Page:A new and general biographical dictionary; containing an historical and critical account of the lives and writings of the most eminent persons in every nation v1.djvu/314

 a 7 8 A P O L L O D O R U S. his mofl famous production was his " Bibliotheca," concerning the original of the gods; and of all his writings, only three Fabne.Blbl. books of this work have come down to our hands, though it in iambic verfe, from the deftruftion of Troy to his own times, which comprehended the fpace of one thoufand and J d.ibid. forty years. He wrote alfo a trcatife concerning the famous legiflators; and another, relating to the different feds of Vol.;;. philofophers : befides many other pieces, which may be feen p. 666. &c. in p abricius ' s "Bibliotheca Graeca." There were feveral other famous perfons of this name : $cipio Teft.i, a Neapolitan, has written a treatife of the Apollodorufes, which was printed at Rome in 1555. Dr. Thomas Gaie publifhed a work of the fame kind in 1675. APOLLODORUS, a famous architect under Trajan and Adrian, was born at Damafcus : and had the direction of that moft magnificent bridge, which the former ordered to be built over the Danube, in the year 104. Adrian, who always va- lued himfelf highly upon his knowledge of arts and fciences, and hated every one of whofe eminence in his profeflion he had reafon to be jealous, conceived a very early dilaffe&ion to this artift, upon the following occafion : As Trajan was one day difcourfing with Apollodorus upon the buildings he had taifed atRome, Adrian gave his judgement; but (hewed . in himfelf ignorant: upon which the artift, turning bluntly U p 0n him, bid him * go paint Citruls, for that he knew " nothing of the fubject they were talking of:" now Adrian was at that time engaged in painting Citrul c, and even boafted of it. This was the firftftep towards the ruin of Apollodo- rus; which he was fo far from attempting to retrieve, that he even added a new offence, and that too after Adrian was advanced to the empire. To {hew Apollodorus that he had no abfolute occafion for him, Adrian fent him the plan of a temple of Venus; and. though he afked his opinion, yet he did not mean to be directed by it, for the temple was actually built. Apollodorus wrote his opinion very freely, and found fuch eflential faults with it, as the emperor could neither deny or remedy. He {hewed, that it was neither high nor large enough; that the ftatues in it were difproportioned to its bulk : for, faid he, " if the goddefcs fliould have a mind " to Il ^ c an ^ g out > the y cou ld not ^ i^" This put Adrian into a mighty paflion, and prompted him to get rid of Apollodorus. Hebanifhed him at firft, and at laft had him put to death; not fetting forth the true caufc, of which he would.
 * . rarc>p< confined of twenty-four. He wrote a chronicle, or hiftory,
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