Chapter 8

Bibliography.—A. Neander,Genetische Entwicklung d. vornehmsten gnostischen Systeme(Berlin, 1818); F. Chr. Baur,Die christl. Gnosis in ihrer geschichtl. Entwicklung(Tübingen, 1835); E. W. Möller,Gesch. der Kosmologie in der griechischen Kirche bis Origenes(Halle, 1860); R. A. Lipsius,Der Gnosticismus(Leipzig, 1860; originally in Ersch and Gruber’sEncyclopädie); H. L. Mansel,The Gnostic Heresies of the 1st and 2nd Centuries(London, 1875); K. Kepler,Über Gnosis und altbabylonische Religion, a lecture delivered at the Congress of Orientalists (Berlin, 1881); A. Hilgenfeld,Ketzergeschichte des Urchristentums(Leipzig, 1884); and inZtschr. für wissenschaftl. Theol.1890, i. “Der Gnosticismus”; A. Harnack,Dogmengeschichte, i. 271 seq. (cf. the corresponding sections of theDogmengeschichtenof Loofs and Seeberg); W. Anz, “Zur Frage nach dem Ursprung des Gnosticismus,”Texte u. Untersuchungen, xv. 4 (Leipzig, 1897); R. Liechtenhahn,Die Offenbarung im Gnosticismus(Göttingen, 1901); C. Schmidt, “Plotins Stellung zum Gnosticismus u. kirchl. Christentum”Texte u. Untersuch.xx. 4 (1902); E. de Faye,Introduction à l’étude du Gnosticisme(Paris, 1903); R. Reitzenstein,Poimandres(Leipzig, 1904); G. Krüger, article “Gnosticismus” in Herzog-Hauck’sRealencyklopädie(3rd ed.) vi. 728 ff.; Bousset, “Hauptprobleme der Gnosis,”Forschungen z. Relig. u. Lit. d. alten u. neuen Testaments, 10 (1907); T. Wendland,Hellenistisch-römische Kultur in ihren Beziehungen zu Judentum und Christentum(1907), p. 161 seq. See further among important monographs on the individual Gnostic systems, R. A. Lipsius, “Die ophitischen Systeme,”Ztschr. f. wissensch. Theologie(1863); G. Heinrici,Die valentinianische Gnosis u. d. Heilige Schrift(Berlin, 1871); A. Merx,Bardesanes von Edessa(Halle, 1863); A. Hilgenfeld,Bardesanes, der letzte Gnostiker(Leipzig, 1864); A. Harnack, “Über das gnostische Buch Pistis-Sophia,”Texte u. Untersuch.vii. 2; C. Schmidt, “Gnostische Schriften,”Texte u. Untersuch.viii. 1, 2; and also the works mentioned under § II. of this article.

(W. Bo.)

1See the list of their titles in A. Harnack,Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur, Teil I. v. 171;ib.Teil II.Chronologie der altchristl. Literatur, i. 533 seq.; also Liechtenhahn,Die Offenbarung im Gnosticismus(1901).2For the text see A. Merx,Bardesanes von Edessa(1863), and A. Hilgenfeld,Bardesanes der letzte Gnostiker(1864).3Ed. Petermann-Schwartze; newly translated by C. Schmidt,Koptisch-gnostische Schriften, i. (1905), in the seriesDie griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten drei Jahrhunderte; see also A. Harnack,Texte und Untersuchungen, Bd. vii. Heft 2 (1891), andChronologie der altchristlichen Literatur, ii. 193-195.4See R. A. Lipsius,Die Quellen der ältesten Ketzergeschichte(1875); A. Harnack,Zur Quellenkritik der Geschichte des Gnosticismus(1873); A. Hilgenfeld,Ketzergeschichte, pp. 1-83; Harnack,Geschichte der altchristlich. Literatur, i. 171 seq., ii. 533 seq., 712 seq.; J. Kunze,De historiae Gnostic. fontibus(1894). On thePhilosophumenaof Hippolytus see G. Salmon, the cross-references in the Philosophumena,Hermathena, vol. xi. (1885) p. 5389 seq.; H. Staehelin,Die gnostischen Quellen Hippolyts,Texte und Unters.Bd. vi. Hft. 3 (1890).5Cf. the same idea of the fall of mankind in the pagan Gnosticism of “Poimandres”; see Reitzenstein,Poimandres(1904); and the position of the Primal Man (Urmensch) among the Manichaeans is similar.6These ideas may possibly be traced still further back, and perhaps even underlie St Paul’s exposition in Col. ii. 15.7For the disciples of Valentinus, especially Marcus, after whom was named a separate sect, the Marcosians, with their Pythagorean theories of numbers and their strong tincture of the mystical, magic, and sacramental, seeValentinus and Valentinians.

2For the text see A. Merx,Bardesanes von Edessa(1863), and A. Hilgenfeld,Bardesanes der letzte Gnostiker(1864).

3Ed. Petermann-Schwartze; newly translated by C. Schmidt,Koptisch-gnostische Schriften, i. (1905), in the seriesDie griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten drei Jahrhunderte; see also A. Harnack,Texte und Untersuchungen, Bd. vii. Heft 2 (1891), andChronologie der altchristlichen Literatur, ii. 193-195.

4See R. A. Lipsius,Die Quellen der ältesten Ketzergeschichte(1875); A. Harnack,Zur Quellenkritik der Geschichte des Gnosticismus(1873); A. Hilgenfeld,Ketzergeschichte, pp. 1-83; Harnack,Geschichte der altchristlich. Literatur, i. 171 seq., ii. 533 seq., 712 seq.; J. Kunze,De historiae Gnostic. fontibus(1894). On thePhilosophumenaof Hippolytus see G. Salmon, the cross-references in the Philosophumena,Hermathena, vol. xi. (1885) p. 5389 seq.; H. Staehelin,Die gnostischen Quellen Hippolyts,Texte und Unters.Bd. vi. Hft. 3 (1890).

5Cf. the same idea of the fall of mankind in the pagan Gnosticism of “Poimandres”; see Reitzenstein,Poimandres(1904); and the position of the Primal Man (Urmensch) among the Manichaeans is similar.

6These ideas may possibly be traced still further back, and perhaps even underlie St Paul’s exposition in Col. ii. 15.

7For the disciples of Valentinus, especially Marcus, after whom was named a separate sect, the Marcosians, with their Pythagorean theories of numbers and their strong tincture of the mystical, magic, and sacramental, seeValentinus and Valentinians.

GNU,the Hottentot name for the large white-tailed South African antelope (q.v.), now nearly extinct, know to the Boers as the black wildebeest, and to naturalists as Connochaetes (or Catoblepas) gnu. A second and larger species is the brindled gnu or blue wildebeest (C. taurinusorCatoblepas gorgon), also known by the Bechuana namekokonorkokoon; and there are several East African forms more or less closely related to the latter which have received distinct names.

GO,orGo-bang(Jap.Go-ban, board for playingGo), a popular table game. It is of great antiquity, having been invented in Japan, according to tradition, by the emperor Yao, 2350B.C., but it is probably of Chinese origin. According to Falkener the first historical mention of it was made about the year 300B.C., but there is abundant evidence that it was a popular game long before that period. The original Japanese Go is played on a board divided into squares by 19 horizontal and 19 vertical lines, making 361 intersections, upon which the flat round men, 181 white and 181 black, are placed one by one as the game proceeds. The men are placed by the two players on any intersections (me) that may seem advantageous, the object being to surround with one’s men as many unoccupied intersections as possible, the player enclosing the greater number of vacant points being the winner. Completely surrounded men are captured and removed from the board. This game is played in England upon a board divided into 361 squares, the men being placed upon these instead of upon the intersections.

A much simpler variety of Go, mostly played by foreigners, has for its object to get five men into line. This may have been the earliest form of the game, as the wordgomeans five. Except in Japan it is often played on an ordinary draughts-board, and the winner is he who first gets five men into line, either vertically, horizontally or diagonally.

SeeGo-Bang, by A. Howard Cady, in Spalding’s Home Library (New York, 1896);Games Ancient and Oriental, by Edward Falkener (London, 1892);Das japan.-chinesische Spiel Go, by O. Korschelt (Yokohama, 1881);Das Nationalspiel der Japanesen, by G. Schurig (Leipzig, 1888).

GOA,the name of the past and present capitals of Portuguese India, and of the surrounding territory more exactly described as Goa settlement, which is situated on the western coast of India, between 15° 44’ and 14° 53′ N., and between 73° 45′ and 74° 26′ E. Pop. (1900) 475,513, area 1301 sq. m.

Goa Settlement.—With Damaun (q.v.) and Diu (q.v.) Goa settlement forms a single administrative province ruled by a governor-general, and a single ecclesiastical province subject to the archbishop of Goa; for judicial purposes the province includes Macao in China, and Timor in the Malay Archipelago. It is bounded on the N. by the river Terakhul or Araundem, which divides it from the Sawantwari state, E. by the Western Ghats, S. by Kanara district, and W. by the Arabian Sea. It comprises the three districts of Ilhas, Bardez and Salsette, conquered early in the 16th century and therefore known as the Velhas Conquistas (Old Conquests), seven districts acquired later and known as the Novas Conquistas, and the island of Anjidiv or Anjadiva. The settlement, which has a coast-line of 62 m., is a hilly region, especially the Novas Conquistas; its distinguishing features are the Western Ghats, though the highest summits nowhere reach an altitude of 4000 ft., and the island of Goa. Numerous short but navigable rivers water the lowlands skirting the coast. The two largest rivers are the Mandavi and the Juari, which together encircle the island of Goa (Ilhas), being connected on the landward side by a creek. The island (native name Tisvādī, Tissuvaddy, Tissuary) is a triangular territory, the apex of which, called thecaboor cape, is a rocky headland separating the harbour of Goa into two anchorages—Agoada or Aguada at the mouth of the Mandavi, on the north, and Mormugão or Marmagão at the mouth of the Juari, on the south. The northern haven is exposed to the full force of the south-west monsoon, and is liable to silt up during the rains. The southern, sheltered by the promontory of Salsette, is always open, but is less used, owing to its greater distance from the city of Goa, which is built on the island. A railway connects Mormagão, south of the Juari estuary, with Castle Rock on theWestern Ghats. Goa imports textiles and foodstuffs, and exports coco-nuts, areca-nuts, spices, fish, poultry and timber. Its trade is carried on almost entirely with Bombay, Madras, Kathiawar and Portugal. Manganese is mined in large quantities, some iron is obtained, and other products are salt, palm-spirit, betel and bananas.

Cities of Goa.—1. The ancient Hindu city of Goa, of which hardly a fragment survives, was built at the southernmost point of the island, and was famous in early Hindu legend and history for its learning, wealth and beauty. In the Puranas and certain inscriptions its name appears as Gove, Govāpurī, Gomant, &c.; the medieval Arabian geographers knew it as Sindābur or Sandābur, and the Portuguese as Goa Velha. It was ruled by the Kadamba dynasty from the 2nd centuryA.D.to 1312, and by Mahommedan invaders of the Deccan from 1312 until about 1370, during which period it was visited and described by Ibn Batuta. It was then annexed to the Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagar, of which, according to Ferishta, it still formed part in 1469, when it was conquered by the Bahmani sultan of the Deccan; but two of the best Portuguese chroniclers state that it became independent in 1440, when the second city (Old Goa) was founded.

2. Old Goa is, for the most part, a city of ruins without inhabitants other than ecclesiastics and their dependents. The chief surviving buildings are the cathedral, founded by Albuquerque in 1511 to commemorate his entry into Goa on St Catherine’s day 1510, and rebuilt in 1623, and still used for public worship; the convent of St Francis (1517), a converted mosque rebuilt in 1661, with a portal of carved black stone, which is the only relic of Portuguese architecture in India dating from the first quarter of the 16th century; the chapel of St Catherine (1551); the church of Bom Jesus (1594-1603), a superb example of Renaissance architecture as developed by the Jesuits, containing the magnificent shrine and tomb of St Francis Xavier (seeXavier, Francisco de); and the 17th-century convents of St Monica and St Cajetan. The college of St Paul (see below) is in ruins.

3. Panjim, Pangim or New Goa, originally a suburb of Old Goa, is, like the parent city, built on the left bank of the Mandavi estuary, in 15° 30′ N. and 73° 33′ E. Pop. (1901) 9500. It is a modern port with few pretensions to architectural beauty. Ships of the largest size can anchor in the river, but only small vessels can load or discharge at the quay. Panjim became the residence of the viceroy in 1759 and the capital of Portuguese India in 1843. It possesses a lyceum, a school for teachers, a seminary, a technical school and an experimental agricultural station.

Political History.—With the subdivision of the Bahmani kingdom, after 1482, Goa passed into the power of Yusuf Adil Shah, king of Bijapur, who was its ruler when the Portuguese first reached India. At this time Goa was important as the starting-point of pilgrims from India to Mecca, as a mart with no rival except Calicut on the west coast, and especially as the centre of the import trade in horses (Gulf Arabs) from Hormuz, the control of which was a vital matter to the kingdoms warring in the Deccan. It was easily defensible by any power with command of the sea, as the encircling rivers could only be forded at one spot, and had been deliberately stocked with crocodiles. It was attacked on the 10th of February 1510 by the Portuguese under Albuquerque. As a Hindu ascetic had foretold its downfall and the garrison of Ottoman mercenaries was outnumbered, the city surrendered without a struggle, and Albuquerque entered it in triumph, while the Hindu townsfolk strewed filagree flowers of gold and silver before his feet. Three months later Yusuf Adil Shah returned with 60,000 troops, forced the passage of the ford, and blockaded the Portuguese in their ships from May to August, when the cessation of the monsoon enabled them to put to sea. In November Albuquerque returned with a larger force, and after overcoming a desperate resistance, recaptured the city, permitted his soldiers to plunder it for three days, and massacred the entire Mahommedan population.

Goa was the first territorial possession of the Portuguese in Asia. Albuquerque intended it to be a colony and a naval base, as distinct from the fortified factories which had been established in certain Indian seaports. He encouraged his men to marry native women, and to settle in Goa as farmers, retail traders or artisans. These married men soon became a privileged caste, and Goa acquired a large Eurasian population. Albuquerque and his successors left almost untouched the customs and constitutions of the 30 village communities on the island, only abolishing the rite of suttee. A register of these customs (Foral de usos e costumes) was published in 1526, and is an historical document of much value; an abstract of it is given in R. S. Whiteway’sRise of the Portuguese Empire in India(London, 1898).

Goa became the capital of the whole Portuguese empire in the East. It was granted the same civic privileges as Lisbon. Its senate or municipal chamber maintained direct communications with the king and paid a special representative to attend to its interests at court. In 1563 the governor even proposed to make Goa the seat of a parliament, in which all parts of the Portuguese east were to be represented; this was vetoed by the king.

In 1542 St Francis Xavier mentions the architectural splendour of the city; but it reached the climax of its prosperity between 1575 and 1625.Goa Dourada, or Golden Goa, was then the wonder of all travellers, and there was a Portuguese proverb, “He who has seen Goa need not see Lisbon.” Merchandise from all parts of the East was displayed in its bazaar, and separate streets were set aside for the sale of different classes of goods—Bahrein pearls and coral, Chinese porcelain and silk, Portuguese velvet and piece-goods, drugs and spices from the Malay Archipelago. In the main street slaves were sold by auction. The houses of the rich were surrounded by gardens and palm groves; they were built of stone and painted red or white. Instead of glass, their balconied windows had thin polished oyster-shells set in lattice-work.

The social life of Goa was brilliant, as befitted the headquarters of the viceregal court, the army and navy, and the church; but the luxury and ostentation of all classes had become a byword before the end of the 16th century. Almost all manual labour was done by slaves; common soldiers assumed high-sounding titles, and it was even customary for the poor noblemen who congregated together in boarding-houses to subscribe for a few silken cloaks, a silken umbrella and a common man-servant, so that each could take his turn to promenade the streets, fashionably attired and with a proper escort. There were huge gambling saloons, licensed by the municipality, where determined players lodged for weeks together; and every form of vice, except drunkenness, was practised by both sexes, although European women were forced to lead a kind of zenana life, and never ventured unveiled into the streets; they even attended at church in their palanquins, so as to avoid observation.

The appearance of the Dutch in Indian waters was followed by the gradual ruin of Goa. In 1603 and 1639 the city was blockaded by Dutch fleets, though never captured, and in 1635 it was ravaged by an epidemic. Its trade was gradually monopolized by the Jesuits. Thevenot in 1666, Baldaeus in 1672, Fryer in 1675 describe its ever-increasing poverty and decay. In 1683 only the timely appearance of a Mogul army saved it from capture by a horde of Mahratta raiders, and in 1739 the whole territory was attacked by the same enemies, and only saved by the unexpected arrival of a new viceroy with a fleet. This peril was always imminent until 1759, when a peace with the Mahrattas was concluded. In the same year the proposal to remove the seat of government to Panjim was carried out; it had been discussed as early as 1684. Between 1695 and 1775 the population dwindled from 20,000 to 1600, and in 1835 Goa was only inhabited by a few priests, monks and nuns.

Ecclesiastical History.—Some Dominican friars came out to Goa in 1510, but no large missionary enterprise was undertaken before the arrival of the Franciscans in 1517. From their headquarters in Goa the Franciscan preachers visited many parts of western India, and even journeyed to Ceylon, Pegu and the Malay Archipelago. For nearly twenty-five years they carried onthe work of evangelization almost alone, with such success that in 1534 Pope Paul III. made Goa a bishopric, with spiritual jurisdiction over all Portuguese possessions between China and the Cape of Good Hope, though itself suffragan to the archbishopric of Funchal in Madeira. A Franciscan friar, João de Albuquerque, came to Goa as its first bishop in 1538. In 1542 St Francis Xavier came to Goa, and took over the Franciscan college of Santa Fé, for the training of native missionaries; this was renamed the College of St Paul, and became the headquarters of all Jesuit missions in the East, where the Jesuits were commonly styledPaulistas. By a Bull dated the 4th of February 1557 Goa was made an archbishopric, with jurisdiction over the sees of Malacca and Cochin, to which were added Macao (1575), Japan (1588), Angamale or Cranganore (1600), Meliapur (Mylapur) (1606), Peking and Nanking (1610), together with the bishopric of Mozambique, which included the entire coast of East Africa. In 1606 the archbishop received the title of Primate of the East, and the king of Portugal was named Patron of the Catholic Missions in the East; his right of patronage was limited by the Concordat of 1857 to Goa, Malacca, Macao and certain parts of British India. The Inquisition was introduced into Goa in 1560: a vivid account of its proceedings is given by C. Dellon,Relation de l’inquisition de Goa(1688). Five ecclesiastical councils, which dealt with matters of discipline, were held at Goa—in 1567, 1575, 1585, 1592 and 1606; the archbishop of Goa also presided over the more important synod of Diamper (Udayamperur, about 12 m. S.E. of Cochin), which in 1599 condemned as heretical the tenets and liturgy of the Indian Nestorians, or Christians of St Thomas (q.v.). In 1675 Fryer described Goa as “a Rome in India, both for absoluteness and fabrics,” and Hamilton states that early in the 18th century the number of ecclesiastics in the settlement had reached the extraordinary total of 30,000. But the Jesuits were expelled in 1759, and by 1800 Goa had lost much even of its ecclesiastical importance. The Inquisition was abolished in 1814 and the religious orders were secularized in 1835.

Bibliography.—J. N. da Fonseca,An Historical and Archaeological Sketch of Goa(Bombay, 1878) is a minute study of the city from the earliest times, illustrated. For the early history of Portuguese rule the chief authorities areThe Commentaries ... of Dalboquerque(Hakluyt Society’s translation, London, 1877), theCartasof Albuquerque (Lisbon, 1884), theHistoria ... da Indiaof F. L. de Castanheda (Lisbon, 1833, written before 1552), theLendas da India of G. Correa(Lisbon, 1860, written 1514-1566), and theDecadas da Indiaof João de Barros and D. do Couto (Lisbon, 1778-1788, written about 1530-1616). Couto’sSoldado pratico(Lisbon, 1790) and S. Botelho’sCartas and Tombo, written 1547-1554, published in “Subsidios” of the Lisbon Academy (1868), are valuable studies of military life and administration. TheArchivo Portuguez oriental(6 parts, New Goa, 1857-1877) is a most useful collection of documents dating from 1515; part 2 contains the privileges, &c. of the city of Goa, and part 4 contains the minutes of the ecclesiastical councils and of the synod of Diamper. The social life of Goa has been graphically described by many writers; see especially the travels of Varthema (c.1505), Linschoten (c.1580), Pyrard (1608) in the Hakluyt Society’s translations; J. Mocquet,Voyages(Paris, 1830, written 1608-1610); P. Baldaeus, inChurchill’s Voyages, vol. 3 (London, 1732); J. Fryer,A New Account of East India and Persia(London, 1698); A. de Mandelslo,Voyages(London, 1669);Les Voyages de M. de Thevenot aux Indes Orientales(Amsterdam, 1779), and A. Hamilton,A New Account of the East Indies(London, 1774). For Goa in the 20th century seeThe Imperial Gazetteer of India.

(K. G. J.)

GOAL,originally an object set up as the place where a race ends, the winning-post, and so used figuratively of the end to which any effort is directed. It is thus used to translate the Lat.meta, the boundary pillar, set one at each end of the circus to mark the turning-point. The word was quite early used in various games for the two posts, with or without a cross-bar, through or over which the ball has to be driven to score a point towards winning the game. TheNew English Dictionaryquotes the use in Richard Stanyhurst’sDescription of Ireland(1577); but the wordgōlin the sense of a boundary appears as early as the beginning of the 14th century in the religious poems of William de Shoreham (c.1315). The origin of the word is obscure. It is usually taken to be derived from a French wordgaule, meaning a pole or stick, but this meaning does not appear in the English usage, nor does the usual English meaning appear in the French. There is an O. Eng.gaélan, to hinder, which may point to a lostgál, barrier, but there is no evidence in other Teutonic languages for such a word.

GOALPARA,a town and district of British India, in the Brahmaputra valley division of eastern Bengal and Assam. The town (pop. 6287) overlooks the Brahmaputra. It was the frontier outpost of the Mahommedan power, and has long been a flourishing seat of river trade. The civil station is built on the summit of a small hill commanding a magnificent view of the valley of the Brahmaputra, bounded on the north by the snowy ranges of the Himalayas and on the south by the Garo hills. The native town is built on the western slope of the hill, and the lower portion is subject to inundation from the marshy land which extends in every direction. It has declined in importance since the district headquarters were removed to Dhubri in 1879, and it suffered severely from the earthquake of the 12th of June 1897.

TheDistrictcomprises an area of 3961 sq. m. It is situated along the Brahmaputra, at the corner where the river takes its southerly course from Assam into Bengal. The scenery is striking. Along the banks of the river grow clumps of cane and reed; farther back stretch fields of rice cultivation, broken only by the fruit trees surrounding the villages, and in the background rise the forest-clad hills overtopped by the white peaks of the Himalayas. The soil of the hills is of a red ochreous earth, with blocks of granite and sandstone interspersed; that of the plains is of alluvial formation. Earthquakes are common and occasionally severe shocks have been experienced. The Brahmaputra annually inundates vast tracts of country. Numerous extensive forests yield valuable timber. Wild animals of all kinds are found. In 1901 the population was 462,083, showing an increase of 2% in the decade. Rice forms the staple crop. Mustard and jute are also largely grown. The manufactures consist of the making of brass and iron utensils and of gold and silver ornaments, weaving of silk cloth, basket-work and pottery. The cultivation of tea has been introduced but does not flourish anywhere in the district. Local trade is in the hands of Marwari merchants, and is carried on at thebazars, weeklyhatsor markets and periodical fairs. The chief exports are mustard-seed, jute, cotton, timber, lac, silk cloth, india-rubber and tea; the imports, Bengal rice, European piece goods, salt, hardware, oil and tobacco.

Dhubri (pop. 3737), the administrative headquarters of the district, stands on the Brahmaputra where that river takes its great bend south. It is the termination of the emigration road from North Bengal and of the river steamers that connect with the North Bengal railway. It is also served by the eastern Bengal State railway.

GOAT(a common Teut. word; O. Eng.gát, Goth.gaits, Mod. Ger.Geiss, cognate with Lat.haedus, a kid), properly the name of the well-known domesticated European ruminant (Capra hircus), which has for all time been regarded as the emblem of everything that is evil, in contradistinction to the sheep, which is the symbol of excellence and purity. Although the more typical goats are markedly distinct from sheep, there is, both as regards wild and domesticated forms, an almost complete gradation from goats to sheep, so that it is exceedingly difficult to define either group. The position of the genusCapra(to all the members of which, as well as some allied species, the name “goat” in its wider sense is applicable) in the familyBovidaeis indicated in the articleBovidae, and some of the distinctions between goats and sheep are mentioned in the articleSheep. Here then it will suffice to mention that goats are characterized by the strong and offensive odour of the males, which are furnished with a beard on the chin; while as a general rule glands are present between the middle toes of the fore feet only.

Goats, in the wild state, are an exclusively old-world group, of which the more typical forms are confined to Europe and south-western and central Asia, although there are two outlying species in northern Africa. The wild goat, or pasang, is represented in Europe in the Cyclades and Crete by rather small races.more or less mingled with domesticated breeds, the Cretan animal being distinguished asCapra hircus creticus; but the large typical raceC. h. aegagrusis met with in the mountains of Asia Minor and Persia, whence it extends to Sind, where it is represented by a somewhat different race known asC. h. blythi. The horns of the old bucks are of great length and beauty, and characterized by their bold scimitar-like backward sweep and sharp front edge, interrupted at irregular intervals by knots or bosses. Domesticated goats have run wild in many islands, such as the Hebrides, Shetland, Canaries, Azores, Ascension and Juan Fernandez. Some of these reverted breeds have developed horns of considerable size, although not showing that regularity of curve distinctive of the wild race. In the Azores the horns are remarkably upright and straight, whence the name of “antelope-goat” which has been given to these animals. The concretions known asbezoar-stones, formerly much used in medicine and as antidotes of poison, are obtained from the stomach of the wild goat.

Although there have in all probability been more or less important local crosses with other wild species, there can be no doubt that domesticated goats generally are descended from the wild goat. It is true that many tame goats show spirally twisted horns recalling those of the under-mentioned Asiatic markhor; but in nearly all such instances it will be found that the spiral twists in the opposite direction. Among the domesticated breeds the following are some of the more important.

Firstly, we have the common or European goats, of which there are several more or less well-marked breeds, differing from each other in length of hair, in colour and slightly in the configuration of the horns. The ears are more or less upright, sometimes horizontal, but never actually pendent, as in some Asiatic breeds. The horns are rather flat at the base and not unfrequently corrugated; they rise vertically from the head, curving to the rear, and are more or less laterally inclined. The colour varies from dirty white to dark-brown, but when pure-bred is never black, which indicates eastern blood. Most European countries possess more than one description of the common goat. In the British Isles there are two distinct types, one short and the other long haired. In the former the hair is thick and close, with frequently an under-coat resembling wool. The horns are large in the male, and of moderate size in the female, flat at the base and inclining outwards. The head is short and tapering, the forehead flat and wide, and the nose small; while the legs are strong, thick and well covered with hair. The colour varies from white or grey to black, but is frequently fawn, with a dark line down the spine and another across the shoulders. The other variety has a shaggy coat, generally reddish-black, though sometimes grey or pied and occasionally white. The head is long, heavy and ugly, the nose coarse and prominent, with the horns situated close together, often continuing parallel almost to the extremities, being also large, corrugated and pointed. The legs are long and the sides flat, the animal itself being generally gaunt and thin. This breed is peculiar to Ireland, the Welsh being of a similar type, but more often white. The short-haired goat is the English goat proper. Both British breeds, as well as those from abroad, are frequently ornamented with two tassel-like appendages, hanging near together under the throat. It has been supposed by many that these are traceable to foreign blood; but although there are foreign breeds that possess them, they appear to pertain quite as much to the English native breeds as to those of distant countries, the peculiarity being mentioned in very old works on the goats of the British Islands. The milk-produce in the common goat as well as other kinds varies greatly with individuals. Irish goats often yield a quantity of milk, but the quality is poor. The goats of France are similar to those of Britain, varying in length of hair, colour and character of horns. The Norway breed is frequently white with long hair; it is rather small in size, with small bones, a short rounded body, head small with a prominent forehead, and short, straight, corrugated horns. The facial line is concave. The horns of the males are very large, and curve round after the manner of the wild goat, with a tuft of hair between and in front.

The Maltese goat has the ears long, wide and hanging down below the jaw. The hair is long and cream-coloured. The breed is usually hornless.

The Syrian goat is met with in various parts of the East, in Lower Egypt, on the shores of the Indian Ocean and in Madagascar. The hair and ears are excessively long, the latter so much so that they are sometimes clipped to prevent their being torn by stones or thorny shrubs. The horns are somewhat erect and spiral, with an outward bend.

The Angora goat is often confounded with the Kashmir, but is in reality quite distinct. The principal feature of this breed, of which there are two or three varieties, is the length and quantity of the hair, which has a particularly soft and silky texture, covering the whole body and a great part of the legs with close matted ringlets. The horns of the male differ from those of the female, being directed vertically and in shape spiral, whilst in the female they have a horizontal tendency, somewhat like those of a ram. The coat is composed of two kinds of hair, the one short and coarse and of the character of hair, which lies close to the skin, the other long and curly and of the nature of wool, forming the outer covering. Both are used by the manufacturer, but the exterior portion, which makes up by far the greater bulk, is much the more valuable. The process of shearing takes place in early spring, the average amount of wool yielded by each animal being about 2½ ℔. The best quality comes from castrated males, females producing the next best.

The breed was introduced at the Cape about 1864. The Angora is a bad milker and an indifferent mother, but its flesh is better than that of any other breed, and in its native country is preferred to mutton. The kids are born small, but grow fast, and arrive early at maturity. The Kashmir, or rather Tibet, goat has a delicate head, with semi-pendulous ears, which are both long and wide. The hair varies in length, and is coarse and of different colours according to the individual. The horns are very erect, and sometimes slightly spiral, inclining inwards and to such an extent in some cases as to cross. The coat is composed, as in the Angora, of two materials; but in this breed it is the under-coat that partakes of the nature of wool and is valued as an article of commerce. This under-coat, orpushm, which is of a uniform greyish-white tint, whatever the colour of the hair may be, is beautifully soft and silky, and of a fluffy description resembling down. It makes its appearance in the autumn, and continues to grow until the following spring, when, if not removed, it falls off naturally; its collection then commences, occupying from eight to ten days. The animal undergoes during that time a process of combing by which all the wool and a portion of the hair, which of necessity comes with it, is removed. The latter is afterwards carefully separated, when the fleece in a good specimen weighs about half a pound. This is the material of which the far-famed and costly shawls are made, which at one time had such a demand that, it is stated, 16,000 looms were kept in constant work at Kashmir in their manufacture. Those goats having a short, neat head, long, thin, ears, a delicate skin, small bones, and a long heavy coat, are for this purpose deemed the best. There are several varietiespossessing this valuable quality, but those of Kashmir, Tibet and Mongolia are the most esteemed.

The Nubian goat, which is met with in Nubia, Upper Egypt and Abyssinia, differs greatly in appearance from those previously described. The coat of the female is extremely short, almost like that of a race-horse, and the legs are long. This breed therefore stands considerably higher than the common goat. One of its peculiarities is the convex profile of the face, the forehead being prominent and the nostrils sunk in, the nose itself extremely small, and the lower lip projecting from the upper. The ears are long, broad and thin, and hang down by the side of the head like a lop-eared rabbit. The horns are black, slightly twisted and very short, flat at the base, pointed at the tips, and recumbent on the head. Among goats met with in England a good many show signs of a more or less remote cross with this breed, derived probably from specimens brought from the East on board ships for supplying milk during the voyage.

The Theban goat, of the Sudan, which is hornless, displays the characteristic features of the last in an exaggerated degree, and in the form of the head and skull is very sheep-like.

The Nepal goat appears to be a variety of the Nubian breed, having the same arched facial line, pendulous ears and long legs. The horns, however, are more spiral. The colour of the hair, which is longer than in the Nubian, is black, grey or white, with black blotches.

Lastly the Guinea goat is a dwarf breed originally from the coast whence its name is derived. There are three varieties. Besides the commonestCapra recurva, there is a rarer breed,Capra depressa, inhabiting the Mauritius and the islands of Bourbon and Madagascar. The other variety is met with along the White Nile, in Lower Egypt, and at various points on the African coast of the Mediterranean.

As regards wild goats other than the representatives ofCapra hircus, the members of the ibex-group are noticed underIbex, while another distinctive type receives mention underMarkhor. The ibex are connected with the wild goat by means ofCapra nubiana, in which the front edge of the horns is thinner than in either the EuropeanC. ibexor the AsiaticC. sibirica; while the SpanishC. pyrenaicashows how the ibex-type of horn may pass into the spirally twisted one distinctive of the markhor,C. falconeri. In the articleIbexmention is made of the Caucasus ibex, or tur,C. caucasica, as an aberrant member of that group, but beside this animal the Caucasus is the home of another very remarkable goat, or tur, known asC. pallasi. In this ruminant, which is of a dark-brown colour, the relatively smooth black horns diverge outwards in a manner resembling those of the bharal among the sheep rather than in goat-fashion; and, in fact, this tur, which has only a very short beard, is so bharal-like that it is commonly called by sportsmen the Caucasian bharal. It is one of the species which render it so difficult to give a precise definition of either sheep or goats.

The short-horned Asiatic goats of the genusHemitragusreceive mention in the articleTahr; but it may be added that fossil species of the same genus are known from the Lower Pliocene formations of India, which have also yielded remains of a goat allied to the markhor of the Himalayas. The Rocky Mountain goat (q.v.) of America has no claim to be regarded as a member of the goat-group.

For full descriptions of the various wild species, see R. Lydekker,Wild Oxen, Sheep, and Goats(London, 1898).

(R. L.*)

GOATSUCKER,a bird from very ancient times absurdly believed to have the habit implied by the common name it bears in many European tongues besides English—as testified by the Gr.αἰγοθήλας, the Lat.caprimulgus, Ital.succiacapre, Span.chotacabras, Fr.tettechèvre, and Ger.Ziegenmelker. The common goatsucker (Caprimulgus europaeus, Linn.), is admittedly the type of a very peculiar and distinct family,Caprimulgidae, a group remarkable for the flat head, enormously wide mouth, large eyes, and soft, pencilled plumage of its members, which vary in size from a lark to a crow. Its position has been variously assigned by systematists. Though now judiciously removed from thePasseres, in which Linnaeus placed all the species known to him, Huxley considered it to form, with two other families—the swifts (Cypselidae) and humming-birds (Trochilidae)—the divisionCypselomorphaeof his larger group Aegithognathae, which is equivalent in the main to the LinnaeanPasseres. There are two ways of regarding theCaprimulgidae—one including the genusPodargusand its allies, the other recognizing them as a distinct family,Podargidae. As a matter of convenience we shall here comprehend these last in theCaprimulgidae, which will then contain two subfamilies,CaprimulginaeandPodarginae; for what, according to older authors, constitutes a third, though represented only bySteatornis, the singular oil-bird, or guacharo, certainly seems to require separation as an independent family (seeGuachero).

Some of the differences between theCaprimulginaeandPodarginaehave been pointed out by Sclater (Proc. Zool. Soc., 1866, p. 123), and are very obvious. In the former, the outer toes havefourphalanges only, thus presenting a very uncommon character among birds, and the middle claws are pectinated; while in the latter the normal number of five phalanges is found, and the claws are smooth, and other distinctions more recondite have also been indicated by him (tom. cit.p. 582). The Caprimulginae may be further divided into those having the gape thickly beset by strong bristles, and those in which there are few such bristles or none—the former containing the generaCaprimulgus,Antrostomus,Nyctidromusand others, and the latterPodargus,Chordiles,Lyncornisand a few more.

The common goatsucker of Europe (C. europaeus) arrives late in spring from its winter-retreat in Africa, and its presence is soon made known by its habit of chasing its prey, consisting chiefly of moths and cockchafers, in the evening-twilight. Asthe season advances the song of the cock, from its singularity, attracts attention amid all rural sounds. This song seems to be always uttered when the bird is at rest, though the contrary has been asserted, and is the continuous repetition of a single burring note, as of a thin lath fixed at one end and in a state of vibration at the other, and loud enough to reach in still weather a distance of half-a-mile or more. On the wing, while toying with its mate, or performing its rapid evolutions round the trees where it finds its food, it has the habit of occasionally producing another and equally extraordinary sound, sudden and short, but somewhat resembling that made by swinging a thong in the air, though whether this noise proceeds from its mouth is not ascertained. In general its flight is silent, but at times when disturbed from its repose, its wings may be heard to smite together. The goatsucker, or, to use perhaps its commoner English name, nightjar,1passes the day in slumber, crouching on the ground or perching on a tree—in the latter case sitting not across the branch but lengthways, with its head lower than its body. In hot weather, however, its song may sometimes be heard by day and even at noontide, but it is then uttered, as it were, drowsily, and without the vigour that characterizes its crepuscular or nocturnal performance. Towards evening the bird becomes active, and it seems to pursue its prey throughout the night uninterruptedly, or only occasionally pausing for a few seconds to alight on a bare spot—a pathway or road—and then resuming its career. It is one of the few birds that absolutely make no nest, but lays its pair of beautifully-marbled eggs on the ground, generally where the herbage is short, and often actually on the soil. So light is it that the act of brooding, even where there is some vegetable growth, produces no visible depression of the grass, moss or lichens on which the eggs rest, and the finest sand equally fails to exhibit a trace of the parental act. Yet scarcely any bird shows greater local attachment, and the precise site chosen one year is almost certain to be occupied the next. The young, covered when hatched with dark-spotted down, are not easily found, nor are they more easily discovered on becoming fledged, for their plumage almost entirely resembles that of the adults, being a mixture of reddish-brown, grey and black, blended and mottled in a manner that passes description. They soon attain their full size and power of flight, and then take to the same manner of life as their parents. In autumn all leave their summer haunts for the south, but the exact time of their departure has hardly been ascertained. The habits of the nightjar, as thus described, seem to be more or less essentially those of the whole subfamily—the differences observable being apparently less than are found in other groups of birds of similar extent.

A second species of goatsucker (C. ruficollis), which is somewhat larger, and has the neck distinctly marked with rufous, is a summer visitant to the south-western parts of Europe, and especially to Spain and Portugal. The occurrence of a single example of this bird at Killingworth, near Newcastle-on-Tyne, in October 1856, has been recorded by Mr Hancock (Ibis, 1862, p. 39); but the season of its appearance argues the probability of its being but a casual straggler from its proper home. Many other species ofCaprimulgusinhabit Africa, Asia and their islands, while one (C. macrurus) is found in Australia. Very nearly allied to this genus isAntrostomus, an American group containing many species, of which the chuck-will’s-widow (A. carolinensis) and the whip-poor-will (A. vociferus) of the eastern United States (the latter also reaching Canada) are familiar examples. Both these birds take their common name from the cry they utter, and their habits seem to be almost identical, with those of the old world goatsuckers. Passing over some other forms which need not here be mentioned, the genusNyctidromus, though consisting of only one species (N. albicollis) which inhabits Central and part of South America, requires remark, since it has tarsi of sufficient length to enable it to run swiftly on the ground, while the legs of most birds of the family are so short that they can make but a shuffling progress.Heleothreptes, with the unique form of wing possessed by the male, needs mention. Notice must also be taken of two African species, referred by some ornithologists to as many genera (MacrodipteryxandCosmetornis), though probably one genus would suffice for both. The males of each of them are characterized by the wonderful development of the ninth primary in either wing, which reaches in fully adult specimens the extraordinary length of 17 in. or more. The former of these birds, theCaprimulgus macrodipterusof Adam Afzelius, is considered to belong to the west coast of Africa, and the shaft of the elongated remiges is bare for the greater part of its length, retaining the web, in a spatulate form, only near the tip. The latter, to which the specific name ofvexillariuswas given by John Gould, has been found on the east coast of that continent, and is reported to have occurred in Madagascar and Socotra. In this the remigial streamers do not lose their barbs, and as a few of the next quills are also to some extent elongated, the bird, when flying, is said to look as though it had four wings. Specimens of both are rare in collections, and no traveller seems to have had the opportunity of studying the habits of either so as to suggest a reason for this marvellous sexual development.

The second group ofCaprimulginae, those which are but poorly or not at all furnished with rictal bristles, contains about five genera, of which we may particularizeLyncornisof the old world andChordilesof the new. The species of the former are remarkable for the tuft of feathers which springs from each side of the head, above and behind the ears, so as to give the bird an appearance like some of the “horned” owls—those of the genusScops, for example; and remarkable as it is to find certain forms of two families, so distinct as are theStrigidaeand theCaprimulgidae, resembling each other in this singular external feature, it is yet more remarkable to note that in some groups of the latter, as in some of the former, a very curious kind of dimorphism takes place. In either case this has been frequently asserted to be sexual, but on that point doubt may fairly be entertained. Certain it is that in some groups of goatsuckers, as in some groups of owls, individuals of the same species are found in plumage of two entirely different hues—rufous and grey. The only explanation as yet offered of this fact is that the difference is sexual, but evidence to that effect is conflicting. It must not, however, be supposed that this common feature, any more than that of the existence of tufted forms in each group, indicates any close relationship between them. The resemblances may be due to the same causes, concerning which future observers may possibly enlighten us, but at present we must regard them as analogies, not homologies. The species ofLyncornisinhabit the Malay Archipelago, one, however, occurring also in China. OfChordilesthe best-known species is the night-hawk of North America (C. virginianusorC. popetue), which has a wide range from Canada to Brazil. Others are found in the Antilles and in South America. The general habits of all these birds agree with those of the typical goatsuckers.

We have next to consider the birds forming the genusPodargusand those allied to it, whether they be regarded as a distinct family, or as a subfamily ofCaprimulgidae. As above stated, they have feet constructed as those of birds normally are, and their sternum seems to present the constant though comparatively trivial difference of having its posterior margin elongated into two pairs of processes, while only one pair is found in the true goatsuckers.Podargusincludes the bird (P. cuvieri) known from its cry as morepork to the Tasmanians,2and several other species, the number of which is doubtful, from Australia and New Guinea. They have comparatively powerful bills, and it would seem feed to some extent on fruits and berries, though they mainly subsist on insects, chieflyCicadaeandPhasmidae. They also differ from the true goatsuckers in having the outer toes partially reversible, and they build a flat nest on the horizontal branch of a tree for the reception of their eggs, which are of a spotless white. Apparently allied toPodargus, but differingamong other respects in its mode of nidification, isAegotheles, which belongs also to the Australian sub-region; and farther to the northward, extending throughout the Malay Archipelago and into India, comesBatrachostomus, wherein we again meet with species having aural tufts somewhat likeLyncornis. ThePodarginaeare thought by some to be represented in the new world by the genusNyctibius, of which several species occur from the Antilles and Central America to Brazil. Finally, it may be stated that none of theCaprimulgidaeseem to occur in Polynesia or in New Zealand, though there is scarcely any other part of the world suited to their habits in which members of the family are not found.

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