Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VII.djvu/747

GERBOA the centre course still shows marks of chariot wheels. The walls, which are pierced by three ornamented gateways, and flanked by occasional towers, are in tolerable preservation. Outside is an extensive necropolis ; 200 yards N. E. is a large reservoir, and near it can be traced an aqueduct. The river and valley are crossed by two bridges. f There are two grand baths, and inscriptions, chiefly of the time of Anto- ninus Pius, but in general much defaced, are met with in all directions. Mention of Gerasa is first made by Josephus, who states that King Alexander Jannseus, after subduing Pella, at- tacked and captured it, about 85 B. 0. It is referred to by Greek and Roman writers, but no details of its history are given. After the Roman conquests in the East the district around Gerasa became one of their favorite colonies. It was burned by the Jews at the commence- ment of their war with the Romans, and taken again by Annius, one of Vespasian's generals. Half a century later it attained its greatest prosperity. On the rise of Christianity it be- came the seat of a bishop. In 1122 Baldwin II. captured it and destroyed the castle. GERBOA. See JEEBOA. GERDIL, Hyacinthe Sigismond, a Savoyard phi- losopher, born at Samoens, June 23, 1718, died in Rome, Aug. 12, 1802. He became a Barna- bite, studied theology in Bologna, won the friendship of Cardinal Lambertini, afterward Pope Benedict XIV., and became pro%sor of philosophy at Macerata, at Casale, and finally at Turin. Refusing the dignity of general of his' order, he became tutor to the prince of Piedmont, afterward Charles Emanuel IV. of Sardinia, the rich abbey of Chiusa being given him, whose revenues he devoted to charity. His first works were Eclaircissements sur la notion et la dimsibilite de Vetendue geometrique (Turin, 1741), and Immaterialite de Vdme de- montree contre Locke (1747). To these works succeeded almost every year until his death others in Latin, French, or Italian, on ques- tions of theology, philosophy, physical or mathematical science, and sociology. He was created a cardinal in petto by Clement XIV., and officially proclaimed as such in 1777 by Pius VI. Appointed prefect of the Propa- ganda, protector of the Maronites, and cor- rector of oriental publications, he led in Rome a life of the most laborious poverty. He sold his library in 1798 in order to support himself, followed Pius VI. to Siena, and would have been unanimously chosen by the conclave as his successor, if the fact of his being a native of Savoy, then a part of France, had not caused Austria to oppose him. His complete works were published in Rome (20 vols. 8vo, 180G-'21). An edition of his select works in 12 vols. was begun in Paris in 1826, but only 2 vols. have appeared. In 1863 Migne published a selection of his theological works in 1 vol. large 8vo. GERDY, Pierre Nicolas, a French physiologist, born atLoches, Aube, May 1, 1797, died in Paris, 354 VOL. vii. 47 GERHARDT 735 March 18, 1856. In 1834 he became professor m the Paris faculty of medicine, and in 1837 was elected a member of the academy of medi- cine. His treatment of physiology was sys- tematic rather than experimental, and he car- ried to an extreme degree the doctrine of the so-called vital properties residing in as many different organs and tissues of the body, and accounted directly for the phenomena of life, without any reference to the action of physical or chemical forces. His publications were nu- merous and varied in character, most of them appearing in the medical journals or in the bulletins of the academy of medicine. He also wrote Anatomie des formes exterieures, appli- quee a la peinture, a la sculpture et a la clii- rurgie (1829) ; Traite des bandages et des panse- ments (1837-' 9) ; Physiologic pJiilosophique des sensations et de V intelligence (1846) ; and CM- rurgie pratique, uncompleted (1851-'5). GERFALCON, or Jerfalcon. See FALCON. GERHARD, Eduard, a German archaeologist, born in Posen, Nov. 29, 1795, died May 12, 1867. Resigning a professorship at Breslau on account of weak eyes, he travelled in Italy, and resided 15 years in Rome. He was engaged on Platner's Beschreibung der Stadt Rom, planned by Niebuhr, and then directed by Bunsen, for which he undertook to furnish a complete ac- count of the sources of knowledge concerning ancient Roman topography, under the title of Scriptores de Regionibus trbis. When in 1828 the crown prince of Prussia visited Italy, Ger- hard accompanied him to Naples, and obtained his protection for the Instituto di corrispon- denza archeologica, founded at Rome, of which Gerhard was director until his return to Prus- sia in 1837. He was afterward appointed archaeologist of the royal museum at Berlin, professor in the university of that city, and member of the academy of sciences. Among his numerous writings are : AntiTce BildwerTce (Stuttgart, 1827-'44, with 140 copperplate il- lustrations) ; Auserlesene GriecMsche Vasen- Ulder (4 vols., Berlin, 1839-'58, with 330 plates); GriecJiische und EtruslciscJie Trink- schalen (1840); EtruslciscJie und Campanische Vasenbilder (1843) ; TrinlcscTialen und Gefasse (2 parts, 1848-'50) ; and Ueber die Hermen- lilder auf GriecJiiscJien Vasen (1856). GERHARDT, Charles Frederic, a French chem- ist, born in Strasburg, Aug. 21, 1816, died there, Aug. 19, 1856. The son of a manufac- turer of chemical products, he studied in 1835 in Liebig's laboratory at Giessen, and in 1844 was appointed professor at Montpellier, where he remained four years. He returned to Paris and established a private laboratory, in which he continued his researches till 1855, publish- ing papers upon homologous series, the theory of types, the anhydrous acids, and the starch- es. In 1855 he accepted the chair of chemistry and pharmacy at Strasburg. Among his most important publications is the Traite de chimie organique (4 vols. 8vo, 1853-'6), upon which he was occupied a large portion of his life, and in