But When They Meet With A Connoisseur, They Produce Some
Medals Which Are Really Valuable And Curious.
Nismes, antiently called Nemausis, was originally a colony of
Romans, settled by Augustus Caesar, after the battle of Actium.
It is still of considerable extent, and said to contain twelve
thousand families; but the number seems, by this account, to be
greatly exaggerated. Certain it is, the city must have been
formerly very extensive, as appears from the circuit of the
antient walls, the remains of which are still to be seen. Its
present size is not one third of its former extent. Its temples,
baths, statues, towers, basilica, and amphitheatre, prove it to
have been a city of great opulence and magnificence. At present,
the remains of these antiquities are all that make it respectable
or remarkable; though here are manufactures of silk and wool,
carried on with good success. The water necessary for these works
is supplied by a source at the foot of the rock, upon which the
tower is placed; and here were discovered the ruins of Roman
baths, which had been formed and adorned with equal taste and
magnificence. Among the rubbish they found a vast profusion of
columns, vases, capitals, cornices, inscriptions, medals,
statues, and among other things, the finger of a colossal statue
in bronze, which, according to the rules of proportion, must have
been fifteen feet high. From these particulars, it appears that
the edifices must have been spacious and magnificent. Part of a
tesselated pavement still remains.
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