Page 562 he made so desperate and sierce a Charge, that he made a sad Slaughter amongst the Macedonians; especially being a Man of the strongest Body of all those that were with him; for he was five Cubits high, and in bulk proportionable; so that his Breast-plate was twice as big as any of the rest of the most strongest Men amongst them; and he threw a Dart with as great force as if it had been shot out of an Engine. But this extraordinary Strength of Porus did not at all terrifie the Macedonians, that were plac'd in the front against him: Alexander therefore commanded the Archers and light-arm'd Men, with all their Darts and Arrows to make at Porus himself; who did as they were commanded. So that such a multitude of Archers were got in one Body together, and such Showers of Darts and Arrows pour'd out upon him, that they could not possibly miss their Mark. Porus at length (having fought with great Valour and Resolution) by multitude of Wounds lost so much Blood, as that his Spirits fail'd him, and he fell down from his Beast to the Ground. Upon which it being presently spread abroad that the King was dead, the rest of the Indians fled, and thereupon a great Slaughter was made amongst 'em.
Thus Alexander having gain'd this glorious Victory, at length commanded his Trumpets to sound a Retreat. But there were kill'd in this Battel above Twelve thousand Indians; amongst whom were Two Sons of Porus, the Generals of his Army, and the Chiefest of his Commanders. There were taken above Nine thousand Prisoners, and Fourscore Elephants. As for Porus, he was not yet quite dead, and therefore Alexander recommended him to the Care of the Indians themselves for the dressing of his Wounds. There fell of the Macedonians, Two hundred and fourscore Horse, and above Seven hundred Foot, whom the King took care to be decently bury'd, and rewarded those that surviv'd who had merited by their Valour. He sacrific'd likewise to the Sun, through whose Favour and Assistance he had conquer'd the East. The neighbouring Mountains being cloth'd with great Numbers of Firr-Trees, Cedars, and the Pitch-Tree, the Place affords plentiful Materials for the Building of Ships; and therefore he built as many here as he had occasion for. For he design'd when he came to the utmost Bounds of India, after he had subdu'd those Nations that lay in his way, to pass along through the River into the Ocean.
In the mean time, he built Two Cities in those Parts, one upon the further side of the River where he pass'd over; the other where he overcame Porus; and both were presently perfected, having many hands at work.
Porus being recover'd, he restor'd him to the Possession of his Kingdom; and being there was plenty of all sorts of Provision, he suffer'd his Army to lie still and refresh themselves for the space of thirty Days.
There are some things very remarkable, and worth observing, in the Mountains near where they encamp'd: For besides the Materials for Shipping, this Tract abounds with Serpents of a vast Bigness, 16 Cubits in length, and breeds a sort of Apes, to be admir'd both for their number and greatness of their Bodies. The nature of the Beast has instructed the Hunter how to take her; for she's apt to imitate every Action she sees; but because of her Strength and natural Sagacity, it's very difficult to take her by force. Therefore some of the Hunters anoint their Eyes with Honey, and others put on Shoes in the sight of the Apes; and some there are that clap upon their Heads Looking-glasses: Then they leave some Shoes behind them, with Bands fixt to them, and instead of Honey lay Birdlime, and within the Glasses are Ropes to run on Nooses: When they are gone, the poor Beasts begin presently to imitate what they saw done, and so are deluded; for their Eye-lids are glew'd together, their Feet are fast bound, and their whole Bodies held by the Snares; and so they become an easie Prey to the Hunter.
Afterwards Alexander forces Embisarus (who had been so slow in assisting Porus, and now in a Consternation) to a Submission; and then passes the River with his Forces, and makes his way through a most fruitful Country: For here are strange sorts of Trees seventy Cubits high, and of that thickness that four Men can scarcely fathom 'em, and cast a Shade 300 foot distance.
There are likewise in this Tract multitudes of Serpents of small Bodies; but for their various Colour most remarkable: For some lie like Rods yellow as Brass; others have very rough and hairy Breasts, and whoever is bitten by them, falls down dead immediately. If any be stung by them, he's most horridly tormented, and a bloody Sweat issues out at all the Pores of his Body. The Macedonians, to secure themselves from these Mischiefs, hung up their Beds on the Limbs of these Trees, watching the greatest part of the Night: But at length, by some of the Inhabitants, they were directed to a Root, which was an Antidote against the Poison.
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.