Sunday Washington globe., 1902-01-12
Fictions That For Centuries
Have Posed as Facts.
HISTORIANS MAKE THEM
Why the Colossus OF Rhodes Could
Not Have Spanned the HarbOr.
The Force OF LeOnidas az Their
mOpylae-The William Tell Myth.
As 20 Inventors aud Their Claims
Even in Modern Times Are GIaring
Errors and Mistakes.

There have been woven into history many
interesting stories that time and investiga-
ton have proved myths, but in spite Of the
efforts of the iconoclasts these mistakes of
history still pass current with many people
Probably one of the most affecting scenes
connected with the making of literature is
that described in the oft repeated story Of
the blind poet Milton debating Paradise
Lost" to his daughters DR.. Johnson, how
ever, has been quoted as denying IT, He
said furthermore, that Milton never even
permitted his daughters to learn to read and
write
favorite piece" with western and
southern schoolboys on recitation and ex-
hibition days was a set Of verses telling of
the heroic stand of Leonidas and his brave
500" at ThermopylH. The Able Bar
thelemy, who asserted that he had inquired
minutely into the subject, wrote that ac-
cording to Diodorus, Leouidas had 1000
men under him and that Pausanias gave the
number Of Leouidas' army as $4,000.
Did Cesar say to the pilot:
'Why do you fear? You have Cesar on
board"
Many trustworthy historians declare that
Caesar never used the words quoted
The inside of cigar box covers are some
times oruaueuted with a picture of the
Colossus of Rhodes, with ships in full sail
passing between the outstretchcd legs Of
the gigantic statue The pictures reflect
the popular and what for centuries was the
historical idea of the Colossus, which was
accounted one Of the seven wonders Of the
world II may be interesting to know that
all drawings of the statue sare purely inn
aginary and what is more, are modern not
ancient, efforts. The Colossus was erected
in 3os B. c. The most trustworthy Of
ancient accounts of il is contained in a
manuscript dating about $50 B. c., in which
the height of the statue is given as los feet
The entrance to the harbor of Rhodes is $50
feet across, so that it was manifestly i'm
possible that the legs of the Colossus should
span the entrance to the port or that ships
should sail beneath it.
As a matter of fact the Colossus was not
built across the harbor, but on an open
/ space OF ground near it; but, for all that, it
was a wonderful statue.
/ People whose sympathies are easily
aroused have wept over the wrongs of Bell
sarius, the cOuqueror of the Vaudals, who,
many we're taught begged his bread at the
city gates" after having commanded vic
torious armies and been of much service to
the state. The good old general was un-
questonably an unfortunate and much
abused man, but there is no proof that he
begged his living at the city gates or else
where Yet Van Dyke engraved him and
David, the great Frenchman, painted him,
and tragedies and romances were written
around him in the belief that he did sit at
the city gates a forlorn and disconsolate OBJ
ject with palm outstretched for aims.
The facts are, conspiracy against the
Emperor Justinian being discovered, two Of
Belisarius officers confessed under torture
that the old general was in the plot He
was condemned without further hearing
his property sequestrated, and he suffered
imprisonment for six months. His limo
cence being established Belisarius was re.
leased, and he died about a year later.
But that he ever was reduced to the ex.
tremity of begging is declared to be abso-
lutely untrue.
The schoolboOk tale of William Tel
shooting an apple from his sons head is
also without foundation in fact. Tell:
name doesn't even appear in the chronicles
of Zurich, and the most ancient writing in
which the story is mentioned bears date
some 200 years after the event it pretends
to describe The story is a variation of ar
old Scandinavian saga. A similar bit oi
history" is related Of William, Of Clouds
ley, in England in the twelfth century.
1t Is denied also that Emperor Charles v
of Spain, on his abdication adopted the
habit of a monk and occupied himself in
the manufacture of clocks. It Is declared
that he never ceased to be emperor de Jact0
4 r. =.
of state
Coming down to later times, the people oi
three different countries claimed three diff
ferent men as inventors of the steam engine
In America there is a popular belief to thi:
day that Robert Fulton built the first sue
cessful engine and steamboat. In England
the Marquis of Worcester, who published
an account Of a steam engine in 1868 has
received credit for the invention. In France
SOLOMON de Caus (I6Is) was regarded as the
genius who had given to the world a new
motive power Each of them may have
conceived and worked out the idea of q
steam engine without the slightest knowl
edge Of what had been done in that direc
tion before their day, but none of them
might rightly lay claim to being the 6rst in
the field.
On April II, I543 Don Blasco de Garay
launched a boat Of 200 tons burden at BARGE
Iona in the presence of the Emperor Charles
" The boat was propelled by steam anc
made ten miles an hour. She was called
La Sanctissima Trinidada. The emperoi
gave to DON Blasco a handsome present
but did not regard the invention as prach
cable, and nothing came Of it. From this
it would seem that Fulton was centuries be
hind the times