Truely, neare unto this City, I saw a long continuing plaine, abounding in Cornes, Wines, all sorts of fruitfull herbage, and so infinitely peopled, that methought Nature seemed, with the peoples industry to contend, the one by propagating creatures, the other by admirable agriculture.
That for Commodities and pleasure, it is little inferiour unto the valley of Suda in Candy, which maketh the [V. 174.]inhabitants wondrous insolent: for as mirth is made of Wealth is the brother of vice.pleasure, and with pleasures all vices are baited; even so there is not a more incorrigible creature then man in prosperity, nor so modest nor reformed an one, as he, to whom fortune hath lent but a sparing and crooked favour, which indeed I hold best of all: for it is the forming of the mind, not the tongue, nor hand, that can preferre us to true felicitie: And would to God that these, upon whome none but faire windes have ever blowne, in the carreire of their supposed happinesse, could but see for all their high and overtopping places, their end, and resting place: since they are nought but the arrowes of the omnipotent arme, that are yet flying not at theirs but his marke; and no more owners of their owne proposed ends, then they are guilty of their owne beginnings: surely they would cover their faces with another kind of maske then they do: and make their actions seeme more cleare, then the force of policie can obumbrate their wicked devices.
Thiatyra now called Tiria, one also of the seven Churches is not from Smirna above eighteene miles.
From this Citie (having left my kind English men and their stately ship that carryed 24. pieces of Ordonance,) I imbarked in a Turkish Carmoesalo, that carried nothing but her loading, being bound for Rhodes. In our sayling along the coast of Ionia, the first place of any note I saw, was Ephesus decayed.the ruinous Citie of Ephesus; yet somewhat inhabited with Greekes, Jewes, and a few Turkes; but no waies answerable to its former glory and magnificence, being rather a monument for memory, then a continuing Towne of any excellency: neverthelesse it is pleasantly adorned with Gardens, faire fields, and greene woods of Olive trees, which on the Sea doe yeeld a delectable prospect: It was one of the seaven Churches, Revel. 2. 1. This [V. 175.]was one of the most renowned Cities in Asia the lesser but the same thereof arose from the Temple of Diana: which for the spaciousnesse, furniture, and magnificent workmanship was accounted one of the seven worlds wonders: It was two hundred yeares in building, being foure hundred twenty five foote long, and two hundred broad: It was seven severall times burnt, whereof the most part was with lightning, and lastly the finall destruction of it, came by a base fellow Erostratus, who to purchase himselfe a name, Dianaes Temple burnt.did set it on fire. Timothy was Bishop of Ephesus, to the people whereof, Saint Paul directed one of his Epistles, and finally it is famous for the buriall of Saint John the Evangelist: It was said of this place, in the Acts of the Apostles, that all Asia, and the whole world did worship here Diana: Tully reporteth, De natura Deorum, that Timæus being demanded the reason why the Temple of Diana was set on fire that night, when Alexander the great was borne: gave this jest thereof, that the Mistresse of it was from home; because she being the Goddesse of Midwives, did that night wait upon Olimpias the mother of Alexander the great, who was brought to bed in Macedonia.
The Ile Lango or Cuos.Over against this Citie is the Ile Lango, aunciently called Coos, wherein the great Hippocrates was borne, and Appelles, the Painter most excellent. It is both fertile, and populous, and of circuite above fourescore miles. There is a kind of Serpent said to be in it, so friendly unto the Inhabitants, that when the men are sleeping under the shadow of trees, they come cralling, and will lincke or claspe themselves about their neckes and bodies, without doing any harme, neither when they awake are the beasts affraid.
And neare to Lango, is the Ile Nixa, of old Strangoli; [V. 176.]and by some called Dronisa and Naxus, an Iland both fruitfull and delightfull. As we sailed by the West part of the Ile, a Greekish passenger shewed me the place, where (as he sayd) Ariadne was deceived of Theseus, which is not farre from the irriguate plaine of Darmille.
Continuing our Navigation, I saw the little Ile Ephdosh, where the Turkes told me, that all the Ilanders were Excellent swimmers.naturally good swimmers, paying no more tribute to their great Lord the Turke, save onely once in the yeare there are certaine men, and women chosen by a Turkish Captaine, who must swimme a whole league right out in the Sea, and goe downe to the bottome of the waters, to fetch thence some token they have got ground: And if they shall happen to faile in this, the Iland will be reduced againe to pay him yearely rent. This I saw with mine eyes, whiles we being calmed, there came a man and two women swimming to us, more then a mile of way, carrying with them (drie above the water) baskets of fruite to sell, the which made me not a little to wonder. For when they came to the ships side, they would neither boord, nor boat with us, but lay leaning, or as it were resting them selves on the sea, upon their one side, and sold so their fruits: keeping complements and discourses with us above an houre. Contenting them for their ware, and a fresh gale arising, we set forward, accoasting the little Ile of Samothracia.
Samothracia.This Ile of Samothracia, was called of old Dardania, and now by the Turkes Samandracho; a place of small note considering the quantity of the Ile, and the few number of Inhabitants: their lives being answerable to their meannes; ignorance and servitude; two strong commanders of infirme weaklings, and no lesse powerfull, then [V. 177.]they are debile in the debt of worthinesse; which the younglings of understanding, & sucklings of far look’d-to knowledge, can never be able to escape, although a true profession covereth many naturall imperfections; and in it a hope for blessednes, which indeed moe wish for, then rightly understand it. And upon the ninth day after our departure from Smyrna, we arrived at the City of Rhodes, so called of the Iland wherein it standeth.
Rhodes lieth in the Carpathian Sea. It was of old called The Ile of Rhodes.Ithrea, Telchino, and Phiula: Plinie saith it was called Rhodes, because there were certaine fields of Roses in it; for Rhodos in the Greeke tongue signifieth a Flower: Not farre from the City, and at the entery of the Haven, The Idoll Collossus.I saw the relicts of that huge, and admiredly erected Idoll, named Colossus Rhodius, or the mighty image of the Sunne; which was made in honour thereof: from the which Saint Paul termed the Inhabitants Collossians. It was builded by the worthy Canete Lindo in the space of twelve yeares: others have said, of Callasses the Disciple of Lisippus, taking the name Collossus of him, and it was thought worthy to be one of the seven earthly wonders, and so it might justly have beene: The quantity whereof (as yet) may amaze the minde of the beholder: It was erected in the Image of a man, being eighty cubits high, and so bigge, that the little finger of it was as bigge as an ordinary man: between whose legs, (it standing in the harbours mouth, with a legge on each side of the entery) Shippes were wont to passe under with taunt sayles: When Mnavi Generall of Caliph Osmen first united this Ile to the Mahometan Empire, and broke downe the greatest part of this statue; the brasse whereof was said to be so much that it loaded nine hundred Camells.
This Ile belonged once to the Knights of Malta, and [V. 178.]were then surnamed Knights of the Rhodes, but they came first out of Acre in the Holy Land; who were called Knights of St. John; who viriliously expulsed the Saracens from thence, Anno 1308. who had formerly taken it from the devided Grecians: These Knights sorely invested the Turkes for the space of two hundred yeares, till Solyman the magnificent, at last invaded and subdued it: The Rhodians were ever great friends to the Romanes, insomuch that when all the other Mediterranean Ilands revolted to Mithridates of Pontus, this onely adhered to the Romanes.