Amador ledger., 1902-01-17
ERRORS OF HISTORY
FICTIoNS THAT FOR CENTURIES HAVE
POSED AS FACTS.
Why the Colossus of Rhodes Could
Not Have Spanned the HarbOr-The
Force of LeOnidas Mt ThermOpyIe.
The William Tell Myth.

ne w TeiI Myth.
There have been woven into history
many interesting stories that time and
Investigation 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
lictating Paradise Lost" to his daugh-
fers. DR.. johnson, however, has been
quoted as denying it. He said. further
more, that Milton never even permitted
his daughters to learn to read and
write.
favorite piece" with western and
southern schoolboys on recitation and
exhibition days was set of verses tell
ing of the heroic stand of Leonidas and
his brave 300" at Thermopyl@. The
Able Barthelemy. who asserted that
he had inquired minutely into the sub
ject. wrote that, according to Diodorus,
Leonidas had 1000 men under him and
that Pausanias gave the number of Le-
onidas' army as $4,000.
Did Caesar say to the pilot:
"Why do you fear? You have Caesar
on board"
Many trustworthy historians declare
that Caesar never used the words
quoted.
The inside Of cigar box covers are
sometimes ornamented with a picture
of the Colossus Of Rhodes, with ships
in full sail passing between the out
stretched legs of the gigantic statue.
These pictures reflect the popular and
what for centuries was the historical
idea of the Colossus. which was ac-
counted one Of the seven wonders Of
the world. 1t may be interesting to
know that all drawings of the statue
are purely imaginary and, what is
more, are modern. not ancient, efforts.
The Colossus was erected in 905 B. @.
The most trustworthy of ancient ac-
counts Of 1t Is contained In a manu-
script dating about f50 B. c.. in which
the height of the statue is given as 105
feet. The entrance to the harbor of
Rhodes Is $50 feet across, so that it
was manifestly impossible that the legs
Of the Colossus should span the en-
trance 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 1t; but, for
all that, it was a wonderful statue.
People whose sympathies are easily
aroused have wept over the wrongs
Of Belisarius, the conqueror Of the
Vandals, who, many were taught,
begged his bread at the city gates"
after having commanded victorious
armies and been Of much service to
the state. The good old general was
unquestionably an unfortunate and
much abused man, but there is no
proof that he begged his living at the
city gates or elsewhere. Yet Van Dyke
engraved him and David. the great
Frenchman, painted him, and TRACE
dies and romances were written
around him in the belief that he did sit
at the city gates forlorn and discon-
solate object with palm outstretched
for aims.
The facts are, conspiracy against
the Emperor Justinian being discover
ed, two of Belisarius' officers confessed
under torture that the old general was
In the plot He was condemned with
out further hearing, his property Sc
questrated, and he suffered imprison-
ment for six months. His Innocence
being established, Belisarius was re-
leased, and he died about year later.
But that he ever was reduced to the
extremity Of begging is declared to be
absolutely untrue.
The schoolbook tale Of William Tell
shooting an apple from his sons head
Is also without foundation in fact
Tells name doesn't even appear in the
chronicles Of Zurich, and the most an
cient writing In which the story is
mentioned bears date some 200 years
after the event it pretends to describe
The story is variation of an old Scan
dinavian saga. A similar bit Of 'his-
tory" 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 monk and occu-
pied himself in the manufacture of
clocks. 1t is declared that he never
ceased to be emperor de facto, and he
never surrendered control Of affairs of
state.
Coming down to later times, the peo-
pie of three different countries claimed
three different men as inventors of the
steam engine. In America there is a
popular belief to this day that Robert
Fulton built the first successful engine
and steamboat. In England the Mar
Quis Of Worcester, who published an
account Of steam engine In 1868, has
received credit for the invention. In
France Solomon de Caus (1615) was re-
garded as the genius who had given to
the world new motive power. Each
Of them may have conceived and work
ed out the idea Of steam engine with
out the slightest knowledge of what
had been done In that direction before
their day, but none OF them might
rightly lay claim to being the first In
the field.
On April II, 1543. Don Blasco de
Garay launched boat of 200 tons bur-
den at Barcelona in the presence Of the
Emperor Charles Y. The boat was pro-
PEELED by steam and made ten miles an
hour. She was called La Sanctissima
Trinidada. The emperor gave to Don
Blasco handsome present, but did not
regard the invention as practicable,
and nothing came Of It. From this it
would seem that Fulton was centuries