Image: The Stature of a Great Man or the English Colossus cph.3b03411

Description: "The Stature of a Great Man or the English Colossus". Satire of Sir Robert Wapole alluding to his "extreme reluctance to engage in war...to resist the aggressions of Spain and France". Caption reads: Why Man, he doth bestride of narrow World Like a Colossus, and we petty Men – Walk under his huge Legs, & peep about To find ourselves, dishonourable Graves Men at some times are Masters of their fates: The fault, dear P––y is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are Underlings —Shakespear [sic] Description: The Colossus at Rhodes, a statue of the Sun 70 Cubits high, placed at the Mouth of the Harbour; one Man could not grasp its Thumb with both his Arms. Its thighs stretch'd out to such a Distance, that a large Ship Sailing might easily pass – into the Port betwixt them. It was Twelve Years a makeing, & cost 300 Talents (a Rhodian Talent is worth 322 Pounds, 18 shillings & 4 Pence in English Money) It stood 50 Years, & at last was thrown down in an Earth-quake. And from this Colossus the People of Rhodes were named Colossenses, & every Statue since of an unused Magnitude is call'd Colossus.
Title: The Stature of a Great Man or the English Colossus cph.3b03411
Credit:   This image is available from the United States Library of Congress's Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID cph.3b03411. This tag does not indicate the copyright status of the attached work. A normal copyright tag is still required. See Commons:Licensing for more information. العربية | čeština | Deutsch | English | español | فارسی | suomi | français | magyar | italiano | македонски | മലയാളം | Nederlands | polski | português | русский | slovenčina | slovenščina | Türkçe | українська | 中文 | 中文（简体）‎ | 中文（繁體）‎ | +/−
Author: Unknown
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Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
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