G E R 
name of Kigrina ; but he was afterwards of opinion that 
it could not be i'epurated from the Gerardias. Native 
of the Cape of Good Nope. 
GKRARDMKR', a town of France, in the depart¬ 
ment of the Vofges, and cliief place of a canton, in the 
diftridtof Bruycres : three leagues and a halt fouth-eali: 
of Bruycres, and three and tliree-qiiarters eart; ot Re- 
miremont. 
GKR'ARDSTOWN, a town of the American States, 
in Berkely county, Virginia : ten miles from Martini- 
burg, and 254 from Philadelphia. 
GFRASCAN'THUS,y; in botany. SeeCoRDiA. 
GKR'ASTORFF, a town of Germany, in the arch¬ 
duchy of Auftria : feven miles eaft of Korn-Neuburg. 
GERAU', a fmall country of Germany, lituated near 
the conflux of the Maine and the Rhine, in the circle 
of the Upper Rhine. It takes its name from Gerau j 
but Dannltadt is the capital. 
GERAU' (Grofs), a town of Germany, in the circle 
of the Upper Rhine, and principality of Helfe Durm- 
Ifadt; eight itiiles well-north-welt of Dannltadt, and 
ten fouth-eall of Mentz. 
GER'BA, or Jerba, a fmall illand in the Mediter¬ 
ranean, near the coalt of Tripoli. Its principal pro¬ 
duce is barley and fruit. Lat. 33. 30. N. Ion. 11. 30. 
E. Greenwich. 
GER'BEL (Nicholas), a learned jurill, born at 
Pfortzheim. He was brought up to the Itudy of the 
law, and became a profeflbr of it at Vienna, and after, 
wards at Stralburg, He applied to the Itudy of hiltory 
and antiquities, and obtained great reputation by his 
writings. De Thou characterizes him as one equally 
eftimable for his erudition and humanity. He died at a 
very advanced age in 1560. His works are: i. Ifagoge 
hi Tabulam Gracia; Nicolai Sophiant, 1545, afterwards aug- 
mented into feven books, comprehending a complete 
defcription of all Greece, and printed at Balil, fol. 1350. 
a. De Anabaptijlarum Ortu et Progrejfu. 3. Vita Joannis 
Cufpiniani. He corrected Cufpinian’s Chronicle of the 
Ctefars, and Arrian’s Hiltory of Alexander. 
GER'BERA,y. in botany. See Arnica- 
GER'BERON (Gabriel), a French eccleliallic, and 
controverfial writer in fupport of the Janfenilt princi. 
pies, born at Saint-Calais, in 1628. He taught theology 
for fome years with conliderable fuccefs, and was ap¬ 
pointed fub-prior of the abbey of Corbie. When the 
controverfy on the tubjeCt of grace raged between the 
Janfenilts and the Jefuits, he wrote with much zeal and 
ability in fupport of the fide of the queltion embraced 
by the former j whence the Jefuits became his deter, 
mined enemies, and found means to prejudice LouisXI V. 
fo llrongly againlt him, that in 16S2, the king gave or¬ 
ders for his being put under arrelt. Gerberon, how¬ 
ever, having obtained information of the approach of 
the officers, found means to elcape, and retired into 
Holland, where, under the name of Augultine Kergre, 
he exercifed the palloral functions for feveral years, 
and wrote a great variety of booksonthe queltions agi¬ 
tated in the controverlies concerning free-w ill and grace. 
The air of Holland at length proving injurious to his 
liealth, he removed into Flanders, where, in 1703^ he 
was taken into cultody by the archbilhop of Mechlin, 
and committed to the caflle of Vincennes. In that pri- 
fon he continued Ihut up until the year 1710, retaining 
his natural vivacity and zeal for what appeared to him 
to be truth, undiminillied by his futferings. The king- 
now ordered him to be delivered into the care of his 
fuperiors, by whom he was fent to the abbey of St. De¬ 
nys, where he died in 1711, when nearly eighty-three 
years of age. He fuperintended an edition of The 
Works of Marius Mercator, to which he added notes, 
and printed it at BrulTels in 1673, 121110. under the al- 
iunied name of Rigberius ; a new edition of I'he AVorks 
£if St. Anfelm ; and a new edition of T. he Works of 
JBnius, 1696, 4to. He was the author of, A General 
G E R 459 
Hiltory of Janfenifm, publilhed at Amlterdarn in 1700, 
3 vols. 121110. a tranllatioii of father Gabriel’s Specimina 
moralis Cbrijliana & moralis Diabolica, under the title of 
Ellays on Moral Theology, 1680, 121110. and a vail 
number of devotional pieces, and controverfial tralils. 
GERBEROY', a town of France, in the department 
of the Oife, and chief place of a canton, in the dillriCl 
ot Beauvais ; fortified in the ninth century to flop the 
incurlion of the Normans. It was taken by the Fhiglilh 
in the years 1160 and 1437; but, in 1449, the troops 
left in garrifon were put to death by the Picards: four 
leagues north-well of Beauvais, and two north-eall of 
Gournay. Lat. 49. 32. N. Ion. 19. 32. E. Ferro. 
GERBEVIL'LER, a town of France, in the depart, 
ment of the Meurte, and chief place of a canton, in the 
dillricl of Luneville : one league and three quarters 
fouth of Luneville, and five and a quarter call of Ve- 
zelize. 
GERBILLO'N (John Francis), a diflinguillied Jefuit 
niifiionary, born at Verdun in 1634. He entered into the 
lociety of Jefuits in 1670 ; and having conllantly the 
miflion to China in view, he qualified himfelf for it by 
the Itudy of mathematics, in which he became very 
Ikilful. His willies were accomplillied in 1683, when 
he embarked for China, in company with fix mathema¬ 
ticians of the fame fociety. At the delire of the em¬ 
peror, he remained at Pekin, Itudying the Tartarian 
language ; and he fo much ingratiated himfelf with 
that monarch, as to be appointed to join an embally 
fent to regulate the boundaries with the court ot Mul- 
covy. By his addrefs and knowledg-e of languages, he 
greatly contributed to the fuccefs of this iiegociaiion ; 
and on his return to China was treated with great re- 
fpecl by the emperor, who chole him for his inflruOtor 
in mathematics and philofophy, and kept him about his 
perfon in feveral journeys which he made into Tartary. 
He obtained free permiflion to preach the Chrillian re¬ 
ligion in China, and had the direftion of the French 
college in Pekin, and finally was made fitperior-general 
of all the Jefuit mifiionariss lent from France. He 
died at Pekin in 1707. He wrote, in the Chinefe and 
Tartar languages, Filements of Geometry, extracted 
from Euclid and Archimedes; and, Geometry, practi¬ 
cal and fpeculative ; both fplendidly printed at Pekin. 
The curious accounts of his eight journeys into 'i'ar- 
tary are printed in father Du Halde’s Defcription de la 
Chine. He left inmaniifcript, A Voyageto Siam, ot which 
extrafts are given in Michault’s Melanges Hijloriques. 
GERB'Sl'ADT, a town of Germany, in the circle 
of Upper Saxony, and county of Mansfeld : thirty 
miles fouth-well of Delfau, and thirty-fix fouth cf Mag¬ 
deburg. 
GERDAVAN', a town of Prtiffia, in the province of ' 
Natangen, built in 1323, and defended by two calUes ; 
lituated on the Omer, near a conliderable lake, which 
is called the Calendar of Gerdavan, as prognoflicating 
• weather: thirty miles fouth-eall of Koniglberg. 
GER'DEN, a town of Germany, in the circle of 
Wellphalia, and bilhopric of Paderburn : two miles 
fouth-eall of Dringenberg. 
GFiR'DES (Daniel), a learned profelTor of theology 
at Groningen, born in 1698 at Bremen, where his lather 
was engaged in commerce. His parents obferving, at 
an early period, that he was endowed with a happy ge¬ 
nius, Ipared neither pains nor ex pence to give him a 
good education. Having gone through the ufual courle 
of fchool inllnultion, he was placed for fix years at the 
gymnalium of his native town, where he applied with 
Inch diligence, that in 1714 he gave a public and ho¬ 
nourable tellimony of the progrefs he had made, by ex¬ 
plaining a palfage in the Plutus of Ariflophanes. He 
at lirll propofed to fluoy the law ; but he afterwards 
altered lijs plan, and devoted himfelf to theology. He 
therefore attended the lectures of Dr. Gerrard Bufeh 
on philofophy and philology, and thofe of Schumachex. 
4 and. 
