Page 684 Agathocles lifted up with this success, sent Leptimes away to spoll and harrass the Enemies Countries, and especially the Agrigentines: For Xenodocus was in disgrace amongst his fellow Citizens, and blacken'd by his Adversaries upon the account of his late overthrow, so that he was troubl'd with Mutinies and Seditions: Therefore he commanded Leptines to make it his business to draw him out to fight, if he could possibly; for that it was a very easie thing to vanquish an Army that was in Divisions and Mutinies among themselves, and that had been beaten but a little before; which afterwards hapned accordingly. For Leptines making an inroad into the Territories of the Agrigentines harrass'd and spoil'd all before them: Xenodocus looking upon himself too weak, lay quiet and still at first; but being call'd a Coward by the Citizens, he march'd out with an Army near as many as the Enemy, but far inferior to them for Courage and Resolution; because the Citizens had liv'd altogether in ease and idleness, and the other had been us'd to lie in the open field, and continually inur'd to all manner of hardships. A Battle therefore being fought between them, those with Leptines presently put the Agrigentines to flight, and pursu'd them even to the Walls of Agrigentum: There were kill'd of those thus Routed about Five hundred Foot and Fifty Horse. The Agrigentines being grievously incens'd with these losses one after another, summon'd Xenodocus to his Trial, as the occasion of Two Overthrows and slaughters of the Citizens; who fearing the severity of the Sentence he was like to fall under, fled to Gela.
Agathocles having conquer'd his Enemies both at Sea and Land in a few days time, sacrific'd to the Gods and entertain'd his friends with sumptuous Feasts, and Royal Banquettings. In the time of his feasting and quaffing he laid aside all his Ensigns of Royalty, and Majesty, and appear'd as one of the meanest among them; and this he did in the first place to gain upon the good will of the People, which he sought thus to purchase: And in the second, that by giving every Man free liberty in their Cups to say what they pleas'd of him, he might the better learn how every one stood affected towards him. For by the force of Wine Truth often appears from behind the Hanging. He was naturally of a jocund and jesting Temper, and would not sometimes lose his Jest even in publick Assemblies, but would jeer the very Senators, and mock some of them by his Apish imitations, in so much as he would often set the People a laughing, as if they had seen some Jugler or Stageplaier. For he would go alone to the publick Assemblies, attended only by the common People, much differing from the practice of Dionysius the Tyrant; for he was so fearful of every body, that he would let the Hair of his Head and Beard grow to excess, that the principal parts of his Body might not be at the mercy of a Razor: And when ever he wanted shaving, or polling, he burnt off the Hair; every one may hereby see, that the only guard for Tyranny is Diffidence. Moreover, at this time of Revelling Agathocles took up a great Golden Bowl, and vaunted that he never left off the Potters Trade, before he had made Cups and Bowls exactly of that shape. For he did not deny, but rather glory in his Trade, as a Foil that set off with more lustre that high state and dignity to which his own Valour had advanc'd him from a mean and contemptible Calling.
Once when he besieg'd one of the Considerable Cities, the Soldiers from the Walls call'd out to him, O Potter!Sweep-Chimney! When wilt thou pay thy Soldiers? To whom he answer'd, When I have taken and raz'd this Place.
When he had found out by the Craft of his carousing and festival Jollity who were his Enemies, he invited them another time by themselves, together with Five hundred other Syracusians, who were Men of brave and undaunted Spirits; and when they were together, he surrounded them with his mercenary Soldiers, and murther'd them every Man: For he was terribly afraid, lest when he was gone into Africa, they should recall Dinocrates and the Refugees, and abrogate his Government.
Having thus settled Affairs, in order to the establishing himself in the Principality, he looses from Syracuse: When he landed in Africa, he found there in the Camp nothing but Want and Desperation; therefore judging it most for his Advantage to fight, he made it his Business to encourage the Soldiers to engage the Enemy, and thereupon draws them ail out in Battalia, and offers the Barbarians Battel. The remainder of the Foot then with him were at the most not above Six thousand Grecians, and as many Celts, Samnites, and Hetrurians, and almost Ten thousand Africans of those that stay'd with him: These Africans are a treacherous sort of Men, ever upon any Occasion running over from one Party to another. Besides these, there were with him Fifteen hundred Horse, and above Six thousand African Carriages: But the Carthaginians though they had the Advantage of a high Ground, and of difficult access, yet they were not willing to venture all at once with Men that were desperate, but by lying still in their Camp (where
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.