endeavour to extinguish the flames. The besiegers lost great numbers of their men on this occasion, because they were incapable, amidst the obscurity of the night, either to see or avoid the vollies of arrows discharged upon them. Several plates of iron happening to fall from the helepolis during the conflagration, the Rhodians advanced with impetuosity, in order to set it on fire: but, as the troops within that moving tower quenched it with water as fast as the flames were kindled, they could not effect their design. However, Demetrius was apprehensive that all his machines would be consumed: to prevent which, he caused them to be removed with all possible expedition.

Demetrius, being curious to know what number of machines the besieged had employed in casting arrows, caused all those which had been shot from the place in the attack that night to be gathered up; and, when these were counted and a proper computation made, he found that the inhabitants must have more than 800 engines of different dimensions, for discharging fires, and about 1500 for arrows. The prince was struck with consternation at this number, as he did not imagine the city could have made such formidable preparations. He caused his dead to be interred, gave directions for curing those who were wounded, and was as expeditious as possible in repairing the machines which had been dismounted and rendered useless.

The besieged, in order to improve the relaxation they enjoyed by the removal of the machines, were industrious to fortify themselves against the new assault, for which their enemies were then preparing. To this purpose they began with opening a large and deep ditch behind the breach, to obstruct the passage of the enemy into the city; after which they raised a substantial wall, in the form of a crescent, along the ditch; and which would cost the enemies a new attack.

As their attention was devoted, at the same time, to every other emergency, they detached a squadron of the best sailing ships in their port, which took a great number of vessels laden with provisions and ammunition for Demetrius, and brought them into the port. These were soon followed by a numerous fleet of small vessels, freighted with corn and other necessaries, sent them by Ptolemy, with 1,500 men, commanded by Antigonus of Macedonia.

Demetrius, having repaired his machines, caused them all to advance near the city, when a second embassy arrived at the camp, from the Athenians, and some other states of Greece, on the same subject as the former, but with as little success. The king, whose imagination was fruitful of expedients for succeeding in his projects, detached 1500 of his troops, under the command of Alcimus and Mancius, with

orders to enter the breach at midnight, and force the entrenchments behind it. They were then to possess themselves of the parts adjacent to the theatre, where they would be in a condition to maintain their ground, if they could but once make themselves masters of it. In order to facilitate the execution of so important and dangerous an expedition and amuse the enemy with false attacks, he, at the same time, caused the signal to be sounded by all the trumpets, and the city to be attacked on all sides, both by sea and land, that, the besieged finding sufficient employment in all parts, the 1500 men might have an opportunity of forcing the intrenchments which covered the breach, and afterwards of seizing all the advantageous posts about the theatre. This feint had all the success the prince expected from it.-The troops, having shouted from all quarters, as if they were advancing to a general assault, the detachment, commanded by Alcimus, entered the breach, and made such a vigorous attack upon those who defended the ditch and the crescent which covered it, that, after they had killed a great number of their enemies and put the rest into confusion, they seized the posts adjacent to the theatre, where they maintained themselves.

The alarm was very great in the city, and all the chiefs, who commanded there, despatched orders to their officers and soldiers not to quit their posts nor make the least movement whatever. After which they placed themselves at the head of a chosen body of their own troops, and of those who were newly arrived from Egypt, and with them, poured upon the detachment which had advanced as far as the theatre: but the obscurity of the night rendered it impracticable to dislodge them from the posts they had seized, and the day no sooner appeared than a universal cry of the besiegers was heard from all quarters, by which they endeavoured to animate those who had entered the place, and inspire them with a resolution to maintain their ground, where they might soon expect succours. This terrible cry drew floods of tears and dismal groans from the populace, women, and children, who continued in the city, and then concluded themselves inevitably lost. The battle, however, continued with great vigour at the theatre, and the Macedonians defended their posts with an intrepidity that astonished their enemies, till, at last, the Rhodians prevailing, by their numbers and perpetual supplies of fresh troops, the detachment, after having seen Alcimus and Mancius slain on the spot, were obliged to submit to superior force, and abandon a post it was no longer possible to maintain. Great numbers of them fell on the spot, and the rest were taken prisoners.

The ardour of Demetrius was rather augmented than

abated by this check, and he was making the necessary dispositions for a new assault, when he received letters from his father Antigonus, by which he was directed to take all possible measures for the conclusion of a peace with the Rhodians. He then wanted some plausible pretext for discontinuing the siege, and chance supplied him with it. At that very instant deputies from Ætolia arrived at his camp, to solicit him anew to grant a peace to the Rhodians, to which they found him not so averse as before.

If what Vegetius relates of the helepolis be true, and, indeed, Vitruvius seems to confirm it, with a small variation of circumstances, it might possibly be another motive that contributed not a little to dispose Demetrius to a peace. That prince was preparing to advance his helepolis against the city, when a Rhodian engineer contrived an expedient to render it entirely useless; he opened a mine under the walls of the city, and continued it to the way over which the tower was to pass the ensuing day, in order to approach the walls. The besiegers, not suspecting any stratagem of that nature, moved on the tower to the place undermined, which, being incapable of supporting so enormous a load, sunk in under the machine, which buried itself so deep in the earth that it was impossible to draw it out again. This was one inconvenience to which these formidable engines were obnoxious; and the two authors, whom I have cited, declare, that this accident determined Demetrius to raise the siege, and it is, at least, very probable, that it contributed not a little to his taking that resolution.

The Rhodians, on their part, were as desirous of an accommodation as himself, provided it could be effected upon reasonable terms. Ptolemy, in promising them fresh succours, much more considerable than the former, had earnestly exhorted them not to lose so favourable an occasion, if it should offer itself. Besides which, they were sensible of the extreme necessity they were under of putting an end to the siege, which could not but prove fatal to them at last. This consideration induced them to listen, with pleasure, to the proposals made them, and the treaty was concluded, soon after, upon the following terms. The republic of Rhodes, and all its citizens, should retain the enjoyment of their rights, privileges, and liberty, without being subjected to any power whatsoever. The alliance they had always had with Antigonus was to be confirmed and renewed, with an obligation to take up arms for him in all future wars, provided it was not against Ptolemy. The city was also to deliver a hundred hostages, to be chosen by Demetrius, for the effectual performance of the articles stipulated between them. a Veget. de re milit. c. iv.

Book XVI. When these hostages were given, the army decamped from before Rhodes, after having besieged it a year.

« Demetrius, who was then reconciled with the Rhodians, was desirous, before his departure, to give them a proof of that disposition; and, accordingly presented them with all the machines of war he had employed in that siege. These they afterwards sold for 300 talents (about 300,000 crowns), which they employed, with an additional sum of their own, in making the famous Colussus, which was reputed one of the the seven wonders of the world. It was a statue of the sun, of so stupendous a size, that ships in full sail passed between its legs; the height of it was 70 cubits, or 105 feet, and few men could clasp its thumb with their arms. It was the work of Chares, of Lindus, and employed him for the space of 12 years. Sixty-six years after its erection it was thrown down by an earthquake; of which we shall speak in the sequel of this history.

The Rhodians, to testify their gratitude to Ptolemy for the assistance he had given them in so dangerous a conjuncture, consecrated a grove to that prince, after they had consulted the oracle of Jupiter Ammon, to give the action an air of solemnity; and, to honour him the more, erected a magnificent edifice within it. They built a sumptuous portico, and continued it along each side of the square which encompassed it, and contained a space of 400 fathoms. This portico was called the Ptolemæon; and, out of flattery, as customary in those days as impious in itself, divine honours were rendered to him in that place; and, in order to perpetuate their deliverer in this war by another method, they gave him the appellation of Soter, which signifies a saviour, and is used by the historians to distinguish him from the other Ptolemies, who were his successors on the throne of Egypt.

I was unwilling to interrupt the series of events that occurred at this siege, and, therefore, reserved for this place one that greatly redounds to the honour of Demetrius. It relates to his taste for the arts, and the esteem he entertained for those who were distinguished by a peculiar merit in them; a circumstance not a little conducive to the glory of a prince.

Rhodes was at that time the residence of a celebrated painter, named Protogenes, who was a native of Caunus, a city of Caria, which was then subject to the Rhodians. The apartment where he painted was in the suburbs, without the city, when Demetrius first besieged it; but neither the presence of the enemies, who then surrounded him, nor the noise of arms, that perpetually rang in his ears, could induce him to quit his habitation or discontinue his work. The king was surprised at his conduct; and, as he one day asked him a Plin. lxxxiv. c. 7.

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"be

his reasons for such a proceeding, "It is," replied he, cause I am sensible you have declared war against the Rhodians, and not against the sciences." Nor was he deceived in that opinion, for Demetrius actually showed himself their protector. He planted a guard round his house, that the artist might enjoy tranquillity, or, at least, be secure from danger, amidst the tumult and ravages of war. He frequently went to see him work, and could never sufficiently admire the application of that master to his art, and his surprising excellency in it.

The master-piece of this painter was the Ialysus, an historical picture of a person of that name, whom the Rhodians acknowledged as their founder, though only a fabulous hero". Protogenes had employed seven years in finishing this piece; and, when Apelles first saw it, he was transported with so much admiration, that his speech failed him for some time; and, when he at last began to recover from his astonishment, he cried out, 66 Prodigious work indeed! Admirable per"formance! It has not, however, the graces I give my "works, and which have raised their reputation to the skies." If we may credit Pliny, Protogenes, during the whole time he applied himself to this work, condemned himself to a very rigid and abstemious life, that the delicacy of his taste and imagination might not be affected by his diet. This picture was carried to Rome, and consecrated in the temple of Peace, where it remained to the time of Pliny; but it was at last destroyed by fire.

The same Pliny pretends that Rhodes was saved by this picture, because, as it hung in the only quarter by which it was possible for Demetrius to take the city, he rather chose to abandon his conquest than expose so precious a monument of art to the danger of being consumed in the flames. This, indeed, would have been carrying his taste and value for painting into a surprising extreme; but we have already seen the true reasons which obliged Demetrius to raise the siege.

One of the figures in this picture was a dog, that was admired by all good judges, and had cost the painter great a He was the son of Ochimus, whose parents were the Sun and Rhoda, from whom the city and island derived their name

b He supported himself on boiled lupines, a kind of pulse, which satisfied his hunger and thirst at the same time.

c Parcentem picturæ fugit occasio victoriæ.

d Est in ea canis mire actus, ut quem pariter casus et ars pinxerint. Non judicabat se exprimere in eo spumam anhalantis posse cum in reliqua omni parte (quod difficillimum erat) sibi ipsi satisfecisset. Displicebat autem ars ipsa, nec minui poterat, et videoatur nimia, ac longius a veritate discedere. spumaque illa pinge non ex ore nasci, anxio animi cruciatu, cum in pictura verum esse, non verisimile, vellet Absterserat sæpius mutaveratque penicilium, nullo modo sibi ap probans. Postremno iratus avti quod intelligeretur. spongiam eam impegit inviso foeo tabulæ, et illa reposuit ablatos colores, qualiter cura optabat; "fecitque in pictura fortuna naturam.-Plin. 1. ibid, xxxv, cap. 10.