never a day on which the Sun was so completely obscured hy
clouds, as not to be seen in the island during some p art of it: and
a french consul, who has resided there many years, asserts that
this is perfectly conformable to his observations. Horace, too,
mentions it among the places most commended in his time, with
an appropriate epithet denoting this circumstance. As it was
likewise believed, tha t this island, after an extraordinary deluge,
had been dried by the solar rays, no wonder that Apollo enjoyed
the rank of it's chief deity. To him was erected in the capital
one of the most beautiful temples of antiquity; and the celebrated
. colossus, esteemed one of the wonders of the world, was his image.
N o r was this, which so much surpassed all others in magnitude,
the only colossus in the city of Rhodes; for Pliny tells us there
were a hundred more in different parts of it, either of w'hlch,
though of inferiour size, was sufficient to ennoble any other place.
Hence the inhabitants derived the name of colossians. W hen it
is remembered, too, tha t statues of the ordinary size were here so
nuage s p o u r ne pa s s’y m o n tre r p e n d a n t quel<[ues m om en s ; e t u n consul François, q ui
y a ré sidé p lusieurs anné e s, a ssu re q ue c ’e st u n fa it conform e à ses ob se rv a tio n s. H o ra c e
e n la n om m a n t p a rm i les lieux les p lus c élèbres de son tem p s, lui do n n e aussi u ne épi-
th è te re la tiv e à c e tte c irconstanc e . Comme on c ro y o it encore , q ue c e tte île aprè s u n
déluge e x trao rd in a ire av o it é té desséchée p a r les ray o n s d u soleil, il n ’e s t pas é to n n a n t
qu ’ A p o llo n en fût la prin c ip a le d iv in ité . On lu i av o it élevé d ans la c apita le le plus
b e au tem p le de l’a n tiq u ité ; e t le c élèbre colosse, reg a rd é com m e u n e des merveilles d u
monde, en oiFroit l ’image . Ce colosse, q u i surpa ssoit de b e aucoup to u s les au tre s en
g ra n d e u r, n ’é to it pas le s eul q u ’il y e û t dans lu ville de R h o d e s; c a r P lin e ra p p o rte
q u ’il y en av o it en différens q u a rtie rs c en t de plus, d o n t cha cu n , qu o iq u e d 'u n e m oindre
g ran d eu r, au ro it fa it l’o rn em en t de to u t a u tre lieu. C’est ce q ui fit d o n n e r aux h ab ita
n s le nom de Colossiens. Si l’on se rap p e lle en co re q u e les sta tu e s de h a u te u r o rd in
a ire y é to icn t en si g ran d e q u a n tité , q u e le s anc iens av o ien t c ru p o u v o ir en com p a re r
le n om b re avec celui de s h a b ita n s ; q u e la p lu s an c ien n e école de p e in tu re d o n t on
n
numerous, as to lead the ancients to compare their number witli
that of the inhabitants; that the most ancient school of painting
of w hich we have any traces among the greeks, as Mr, Pauw observes,
was established in tliis island in the time of Anacreon; and
that Protogenes, one of the most celebrated masters of antiquity,
here painted his chief performances ; we cannot b u t suppose the
fine arts to have been carried to a high pitch in Rhodes.
T h e flourishing state of this island was no doubt owing in
great measure to commerce, for which it was happily situate, and
which it’s inhabitants pursued with great activity and success.
I t ’s government and laws too have received their share of praise ;
and it has been particularly famed for the energy, with which it
has resisted the attacks of foreign enemies on different occasions.
The attachment of the rhodians to Ptolemy king of E g y p t having
drawn upon them the resentment of Antigonus, he sent against
them his son Demetrius, surnamed Poliorcetes, or the Destroyer
of Cities, with a powerful armament of men and ships. For a
twelvemonth this renowned general, deemed one of the most
tro u v e des tra c e s p a rm i le s Grecs, comme l’observe M . P a uw , fu t é tab lie dans c e tte .ile
du tem p s d ’A naci-éon; e t q u e P ro to g èn e , u n des p lus c é lèbres m a ître s de l’a n tiq u ité , y
av o it fa it ses p rin c ip au x o u v rag e s ; o n n e p e u t q u e suppose r q u e le s b e au x a r ts o n t é té
p o rté s à Rhodes à u n g ra n d p o in t de pe rfe c tion.
I l n 'e s t pa s d o u teu x q ue l’é ta t florissant de c e tte île n ’a it p rin c ip a lem en t é té d û au
comme rc e p o u r leque l e lle é to it h e u reu s em en t située, e t auque l ses h a b ita n s se liv rè re n t
avec b e aucoup d ’a c tiv ité e t de succès. O n a aussi lo u é so n g o u v e rn em e n t e t ses lois ;
e t e lle s’est su r to u t illu s tré e p a r l ’én e rg ie , avec laqu e lle e lle a repoussé e n differentes
occasions le s a tta q u e s des ennem is d u dehors. I f a tta c h em e n t des Rh o d ten s p o u r P to -
lemée, roi de E g y p te , le u r a y a n t a ttir é le re s s e n tim e n t d ’A n tig o n e , c e m o n a rq u e e n v
o y a co n tre e u x son fils D cm é triu s , su rn om m é P oliorc è te , ou d e s tru c te u r des villes,
avec u n g ra n d a rm em e n t d ’hom m e s e t de vaisseaux. Ce c é lèbre gén é ra l, q u ’on reg a rd e
comme le p lu s ex p é rim en té d ans la c o n d u ite d’im s iè g e q u e l’an tiq u ité a it p ro d u it, employa