Geniture

[Fr., from Lat. genitura, a begetting, from gignere, to beget.] The act of begetting; generation. Genius, n.; pl. GENII, and GENIUSES. [Lat., from gig nere, to beget, to produce.) The term applied by the ancient Romans to a cla of spiritual beings which attended upon man. Every human being, according to them, had his special genius allotted to him at birth, to guide and direct him through life, and his general character and conduct was ascribed to the influence of his G.; hence the word came to signify the natural powers and abilities of men, more especially their natural inclination or disposition. In modern times it has come to be employed in a still more restricted and special sense, as signifying the very highest condition of the mental powers, the perfection of human intelligence. Like many other words of a similar kind, it is difficult or impo ible to define it in words; but there is always a ociated with it the idea of creative or inventive powers. According to Emerson, it is the "constructive intellect," which" produces thoughts, sentences, poems, plans, designs, systems. It is the generation of the mind, the marriage of thought with nature." "The thought of G. is spontaneous, but the power of picture or expre ion in the most enriched and flowing nature implies a mixture of will, a certain control over the spontaneous states, without which no production is po ible." G. produces what has never before been accomplished; "it is the advent of truth into the world, a form of thought now for the first time bursting into the universe, a child of the old eternal soul, a piece of immeasurable greatne ." Its chief faculties are the reason and the imagination, and according as one or the other of these faculties predominates, it becomes either scientific or artistic." In the first case it seizes at once those hidden affinities which otherwise do not reveal themselves except to the most patient and rigorous application, and, as it were, intuitively recognizing in phenomena the unalterable and eternal, it produces truth." In the latter it seeks "to exhibit its own ideal in due and appropriate forms; it realizes the infinite under finite types, and so creates the beautiful." G. is sometimes used to signify that talent or aptitude which we receive from nature from excelling in any one thing whatever. Thus we speak of a G. for mathematics as well as a G. for poetry: of a G. for war, for politics, or for any mechanical employment. The distinction between G. proper and talent is thus given by De Quincey: "Genius is that mode of intellectual power which moves in alliance with genial nature, i. e., with the capacities of pleasure and pain; whereas, talent has no vestige of such an alliance, and is perfectly independent of all human sensibilities; consequently, G. is a voice or breathing which represents the total nature of man, and therefore his enjoying and suffering nature; whilst, on the contrary, talent represents only a single function of that nature." And hence, also, it is, that, "besides its relation to suffering and enjoyment, G. always implies a deeper relation to virtue and vice; whereas talent has no shadow of a relation to moral qualities, any more than it has to vital sense." (Myth.) According to the Romans, not only every man had his G. , who, after guiding him through life, conducted him out of the world at the close of his career; but places, and even inanimate objects, were fabled to have their genii. The collective Roman people also had their G. , who was sometimes represented on coins. Those of the women were called Junones. They sometimes held that each person was accompanied through life by two genii, a white and a black, the former good and favorable, the latter bad and unfavorable; at other times they believed in but one, which was black and white by turns. Divine honors were paid to the genii , and it was usual for each one to offer sacrifices to his G. on his birthday. - The genii , or djinns, of the East bear little resemblance to those of the Romans. They are regarded as an intermediate cla of beings, between angels and men, but inferior in dignity to both, and are not objects of worship. In poetry they are described as having been created out of fire, and as having inhabited this world before its occupation by man, as the subjects of a certain Ján Ibn Jún. They rebelled, and God sent his angel Iblis , or Eblis , who, after conquering Ján Ibn Ján, rebelled against God, and set himself up in his room; whereupon God condemned him to eternal punishment. The djinns , like men, are some good and some evil. They eat and drink, are subject to pa ions and death, but may live for centuries. They are capable of becoming invisible, or a uming the forms of men, beasts, or monsters, at pleasure. They frequent baths, wells, ruined houses, seas, rivers, cro -roads, and market-places. The evil. genii delight in mischief for its own sake, raise and direct whirlwinds, and dry up the springs of the desert. The ghouls are a subordinate cla of evil genii , haunting deserts and burial-grounds, and killing and devouring men and women that fall in their way. The peris , or fairies, are beautiful female genii , who believe in God, and in Mohammed, his prophet, and do good to man. The Mu ulman doctors believe in the existence of djinns as supernatural beings, but their ideas of them differ much from those of the poets and romancers. Genius lo'ci, n. [Lat.] In Roman mythology, the presiding deity of a place; - hence the prevalent feeling; the pervading atmosphere of a place, or establishment, as of a college. Gennes'areth, (Lake of,) in Palestine. See GALILEE (SEA OF). Gen'oa. [It. Genov 1.] A maritime prov. of N. Italy, forming a long tract, which extends along the shores of the Gulf of Genoa. Area , 3,000 sq. m. Dese . This prov. is traversed by the A pennines, which yield pasture to numerous herds of cattle, whilst the valleys are fertile, producing abundance of grain. Rivers . The Bisagno, Magra, Polcevera, and Vara. Min . Marble is the most valuable. Cap . Genoa. Pop . 707,718. - This territory corresponds nearly to the Upper Liguria of the Romans, and, in 1798, was joined to France under the title of the Republic of Liguria . In 1815 it was a igned to Sardinia, and called the Duchy of Genoa. Now a province of Italy, with an area of 1,588 sq. m. The Genoa, ( jen'o - d .) [It. Genova . A celebrated fortified maritime city of N. Italy, (and birthplace of Christopher Columbus,) once the cap. of an independent republic, and now of the above province, at the head of the gulf of the same name; 75 m. S.E. of Turin, and 90 N.W. of Leghorn. G. is built round, but principally on the E. side of its port, which is semicircular, the chord being about 1 m. in length. Two gigantic moles ( Molo vecchio and Molo nuovo ) project into the sea from either angle, and inclose and protect the harbor. The land on which the city is built rises amphitheatre-wise round the water's edge to the height of from 500 to 600 ft., so that its aspect from the sea is strikingly grand and imposing. The white, snowy houses form streets at the base of the acclivity, while the upper part is thickly studded with detached villas. Behind all, the A pennines are seen towering at the distance of 10 or 12 m., their summits snow-covered during a part of the year. The older or E. portion of the city consists of a labyrinth of exce ively narrow, crooked, and dark streets, their breadth being generally no more than from 6 to 12 ft.; they are, however, paved with broad flags of lava, and present the smoothne and durability of good masonry. newer part of the city, which stretches along the N. side of the port, is more regularly laid out, and contains some broad and very handsome streets, one of which, the Strada Balbi , is entirely formed of palaces, more magnificent than those of Rome, and neater in their interior. In Italy, G. has acquired, and deserves, the title of Genova la Superb a. It exhibits fewer remains of ancient splendor than Venice, but more actual wealth and comfort. Its most splendid palaces are the two Palazzi Doria , in one of which the emperors Charles V. and Napoleon I. resided during their stay in Genoa; the other is now a residence of the king of Italy. The Durazzo , Serra, Spinola , Balbi , Brignole , Cariega , Mari , and Palla vic in i palaces are among the most remarkable of the others. The ancient palace of the Doges was almost wholly destroyed by fire in 1777, but the modern building erected on its site is a fine structure, and contains the city council-hall. G. po e es many fine, but too gaudily decorated churches. There are here, too, 3 large hospitals, the Exchange, the old bank of St. George, and 3 fine theatres; the university is also a fine building. G. has, likewise, a royal college, a naval school, a good public library of 50,000 vols., and numerous learned societies and schools. The harbor of G. is excellent, having a light-house, a refitting dock, and an arsenal. Clam. Healthy. Inhab. The women of G. have long been quoted for their exceptional beauty; while, as fishers and seamen, her sons have been celebrated for generations, throughout Europe, for their intrepidity and spirit of enterprise. G. is the entrepôt of a large extent of country, and her commerce, though inferior to what it once was, is still very considerable. She is a free port. The various duties and cus. tom-house fees formerly charged on the transit of goods through Genoa and the Italian territories have recently been abolished. The Bank of St. George, here, was one of the oldest banks of circulation in Europe, (see BANKING.) Manuf. Velvets, silks, damasks, paper, soap, and articles in marble, alabaster, and coral.- G . is of great antiquity. After a variety of vici itudes she became, in the 11th century, the cap. of an independent republic; and was early distinguished for the extent of her commerce, and by her settlements and dependencies in various parts of the Mediterranean and of the Black Sea. Their conflicting pretensions and interests involved the Genoese in long-continued contests with the rival republics of Pisa and Venice. The struggle with the latter, from 1376 to 1382, is one of the most memo rable in the Italian annals of the Middle Ages. The Genoese having defeated the Venetians at Pola, penetrated to the lagoons which surrounded Venice, and took Chioggia. Had they immediately followed up this succe , the probability is that they would have taken Venice; but having procrastinated, the Venetians recovered from their consternation, and compelled the Genoese to retire. The ascendancy of Venice dates from this period. The government of G. was long the most turbulent that can be imagined; and the city was agitated by continual contests between the nobility and the citizens, and between sections of the nobility themselves Fig . 1138. A GENOESE FISHER. For their protection, the citizens placed themselves, at different periods, under the protection of France, the Marquis of Montferrat, and the dukes of Milan. Indeed, from 1464 down to 1528, G. was regarded as a depen- dency of the latter. In the last-named year, however, it recovered its independence, and was, at the same time, subjected to a more aristocratical government. In 1576 further modifications were made in the constitution, after which it enjoyed a lengthened period of tranquillity. The conquest of Constantinople, and of the countries round the Black Sea, by the Turks, and the discovery of the pa age to India by the Cape of Good Hope, proved destructive of a great portion of the Genoese trade. G. was, also, succe ively stripped of all her foreign po es- sions. Corsica, the last of her dependencies, revolted in 1730, and was ceded to France in 1768. In 1797 G. was occupied by the French. Pop . (1895) 214,310 . Gen'oa, in Illinois , a post-village and township of De Kalb co., about 220 miles N. by E. of Springfield. Pop . (1897) 724. Genoa, in Iowa , a post-village of Wayne co., about 16 m. S. E. of Corydon. Genoa, in Michigan , a township of Livings ton co. Genoa, in Nebraska , a post-village of Nauce co. Genoa, in Nevada , a post-village, cap. of Douglas co., on Carson river, near the E. base of the Sierra Nevada, about 14 miles S. of Carson City. Genoa, in New York , a post-village and township of Cayuga co., on Cayuga lake, about 160 miles W. of Albany. Genoa, in Ohio , a township of Delaware co., on the C., Mt. V., and C. R. R. -A post-village of Ottawa co., about 15 m. S.E. of Toledo. -A village of Pick away co., about 14 miles S. by W. of Columbus. Now called COMMERCIAL POINT, a post-vill. Genoa, in Wisconsin , a post-township of Vernon co. Genoa Bluff, in Iowa , a post-village of Iowa co. Genoese', a . Of, or belonging to, Genoa. -n. sing. and pl . A native or inhabitant of Genoa. Genouillere, ( zhnool - yare ',) n. [Fr. genoa ; Lat. genu , the knee.] ( Mil . ) In fortification, the part of the in- terior slope of the parapet below the sill of an embras- ure. It covers the lower part of the gun-carriage. - In armor of the 14th century, the knee-piece or knee-bow. Genre, ( zhon'r ,) n. [Fr.] ( Painting .) A term applied to expre a cla of pictures which belong to none of the higher or specific cla es of art. It refers common- ly, as the full French expre ion implies, to ordinary scenes of vulgar life. Yet a peintre de genre, or genre- painter, is not nece arily a painter of low subjects, nor need a genre picture be vulgar in the common accept a- tion of the word. The Dutch are the great G. painters. Gens, [Lat.] ( Rom . Hist .) A clan or sect, forming a sub- division of the Roman people next in order to the curia or tribe. The members and houses ( familia ) compos- ing one of these clans were not nece arily united by ties of blood, but were originally brought together by a po- litical distribution of the citizens, and bound by re- ligious rites, and a common name, derived generally from some eponymous hero. This common name, which dis- tinguished the gentiles or members of the same clan, was the second of the three borne by a Roman citizen, and was specially termed the nomen. It is supposed that each of the curies originally contained ten gentes , and that each of these was represented in the senate by one of its members. as an anthelmintic. It may be administered in the form species are G. pneumonanthe , the Calathi an violet, a fine of infusion, tincture, or extract. Among the American plant, with large, showy violet or blue flowers; and G. catesbæi , that is often used as a substitute for the offici- nal gentian, from which it differs only by the color of its flowers, which are blue, while those of the foreign gen- tian are yellow. Gentian a'ceæ, n. pl. ( Bot .) An order of plants, al- liance Gentian a les . DIAG. No stipules, simple stigmas regular flowers. They are herbs, or rarely shrubs, usu- at the end of a manifest style, parietal placentæ, and ally smooth. Leaves usually simple, entire, opposite, se ile, and strongly ribbed; rarely alternate, or stalked, or compound; always exstipulate. Flowers almost al- ways regular, variously colored, axillary or terminal. Calyx inferior, persistent, usually with five divisions, occasionally four, six, eight, or ten. Corolla persistent, Stamens as many as the segments of the corolla, and al- its divisions corresponding in number to those of the calyx; æstivation imbricate, twisted or in duplicate. ternate with them. Ovary 1-celled, or rarely partially IMG:content-0342.png:[graphic] Gen'tian in, or GENTIANIC ACID, n. (Chem.) A crys- tallizable body contained in Gentian root, or which con- stitutes its bitter principle. Gen'til, n. [Fr. faucon - gentil .] A species of falcon or Gen'tile, n . [Lat. gentil is , from gens , a race or family.] hawk, supposed to be the Goshawk, Astur palumbarius . ( Script .) A pagan, or worshipper of idols. The Jews cla ed all the inhabitants of the earth, with the excер- tion of their own peculiar race, under the general name of goïm , which is equivalent to the Latin gentes , nations; and after a time the term Gentiles began to be applied in a reproachful instead of a general sense. All who were not circumcised and Jews, were regarded as Gen- tiles or heathens, and as such they were excluded as much as po ible from all those privileges and relations by which the Jewish nation became so exalted. As the Gentiles were, consequently, considered as outcasts and aliens from the favor of God, it is not much to be won- dered at that the Jews were very prejudiced against a footing with the Jews. Those of the Gentiles who em- Saviour and a Gospel which inculcated the union of the two different sects, and placed the Gentiles on an equal braced Judaism, but were not Jews, were called prose- lytes; and the term Greeks , which is used often in the Gen'tile, a . ( Gram .) Denoting a family, race, or nation; New Testament, is sometimes identical with Gentiles. -Belonging to pagans or heathens. Gen'tilism, n. [Fr. gentil is me . See GENTILE.] Heathen- as, American, German, Irish, . are gentile adjectives. Gentil'ity, n. [Fr. gentil ité , from gentil ; Lat. gentil is .] ism; paganism. Politene of manners; easy, graceful behavior; the Gentlemen-at-Arms. ( Eng . Hist .) A corps of 40 gentlemen whose duties are to attend the sovereign on state occasions. The corps was established by Henry VI. in 1509, under the name of The Band of Gentle- men Pensioners. It consisted entirely of men of noble blood, and was called His Majesty's Honorable Corps of Gentlemen-at- Arms by William IV. in 1834, and is now recruited entirely from retired army officers. -Mild treatment; suavity. Gen tlewoman, n. A woman of good family or breed- ing; a lady; a woman above the vulgar.-A woman who waits upon the person of a lady of high rank. Gen'tlene , n. Softne of manners; mildne of banity of manners, or disposition; meekne ; tenderne . temper; sweetne of disposition; courteousne or ur- Gen'tly, adv . Softly; tenderly; meekly; kindly; with- Gentry, ( jen'try ,) n. [Corrupted from gentlery .] In out roughne or asperity. England, people of birth, property, and good breeding. -The quality of people between the nobility and the trading cla es. Gentry, in Arkansas , a post-office of Benton co. Gentry, in Mi ouri , a N.N.W. co.; area , about 450 sq. miles. Rivers. Grand river, and numerous smaller Gentryville, in Indiana , a post-village of Spencer co., Gentry's Mills, in Georgia , a P. O. of Dawson co. streams. Surface , generally level; soil , fertile. Cap . Albany. Pop . (1890) 19,018. Gentryville, in Mi ouri , a post-town of Gentry co., about 17 miles N. of Rock port. about 90 miles N. of Independence. Genuflexion, Genuflection, n. [Fr., from Lat. Gen'uine, a. [Lat. genu in us .] Natural; belonging to genuflectio, from genu , the knee, and flectere , to bend.] loyed; not spurious, false, or adulterated; as, a genuine The act of bending the knee, more especially in worship. the original stock; real; pure; veritable; true; unal- article. The American Dictionary and Cyclopedia Gen'uinely, adv. Without adulteration or foreign admixture; naturally; purely.