The Nuttall Encyclopaedia Part 223

along the western base of the Wahsatch Mountains, about 4200 ft. above the sea-level; it is from 20 to 32 m. broad, and very shallow; Antelope Island, 18 m. long, is the largest island; the coast is rugged and desolate; its clear waters hold no fish, and the surplus inflow is carried off by evaporation only.

GREAT SLAVE LAKE, 300 m. long and 50 at its greatest breadth; lies within the Canadian NW. Territory; the Mackenzie River carries its overflow to the Arctic Ocean.

GREAT UNKNOWN, THE, author of "Waverley" and Waverley novels.

GREAT UNWASHED, THE, the artisan cla.s.s.

GREATHEART, in the "Pilgrim's Progress," the guide of Christiana and her family to the Celestial City.

GREECE (2,187), a kingdom of S. Europe occupying the southern portion of a peninsula which projects into the Mediterranean between the peninsula of Italy and the mainland of Turkey in Asia; the N. is bounded by Turkey in Europe; it is made up of the N. and S. divisions connected by the narrow and ca.n.a.lled isthmus of Corinth, the Ionian Islands in the W., and the Cyclades and Sporades in the E.; it is a mountainous region, and many of the peaks are rich in cla.s.sic a.s.sociations, e. g. Olympus, Parna.s.sus, and Helicon; the rivers are of no great size, and the lakes though numerous are inconsiderable; in the valleys the soil is fertile and agriculture is actively engaged in, although the methods adopted are still somewhat primitive; but favoured by a delightful climate the vine, olive, and other fruit-trees flourish; currants are the chief article of export, and textiles and cereals the princ.i.p.al imports; milling, dyeing, distilling, and tanning are important industries; various minerals are found, and the marble from Paros is famed as the finest for statue carving; there is a considerable mercantile marine, and a busy s.h.i.+pping trade of a small kind among the islands and along the deeply indented coast, and also valuable coral and sponge fisheries; the government is a limited and hereditary monarchy, and the legislative power is vested in an elected chamber of, at least, 150 paid representatives, called the Boul[=e]; universal suffrage obtains, and the period of election is for four years; the bulk of the people belong to the established Greek Church, but in Thessaly and Epirus there are about 25,000 Mohammedans; education is free and compulsory, but is badly administered, and a good deal of illiteracy exists; the glory of Greece lies in her past, in the imperishable monuments of her ancient literature and art; by 146 B.C.

she had fallen before the growing power of the Romans and along with the rest of the Byzantine or Eastern empire was overrun by the Turks in A.D.

1453; her renascence as a modern nation took place between 1821 and 1829, when she threw off the Turkish yoke and rea.s.serted her independence, which she had anew to attempt by arms in 1897, this time with humiliation and defeat, till the other powers of Europe came to the rescue, and put a check to the arrogance of the high-handed Turk.

GREEK or EASTERN CHURCH, that section of the Church which formerly separated from the Roman or Western in 1054, which a.s.sumed an independent existence on account of the arrogant claims of the latter, and which acknowledges the authority of only the first seven general councils; they dissent from the _FILIOQUE_ DOCTRINE (q. v.), administer the Eucharist in both kinds to the laity, and are zealously conservative of the orthodoxy of the Church.

GREEK FIRE, a combustible of highly inflammable quality, but of uncertain composition, used by the Greeks of the Byzantine Empire against the Saracens; a source of great terror to those who were a.s.sailed by it, as it was difficult to extinguish, so difficult that it was said to burn under water.

GREELEY, HORACE, American journalist and politician, born at Amherst, New Hamps.h.i.+re, the son of a poor farmer; was bred a printer, and in 1831 settled in New York; in a few years he started a literary paper the _New Yorker_, and shortly afterwards made a more successful venture in the _Log Cabin_, a political paper, following that up by founding the _New York Tribune_ in 1841, and merging his former papers in the _Weekly Tribune_; till his death he advocated temperance, anti-slavery, socialistic and protectionist principles in these papers; in 1848 he entered Congress and became a prominent member of the Republican party; he visited Europe, and was chairman of one of the juries of the Great Exhibition; in 1872 he unsuccessfully opposed Grant for the Presidency; in religion he was a Universalist; his works include "The American Conflict," "Recollections," "Essays," &c. (1811-1872).

GREEN, JOHN RICHARD, historian, born at Oxford; took orders, and was for a time vicar of St. Philip's, Stepney, contributing articles the while on historical subjects to the _Sat.u.r.day Review_, and pursuing his historical studies with a zeal that undermined his health; in 1874 he published his "Short History of the English People," which was speedily adopted in schools, and was accepted at large as one of the ablest summaries of the history of the country; the welcome with which this small work was received induced the author to essay a larger, which he accordingly by-and-by published in 4 volumes, and which he dedicated to "My Masters in the study of English History, Bishop Stubbs and Professor Freeman"; this was followed by "The Making of England" and "The Conquest of England," the latter being published after his decease (1837-1883).

GREEN, NATHANAEL, a celebrated American general, born at Warwick, Rhode Island; though the son of a Quaker, he promptly took up arms on the outbreak of hostilities with the mother-country, and in 1775, as brigadier-general, headed the force in Rhode Island; his gallant conduct at the battles of Princeton and Brandywine won him promotion, and in 1780 he was advanced to the command of the army of the south; after a temporary reverse from Cornwallis at Guildford Court, he conducted his operations with so much success that, with the crowning victory at Eutaw Springs (1781), he cleared the British from the States; his last days were spent on his estate in Georgia, a gift from government in recognition of his services; next to Was.h.i.+ngton he was the great hero of the war (1742-1788).

GREEN, THOMAS HILL, philosopher, born in Yorks.h.i.+re; studied at Balliol College, Oxford; was elected a Fellow and became eventually Whyte's professor of Moral Philosophy; his philosophy had a Kantian root, developed to a certain extent on the lines of Hegel, which, however, he applied less in speculative than a spiritual interest, though he was not slow, on the ground of it, to a.s.sail the evolution theory of Herbert Spencer and G. H. Lewes; he was a great moral force in Oxford, and that apart from his philosophical speculations, though there can be little doubt that the philosophy which he had embraced was a potent element in his moral character and his influence; his views on the purely spiritual nature and derivation of the Christian religion have, since his death, attracted attention, and are regarded with some anxiety by those whose faith requires a historical basis (1838-1882).

GREENBACKS, a name given to the inconvertible paper currency issued in the United States during the Civil War, so called from the colour of the notes, bonds, &c.; the name has since been popularly applied to the paper money of the States; the notes were made convertible in 1879.

GREENLAND (11), an extensive but imperfectly defined territory lying mostly within the Arctic circle to the NE. of North America, from which it is separated by Davis Strait and Baffin Bay; the area is variously estimated from 512,000 to 320,000 sq. m.; the land lies submerged beneath a vast plain of ice, pierced here and there by mountain tops, but it is conjectured to consist of one large island-continent engirt by groups of smaller islands; only on the S. coast, during the meagre summer, is there any appearance of vegetation; there is a great variety of birds, and the animals include the wolf, fox, bear, reindeer, musk ox, and Arctic hare, while whales, seals, and many kinds of fish are found; the inhabitants are chiefly Esquimaux, but there are some Danish settlements, begun in 1721, and the trade is a Danish monopoly; the country was known in early times to the Scandinavians (of whose settlements there are interesting remains), and was rediscovered by John Davis in 1585.

GREENOCK (63), a flouris.h.i.+ng seaport of Renfrews.h.i.+re, on the Firth of Clyde, 22 m. W. of Glasgow; it stretches some 4 m. along the sh.o.r.e and climbs the hill slopes behind, whence it commands a splendid view of the river and Highlands beyond; the west end is handsomely laid out, and contains some fine buildings, including the Watt Inst.i.tute, with library of 130,000 vols.; the harbourage is excellent, and favours a large foreign s.h.i.+pping trade; the staple industries are s.h.i.+pbuilding, engineering, spinning, sugar-refining, &c.; coal and iron are the chief exports, and sugar and timber the largest imports.

GREENOUGH, HORATIO, an American sculptor, spent most of his life in Rome and Florence; executed the colossal statue of Was.h.i.+ngton in front of the Capitol in Was.h.i.+ngton City, and a group of figures ent.i.tled "The Rescue" (1803-1852).

GREENWICH (78), an important borough of Kent (officially within the county of London), on the Thames, 5 m. SE. of London Bridge; its active industries embrace engineering, telegraph works, chemical works, &c.; the Royal Observatory, founded by Charles II. in 1675, occupies a commanding site within the Park; it is from this point that degrees of longitude with us are reckoned.

GREENWICH HOSPITAL, founded in 1694 by Queen Mary after designs by Christopher Wren, was from 1705 till 1869 an asylum for disabled sailors; since then the funds, amounting to 167,259 a year, have been distributed in pensions and also utilised for the upkeep of Greenwich Hospital Schools (where 1000 children of seamen receive board and education); since 1873 this hospital has served as the college for the Royal Navy.

GREENWOOD, FREDERICK, publicist and journalist; editor of _Cornhill Magazine_, author of Life of Napoleon III., "Lover's Lexicon," and "Dreams"; _b_. 1830.

GREG, WILLIAM RATHBONE, literary and political essayist, born in Manchester; in 1856 became a Commissioner of Customs, and from 1864 till his resignation in 1877 acted as Controller of H.M. Stationery Office; his works embrace "The Creed of Christendom," "Enigmas of Life,"

"Political Problems," &c., and are marked by vigorous thought couched in a lucid, incisive style; was from his evil prognostications designated Ca.s.sandra Greg (1809-1881).

GReGOIRE, HENRI, bishop of Blois, born at Veho, near Luneville, one of the clerical deputies to the States-General of 1789; attached himself to the Tiers-etat, was a member of the National Convention, and a staunch advocate for civil and religious liberty, but refused resolutely to follow "Goose Gobel," the archbishop of Paris, and renounce the Christian religion and deny his Master (1750-1831). See CARLYLE'S "FRENCH REVOLUTION."

GREGORIAN CALENDAR, the regulation of the year according to the correction introduced by Gregory XIII. in 1582 of the Julian calendar, which allowed the year 11 minutes and 10 seconds too much.

GREGORIAN YEAR, the civil year according to the correction of the Gregorian calendar.

GREGORY, the name of 16 popes: G. I., the Great, Pope from 590 to 604; G. II., st., pope from 715 to 731; G. III., Pope from 731 to 741; G. IV., pope from 827 to 844; G. V., Pope from 996 to 997; G. VI., pope from 1045 to 1046; G. VII., Pope from 1073 to 1085; G. VIII., pope in 1187; G. IX., Pope from 1227 to 1241; G. X., pope from 1271 to 1276; G. XI, Pope from 1370 to 1378; G. XII., pope from 1406 to 1415; G. XIII., Pope from 1572 to 1585; G. XIV., pope from 1590 to 1591; G. XV., Pope from 1621 to 1623; G. XVI., Pope from 1831 1846. Of these the following are worthy of note:--

GREGORY I., THE GREAT, and ST., born in Rome, son of a senator; made praetor of Rome; relinquished the office and became a monk; devoted himself to the regulation of church wors.h.i.+p (inst.i.tuting, among other things, the liturgy of the Ma.s.s), to the reformation of the monks and clergy, and to the propagation of the faith; saw some fair-haired British youths in the slave-market at Rome one day; on being told they were Angles, he said they should be Angels, and resolved from that day on the conversion of the nation they belonged to, and sent over seas for that purpose a body of monks under Augustin.

GREGORY II., ST., born at Rome and bred a Benedictine; is celebrated for his zeal in promoting the independence of the Church and the supremacy of the see of Rome, and for his defence of the use of images in wors.h.i.+p.

GREGORY III., born in Syria; was successor of Gregory II., and carried out the same policy to the territorial aggrandis.e.m.e.nt of the Holy See at a time when it might have been overborne by secular invasions.

GREGORY VII., HILDEBRAND, born in Tuscany; bred up as a monk in a life of severe austerity, he became sensible of the formidable evils tending to the corruption of the clergy, due to their dependence on the Emperor for invest.i.ture into their benefices, and he set himself with all his might to denounce the usurpation and prohibit the practice, to the extent of one day ex-communicating certain bishop who had submitted to the royal claim and those who had invested them; his conduct roused the Emperor, Henry IV., who went the length of deposing him, upon which the Pope retaliated with a threat of excommunication; it ended in the final submission of Henry at CANOSSA (q. v.); the terms of submission imposed were intolerable, and Henry broke them, elected a Pope of his own, entered Rome, was crowned by him, and besieged Gregory in San Angelo, from which Guiscard delivered him to retire to Salerno, where he died, 1035; he was a great man and a good Pope.

GREGORY IX., UGOLINO, born in Campania; had during his pontificate contests with the Emperor Barbarossa, whom he twice over excommunicated; was the personal friend of St. Francis of a.s.sisi, whom he canonised; died at a very advanced age.

GREGORY XIII., born in Bologna; was skilled in canon law; distinguished himself in the Council of Trent, and by his zeal against the Protestants; celebrated the Bartholomew Ma.s.sacre by public thanksgivings in Rome, and reformed the calendar.

GREGORY XVI., born at Belluno; occupied the Papal chair at a time of great civil commotion, and had much to do to stem the revolutionary movements of the time; developed ultramontanist notions, and paved the way for the hierarchical policy of his successor Pio Nono.

GREGORY n.a.z.iANZEN, ST., bishop of Constantinople, born in Cappadocia; studied in Athens, where he became the friend of St. Basil, and held discussions with Julian, afterwards emperor and apostate, who was also studying there; had been bishop of n.a.z.ianzus before he was raised by Theodosius to the bishopric of Constantinople, which he held only for a year, at the end of which he retired into solitude; he was the champion of orthodoxy, a defender of the doctrine of the Trinity, and famed for his invectives against Julian; he has left writings that have made his name famous, besides letters, sermons, and poems (328-389).

Festival, May 9.