROUNDSEL (senecio vulgaris); a weed belonging 

 to the natural order composite ; the stem is fistulous, 

 about a foot high ; the leaves amplexical and 

 sinuate-pinnatifid ; the flowers small, yellow, destitute 

 of any ray, and disposed in a loose corymb. The 

 plant is emollient, has an herbaceous and slightly acid 

 taste, but is rejected by almost every quadruped, 

 except the hog and goat ; small birds, however, are 

 very fond of the seeds. Such was the mildness of 

 the weather in the beginning of the winter of 1824 5, 

 that this plant flowered on the 30th of December, in 

 the streets of Boston in America. 



GROUND TACKLE; a general name, given to all 

 sorts of ropes and furniture which belong to the an- 

 chors, or which are employed in securing a ship in a 

 road or harbour ; as cables, anchors, bow-lines, &c. 



GROUP (\ta\ian groppo orgruppo) ; a term employ- 

 ed, in painting and sculpture, to signify an assemblage 

 of several objects, such as figures of men, beasts, fruits, 

 or the like, which have some relation to each other, 

 arranged in such a manner as to present to the eye 

 one connected whole. To group objects, is to arrange 

 them according to their magnitude, direction, ap- 

 parent motion, &c., so as to form one whole. Rules 

 for the disposition and employment of groups are 

 derived from philosophical principles of art. These 

 rules require a unity of interest, which is by no means 

 inconsistent with variety of expression. Thus, in 

 historical paintings, all the figures have reference to 

 the principal one, to which the attention is chiefly 

 directed. The groups must also be easily embraced 

 by the eye, and agreeable. This depends upon a 

 skilful arrangement of the figures and distribution 

 of the light. The cone, the pyramid, and a bunch of 

 grapes, have been taken as models of a group. 

 Titian regarded the bunch of grapes as a model, 

 because, in its outlines and surfaces, it exhibits a 

 unity connected with the most agreeable variety, 

 and all the necessary differences ot light and shade 

 and reflections. In the pyramid we have the model 

 of the relation between a small height and broad sur- 

 face. Mengs advises to bring the larger masses into 

 the centre, and the smaller to the circumference, which 

 gives lightness and grace to the group ; not to arrange 

 the figures in succession, nor to bring out various 

 prominent parts of the figure, for instance, heads, so 

 as to form together straight, horizontal, perpendicular 

 or oblique lines ; to avoid geometrical figures, too 

 great regularity and repetition, and to exhibit only 

 the most beautiful portions. He also thinks it 

 advantageous to unite the groups of figures in uneven 

 numbers, and to observe the same rules in collecting 

 the groups into pictures. Of the even numbers, he 

 says, the most tolerable are those which are made up 

 of two uneven numbers ; for example, 6, 10, 1 4 ; but 

 those formed of two even numbers, such as 4, 8, 12, 

 can never be introduced with grace. The reason is, 

 that such a disposition serves to avoid uniformity. 

 If monotony of figures in a group is intolerable, a 

 monotony of groups in a picture is as little to be 

 endured ; and one pyramidal group at the side of 

 another gives to the whole a stiff and constrained 

 appearance. Moreover, objects apparently separate 

 may often serve to unite two groups, otherwise 

 distinct, which the artist effects by a skilful inter- 

 mingling of light and shade. 



GROUSE (tetrao). This is a large genus of birds 

 whose distinguishing mark is a naked band, often of 

 a red colour, in place of an eyebrow. They are 

 wild, shy, and almost untamable. They live in 

 families, dwelling in forests, barren countries, far from 



