The Capitol, built by Tarquin, stood till the days of Marius and Sylla
it seems; that last-named Dictator erected a new one, which was
overthrown in the contests about Vitellius; Vespasian set it up again,
but his performance was burned soon after its author's death; and this
we contemplate now, is one of the works of Domitian, and celebrated by
Martial of course. Adrian however added one room to it, dedicated to
Egyptian deities alone: as a matter of mere taste I fancy, like our
introducing Chinese temples into the garden; but many hold that it was
very serious and superstitious regard, inspired by the victory Canopus
won over the Persian divinity of fire, by the subtlety of the Egyptian
priests, who, to defend their idol from that all-subduing element,
wisely set upon his head a vessel filled with water, and having
previously made the figure of Terra Cotta hollow, and full of water,
with holes bored at the bottom stopped only by wax to keep it in, a
seeming miracle extinguished the flames, as soon as approached by
Canopus; whose triumph was of course proclaimed, and he respected
accordingly. The figure was a monkey, whose sitting attitude favoured
the imposture: our antiquaries tell us the story after _Suidas_.
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