follow, viz. ' Aqiioedu«£tus iEliiis Adrianiis' (alluding to its having been built by the Emperor
Adrianus). The fécond, which is tlie received opinion at Niimes, ' Aqua emifla
Amphitheatro.' The third, ' Agrippa eftAuítor.' And laftly, which is M. Gautier's explanation,
'Antoninus eft Auf tor : ' Antoninus being a native of Niûnes. But as the three
laft do not accord with the letters dilcovered on the arch, it is probable tliat the firil explanation
may be neareft the truth ; and more efpecially as the hiftorians Spartian and Dion
agree that moñ of the public edifices at Nifmcs (which were conducive to the utility and
embelliihnient of tlús city) were eredled by the Emperor Adrianus. It is therefore natural
to fuppofe that he had not omitted a work fo eíTcntially necelTary to the Romans for tlieir
baths, &c. Others again give the preference to the tliird, ' Agrippa eft Auétor imagining
it built by Agrippa, who was fcnt into Gaul, Anno 755 of the Roman sera, by
Auguftus, to quell tlie diflurbances, which were rifen to a great height, and were very
alarming. He foon after gained the appeUation of Curator Perpetuus Aqui
Be that as it may, we ihall leave this point to the deciiion of the learned, and proceed
to give a defcription of the modem improvement made for the convenience of travellers.
At the beginning of the feventeenth century, the inhabitants of Nifmes, defirous of
rendering the firft tire of arches fit for the admittance of carriages, &c. in order to effed
that purpofc, the bafes of the pilafters were fcooped. But as the total ruin of this noble
edifice muft have inevitably enfued, the projeâ was given up, leaving only a paiTage for
foot travellers.
The Etats Généraux of Languedoc, and the citizens of Avignon, finding it abfolutely
neceflary to make fome alteration, the river being frequently too rapid to venture acrofe
even on horfeback, very judiciouily began, in 1743, the ercéUon of a new bridge, by way
of addition, conftrufted on the fame pian with that of the lower tire of arches, of which
it feems to be a part. It is executed with great tañe and folidity, and was completed in
1747 ; affording a broad and commodious paffage over the river for horfes and carriages
of all kinds.
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