The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-02-06
From Plutarch.

EIOln +IluiaICl.
 K xARCELLUs. with sixty galleys, MI each with five rows Of oars, \ furnished with all sorts of arms and missiles, and huge bridge of blanks laid upon eight ships chained together, upon which WAS carried the engine to cast stones and darts, as- saulted the walls. relying on the abund- ance and magnificence of his preparations, and on his own previous glory; all which, however. were, it would seem, but trifles for Archimedes and his machines. These machines he had designed and contriyed, not matters of any importance, but as mere amusements in geometry; in compli- ance with King Hiero's desire and re- quest, some little time before, that he should reduce to practice some part of his admirable speculation in science, and by accompanying the heoretic truth to sensation and ordinary use, bring it more general. Archimedes, in writing to King Hiero, whose friend and near relation he was, had stated that, given the rorce, any given weight might be moved, and even boasted, we are told, relying on the strength of demonstration, that if there were another earth, by going into it he could remove this. IIiero being struck with amazement at this, and enireating him to make good this problem by actual experiment, and show some great weight moved by small engine, he fixed accord ingly upon ship of burden out of the kings arsenal, which could not be drawn ..f+l..> laI, md many men; and loading her with many passengers and a full freight, sitting himself the while far off, with no great endeavor, but only holding the head of the pulley in his hand and drawing the cords by degrees, he drew the ship in straight line, as smoothly and evenly, as if she had been in the sea-
 The king, astonished at this, and con vinced of the power of the art, pre- engines accommodated to all the pur- vailed upon Archimedes to make his en- a siege. - +When, therefore, the Ro- mans assaulted the walls in two places at once, fear and consternation stupefied the Syracusans, believing that nothing was able to resist that violence and those forces. But when Archimedes began to ply his engines, he at once shot against the land forces all sorts of missile weap- ons and immense masses of stone that came down with incredible noise and vio- cree, against which no man could stand, for they knocked down those upon whom tl;ey fell, in heaps. breaking all their ranks and files In the meantime huge poles thrust out from the walls over the ships sunk some by the great weights which they let down from on high upon them; others they lifted into the air by an iron hand or beall like a cranes beak, and, when they had drawn them up by the prov and set them on end upon the poop, they plunged them to the bot tom of the sea. or else the ships. drawn by engines within and whirled about, were dashed against steep rocks that stood jutting out under the walls with great destruction of the soldiers that were aboard them. A ship was frequently lifted to a great height in the air Ca d1 1eadful thing to .behold), and was rolled to and fro, and Kept swinging. until the mariners were all thrown out, when at length it was dashed against the rocks or let fall At the engine that Marcellus brought upon the bridge of ships, which was called Sambuca from some reseinb- lance it had to an instrument of music. while it was yet approaching the wall, there was discharged a piece of rock Of ten talents weight, then a second and third, which. striking upon it with i'm mense. force and q noise like thunder, broke all it's foundations to pieces. shook