GEN 



at Befn, wKerc lie was accufed of hercfr. He underwent a 

 long and tedious trial, and bcin^ conviftcd of obllinately 

 oppugning the myftcry of the Trinity, he was fcntenced to 

 lofe his head. This fentence was carried into execution, 

 but death, which, at a greater dillance, fecncd fo formida- 

 ble to him, was now difarmed of his terror?, and by a manly 

 fortitude he was enabled to triuraph over his enemies, who 

 expcfted that his mind was ill-adapttd to fo trying a fccne ; 

 Jiis lad moments were probi-.bly the happicft of his life. He 

 died exulting that he was thought worthy of fuffering for 

 the caufe of truth, and that he was admitted to feal, with 

 his blood, the doftrine of the fupremacy and unrivalled glo- 

 ry of the Fatlitr. Moreri. Bayle. 



GENTILITIA, Sacka, among the Romans. See 

 Sacr.a. 



GENTILITIUS, an epithet ufed by feme authors to 

 exprefs difeafes propagated fron. father to ion, and running 

 through whole families ; fuch as are more ufually called here- 

 ditary diforders. Such are the gout very frequently, and 

 often many others. 



GENTILLET, Valentine, in Biography, a native of 

 Dauphine, who flourilhed in the fixtecnth century. He had 

 in early life iludied jurifprudence, and was a civilian by pro- 

 feffion. He was an advocate in the parliament of Touloufe, 

 and afterwards a fyndic of the republic of Geneva, and at 

 one period of his life he was prefident of the parliament of 

 Grenoble. He became diilinguidied by his writings agninft; 

 popery, but by the edifis publifhed in France againft; thofe 

 of the reformed religion, he was driven into exile. His 

 principal works are, " An Apology for the Proteilants," 

 v.hich went through feveral editions in the French, and was 

 afterwards tranuated into Latin and enlarged, under the title 

 of " Apologia pro Chriftianis Gallis Religionis, Evangelicae 

 feu Reformats, qua docetur hujus Religionis fundamenta 

 in Sacra Scriptura jacla efTe :" and " Le Bureau du Concile 

 de Trente, &c." This was printed in French in 15S6, and 

 in the fame year a Latin tranflation of it was pubhfhec, which 

 was frequently reprinted at different places. Its defign is to 

 flicw that mmy of the decrees of that council were contrary 

 to the ancient councils and canons. He was author alfo of 

 " Anti-machiavel,' and the " Anti-focinus." Bayle. 



GENTIMANETOUR, in Gcogmphy, a town of Hin- 

 doollan, in the Carnatic ; 30 miles W. of Cuddalore. 



GENTIOUX et P,\LLlEn, a town of France, in the 

 department of the Creufe, and chief place of a canton in 

 the diftrict of AubufTon ; 9 miles S.W. of Felletin. The 

 place contains 907, and the canton 6,507 inhabitants, on a 

 territory of 327.5 kilioinetres, in 8 communes. 



GENTLE Pit Ore, in Mineralogy, a name given by 

 oar miners in SufTex, to a kind of iron ore found in 

 confiderablc plenty in that county, and very readily running 

 in the fire, though not over rich in metal. It is a ftrong 

 fubftance, and lies in feveral parts of that county in form of 

 a moderately thick ftratum. It is of a duiky brown colour, 

 and in feme places much paler than in ethers. It has al- 

 ways a great number of glittering fpangles in it, and 

 ver)' often contains foffile fhells, and other extraneous fub- 

 ftances in it. , 



GENTLEMAN, a perfonof good family, or di-fcended 

 of afiimily which has long borne arms, the grant of which 

 avlds gentility to a man's family. 



The word is formed of the French ginlUhomtm, or rather 

 of gcntil, fine, fajhionahk, or becoming ; and the S:ixon man, 

 q. d. hor.efljs, or honejlo loco rutins. The fame figuiiication 

 has the Italian genliihuomo, and the Sp.-miili hidalgo, or hijo- 

 dalgo, that is, the fon of fomebody, or of a perlon of note. 

 If we go farther back, we iliall fiud gentleman onj^inally 



GEN 



derived from the Latin grntilis homo, which \ras ufed amon J 

 the Romans for a race of noble pcrfons, of th» fame name, 

 born of free or ingenuous parents, and whofc anceftors had 

 never been Haves, or put to death by law. Thus Cicero, in 

 his Topics, " gentiles funt, qui inter fe eodcm funt nomine ab 

 ingenuis oriisndi, quorum majonim nemo fcrvitutem fervivit, 

 qui capite r.on funt diminuti, &c." Some hold that it was 

 formed from gentile, i. c. pagan ; and that the ancient Franks, 

 who conquered Gaul, which was then converted to Chrif- 

 tianity, were called gentiles by the natives, as being yet hea- 

 thens. Others relate that towards the declenfion of the Ro- 

 man empire, as recorded by Ammianus Marcc-lliinis, there 

 were two companies of brave foldiers ; the one called gen- 

 tilium, and the oiYiar fcu/arioriim ; and that it was hence we 

 derived the names gentleman and efquirc. This fentiment ij 

 coufirm.ed by Pafcpiier, who fuppofes the appellation gentiles 

 and ccuyers to have been tranfmittcd to us from the Roman 

 foldiery ; it being to the gentiles and feutarii, who were tlie 

 bravefl of the foldiery, that the principal benefices and por- 

 tions of lands v>'ere afligned. (See Benefice.) The 

 Gauls obferving, that during the empire of the Romans, 

 \\\e fcularii and gentiles had the beft tenements, or appoint- 

 ments of all the foldiers on the frontiers of the provinces, 

 became infenfihly accullomed to apply the fame names, gen^ 

 tilhnmmes, and ecuyers, to fuch as they found their kings gave 

 the beft provilions or appointmeuts to. Pafq. Rech. lib. ii.- 

 cap. 15. 



■ In llridtnefs, Chamberlayne obferves, a gentleman is one 

 whofe ancellors have been freemen, and have owed obedience 

 to none but their prince : on which footing, no man can be 

 a gentleman who is not born fo. 



Among us, the term gentleman is applicable to all above 

 yeomen ; fo that noblemen may be properly called gentle- 

 men. 



In our {\.2.t\i.tei, gentilis homowz'; adjudged a good additioi> 

 for a gentleman, 27 Edw. III. The addition of knight is 

 very ancient : but th;it of efquire, or gentleman, v.as rare' 

 before i Hen. V. 



We read that J. Kingfton was made a gentleman by king" 

 Richard II. 



As it may juftly be aflced what conftitutcs a gentleman; 

 with us ? the reply is eafy ; being a gentleman, is being en- 

 titled to bear arms. And Mr. Camden obferves, tl'.at the 

 diftinclion of a gentleman of coat -armour, or an upltart, and 

 a gentleman of blood, is the bearing of arms from the grand- 

 father ; and that he wh.o bears arms from his grancfather i'. 

 to all intents and purpofes a genllt-man of blcod ; for which 

 caufe it is requiiite by the ilatules of the Bath that every 

 knightj before liis admifiion, proves himfelf to be fo qualified, 

 which done, it carries with it, if his merit be equal, a palT- 

 port alfo to the order of the Garter. Notitia Anghcana, . 

 p. 24. See 1U0 Doddridge's Honour's Pedigree, p. 147.- 

 Smith, De Rcpubl. Angl. & Fortefcue, fol. 82. 



Guillin., in his chapter of gentlemen, fays, that the)- 

 have their beginning eitijer of blood, as being born of wor- 

 Ihiptul parents ; or that they have done fomething, either in 

 peate or war, whereby they deierve to bear arms, and be ac- 

 counted gentlemen. He farther fays, chap. xs.iv. if a gen- 

 tleman be bound apprentice to a merchant or other trader, 

 he hath not thereby loft his gentility ; and he defires it may 

 be remembered, for the honour of trade, that king Henry 

 VIII. thought it no dilhonour to him, when he quitted his 

 qu>en, to take to his wife Anne, the daughter of Thomas 

 Bullen, fome time mayor of I..ondoa. Tu which may be 

 add d the thought, that tlie firll Wiiham, who founded our 

 royal race, was the grandfon of a tanner. 



Sir Edward Coke fays, that efquires and gentlemen are 



only. 



