Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 09.djvu/26

* GOLDCKEST. 10 GOLDCREST (30 called from the yellow spot on its head ), Goluen-Cresteu Wren, or Fike- OKEST. English names for European species of kinglets. See Ivikglet. GOL'DEN. A city and the county-seat of Jef- ferson County, Colo., 10 miles west of Denver; on Clear Creek, and on the Union Pacific, Denver and Gulf, and the Denver. Lakewood and Golden railroads (Map: Colorado, E 2). It is the seat of the State School of Mines, opened in 1874, and of the State Industrial School. There are extensive deposits of coal and clay in the vicinity, and the city has smelting-works, and manufac- tures of pressed and fire brick, tile, pottery, flour, and beer. Population, in 1890, 2383; in 1900, 2152. GOLDEN AGE. The earliest of the four ages ; the ideal period when the earth, under Saturn's reign, produced fruits without cultiva- tion, when there was no warfare, and man lived in perfect happiness before sin entered in. The characteristics of the GJolden Age, and of the ages of silver, brass, and iron which followed, are described in the first part of Ovid's Metamor- phosis. The term is used to represent the period of highest development in literature, art, and history. GOLDEN APPLE. See Paris. GOLDEN ASS (Lat. Asinus Aureus). A fable or romance written by Apuleius, a Latin writer of the second century. The work is en- titled The Metamorphoses, or the Golden Ass, and was modeled after a similar work by Lucian, which Apuleius paraphrased and emliellished with other tales, among which the one best known is that of Cupid and Psyche. The hero is punished for his curiosity by being changed into an ass, and after a series of most wonderful ad- ventures he finally becomes purified and re- sumes his natural form. This story is thought by some to have been written as a satire on priests, magicians, and debauchees. It has been trans- lated into many of the modern languages. See Apuleius. GOLDEN BEETLE. The golden beetles (family Chrysomelida>, tribe Ca.ssidini) are among the most beautifully colored of all beetles. They are usually small, with a gold or green- ish iridescence which fades completely as soon as the insect dies, so that museum collections give no concep- tion of the beauty of these beetles when alive and on their food plant : but the brilliancy is said to vary with the excitation of the beetle. They are flattened below and convex above, hence they have also been named tortoise beetles. The margins of the prothorax and elytra are expanded so as to form an oval flat frame about the convex part of the beetle. Both the adults and the larvae of Cas- sida aurichalcea feed on the morning-glory and sweet potato, and a large yellow and black spe- cies feeds on the sunflower. The caudal end of the larva is forked, and to it are retained the molted skins and frass. which are held up over the body like a shield. Pupation takes place on the under side of the leaves of the food plant. GOLDEN BEETLE. GOLDEN CALF. GOLDEN BIBLE. A name given on its pre- tended discovery to the Book of Mormon, which was described as being written on sheets of metal resembling gold. GOLDEN BOOK. See Libho d'oro. GOLDEN BULL (Lat. bulla ntirea, so called from the gold case in which the seal attached to the bull was inclosed ). The Imperial edict is- sued by the Emperor Charles IV.. in 1356. for Jie purpose of settling the form of the Imperial ebc- tion and coronation, the persons to whom the right of election belonged, and their duties and privileges. Up to that time some uncertainty h. d prevailed as to the riglits of the electoral bod claims having frequently been made by sever: I members of the lay electoral families, and d visions having repeatedly arisen from this uncer tainty; the effect of such divisions being to throw the decision for the most part into the hands of the Pope. In order to obviate these in- conveniences, the Giolden Bull defines that one member only of each electoral house shall have a vote — viz., the representative of that house in right of primogeniture, and in case of his being a minor, the eldest of his uncles paternal. The seven electors were declared to be the Arch- bishops of Mainz, Tr&ves, and Cologne, the King of Bohemia, the Count Palatine of the Rhine, the Duke of Saxony, and the Margrave of Branden- burg. The place of election of the Emperor was fixed at Frankfort ; the coronation was to take place at Aix-la-Chapelle. On the great question as to the dependence of the Imperial office on the Pope, and as to the right of the Pope to examine and approve the Imperial election, the Golden Bull is silent, although it declares the Emperor com- petent to exercise jurisdiction in Germany from the moment of election. It invests the vicariate, together with the government of the Empire dur- ing an interregnum, in the Elector Palatine and the Elector of Saxony: but it is to be noted that this applies only to Germany. Of the vicariate of Italy, which was claimed by the Popes, nothing is said. The Golden Bull also contains some pro- visions restraining the so-called Faustrecht (lit- erally, 'fist law' or right of private redress). It was solemnly enacted in two successive Diets at Nuremberg and Metz, in the year 1356. and origi- nal copies of it were furnished to each of the electors and to the city of Frankfort. The electoral constitution, as settled by this bull, save for the number of electors, was main- tained almost unaltered till the extinction of the Empire. There is a translation into Eng- lish of the Golden Bull in Henderson. Historienl Documents of the Middle Ages (London. 1892). In Hungarian history there is a constitutional edict called by the same name. It was issued by Andrew II., in 1222. It strengthened the mon- archy, although limiting its functions. It con- tained guarantees of individual liberty, and in- sured periodical meetings of the assemblies. It preserved the power of the nobles by preventing further subdivisions of fiefs. GOLDEN CALF. The molten image fash- ioned, according to biblical tradition, at Sinai by .aron at the request of the Israelites (Exod. xxxii.). The narrative points to the existence of the bull cult among the Hebrews, for which there is abundant evidence. Images of bulls over- laid with gold stood in the ancient sanctua- ries at Dan and Bethel, though this cult is not