Page 652 in huge Bundles of Butrushes fastned close together, upon which Three or more of them place themselves, two of which ply the Oars that are fastn'd to the Bulrushes, and the third carrys a Bow and Arrows to defend themselves against such as attempt to make up upon them from the other side, or that offer them any violence. Assoon as they come to the Brimstone they get upon it, and hew it in pieces with Axes, as pieces of stone out of a soft Rock, and so loading the Bulrish Boat, they row back. If any fall into the Water through the deficiency of the Boat, yet he never sinks as in other waters, tho' he knows not how to swim, but lies upon the water as if he were the best swimmer in the World. For this Lake naturally bears any thing that has either a vegetative or an animal Life, except such things as are solid, and seem to be without Pores, as Silver, Gold, Lead, or the like; and these likewise are much longer and slower in sinking than when they are cast into other waters. And this profit and advantage the Barbarians reap from it; they Transport this Pitch into Egypt and there sell it for the use of embalming of the Dead; for if they do not mix this with other Aromatick Spices, the Bodies cannot be preserv'd long from putrefaction.
Antigonus at the Reign of Demetrius having heard the Relation of his Voiage blam'd him for his making Peace with the Nabatheans, saying that those barbarous people having so escapt would thereupon grow more insolent than before, concluding that they were not favour'd out of love or compassion of the Conqueror, but in dispair of the Conquest; but he commended him for discovering the Lake Asphaltes, seeing that from thence he might raise some yearly Revenue to himself, and made Hieronimus Cardianus the Historian his Treasurer for that Revenue, and commanded him to build Ships and gather together all the Bitumen, or liquid Brimstone that could be gotten out of that Lake: But Antigonus in the event was frustrated of his hope; for the Arabians coming together to the number of Six thousand Men set upon them as they were in their Ships, gathering this Brimstone, and shot them almost all to death with their Arrows; whereby Antigonus lost all hopes of making any standing Revenue that way, and forbore all further prosecution of that design both upon the account of the miscarriage already, and likewise for that he had matters of greater weight and concern then in his head.
For about that time a Courrier came, and brought Letters to him from Nicanor, Governor of Media, and others, how Seleucus was return'd and prosper'd in those parts: Whereupon Antigonus being much concern'd for the upper Provinces, sent his Son Demetrius with Five thousand Macedonian Foot, and Ten thousand Mercenaries, and Four thousand Horse with charge that he should march to the very Walls of Babylon, and having recover'd that Province should from thence march down to the Sea. Demetrius hereupon departed from Damascus in Syria, and went vigorously on to fulfil his Fathers Command. But Patrocles, whom Celeucus had made President of Babylon, so soon as he heard that Demetrius was falling into Mesopotamia, not daring to stay his coming (because he had but a smal power about him) commanded the rest to leave the City, and that passing the Euphrates they should flee some into the Deseart, others over the Tigris into the Province of Susa, and to the Persian Sea; and he himself with a company which he had about him trusting in the Barrs of the Rivers and Dikes of the Country thereabouts, instead of so many Fortresses and Bulwarks for his defence, kept himself still within the Bounds of his own Government, and cast about how to intrap his Enemy, sending ever and anon Tidings to Seleucus in Media how how things went with him, and desiring aid to be speedily sent to him.
Demetrius when he came to Babylon and found the City it self void of Inhabitants, fell presently to besiege the Forts and Castles that were therein,; and having taken one of them, gave the spoil thereof to his Soldiers: But having besieg'd the other for some days together, in hast, he departed, leaving Archelaus, one of his trusty friends, to maintain the Siege with Five thousand Foot and a Thousand Horse; and himself, seeing the time run out, which his Father had appointed him to finish his work in; return'd with the rest of the Army into the lesser Asia.
While those things were acting, the Wars between the Romans and the Samnites continu'd still in Italy, wherein there were daily excursions into one anothers Territories, Besieging of Cities and Incamping of Armies on both sides: For the Contest between the most warlike Nations of Italy was, which should gain the Empire and Sovereign Command of the whole, upon which account many great Battles were fought.
At length the Consuls of Rome with a part of their Forces Incampt in the face of the Enemy, watching for a fit opportunity to fall upon them, by which means they preserv'd their Consederate Cities from annoyance and disturbance from the Enemy. With
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.