Page 675 Agathocles hearing of his approach, went to meet him, and advis'd him by all means to have a care of his Army after so tedious and hard a Journey, and to see them well refresh'd. He himself lay quiet a few days, observing every thing that was done in the neighbouring Camp, at length taking his opportunity when the greater part of Ophellas his Army were gone a forraging into the Country, and taking notice that Ophellas never suspected any thing of what he was in contriving, he suddainly call'd his Army together, and before them accus'd Ophellas, for that being call'd for as an Assistant, in this War, he went about to betray him; and having incens'd the multitude, drew out his whole Army in Battalion against him and his Cyrenians. Ophellas growing amaz'd at this unexpected alteration, put nevertheless himself and the men he had with him, in a posture of defence: but the Enemy being too quick for him, and he too weak for them, he was there slain upon the place. Agathocles persuaded the rest that were left, to lay down their Arms; then telling them what great things he would do for them, he got the whole Army to himself. And thus Ophellas by indulging his Ambition, and being over credulous came to this fatal Catastrophe: In the mean time Bomilcar at Carthage was waiting for an opportunity to put in execution what he had a long time been hammering in his brain in order to gain the Soveraign power and authority. And although he had several times fit occasions offer'd him for that purpose, yet always some light and inconsiderable cause or other intervening, put a stop to his design. For some superstitious persons many times are preparing to act great and remarkable pieces of Wickedness, and yet always chuse rather to delay, than act, to put off, than execute the thing; which even then came to pass. For concluding he had a fair opportunity offer'd him, the better to effect his purpose, he sent away the most eminent Persons of the Citizens that were about him, in an Expedition against the Numidians, that he might have none of the Nobility at hand to oppose him; but then checkt by his own Fears, he durst not reveal to any his design of gaining the Principality, and so he let the matter fall again. At length it fell out that he attempted to set up himself at the very same time that Ophellas was cut off by Agathocles; and neither of them knew what was done in one another's Camp. For Agathocles knew nothing of the Ambition of the other, or of the Tumult and Disorder that was in the City, which he might at that time have easily subdu'd: For if Bomilcar had been surpriz'd and taken in the very Fact, he would have chosen rather to have join'd with Agathocles, than to have given up himself to be punish'd by the Citizens: Neither did the Carthaginians know any thing of Agathocles his falling upon Ophellas; for they might easily have overcome him by joining with Ophellas. But I suppose both sides were well enough content to be ignorant, although they were things of great weight and concern, and contrived by them that were near one to another.
For Agathocles being plotting to cut off a Person that was his Friend and Associate, minded not to enquire after any thing that was in doing with the Enemy: And Bomilcar on the other side, contriving how to overturn the Liberties of his Country, cared not what was in agitation in Agathocles his Camp, whose purpose was now not so much to conquer an Enemy, as to subdue his own Fellow-Citizens. Matters being thus, here some may find fault with History, seeing many things of divers Natures falling out at one and the same time, and that Writers are forc'd to break in with new Matter of another nature, and to divide between things done at the same instant, that the Truths related may delight the more. But to Answer this, the History that is deny'd this liberty; although it afterwards represents the things done, yet it Postpones the true pleasure of the thing at too great a distance from the first Relation.
Bomilcar therefore picking out a select number of Men in the New City (as it's call'd) not far distant from the Old Carthage, dismist all the rest; then having call'd togther Five hundred of the Citizens, who were privy to his Design, and about a Thousand Mercenary Soldiers, he declar'd himself sole Monarch of the Carthaginians. Then he divided his Troops into Five Bodies, and set upon the City, killing all that he met in the High-ways; upon which, an incredible Terror and Amazement possest the whole City; At first, the Carthaginians suspected that the Town was betray'd, and that the Enemy had broke in by that means. But when the Truth was known, the young Men Marshall'd themselves, and made against the Tyrant; who hasten'd into the Forum, killing all he met in the Streets, and slaughtering great numbers of naked and unarm'd Citizens. But the Carthaginians mounting the tops of the Houses that were round about 〈◊〉 Market-place, cast down showers of Darts from thence, so that the Conspirators (the place being altogether expos'd to the Shot) were gall'd most grievously. Whereupon in a 〈◊〉 Body they forc'd their way through the narrow Passes, and got into the New City, being ply'd and wounded with Darts and Arrows all along as they came under the Houses.
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.