chair of theology; but this did not prevent him from following out his philosophical studies. He published a continuation of his Elements of dIetctphg/sics ; but with every new volume he experienced fresh opposition from the par- tisans of scholastic routine. Among these were Cardinal Spinelli, archbishop of Naples, and an Abbé Magli, whom Genovesi covered with ridicule in his work entitled Lettere ml an Amico Provinciale. In spite of this, Geuovesi ob- tained the approbation of Pope Benedict XIV, of several cardinals, and of most of the learned men of Italy. Of this number was Intieri, a Florentine, who founded at his own expense, in the university of Naples, the first Italian chair of political economy, under three conditions—namely, that the lectures should be in Italian, that Genovesi should be the first professor, and that, after his death, no ecclesiastie
should succeed him.Genovesi commenced his first course of lectures on the 5th of November 1754 with great sncccss,——the novelty and the interest of the subject, and the eloquent style and agreeable manner of the professor, attracting a crowd of auditors. He afterwards published his Lectures on Com- merce, and Carey’s Account (3f the Trade of England, trans- lated into Italian by his brother, with notes by himself. The Lezio-ni di Conunercio is the first complete and system- atic work in Italian on the science which Italians have done much to advance. On the whole it is to be included among works of the Mercantile school, but in treatment of fundamental problems, such as labour and money, it is distinguished by fairness and breadth of view. Specially noteworthy are the sections on human wants as foundation of economical theory, on labour as the source of wealth, on personal services as economic factors, and on the united working of the great industrial functions. Gioja’s more important treatise owes much to Genovesi’s lectures.
Till his death in 1709 Genovesi continued his labours at the university of Naples, which owes much of its celebrity to the solidity and excellence of his teaching. It cannot be said that Genovesi takes a high rank in philosophy, but he did much to introduce into Italy the new order of ideas, and his exposition of philosophical doctrines is fair and lucid. His work on .llctaphysics, divided into the four rubrics, Oatosophy, ('osmosophy, Theosophy, Psychosophy, distinguished by its solid crudition, is an excellent specimen of the precritical or dogmatic method of handling specula- tive problems. His merits in political economy have been indicated above. (For list of works see Fabroni’s Lives.)
GENSERIC, or Genserich, king of the Vandals, and the most formidable of the Gothic invaders of the Roman empire, was the natural son of Godegiselus the founder of a Vandal kingdom in Spain, and was born at Seville about 406. Though he was only of middle stature, and had a lameness of one leg, such was his renown as a warrior that on the death of his brother Gonderic in 427 he was chosen to succeed him on the throne. At the invitation of Boniface, the Roman general in Africa, who wished to revolt against Valentinian III., Genseric in 429 crossed into Africa, and took possession of Mauretania. Soon afterwards he besieged Boniface in Hippo Regius, and compelled him after a defence of fourteen months to seek safety by a precipitate embarkation, leaving his soldiers and their families to the ruthless cruelty of the Vandals. In 435 Genseric concluded a treaty with the Romans by which he retained possession of western Numidia and Mauretania; but peace was not of long duration, and in October 39 he captured Carthage, which he made the capital of his kingdom. Genseric was an Arian, and cruelly persecuted the orthodox Catholics in Africa. In 455 at the invitation of Eudoxia, who wished to be revenged on Maximus the murderer of her husband Valentinian, he fitted out an expedition against Rome, and after storming the city, gave it up during fourteen days to be pillaged by his soldiers. Eudoxia and her daughters he carried captive to Carthage, where she was retained in prison till 462. Two attempts were made by the Romans to avenge themselves on the barbarians,—the first by Majorian, emperor of the West, in 457, and the second by Leo, emperor of the East, in 468. Both attempts, however, signally failed, and in 475 Leo’s successor Zeno concluded a truce. Genseric’s dominion ultimately included Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, and the Balearic isles; and he even extended his conquests to Thrace, Egypt, and Asia Minor. He died in 477. He was cruel to blood-thirstiness, cunning, unscrupulous, and grasping; but he possessed great military talents, and his manner of life was austere. Though the effect of his victories was neutralized by the subsequent successes of Belisarius, his name long remained the glory of the Vandal tribes.
GENTIAN, botanically Gentz'a-na, a large and typical genus of herbaceous plants forming the type of the natural order G'enticmaceaf. The genus comprises about 180 species, —most of them perennial plants growing in hilly or moun- tainous districts, chiefly in the northern hemisphere, some of the blue-flowered species ascending to a height of 16,000 feet in the Himalaya mountains. The leaves are opposite, entire, and smooth, and often strongly ribbed. The flowers are furnished with a persistent calyx and corolla, which is usually 4— or 5-parted, but occasionally 10-parted; the stamens are equal in number to the lobes of the corolla. The ovary is one-celled, with two stigmas, either separate and rolled back or contiguous and funnel—shaped. The fruit when ripe separates into two valves, and contains numerous small seeds. The majority of the genus are remarkable for the deep or brilliant blue colour of their blossoms, comparatively few having yellow, white, or more rarely red flowers; the last are almost exclusively found in the Andes.
Only a few species occur in Britain. G. Amarclla and G. cam- pcstris are small annual species growing 011 chalky or calcareous hills, and bear, in autumn, somewhat tubular pale purple flowers ; the latter is most easily distinguished by having two of the lobes of the calyx larger than the other two, while the former has the parts of the calyx in fives, and equal in size. Some intermediate forms between these two species occur, although rarely, in England; one of these, G. germam'ca, “'illd., has larger flowers of a more blue tint, spreading branches, and a stouter stem. Some of these forms flower in spring. G. Pneumona-nthc, the Calathian violet, is a rather rare perennial species, growing in moist heathy places from Cumberland to Dorsetshirc. Its average height is from 6 to 9 inches. It has linear leaves, and a bright blue corolla 1,1z inches long, marked externally with five greenish bands, is without hairs in its throat, and is found in perfection about the end of August. It is the handsomest of the British species ; two varieties of it are known in cultivation, one with spotted and the other with white flowers. G. coma and G. niz'alis are small species with brilliant blue flowers and small leaves. The former is a rare and local perennial, occurring, however, in Teesdale and the county of Clare in Ireland in tolerable abundance. It hasa tufted habit of growth, and each stem bears only one flower. It is sometimes cultivated as an edging for flower borders. G. niralz's in Britain occurs only on a few of the lofticst Scotch mountains. It differs from the last in being an annual, and having a more isolated habit of growth, and in the stem bearing several flowers. On the Swiss mountains these beautiful little plants are very abundant; and the splendid blue colour of masses of gentian in flower is a sight which, when once seen, can never be forgotten. For ornamental purposes several species are cultivated. The great difficulty of growing them suc- cessfully renders them, however, less common than would otherwise be the case ; although very hardy when once established, they are very impatient of removal, and rarely flower well until. the third year after planting. Of the ornamental spec1es found in British gardens some of the prettiest are G. amulis, G. 'rcrna, G. pyrcnmca, G. bavarz'ca, G. scptcnrfida, and G. gelida. Perhaps the liandsomest and most easily grown is the first named, often called Gentza-niclla, which produces its large intensely blue flowers early in the spring.
an intense but pure bitter taste and tonic properties.
About forty species are used in medicine 1n different parts