MILITARY PROJECTILES. 529 



given power he could move any given weight whatever ; 

 nay, it is said, from the confidence he had in his demon- 

 stration, he ventured to affirm, that if there was another 

 earth besides this we inhabit, by going into that, he 

 would move this wherever he pleased. Hiero, full of 

 wonder, begged of him to evince the truth of his propo- 

 sition, by moving some great weight with a small power. 

 In compliance with which, Archimedes caused one of 

 the king's galleys to be drawn on shore, with many hands 

 and much labor ; and having well maimed her, and put 

 on board her usual loading, he placed himself at a dis- 

 tance, and without any pains, only moving with his hand 

 the end of a machine, which consisted of a variety of 

 ropes and pulleys, he drew her to him in as smooth and 

 gentle a manner as if she had been under full sail. The 

 king quite astonished when he saw the force of his art, 

 prevailed upon Archimedes to make for him all manner 

 of engines and machines which could be used either for 

 attack or defence in a siege. These, however, he never 

 made use of, the greatest part of his reign being blessed 

 with tranquillity ; but they were extremely serviceable to 

 the Syracusans on the present occasion, who, with such 

 a number of machines, had the inventor to direct them. 

 ' When the Romans attacked them both by sea 'and 

 land, they were struck dumb with terror, imagining they 

 could not possibly resist such numerous forces and so fu- 

 rious an assault. But Archimedes soon began to play 

 his engines, and they shot against the land forces, all 

 sorts of missive weapons, and stones of an enormous size, 

 with so incredible a noise and rapidity, that nothing could 

 stand before them ; they overturned and crushed what- 

 ever came in their way, and spread terrible disorder 

 throughout the ranks. On the side towards the sea were 

 erected vast machines, putting forth on a sudden over the 

 walls, huge beams, which striking with a prodigious force 

 on the enemy's galleys, sunk them at once; while other 

 ships hoisted up at the prows by iron grapples or hooks, 

 like the beaks of cranes, and set an end on the stern, were 

 plunged to the bottom of the sea ; and others again by 

 ropes and grapples were drawn towards the shore, and 

 after being whirled about, and dashed against the rocks 



