G E R 



GERGESENES, orGiRCASwiTEs, mJnc'untGeogfapJ'y, 

 aiiancii-nt people, who inhabited the land of Canaan, before th^ 

 Ifraelites took pofleffion of it. Thcirterritory h>- next above 

 that of tiic Amorites, on the call fide of the fea of Tibe- 

 rias ; and it was afterwards poffeffed by tlie half-tribe of 

 ManafTeh. See Gehesa. 



GERGETHA, or Gergitiia, a town fituated in the 

 Troade, E. of Rhaetium, Ophrynium, and Dardanus, in the 

 Ticinity of the fcite of Troy or Ilium, near mount Ida. Thia 

 town appears to have been inland at fome dillance from the 

 fea. 



GERGINA, a town of Afia, in Phrygia, at the foot of 

 mount Ida, feemingto be the fame with Gergetha. 



GERGIS, the name given by Steph. Byz. to the Gergciha 

 of Strabo. 



Geroi.s, in Geography, a town of Africa ; 80 miles W. 

 ofTripoh. 



GERGOVIA, in Jnclent Geogrnphy, a ftrongly fortified 

 place of Gaul, belonging to the Arverni. According to 

 Csfar (1. vii. 36.) it was fituated on a very high mountain, 

 and every accei's to it was extremely difficult. At length it 

 ■was obliged to fubmit to the victorious arms of Rome, and it 

 was probably fo coinpletely deftroyed, that no trace remains 

 from which we may afcertain its fituation. It has been conjec- 

 tured, however, that its fituation was iu the vicinity of 

 Clermont. 



GERHARDSBRON, mGeogrnphy, atown of Germany, 

 in the principality of Anfpach ; 28 miles W. of Anfpach. N. 

 Jat. 49°. 17'. E. long. lo'. — Alio, a town af Wurtemberg ; 

 a8 miles E. of Hailbron. 



GERINES, a fea-port of the ifland of Cyprus, anciently 

 ■called " Ceryaia.'' The walls, which are about half a mile in 

 circumference, appear to be ereCled on the foundation of the 

 ancient walls. This place has one entire church, and two or 

 three in ruins. Its chief trade is with Caraniania, wliither it 

 exports rice and coffee brought from Egypt, and whence it 

 brings back ftorax, and a great number of paflengers. Ge- 

 rines is therefidence of an Aga and Cadi : 16 miles N.N.W. 

 of Nicofia. 



GERINGSW ALDA, a town of Saxony, in the circle of 

 Leipfic ; 20 miles S.S.E. of Leipuc. N. lat. 51 5'. E. long. 

 12 46'. 



GERIS, a town of Egypt, on the left bank of the Nile ; 

 8 miles N. of Afhmunein. 



GERISA, in yfndt-nt Geography, a town of Africa Pro- 

 pria, fituated between the two Syrtes. Ptolemy. 

 GERIS AU. See Gersau. 



GERKOW, JoRKOw, or Bor:Ii, a town of Bohemia, in 

 the circle of Saatz ; 22 miles N. E. of Saatz. 



GE REACH, Stephen, in Biographv, was born at a 

 village in Swabia in the year 1546. He laid the foundation 

 of alearned education at Stutgard, and became dillingwifhtd 

 for his diligence at the univerfity of Tubingen, where, iu 

 1566, he took his degree of B. A. with great ajjplaufe. 

 Shortly after this he withdrew from the luiiverfity on account 

 of the plague. He was admitted to the degree of doctor in 

 philofophy in 1567 at Ellingen, and in 1573 he accooipa- 

 jnied an embalTy from the emperor jMaximilian II. to tlie 

 Turkifh court. He continued at Conllaiitinople about five 

 i years, acquainting himfelf with the manners and religion of 

 I the Turks and Greeks, and cultivating an acquaintance witli 

 the moft eminent men in the latter communion. Upon his 

 j return to Tubingen he obtained otlicr preferment, and en- 

 gaged in the duties of his profeffion with fo much zeal and 

 wFiduity, as to injure his health. He died in 161 2 in the 

 66th year of hi« age. He was autht^r oi " An Epitome of 



G E R 



Ecclefiaftical Hiftory;" of " A Journal of the embafTy fent 

 to the Porte by thecmperors Maximilian II. and Rodolf II.'' 

 abounding in curious and interefting particulars, hiftorical, 

 ecclcfiaftical, and theological: and numerous theological 

 "Diffcrtations," &c. Moreri. 



GERLATZKOI, in Geography, a fortrefs of Ruflla, on 

 the E. fide of the Irtifch, in the government of Kolyvan; Z12 

 miles W. of Kolyvan. N. lat. 54'. 20'. E. long. 75'' 24'., 



GERM, in Vegetable Philcifjphy. See Emuryo. 



Germ, in Navigation and Commerce, the name given in 

 Egypt to fmall veiiels which feive to carry European mer- 

 chandife from Alexandria to Kofetta, and to bring back ta 

 Alexandria the cornmodltiesof Egyptund Arabia. Thefe vef- 

 felsarea kindof ilrong barks, tolerably conliruftcd ; without 

 decks, drawing little water; and, according to tlieir fize, hav- 

 ing two or tluce mafts with very large latine fails, the yards 

 of which are fixed to the heads of the malls, and cannot be 

 lowered, fo that, however bad tile weatlier may be, tlie failors 

 are obliged to climb up the whole length of them, in order to 

 furlthe fails. They are, in general, of about five or fix tons 

 burden. Goods are often damaged in thefe uncovered veffels, 

 and the navigation of them is dangerous in a rough fea. 

 Although tlie diitanee which they have to fail is fcarcely more 

 than 12 leagues, and though the bay of Aboukir, which is 

 in the middle of their paffage, affords them fate flielter, this 

 coafting trade is not free from danger, efpecially at the mouth 

 of the weftern branch of the Nile, formerly called the " Bol- 

 bitic," now "the branch of Rofetta;'' where is a bar form.ed 

 by the fand, upon which the ^vave.s, driven by the wind from 

 the offing, and oppofed by the itream of the river, break witii 

 great fury. A fmall illand, dividing the entrance of this 

 branch, leaves on each hand a narrow paffage, called in the 

 language of the country " Boghafs," a canal or ftrait. But 

 there is only a narrow channel of this paffage which is fecurel^y 

 navigable ; for it is continually (liifting, on account of the 

 inft-ability of the bottom and the agitation of the fea. Apilot, 

 "Reis," or mailer of the "Boghafs," iscontinually employed 

 in founding this changeable paffage, and indicating it to the 

 " germs.'' Infpite oi all thefe precautions, they often get on 

 fhore ; and, being foon overwhelmed with w»ter and fand, 

 perifh with their crews and cargoes. 



GERMA, or GEiniE, in ^Indent Geography, a town of 

 Afia, upon the Helk-fpont ; which, according to Ptolemy, 

 was a colony founded by the Gauls, named Tohfloboiims, 

 in Galatia. 



GERMAIN, Cou^T St., in Biography, a confpicuous 

 perio.T of a mylierious character, who rcfided in England a 

 coiiilderable time, and of whom nothing was certainly known, 

 but that he was a fine performer on tlie violin, and an elegant, 

 though not a learned or original, compofcr. Being here at 

 the lame time as prince Lobkowitz, they were infeparable. 

 He printed a book of violin folos to prelent to his friends 

 and admirers, which he called " La Mufique raifonnce,'' in 

 which there v.-ere elegant paffages, fingular movements, and 

 amufmg concetti. In his fongs, the melody was Italian, and 

 in good tafte ; but the accompaniments were thin, and with- 

 out carrying on any ingenious defign. It was reported, that 

 when examined before the privy council, during the rebel, 

 lion, lie was obliged to difclofe, " fub figiilo confefilonis,' 

 that he was originally a mufician by profeilion ; but that by 

 play, and his Lonnes fortunes, he had realized an independent 

 tortunc; but this, like newfpapcr report.s, merits confirmation. 



Germain-, St. in Geography. See St. Germans. 



Ger.maix, St. a town of France, in the department of the 



Creufe, 15 miles N. W. of Gueret. — Alio, a town of France, 



in ll»e departjr.ent of the Aube ; tJiree jailcs S. W.of Troves, 



X 3 — Alfo, 



