Page 268 Married a second Wife, and brought a Stepmother amongst his Children, should be remov'd from the Senate and Common Assemblies, for he judg'd that Man could never advise his Country well who was so imprudent in his own Family: For they that were once well Marry'd ought to rest satisfied with such a Happiness; and such as are unfortunate in their first Match, and yet against their own experience commit a second Fault in the same kind, justly deserve to be noted for Fools. To False Accusers he appointed this Punishment, That they should be led through the City Crown'd with the Shrub-Tamarisk, that it might appear to all, that the Offender was guilty of the highest Wickedness. And it is reported that some Convicted of this Offence, to avoid the disgrace have kill'd themselves. By the severity of this Law false Informers (the Plague of the Common-wealth) were driven out of the City, and the Citizens lived in great prosperity. Charonidas made likewise a new Law (never before instituted by any former Legislator) concerning keeping bad Company. For he found by Experience, That both the Manners and Judgments of good and honest Men were often depraved by the society and familiarity of wicked Men, and drawn aside from the Paths of Virtue to the filthiness of Vice; and that such Company like an infectious Disease seised the Minds of the very best with it's Contagion and Corruption: For the way to Vice is down the Hill with a very easy descent; by reason whereof many of more than ordinary Integrity, (insnar'd with the inticing Charms of Pleasure) have fallen into the highest degree of Wickedness; desiring therefore to prevent this mischief he severly forbad the keeping company and familiarity with lewd Men: And fram'd a Process against ill Society, and impos'd a severe Fine upon such as should be found Guilty. And he made moreover another Law more excellent than this, past by, by all the ancient Lawmakers: That is, That all the Children of the Citizens should learn to Write, and the City should pay the Master Wages. For he knew that they who were poor were not able to be at the Charge, and by consequence must lose the advantage of Instruction for their Children: For he prefer'd (and not without Cause) the knowledge of Writing to be learnt in the first place before all other Arts; For by the help of this many things conducing to the publice Good are preserv'd to Posterity; as Suffrages, Decrees, Epistles, Wills Laws and other things necessary for Instruction. Who can sufficiently set forth the praises this Art? By this the Memory of the Dead is preserv'd amongst the living; by these Messengers, they that are at the greatest distance, far absent, may be Convers'd with as present. These preserve the Opinions of the wisest Men, the Answers of the Gods, the Learning of Philosophers, all the Sciences of the World, and hand them down to Posterity for ever. Life is due to Nature, but how to live well we ow to the Books of the Learned, so that by this good Law (at the public Care and Charge) those who were illiterate before (wholly depriv'd of those great Blessings) were now improv'd by more happy Education; so that (we may say) he far exceeded those former Lawmakers who appointed Phisicians for the curing of private Mens Distempers at the charge of the Public; for they provided cures for Mens Bodies; but he for Ignorance and disease of Mens Souls. And we never desire to have need of a Phisician, but are always unwilling to part with a learned Man: Many Poets have Celebrated these Laws concerning evil Company; among others are these.—
Of his Law concerning Stepmothers mention is made thus, The lawgiver (say they) Charonidas, amongst others made this Law.—
The Histories of Herodotus written in 440 BC is considered to be the founding work of history in Western literature. His history included stories and fables but he claimed to have traveled extensively and learned about many countries through direct observation.
The thesis of Stolen Legacy is that the Egyptians created what is wrongly called Greek philosophy. Dr. James argues that the African origin of Greek Philosophy is well known but rarely discussed. Ancient Greek historians such as Herodotus and Diodorus the Sicilian wrote in significant detail about the contributions of Egypt. Egyptian technology and libraries were unmatched and Greek philosophers such as Pythagoras and Plato studied there. The contribution of Africa to the intellectual foundation of modern knowledge is tremendous but unacknowledged.
The Library of History by Diodorus the Sicilian is one of the most highly regarded universal histories in antiquities. His work includes the history of Egypt, Asia, Africa, Greece and Europe. His book is a must read for research of ancient history.
Bible Study The King James Bible (kjv), World English Bible (web) and Bible in Basic English (bbe) are all examples of public domain books. The King James Bible (kjv) online uses the content from these books and open source software to enhance Bible study capabilities. The site includes the verse of the day, search tools, christian literature and links to related content. It demonstrates the use of open source to create a valuable service.