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was not Cowardize but want of opportunity that made us seem to be willing and content to be Slaves. May we not be asham'd to have an Enemy to be our General, one who has Sacrilegiously robb'd all the Temples in the City; to entrust one in matters of the greatest publick concern, that none (in his wits) would trust with his own private Estate. And when we see that all Men generally are more than ordinarily Religious in times of War and imminent Dangers; Can we hope that such a notorious Atheist as this should be instrumental to put an happy issue to this War? And if any Man will but seriously consider, he may easily conclude, that Dionysius is more afraid of Peace than War. For he knows that the Syracusians (through fear of the bad consequences of commotions at this present) dare not attempt any thing against him: But he foresees that if the Carthaginians be conquer'd, the Syracusians being then in Arms, and encourag'd with the success will seek to redeem themselves, and regain their Liberty. And this was the cause (as I conceive) that in the former War he most treacherously depopulated Gela and Camerina, and stript 'em of all their Inhabitants; and likewise agreed as part of the Articles of the League; That many of the Greek Cities should never after be inhabited by the Grecians. This was likewise the Cause, that afterwards in a time of Peace, And against the Conditions agreed on, he enslav'd Naxus and Catana, raz'd the one down to the ground, and gave away the other to the Campanians, a Colony out of Italy. and when he perceiv'd that after the Cities were thus ruin'd, the rest were continually plotting how to rescue themselves from this Tyranny, he then for a diversion began this Second War against the Carthaginians. For the Sacred Bonds of an Oath did not so much awe him to the keeping of his League, as the fear of these Sicilians that remain'd did torment him, whose destruction he continually watch'd all opportunities to effect. When the Enemy, lately weak and weather-beaten, landed at Panormus, tho' he might easily then have fallen upon them with his whole Army, yet was very far from doing any such service for his Country. Afterwards he suffer'd Messina (that large City and commodious Port) for want of Relief, to be laid wast, not only because there were many Sicilians by that means cut off, but likewise that all Aids by Shipping from Italy and Peloponnesus might be intercepted by the Carthaginians. Then at last he fought upon the Coasts near to Catana, even close to the City, that the Enemy if they were beaten might have ready shelter in the Port of their own Allies. After this, and the Fight was over, a Storm arose, by reason whereof the Carthaginians were forc'd to draw up their Ships into the Harbour, at which time we had a fair opportunity of ruining them, their Land-Army not being then come up, and their Ships, many of them thrown upon the Shoar by the violence of the Storm. If we then had set upon them with our Land-Army, they must all necessarily have either fallen into our hands, if they had come to Land, or by the violence and rage of the Sea the Shoar had been fill'd with wrecks. But I know I need not spend many words in accusing Dionysius among the Syracusians: For if the incurable Injuries and Wrongs themselves will not raise the Spirits of the Sufferers, How can words prevail to take revenge of this Miscreant? When besides all that they have suffer'd they may clearly see, That he's the most impious wretch of the Citizens, the cruelest Tyrant, and most slothful and careless General: For as often as we fight the Enemy under his Conduct, so often are we beaten: But now when we lately Engag'd our selves without him, we routed the Enemies whole Fleet with a few Gallies. We ought therefore to provide a new General, lest while we make use of one who has Sacrilegiously robb'd the Temples, we fight against God himself. For the Deity apparently opposes them who make such an Atheist their Head and Governor. For to see all our Forces in the height of their strength dispers'd and scatter'd when he is with them, and yet a small part of our Army Conquerors when he is absent, What does it but evidence to all the special and remarkable Presence of the Gods? Therefore, Oh ye Syracusians, if he will freely Abdicate his Covernment, let us as freely consent that he may depart out of the City with all that belongs to him: But if he refuses so to do, now we have an opportunity to regain our Liberty. We are now here all together, we have Arms in our hands, and those that will assist us both out of Italy and Peloponnesus are near at hand. And by the Law the Chief Gommand in the Army ought either to be given to some of the Citizens, or to some of the Corinthians, who are the natural Inhabitants, or to the Spartans who now Command all Greece.
When Theodorus had thus spoken, the Syracusians (much perplex'd in their Minds) and doubtful what to do) look'd back upon their Confederates, Upon which, Pharacides the Lacedemonian Admiral of the Fleet (lately sent to their assistance) ascended the Tribunal; and every Man now hop'd he would be very earnest in persuading of them to
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.