August 19, 2025 • 45 mins
Dive into the fascinating history of Pyrrhus, the formidable king of Epirus from 336 to 321 BC. Renowned as a brilliant soldier and conqueror, he left his mark on both Macedon and Italy, giving rise to the term Pyrrhic victory that echoes through history. Join Deon Gines as he unravels the legacy of this extraordinary leader.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter seven of Paris by Jacob Abbott. This LibriVox recording
is in the public domain recording by Dion Jins, Salt
Lake City, Utah. The Sicilian Campaign b c. Two ninety
one two two seventy six. The fact has already been
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mentioned that one of the wives whom Paris had married
after the death of Antigony, the Egyptian princess, was Lenassa,
the daughter of Agathocles, the king of Sicily. Agathaucles was
a tyrannical monster of the worst description. His army was
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little better than an organized band of robbers, at the
head of which he went forth on marauding and plundering
expeditions among all the nations that were within his reach.
He made these predatoris excursions, sometimes into Italy, sometimes into
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the Carthaginian territories on the African coast, and sometimes among
the islands of the Mediterranean Sea. In these campaigns he
met with a great variety of adventures and experienced every
possible fate that the fortune of war could bring. Sometimes
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he was triumphant over all who opposed him, and became
intoxicated with prosperity and success. At other times, through his
insane and reckless folly. He would involve himself in the
most desperate difficulties, and was frequently compelled to give up
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everything and to fly alone, in absolute destitution, from the
field of his attempted exploits to save his life. On
one such occasion, he abandoned an army in Africa which
he had taken there on one of his predatory enterprises,
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and flying secretly from the camp, he made his escape
with a small number of attendants, leaving the army to
its fate. His flight was so sudden on this occasion
that he left his two sons behind in the hands
and at the mercy of the soldiers. The soldiers, as
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soon as they found out that Agathocles had gone and
left them, were so enraged against him that they put
his sons to death on the spot, and then surrendered
in a body to the enemy. Agathocles, when the tidings
of this transaction came to him in Sicily, was enraged
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against the soldiers in his turn, and in order to
revenge himself upon them, he immediately sought out from among
the population of the country, their wives and children, their
brothers and sisters, and all who were in any way
related to them. These innocent representatives of the absent offenders,
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he ordered to be seized and slain, and their bodies
to be cast into the sea toward Africa, as an
expression of revengeful triumph and defiance. So great was the
slaughter on this occasion that the waters of the sea
were dyed with blood to a great distance from the shore.
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Of course, such cruelty as this could not be practiced
without awakening on the part of those who suffered from
it a spirit of hatred and revenge. Plots and conspiracies
without number were formed against the tyrant's life, and in
his later years he lived in continual apprehension and distress.
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His fate, however, was still more striking as an illustration
of the manner in which the old age of ambitious
and unprincipled men is often embittered by the ingratitude and
wickedness of their children. Agathacles had a grandson named Archigathus, who,
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if all the accounts are true, brought the old king's
gray hairs in sorrow to the grave. The story is
too shocking to be fully believed, but it is said
that his grandson first murdered Agathacles's son and heir his
own uncle, in order that he might himself succeed to
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the throne, his own father, who would have been the
next heir, being dead. Than not being willing to wait
until the old king himself should die, he began to
form plots against his life and against the lives of
the remaining members of the family. Although several of Agathocles's
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sons were dead, having been destroyed by violence or having
fallen in war, he had a wife named Texina and
two children still remaining alive. The king was so anxious
in respect to these children on account of Archigothas, that
he determined to send them with their mother to Egypt
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in order to place them beyond the reach of their
merciless nephew. Texina was very unwilling to consent to such
a measure. For herself and her sons, the proposed retiring
into Egypt was little better than going into exile, and
she was moreover extremely reluctant to leave her husband alone
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in Syracuse, exposed to the machinations and plots which his
unnatural grandson might form against him. She however, finally submitted
to the hard necessity and went away, bidding her husband
farewell with many tears. Very soon after her departure, her
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husband died. The story that is told of the manner
of his death is this. There was in his court
a man named Manon, whom Agathocles had taken captive when
a youth, and ever since retained in his court. Though
originally a captive taken in war, Manon had been made
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a favorite with Agathocles and had been raised to a
high position in his service. The indulgence, however, and the
favoritism with which he had been regarded, were not such
as to awaken any sentiments of gratitude in Manon's mind,
or to establish any true and faithful friendship between him
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and his master. And Archigathus, the grandson found means of
inducing him to undertake to poison the king. As all
the ordinary modes of administering poison were precluded by the
vigilance and strictness with which the usual avenues of approach
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to the king reguarded, Manon contrived to accomplish his end
by poisoning a quill, which the king was subsequently to
use as a toothpick. The poison was insinuated thus into
the teeth and gums of the victim, where it soon
took effect, producing dreadful ulceration and intolerable pain. The infection
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of the venom, after a short time, pervaded the whole
system of the sufferer, and brought him to the brink
of the grave. And, at last, finding that he was
speechless and apparently insensible, his ruthless murderers, fearing perhaps that
he might revive again, hurried him to the funeral pile,
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before life was extinct and the fire finished the work
that the poison had begun. The declaration of scripture, they
that take the sword shall perish by the sword, is
illustrated and confirmed by the history of almost every ancient tyrant.
We find that they almost all come at last to
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some terrible end. The man who usurps a throne by
violence seems, in all ages and among all nations, very
sure to be expelled from it by greater violence after
a brief period of power. And he who poisons or
assassinates a precedent rival whom he wishes to supplant is
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almost invariably cut off by the poison or the dagger
of a following. One who wishes to supplant him. The
death of Agathocles took place about nine years before the
campaign of Paris in Italy, as described in the last chapter,
and during that period the Kingdom of Sicily had been
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in a very distracted state. Manon, immediately after the poisoning
of the king, fled to the camp of Archigathus, who
was at that time in command of an army at
a distance from the city. Here, in a short time
he contrived to assassinate Archigathus and to seize the supreme power.
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It was not long, however, before new claimants and competitors
for possession of the throne appeared, and new wars broke out,
in the course of which Manon was deposed at length.
In the myths of the contests and commotions that prevailed,
two of the leading generals of the Sicilian army conceived
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the idea of bringing forward Puris's son by Lenasa, as
the heir to the crown. This prince was, of course
the grandson of the old king Agathocles, and as there
was no other descendant of the royal line at hand
who could be made the representative of the ancient monarchy,
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it was thought by the generals above referred to that
the only measure which afforded any hope of restoring peace
to the country was to send an embassy to Paris
and invite him to come and place his young son
upon the throne. The name of Lenas's son was Alexander.
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He was a boy, perhaps at this time, about twelve
years old. At the same time that Peeris received the
invitation to go to Sicily, a message came to him
from certain parties in Greece informing him that, on account
of some revolutions which had taken place there, a very
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favorable opportunity was afforded him to secure for himself the
throne of that country, and urging him to come and
make the attempt. Pearis was for some time quite undecided
which of these two proposals to accept. The prize offered
him in Greece was more tempting, but the expedition into
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Sicily seemed to promise more certain success while revolving the
question in his mind which conquest he should first undertake.
He complained of the tantalizing cruelty of fortune in offering
him two such tempting prizes at the same time, so
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as to compel him to forego either the one or
the other. At length, he decided to go first to Sicily.
It was said that one reason which influenced his mind
very strongly in making this decision was the fact that
Sicily was so near the coast of Africa, and the
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Sicilians being involved in wars with the Carthaginians. He thought
that if successful in his operations in Sicily, the way
would be open for him to make an expedition into Africa,
in which case he did not doubt, but that he
should be able soon to overturn the Carthaginian power and
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add all the northern coasts of Africa to his dominions.
His empire would thus race Epirus, the whole southern part
of Italy, Sicily, and the coasts of Africa. He could, afterward,
he thought, easily add Greece, and then his dominions would
include all the wealthy and populous countries surrounding the most
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important part of the Mediterranean Sea. His government would thus
become a naval power of the first class, and any
further extension of his sway which he might subsequently desire,
could easily be accomplished. In a word, Pius decided first
to proceed to Sicily, and to postpone for a brief
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period his designs on Greece. He accordingly proceeded to withdraw
his troops from the interior of the country in Italy
and concentrate them in and around Tarentum. He began to
make naval preparations too, on a very extensive scale. The
port of Tarentum soon presented a very busy scene. The
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work of building and repairing ships, of fabricating sales and rigging,
of constructing and arming galleys, of disciplining and training crews,
of laying in stores of food, and of implements of
war went on with great activity and engaged universal attention.
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The Tarantines themselves stood by while all these preparations were
going on, rather as spectators of the scene than as
active participants. Pearis had taken the absolute command of their
city and government, and was exercising supreme power as if
he were the acknowledged sovereign of the country. He had
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been invited to come over from his own kingdom to
help the Tarantines, not to govern them, but he had
seized the sovereign power, justifying the seizure, as is usual
with military men, under similar circumstances. By the necessity of
the case, there must be order and submission to authority
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in the city, he said, or we can make no
progress in subduing our enemies. The Tarantines had thus been
induced to submit to his assumption of power, convinced perhaps
partly by his reasoning, and at all events silenced by
the display of force by which it was accompanied, And
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they had consoled themselves under a condition of things which
they could not prevent, by considering that it was better
to yield to a temporary foreign domination than to be
wholly overwhelmed, as there was every probability before Peers came
to them that they would be by their domestic foes. When, however,
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they found that Peeris was intending to withdraw from them
and to go to Sicily, without having really effected their
deliverance from the danger which threatened them, they at first
remonstrated against the design. They wished him to remain and
finish the work which he had begun. The Romans had
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been checked, but they had not been subdued. Peeris ought not,
they said, to go away and leave them until their
independence and freedom had been fully established. They remonstrated with
him against his design, but their remonstrances proved wholly unavailing.
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When at length the Tarantines found that Pearis was determined
to go to Sicily. They then desired that he should
withdraw his troops from their country altogether and leave them
to themselves. However, Pirus refused to do. He had no
intention of relinquishing the power which he had acquired in Italy,
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and he accordingly began to make preparations for leaving a
strong garrison in Tarentum to maintain his government there. He
organized a sort of regency in the city and set
apart a sufficient force from his army to maintain it
in power during his absence. When this was done, he
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began to make preparations for transporting the rest of his
force to Sicily by sea. He determined to send Sineus
forward first, according to his usual custom, to make the
preliminary arrangements in Sicily. Sineus consequently left Tarentum with a
small squadron of ships and galleys, and, after a short voyage,
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arrived safely at Syracuse. He found the leading powers in
that city ready to welcome Paris as soon as he
should arrive and make the young Alexander. King Sineus completed
and closed the arrangements for this purpose, and then sent
messengers to various other cities on the northern side of
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the island, making known to them the design which had
been formed of raising an heir of King Agathocles to
the throne, and asking their cooperation in it. He managed
these negotiations with so much prudence and skill that nearly
all that part of the island which was in the
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hands of the Sicilians readily acceded to the plan, and
the people were everywhere prepared to welcome Paris and the
young prince as soon as they should arrive Sicily. As
will be seen by referring to the map, is of
a t brianngular form. It was only the southern portion
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which was at this time in the hands of the Sicilians.
There were two foreign and hostile powers in possession, respectively,
of the northeastern and northwestern portions. In the northeastern corner
of the island was the city of Massana, the Messina
of modern days. In the time of Peiras's expedition, Massana
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was the seat and stronghold of a warlike nation called
the Mamartines, who had come over from Italy across the
straits of Massana some years before, and having made themselves
masters of that portion of the island, had since held
their ground there, notwithstanding all the efforts of the Sicilians
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to expel them. The Mamartines had originally come into Sicily,
it was said, as Paris, had gone into Italy by invitation,
Agathocles sent for them to come and aid him in
some of his wars. After the object for which they
had been sent for had been accomplished, Agathocles dismissed his auxiliaries,
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and they set out on their return. They proceeded through
the northeastern part of the island to Massana, where they
were to embark for Italy. Though they had rendered Agathocle's
very efficient aid in his campaigns, they had also occasioned
him an infinite deal of trouble by their turbulent and
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ungovernable spirit. And now as they were withdrawing from the island,
the inhabitants of the country through which they passed on
the way regarded them everywhere with terror and dread. The
people of Massana, anxious to avoid a quarrel with them,
and disposed to facilitate their peaceable departure from the land
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by every means in their power, received them into the city,
and hospitably entertained them there. Instead, however, of quietly withdrawing
from the city in proper time, as the Messenians had
expected them to do, they rose suddenly and unexpectedly upon
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the people at a concerted signal, took possession of the city.
Massacred without mercy, all the men seized the women and children,
and then, each one, establishing himself in the household that
choice or chance assigned him, married the wife, and adopted
the children whose husband and father he had murdered. The
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result was the most complete and extraordinary overturning that the
history of the world can afford. It was a political,
a social, and a domestic revolution all in one. This
event took place many years before the time of Piis's expedition,
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and though during the interval the Sicilians had made many
efforts to dispossess the intruders and to recover possession of Massana,
they had not been able to accomplish the work. The
Mamartines maintained their ground in Masana and from that city
as their fortress and stronghold, they extended their power over
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a considerable portion of the surrounding country. This territory of
the Mamartines was in the northeastern part of the island.
In the northwestern part, on the other hand, there was
a large province in the hands of the Carthaginians. Their
chief city was Erics, though there was another important city
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and port called Lily Bayum, which was situated to the
southward of Erics on the seashore. Here the Carthaginians were
accustomed to land their reinforcements and stores, and by means
of the ready and direct communication which they could thus
keep up with Carthage itself, they were enabled to resist
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all the efforts which the Sicilians had made to dispossess them.
There were thus three objects to be accomplished by Paris
in Sicily before his dominion over the island could be complete. Namely,
the Sicilians themselves in the southern and central parts of
the island were to be conciliated and combined, and induced
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to give up their intestine quarrels, and to acknowledge the
young Alexander as the king of the island, and then
the Mamartines on the northeast part and the Carthaginians in
the northwest were to be conquered and spelled. The work
was done so far as related to the Sicilians themselves,
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mainly by Sinius. His dexterous negotiations healed in a great
measure the quarrels which prevailed among the people, and prepared
the way for welcoming Paris and the young Prince as
soon as they should appear. In respect to the Carthaginians
and the Mamertines, nothing of course, could be attempted until
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the fleets and armies should arrive. At length, the preparations
for the sailing of the expedition from Tarentum were completed.
The fleet consisted of two hundred sail the immense squadron,
every vessel of which was crowded with armed men. Left
the harbor of Tarentum, watched by one hundred thousand spectators
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who had assembled to witness its departure, and slowly made
its way along the d the Italian shores, while its
arrival at Syracuse was the object of universal expectation and
interest in that city. When at length the fleet appeared
in view, entering its port of destination, the whole population
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of the city and of the surrounding country flocked to
the shores to witness the spectacle. Through the efforts which
had been made by Sinius and in consequence of the
measures which he had adopted, all ranks and classes of
men were ready to welcome Paris as an expected deliverer
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in the name of the young Prince, his son. He
was to re establish the ancient monarchy, restore peace and
harmony to the land, and expel the hated foreign enemies
that infested the confines of it. Accordingly, when the fleet
arrived and Paris and his troops landed from it, they
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were received by the whole population with loud and tumultuous acclamations.
After the festivities and rejoicings which were instituted to celebrate
Pearis's arrival were concluded, the young Alexander was proclaimed king
and a government was instituted in his name. Pearis himself,
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of course, being invested with all actual power. Pearis then
took the field, and on mustering his forces, he found
himself at the head of thirty or forty thousand men.
He first proceeded to attack the Carthaginians. He marched to
the part of the island which they held, and gave
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them battle in the most vigorous and determined manner. They
retreated to their cities and shut themselves up closely within
the walls. Pearis advanced to attack them. He determined to
carry Erics, which was the strongest of the Carthaginian cities,
by storm. Instead of waiting for the slow operations of
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an ordinary siege. The troops were accordingly ordered to advance
at once to the walls, and there, mounting by means
of innumerable ladders, to the parapets above, they were to
force their way in over the defenses of the city
in spite of all opposition. Of course, such a service
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as this is of all the duties ever required of
the soldier, the most dangerous possible. The towers and parapets
above which the assailants undertake to scale are covered with
armed men, who throng to the part of the wall
against which the attack is to be directed, and stand
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there ready with spears, javelins, rocks, and every other conceivable
missile to hurl upon the heads of the besiegers coming
up the ladders. Paris, However, whatever may have been his faults.
In other respects, seems to have been very little inclined
at any time to order his soldiers to encounter any
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danger which he was not willing himself to share. He
took the head of the column in the storming of Erics,
and was the first to mount the ladders. Previous, however,
to advancing for the attack, he performed a grand religious
ceremony in which he implored the assistance of the God
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Hercules in the encounter which was about to take place,
and made a solemn vow that if Hercules would assist
him in the conflict, so as to enable him to
display before these Sicilians such strength and valor, and to
perform such feats as should be worthy of his name,
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his ancestry, and his past history, he would, immediately after
the battle institute on the spot a course of festivals
and sacrifices of the most imposing and magnificent character, in
honor of the God. This vow being made, the trumpet sounded,
and the storming party went forward Paris at the head
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of it. In mounting the latter he defended himself with
his shield from the missiles thrown down upon him from above.
Until he reached the top of the wall, and there
by means of his prodigious strength and desperate and reckless bravery,
he soon gained ground for those that followed him, and
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established a position there both for himself and for them,
having cut down, one after another those who attempted to
oppose him, until he had surrounded himself self with a
sort of parapet formed of the bodies of the dead.
In the meantime, the whole line of ladders extending along
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the wall were crowded with men, all forcing their way
upward against the resistance which the besieged opposed to them
from above, while thousands of troops drawn up below as
near as possible to the scene of conflict, were throwing
a shower of darts, arrows, javelins, spears, and other missiles
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to aid the storming party by driving away the besieged
from the top of the wall. By these means, those
who were mounting the ladders were so much aided in
their efforts that they soon succeeded in gaining possession of
the wall, and thus made themselves masters of the city. Paris, then,
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in fulfillment of his vow, instituted a great celebration, and
devoted several days to games, spectacles, shows, and public rejoicings
of all kinds, intended to express his devout gratitude to
Hercules for the divine assistance which the God had vouchsafed
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to him in the assault by which the city had
been carried. By the result of this battle, and of
some other military operations which we can not here particularly describe,
the Carthaginians were driven from the open field and compelled
to shut themselves up in their strongholds or retire to
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the fastnesses of the mountains, where they found places of
refuge and defense from which Piis could not at once
dislodge them. Accordingly, leaving things at present as they were
in the Carthaginian or western part of the island, he
proceeded to attack the Mamertines in the eastern part. He
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was equally successful here by means of the tact and
skill which he exercised in his military arrangements and maneuvers,
and by the desperate bravery and impetuosity which he displayed
in battle. He conquered wherever he came. He captured and
destroyed many of the strongholds of the Mamartines drove them
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entirely out of the open country and shut them up
in Masana. Thus the island was almost wholly restored to
the possession of the Sicilians, while yet the foreign intruders,
though checked and restrained, were not after all really expelled.
The Carthaginians sent messengers to him proposing terms of peace.
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Their intention was in these proposals to retain their province
in Sicily as heretofore, and to agree with Pearis in
respect to a boundary, each party being required by the
proposed treaty to confine themselves within their respective limits, as
thus ascertained. Pearis, however, replied that he could entertain no
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such proposals. He answered them precisely as the Romans had
answered him on a similar occasion, saying that he should
insist upon their first retiring from Sicily altogether, as a
preliminary step to any negotiations whatever. The Carthaginians would not
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accede to this demand, and so the negotiations were suspended. Still,
the Carthaginians were so securely posted in their strongholds that
Pearis supposed the work of dislodging them by force would
be a slow and tedious, and perhaps doubtful undertaking his
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bold and restless spirit accordingly conceived the design of leaving
them as they were, and going on in the prosecution
of his original design by organizing a grand expedition for
the invasion of Africa. In fact, he thought this would
be the most effectual means of getting the Carthaginians out
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of Sicily, since he anticipated that if he were to
land in Africa and threaten Carthage itself, the authorities there
would be compelled to recall all their forces from foreign
lands to defend their own homes and firesides at the capitol.
He determined, therefore, to equip his fleet for a voyage
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across the Mediterranean without any delay. He had ships enough,
but he was in want of mariners. In order to
supply this want, he began to impress the Sicilians into
his service. They were very reluctant to engage in it,
partly from natural aversion to so distant and dangerous an enterprise,
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and partly because they were unwilling that Pearis should leave
the island himself until their foreign foes were entirely expelled.
As soon as you have gone, they said. The Carthaginians
and the Mamartines will come out from their hiding places
and retreats, and the country will be immediately involved in
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all the difficulties from which you have been endeavoring to
deliver us. All your labor will have been lost, and
we shall sink, perhaps into a more deplorable condition than ever.
It was evident that these representations were true, but Peuris
could not be induced to pay any heed to them.
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He was determined on carrying into effect his desire of
a descent upon the coast of Africa. He accordingly pressed
forward his preparations in a more arbitrary and reckless spirit
than ever. He became austere, imperious, and tyrannical in his measures.
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He arrested some of the leading generals and ministers of state,
men who had been his firmest friends, and through whose
agency it was that he had been invited into Sicily,
but whom he now suspected of being unfriendly to his designs.
One of these men he put to death. In the meantime,
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he pressed forward his preparations, compelling men to join his
army and to embark on board his fleet, and resorting
to other harsh and extreme measures which the people might
perhaps have submitted to from one of their own hereditary sovereigns,
but which were altogether in tolerance when imposed upon them
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by a foreign adventurer who had come to their island
by their invitation to accomplish a prescribed and definite duty.
In a word, before Pearis was ready to embark on
his African campaign, a general rebellion broke out all over
Sicily against his authority. Some of the people joined the Mamertines,
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some the Carthaginians. In a word, the whole country was
in an uproar, and Pearis had the mortification of seeing
the great fabric of power, which, as he imagined, he
had been so successfully rearing, come tumbling suddenly on all
sides to the ground. As the reader will have learned
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long before this time, it was not the nature of
Pearis to remain on the spot and grapple with difficulties
like these. If there were any new enterprise to be undertaken,
or any desperate battle to be fought on a sudden emergency,
Pearis was always ready and eager for action, and almost
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sure of success. But he had no qualities whatever to
fit him for the exigencies of such a crisis as this,
He had ardor and impetuosity, but no perseverance or decision.
He could fight, but he could not plan. He was
recklessly and desperately brave in encountering physical danger, but when
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involved in difficulties and embarrassments, his only resource was to fly. Accordingly,
it was soon announced in Sicily that Pearis had determined
to postpone his plan of proceeding to Africa and was
going back to Tarentum. Whence he came he had received
intelligence from Tarentum, he said that required his immediate return
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to that city. This was probably true, for he had
left things in such a condition at Tarentum that he
was doubtless continually receiving such intelligence from that quarter. Whether
he received any special or extraordinary summons from Tarentum just
at this time is extremely uncertain. He, however, pretended that
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such a message had come, and under this pretense he
sheltered himself in his intended departure, so as just to
escape the imputation of being actually driven away. His enemies, however,
did not intend to allow him to depart in peace.
The Carthaginians, being apprized of his design sent a fleet
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to watch the coast and intercept him, while the Mamertines,
crossing the strait marched to the place on the coast
of Italy where they expected he would land, intending to
attack him as soon as he should set foot upon
the shore. Both these plans were successful. The Carthaginians attacked
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his fleet and destroyed many of his ships. Peirus himself
barely succeeded in making his escape with a small number
of vessels and reaching the shore here. As soon as
he gained the land, he was confronted by the Mamartines,
who had reached the place before him with ten thousand men.
(40:32):
Pearis soon collected from the ships that reached the land
a force so formidable that the Mamartines did not dare
to attack him in a body. But they blocked up
the passes through which the way to Tarentum lay, and
endeavored in every way to intercept and harass him in
(40:53):
his march. They killed two of his elephants, and cut
off many separate detachments of men, and finally deranged all
his plans and threw his whole army into confusion. Pearis
at length determined to force his enemies to battle accordingly.
As soon as a favorable opportunity occurred, he pushed forward
(41:17):
at the head of a strong force and attacked the
Mamertines in a sudden and most impetuous manner. A terrible
conflict ensued, in which Paris, as usual, exposed himself personally
in the most desperate manner. In fact, the various disappointments
and vexations which he had endured had aroused him to
(41:41):
a state of great exasperation against his tormenting enemies. He
pushed forward into the hottest part of the battle, his
prodigious muscular strength enabling him to beat down and destroy
for a time all who attempted to oppose him. At last, however,
(42:02):
he received a terrible wound in the head, which for
the moment entirely disabled him. He was rescued from his
peril by his friends, though stunned and fainting under the blow,
and was borne off from the scene of conflict, with
the blood flowing down his face and neck a frightful spectacle.
(42:24):
On being carried to a place of safety within his
own ranks, he soon revived, and it was found that
he was not dangerously hurt. The enemy, however, full of
rage and hatred, came up as near as they dared
to the spot where Peirus had been carried, and stood there,
(42:45):
calling out to him to come back if he was
still alive, and filling the air with taunting and insulting
cries and vociferations of challenge and defiance. Peirus endured this
mock for a few moments as well as he could,
but was finally goaded by it into a perfect frenzy
(43:08):
of rage. He seized his weapons, pushed his friends and
attendants aside, and in spite of all their remonstrances and
all their efforts to restrain him, he rushed forth and
assailed his enemies with greater fury than ever. Breathless as
he was from his former efforts, and covered with blood
(43:30):
and gore, he exhibited a shocking spectacle to all who
beheld him. The champion of the Mamertines, the one who
had been foremost in challenging Pearis to return, came up
to meet him with his weapon upraised. Pearis parried the blow,
and then, suddenly bringing down his own sword upon the
(43:52):
top of his antagonist's head, he cut the man down.
As the story is told, from head to foot making
so complete a division that one half of the body
fell over to one side and the other half to
the other. It is difficult, perhaps to assign limits to
(44:13):
the degree of physical strength which the human arm is
capable of exerting. This fact, however, of cleaving the body
of a man by a blow from a sword was
regarded in ancient times as just on the line of
absolute impossibility, and was considered consequently as the highest personal
(44:35):
exploit which a soldier could perform. It was attributed at
different times to several different warriors, though it is not
believed in modern days that the feat was ever really performed.
But whatever may have been the fate of the Mamartine
champion under Peis's sword, the army itself met with such
(44:58):
a discomfiture in the that they gave Pearis no further trouble,
but retiring from the field, left him to pursue his
march to Tarentum for the remainder of the way in peace.
He arrived there at last with a force in numbers
about equal to that with which he had left Tarentum.
(45:19):
For Sicily, the whole object, however, of his expedition, had
totally failed. The enterprise in fact, like almost all the
undertakings which Paris engaged in, though brilliantly and triumphantly successful
in the beginning, came only to disappointment and disaster in
(45:40):
the end end of chapter seven,
Chapter seven of Paris by Jacob Abbott. This LibriVox recording
is in the public domain recording by Dion Jins, Salt
Lake City, Utah. The Sicilian Campaign b c. Two ninety
one two two seventy six. The fact has already been
(00:22):
mentioned that one of the wives whom Paris had married
after the death of Antigony, the Egyptian princess, was Lenassa,
the daughter of Agathocles, the king of Sicily. Agathaucles was
a tyrannical monster of the worst description. His army was
(00:44):
little better than an organized band of robbers, at the
head of which he went forth on marauding and plundering
expeditions among all the nations that were within his reach.
He made these predatoris excursions, sometimes into Italy, sometimes into
(01:05):
the Carthaginian territories on the African coast, and sometimes among
the islands of the Mediterranean Sea. In these campaigns he
met with a great variety of adventures and experienced every
possible fate that the fortune of war could bring. Sometimes
(01:26):
he was triumphant over all who opposed him, and became
intoxicated with prosperity and success. At other times, through his
insane and reckless folly. He would involve himself in the
most desperate difficulties, and was frequently compelled to give up
(01:48):
everything and to fly alone, in absolute destitution, from the
field of his attempted exploits to save his life. On
one such occasion, he abandoned an army in Africa which
he had taken there on one of his predatory enterprises,
(02:08):
and flying secretly from the camp, he made his escape
with a small number of attendants, leaving the army to
its fate. His flight was so sudden on this occasion
that he left his two sons behind in the hands
and at the mercy of the soldiers. The soldiers, as
(02:29):
soon as they found out that Agathocles had gone and
left them, were so enraged against him that they put
his sons to death on the spot, and then surrendered
in a body to the enemy. Agathocles, when the tidings
of this transaction came to him in Sicily, was enraged
(02:51):
against the soldiers in his turn, and in order to
revenge himself upon them, he immediately sought out from among
the population of the country, their wives and children, their
brothers and sisters, and all who were in any way
related to them. These innocent representatives of the absent offenders,
(03:15):
he ordered to be seized and slain, and their bodies
to be cast into the sea toward Africa, as an
expression of revengeful triumph and defiance. So great was the
slaughter on this occasion that the waters of the sea
were dyed with blood to a great distance from the shore.
(03:39):
Of course, such cruelty as this could not be practiced
without awakening on the part of those who suffered from
it a spirit of hatred and revenge. Plots and conspiracies
without number were formed against the tyrant's life, and in
his later years he lived in continual apprehension and distress.
(04:04):
His fate, however, was still more striking as an illustration
of the manner in which the old age of ambitious
and unprincipled men is often embittered by the ingratitude and
wickedness of their children. Agathacles had a grandson named Archigathus, who,
(04:26):
if all the accounts are true, brought the old king's
gray hairs in sorrow to the grave. The story is
too shocking to be fully believed, but it is said
that his grandson first murdered Agathacles's son and heir his
own uncle, in order that he might himself succeed to
(04:49):
the throne, his own father, who would have been the
next heir, being dead. Than not being willing to wait
until the old king himself should die, he began to
form plots against his life and against the lives of
the remaining members of the family. Although several of Agathocles's
(05:12):
sons were dead, having been destroyed by violence or having
fallen in war, he had a wife named Texina and
two children still remaining alive. The king was so anxious
in respect to these children on account of Archigothas, that
he determined to send them with their mother to Egypt
(05:35):
in order to place them beyond the reach of their
merciless nephew. Texina was very unwilling to consent to such
a measure. For herself and her sons, the proposed retiring
into Egypt was little better than going into exile, and
she was moreover extremely reluctant to leave her husband alone
(06:00):
in Syracuse, exposed to the machinations and plots which his
unnatural grandson might form against him. She however, finally submitted
to the hard necessity and went away, bidding her husband
farewell with many tears. Very soon after her departure, her
(06:21):
husband died. The story that is told of the manner
of his death is this. There was in his court
a man named Manon, whom Agathocles had taken captive when
a youth, and ever since retained in his court. Though
originally a captive taken in war, Manon had been made
(06:43):
a favorite with Agathocles and had been raised to a
high position in his service. The indulgence, however, and the
favoritism with which he had been regarded, were not such
as to awaken any sentiments of gratitude in Manon's mind,
or to establish any true and faithful friendship between him
(07:08):
and his master. And Archigathus, the grandson found means of
inducing him to undertake to poison the king. As all
the ordinary modes of administering poison were precluded by the
vigilance and strictness with which the usual avenues of approach
(07:28):
to the king reguarded, Manon contrived to accomplish his end
by poisoning a quill, which the king was subsequently to
use as a toothpick. The poison was insinuated thus into
the teeth and gums of the victim, where it soon
took effect, producing dreadful ulceration and intolerable pain. The infection
(07:54):
of the venom, after a short time, pervaded the whole
system of the sufferer, and brought him to the brink
of the grave. And, at last, finding that he was
speechless and apparently insensible, his ruthless murderers, fearing perhaps that
he might revive again, hurried him to the funeral pile,
(08:17):
before life was extinct and the fire finished the work
that the poison had begun. The declaration of scripture, they
that take the sword shall perish by the sword, is
illustrated and confirmed by the history of almost every ancient tyrant.
We find that they almost all come at last to
(08:41):
some terrible end. The man who usurps a throne by
violence seems, in all ages and among all nations, very
sure to be expelled from it by greater violence after
a brief period of power. And he who poisons or
assassinates a precedent rival whom he wishes to supplant is
(09:05):
almost invariably cut off by the poison or the dagger
of a following. One who wishes to supplant him. The
death of Agathocles took place about nine years before the
campaign of Paris in Italy, as described in the last chapter,
and during that period the Kingdom of Sicily had been
(09:29):
in a very distracted state. Manon, immediately after the poisoning
of the king, fled to the camp of Archigathus, who
was at that time in command of an army at
a distance from the city. Here, in a short time
he contrived to assassinate Archigathus and to seize the supreme power.
(09:53):
It was not long, however, before new claimants and competitors
for possession of the throne appeared, and new wars broke out,
in the course of which Manon was deposed at length.
In the myths of the contests and commotions that prevailed,
two of the leading generals of the Sicilian army conceived
(10:17):
the idea of bringing forward Puris's son by Lenasa, as
the heir to the crown. This prince was, of course
the grandson of the old king Agathocles, and as there
was no other descendant of the royal line at hand
who could be made the representative of the ancient monarchy,
(10:39):
it was thought by the generals above referred to that
the only measure which afforded any hope of restoring peace
to the country was to send an embassy to Paris
and invite him to come and place his young son
upon the throne. The name of Lenas's son was Alexander.
(11:01):
He was a boy, perhaps at this time, about twelve
years old. At the same time that Peeris received the
invitation to go to Sicily, a message came to him
from certain parties in Greece informing him that, on account
of some revolutions which had taken place there, a very
(11:24):
favorable opportunity was afforded him to secure for himself the
throne of that country, and urging him to come and
make the attempt. Pearis was for some time quite undecided
which of these two proposals to accept. The prize offered
him in Greece was more tempting, but the expedition into
(11:48):
Sicily seemed to promise more certain success while revolving the
question in his mind which conquest he should first undertake.
He complained of the tantalizing cruelty of fortune in offering
him two such tempting prizes at the same time, so
(12:08):
as to compel him to forego either the one or
the other. At length, he decided to go first to Sicily.
It was said that one reason which influenced his mind
very strongly in making this decision was the fact that
Sicily was so near the coast of Africa, and the
(12:30):
Sicilians being involved in wars with the Carthaginians. He thought
that if successful in his operations in Sicily, the way
would be open for him to make an expedition into Africa,
in which case he did not doubt, but that he
should be able soon to overturn the Carthaginian power and
(12:53):
add all the northern coasts of Africa to his dominions.
His empire would thus race Epirus, the whole southern part
of Italy, Sicily, and the coasts of Africa. He could, afterward,
he thought, easily add Greece, and then his dominions would
include all the wealthy and populous countries surrounding the most
(13:18):
important part of the Mediterranean Sea. His government would thus
become a naval power of the first class, and any
further extension of his sway which he might subsequently desire,
could easily be accomplished. In a word, Pius decided first
to proceed to Sicily, and to postpone for a brief
(13:41):
period his designs on Greece. He accordingly proceeded to withdraw
his troops from the interior of the country in Italy
and concentrate them in and around Tarentum. He began to
make naval preparations too, on a very extensive scale. The
port of Tarentum soon presented a very busy scene. The
(14:06):
work of building and repairing ships, of fabricating sales and rigging,
of constructing and arming galleys, of disciplining and training crews,
of laying in stores of food, and of implements of
war went on with great activity and engaged universal attention.
(14:27):
The Tarantines themselves stood by while all these preparations were
going on, rather as spectators of the scene than as
active participants. Pearis had taken the absolute command of their
city and government, and was exercising supreme power as if
he were the acknowledged sovereign of the country. He had
(14:50):
been invited to come over from his own kingdom to
help the Tarantines, not to govern them, but he had
seized the sovereign power, justifying the seizure, as is usual
with military men, under similar circumstances. By the necessity of
the case, there must be order and submission to authority
(15:13):
in the city, he said, or we can make no
progress in subduing our enemies. The Tarantines had thus been
induced to submit to his assumption of power, convinced perhaps
partly by his reasoning, and at all events silenced by
the display of force by which it was accompanied, And
(15:36):
they had consoled themselves under a condition of things which
they could not prevent, by considering that it was better
to yield to a temporary foreign domination than to be
wholly overwhelmed, as there was every probability before Peers came
to them that they would be by their domestic foes. When, however,
(16:01):
they found that Peeris was intending to withdraw from them
and to go to Sicily, without having really effected their
deliverance from the danger which threatened them, they at first
remonstrated against the design. They wished him to remain and
finish the work which he had begun. The Romans had
(16:24):
been checked, but they had not been subdued. Peeris ought not,
they said, to go away and leave them until their
independence and freedom had been fully established. They remonstrated with
him against his design, but their remonstrances proved wholly unavailing.
(16:45):
When at length the Tarantines found that Pearis was determined
to go to Sicily. They then desired that he should
withdraw his troops from their country altogether and leave them
to themselves. However, Pirus refused to do. He had no
intention of relinquishing the power which he had acquired in Italy,
(17:09):
and he accordingly began to make preparations for leaving a
strong garrison in Tarentum to maintain his government there. He
organized a sort of regency in the city and set
apart a sufficient force from his army to maintain it
in power during his absence. When this was done, he
(17:31):
began to make preparations for transporting the rest of his
force to Sicily by sea. He determined to send Sineus
forward first, according to his usual custom, to make the
preliminary arrangements in Sicily. Sineus consequently left Tarentum with a
small squadron of ships and galleys, and, after a short voyage,
(17:57):
arrived safely at Syracuse. He found the leading powers in
that city ready to welcome Paris as soon as he
should arrive and make the young Alexander. King Sineus completed
and closed the arrangements for this purpose, and then sent
messengers to various other cities on the northern side of
(18:19):
the island, making known to them the design which had
been formed of raising an heir of King Agathocles to
the throne, and asking their cooperation in it. He managed
these negotiations with so much prudence and skill that nearly
all that part of the island which was in the
(18:41):
hands of the Sicilians readily acceded to the plan, and
the people were everywhere prepared to welcome Paris and the
young prince as soon as they should arrive Sicily. As
will be seen by referring to the map, is of
a t brianngular form. It was only the southern portion
(19:03):
which was at this time in the hands of the Sicilians.
There were two foreign and hostile powers in possession, respectively,
of the northeastern and northwestern portions. In the northeastern corner
of the island was the city of Massana, the Messina
of modern days. In the time of Peiras's expedition, Massana
(19:28):
was the seat and stronghold of a warlike nation called
the Mamartines, who had come over from Italy across the
straits of Massana some years before, and having made themselves
masters of that portion of the island, had since held
their ground there, notwithstanding all the efforts of the Sicilians
(19:51):
to expel them. The Mamartines had originally come into Sicily,
it was said, as Paris, had gone into Italy by invitation,
Agathocles sent for them to come and aid him in
some of his wars. After the object for which they
had been sent for had been accomplished, Agathocles dismissed his auxiliaries,
(20:15):
and they set out on their return. They proceeded through
the northeastern part of the island to Massana, where they
were to embark for Italy. Though they had rendered Agathocle's
very efficient aid in his campaigns, they had also occasioned
him an infinite deal of trouble by their turbulent and
(20:38):
ungovernable spirit. And now as they were withdrawing from the island,
the inhabitants of the country through which they passed on
the way regarded them everywhere with terror and dread. The
people of Massana, anxious to avoid a quarrel with them,
and disposed to facilitate their peaceable departure from the land
(21:03):
by every means in their power, received them into the city,
and hospitably entertained them there. Instead, however, of quietly withdrawing
from the city in proper time, as the Messenians had
expected them to do, they rose suddenly and unexpectedly upon
(21:23):
the people at a concerted signal, took possession of the city.
Massacred without mercy, all the men seized the women and children,
and then, each one, establishing himself in the household that
choice or chance assigned him, married the wife, and adopted
the children whose husband and father he had murdered. The
(21:47):
result was the most complete and extraordinary overturning that the
history of the world can afford. It was a political,
a social, and a domestic revolution all in one. This
event took place many years before the time of Piis's expedition,
(22:07):
and though during the interval the Sicilians had made many
efforts to dispossess the intruders and to recover possession of Massana,
they had not been able to accomplish the work. The
Mamartines maintained their ground in Masana and from that city
as their fortress and stronghold, they extended their power over
(22:32):
a considerable portion of the surrounding country. This territory of
the Mamartines was in the northeastern part of the island.
In the northwestern part, on the other hand, there was
a large province in the hands of the Carthaginians. Their
chief city was Erics, though there was another important city
(22:55):
and port called Lily Bayum, which was situated to the
southward of Erics on the seashore. Here the Carthaginians were
accustomed to land their reinforcements and stores, and by means
of the ready and direct communication which they could thus
keep up with Carthage itself, they were enabled to resist
(23:18):
all the efforts which the Sicilians had made to dispossess them.
There were thus three objects to be accomplished by Paris
in Sicily before his dominion over the island could be complete. Namely,
the Sicilians themselves in the southern and central parts of
the island were to be conciliated and combined, and induced
(23:43):
to give up their intestine quarrels, and to acknowledge the
young Alexander as the king of the island, and then
the Mamartines on the northeast part and the Carthaginians in
the northwest were to be conquered and spelled. The work
was done so far as related to the Sicilians themselves,
(24:06):
mainly by Sinius. His dexterous negotiations healed in a great
measure the quarrels which prevailed among the people, and prepared
the way for welcoming Paris and the young Prince as
soon as they should appear. In respect to the Carthaginians
and the Mamertines, nothing of course, could be attempted until
(24:29):
the fleets and armies should arrive. At length, the preparations
for the sailing of the expedition from Tarentum were completed.
The fleet consisted of two hundred sail the immense squadron,
every vessel of which was crowded with armed men. Left
the harbor of Tarentum, watched by one hundred thousand spectators
(24:54):
who had assembled to witness its departure, and slowly made
its way along the d the Italian shores, while its
arrival at Syracuse was the object of universal expectation and
interest in that city. When at length the fleet appeared
in view, entering its port of destination, the whole population
(25:17):
of the city and of the surrounding country flocked to
the shores to witness the spectacle. Through the efforts which
had been made by Sinius and in consequence of the
measures which he had adopted, all ranks and classes of
men were ready to welcome Paris as an expected deliverer
(25:39):
in the name of the young Prince, his son. He
was to re establish the ancient monarchy, restore peace and
harmony to the land, and expel the hated foreign enemies
that infested the confines of it. Accordingly, when the fleet
arrived and Paris and his troops landed from it, they
(26:00):
were received by the whole population with loud and tumultuous acclamations.
After the festivities and rejoicings which were instituted to celebrate
Pearis's arrival were concluded, the young Alexander was proclaimed king
and a government was instituted in his name. Pearis himself,
(26:22):
of course, being invested with all actual power. Pearis then
took the field, and on mustering his forces, he found
himself at the head of thirty or forty thousand men.
He first proceeded to attack the Carthaginians. He marched to
the part of the island which they held, and gave
(26:45):
them battle in the most vigorous and determined manner. They
retreated to their cities and shut themselves up closely within
the walls. Pearis advanced to attack them. He determined to
carry Erics, which was the strongest of the Carthaginian cities,
by storm. Instead of waiting for the slow operations of
(27:08):
an ordinary siege. The troops were accordingly ordered to advance
at once to the walls, and there, mounting by means
of innumerable ladders, to the parapets above, they were to
force their way in over the defenses of the city
in spite of all opposition. Of course, such a service
(27:30):
as this is of all the duties ever required of
the soldier, the most dangerous possible. The towers and parapets
above which the assailants undertake to scale are covered with
armed men, who throng to the part of the wall
against which the attack is to be directed, and stand
(27:52):
there ready with spears, javelins, rocks, and every other conceivable
missile to hurl upon the heads of the besiegers coming
up the ladders. Paris, However, whatever may have been his faults.
In other respects, seems to have been very little inclined
at any time to order his soldiers to encounter any
(28:16):
danger which he was not willing himself to share. He
took the head of the column in the storming of Erics,
and was the first to mount the ladders. Previous, however,
to advancing for the attack, he performed a grand religious
ceremony in which he implored the assistance of the God
(28:38):
Hercules in the encounter which was about to take place,
and made a solemn vow that if Hercules would assist
him in the conflict, so as to enable him to
display before these Sicilians such strength and valor, and to
perform such feats as should be worthy of his name,
(29:00):
his ancestry, and his past history, he would, immediately after
the battle institute on the spot a course of festivals
and sacrifices of the most imposing and magnificent character, in
honor of the God. This vow being made, the trumpet sounded,
and the storming party went forward Paris at the head
(29:24):
of it. In mounting the latter he defended himself with
his shield from the missiles thrown down upon him from above.
Until he reached the top of the wall, and there
by means of his prodigious strength and desperate and reckless bravery,
he soon gained ground for those that followed him, and
(29:46):
established a position there both for himself and for them,
having cut down, one after another those who attempted to
oppose him, until he had surrounded himself self with a
sort of parapet formed of the bodies of the dead.
In the meantime, the whole line of ladders extending along
(30:09):
the wall were crowded with men, all forcing their way
upward against the resistance which the besieged opposed to them
from above, while thousands of troops drawn up below as
near as possible to the scene of conflict, were throwing
a shower of darts, arrows, javelins, spears, and other missiles
(30:33):
to aid the storming party by driving away the besieged
from the top of the wall. By these means, those
who were mounting the ladders were so much aided in
their efforts that they soon succeeded in gaining possession of
the wall, and thus made themselves masters of the city. Paris, then,
(30:55):
in fulfillment of his vow, instituted a great celebration, and
devoted several days to games, spectacles, shows, and public rejoicings
of all kinds, intended to express his devout gratitude to
Hercules for the divine assistance which the God had vouchsafed
(31:16):
to him in the assault by which the city had
been carried. By the result of this battle, and of
some other military operations which we can not here particularly describe,
the Carthaginians were driven from the open field and compelled
to shut themselves up in their strongholds or retire to
(31:39):
the fastnesses of the mountains, where they found places of
refuge and defense from which Piis could not at once
dislodge them. Accordingly, leaving things at present as they were
in the Carthaginian or western part of the island, he
proceeded to attack the Mamertines in the eastern part. He
(32:01):
was equally successful here by means of the tact and
skill which he exercised in his military arrangements and maneuvers,
and by the desperate bravery and impetuosity which he displayed
in battle. He conquered wherever he came. He captured and
destroyed many of the strongholds of the Mamartines drove them
(32:25):
entirely out of the open country and shut them up
in Masana. Thus the island was almost wholly restored to
the possession of the Sicilians, while yet the foreign intruders,
though checked and restrained, were not after all really expelled.
The Carthaginians sent messengers to him proposing terms of peace.
(32:50):
Their intention was in these proposals to retain their province
in Sicily as heretofore, and to agree with Pearis in
respect to a boundary, each party being required by the
proposed treaty to confine themselves within their respective limits, as
thus ascertained. Pearis, however, replied that he could entertain no
(33:15):
such proposals. He answered them precisely as the Romans had
answered him on a similar occasion, saying that he should
insist upon their first retiring from Sicily altogether, as a
preliminary step to any negotiations whatever. The Carthaginians would not
(33:36):
accede to this demand, and so the negotiations were suspended. Still,
the Carthaginians were so securely posted in their strongholds that
Pearis supposed the work of dislodging them by force would
be a slow and tedious, and perhaps doubtful undertaking his
(33:57):
bold and restless spirit accordingly conceived the design of leaving
them as they were, and going on in the prosecution
of his original design by organizing a grand expedition for
the invasion of Africa. In fact, he thought this would
be the most effectual means of getting the Carthaginians out
(34:20):
of Sicily, since he anticipated that if he were to
land in Africa and threaten Carthage itself, the authorities there
would be compelled to recall all their forces from foreign
lands to defend their own homes and firesides at the capitol.
He determined, therefore, to equip his fleet for a voyage
(34:45):
across the Mediterranean without any delay. He had ships enough,
but he was in want of mariners. In order to
supply this want, he began to impress the Sicilians into
his service. They were very reluctant to engage in it,
partly from natural aversion to so distant and dangerous an enterprise,
(35:09):
and partly because they were unwilling that Pearis should leave
the island himself until their foreign foes were entirely expelled.
As soon as you have gone, they said. The Carthaginians
and the Mamartines will come out from their hiding places
and retreats, and the country will be immediately involved in
(35:33):
all the difficulties from which you have been endeavoring to
deliver us. All your labor will have been lost, and
we shall sink, perhaps into a more deplorable condition than ever.
It was evident that these representations were true, but Peuris
could not be induced to pay any heed to them.
(35:55):
He was determined on carrying into effect his desire of
a descent upon the coast of Africa. He accordingly pressed
forward his preparations in a more arbitrary and reckless spirit
than ever. He became austere, imperious, and tyrannical in his measures.
(36:16):
He arrested some of the leading generals and ministers of state,
men who had been his firmest friends, and through whose
agency it was that he had been invited into Sicily,
but whom he now suspected of being unfriendly to his designs.
One of these men he put to death. In the meantime,
(36:38):
he pressed forward his preparations, compelling men to join his
army and to embark on board his fleet, and resorting
to other harsh and extreme measures which the people might
perhaps have submitted to from one of their own hereditary sovereigns,
but which were altogether in tolerance when imposed upon them
(37:02):
by a foreign adventurer who had come to their island
by their invitation to accomplish a prescribed and definite duty.
In a word, before Pearis was ready to embark on
his African campaign, a general rebellion broke out all over
Sicily against his authority. Some of the people joined the Mamertines,
(37:26):
some the Carthaginians. In a word, the whole country was
in an uproar, and Pearis had the mortification of seeing
the great fabric of power, which, as he imagined, he
had been so successfully rearing, come tumbling suddenly on all
sides to the ground. As the reader will have learned
(37:49):
long before this time, it was not the nature of
Pearis to remain on the spot and grapple with difficulties
like these. If there were any new enterprise to be undertaken,
or any desperate battle to be fought on a sudden emergency,
Pearis was always ready and eager for action, and almost
(38:12):
sure of success. But he had no qualities whatever to
fit him for the exigencies of such a crisis as this,
He had ardor and impetuosity, but no perseverance or decision.
He could fight, but he could not plan. He was
recklessly and desperately brave in encountering physical danger, but when
(38:36):
involved in difficulties and embarrassments, his only resource was to fly. Accordingly,
it was soon announced in Sicily that Pearis had determined
to postpone his plan of proceeding to Africa and was
going back to Tarentum. Whence he came he had received
intelligence from Tarentum, he said that required his immediate return
(39:00):
to that city. This was probably true, for he had
left things in such a condition at Tarentum that he
was doubtless continually receiving such intelligence from that quarter. Whether
he received any special or extraordinary summons from Tarentum just
at this time is extremely uncertain. He, however, pretended that
(39:25):
such a message had come, and under this pretense he
sheltered himself in his intended departure, so as just to
escape the imputation of being actually driven away. His enemies, however,
did not intend to allow him to depart in peace.
The Carthaginians, being apprized of his design sent a fleet
(39:49):
to watch the coast and intercept him, while the Mamertines,
crossing the strait marched to the place on the coast
of Italy where they expected he would land, intending to
attack him as soon as he should set foot upon
the shore. Both these plans were successful. The Carthaginians attacked
(40:11):
his fleet and destroyed many of his ships. Peirus himself
barely succeeded in making his escape with a small number
of vessels and reaching the shore here. As soon as
he gained the land, he was confronted by the Mamartines,
who had reached the place before him with ten thousand men.
(40:32):
Pearis soon collected from the ships that reached the land
a force so formidable that the Mamartines did not dare
to attack him in a body. But they blocked up
the passes through which the way to Tarentum lay, and
endeavored in every way to intercept and harass him in
(40:53):
his march. They killed two of his elephants, and cut
off many separate detachments of men, and finally deranged all
his plans and threw his whole army into confusion. Pearis
at length determined to force his enemies to battle accordingly.
As soon as a favorable opportunity occurred, he pushed forward
(41:17):
at the head of a strong force and attacked the
Mamertines in a sudden and most impetuous manner. A terrible
conflict ensued, in which Paris, as usual, exposed himself personally
in the most desperate manner. In fact, the various disappointments
and vexations which he had endured had aroused him to
(41:41):
a state of great exasperation against his tormenting enemies. He
pushed forward into the hottest part of the battle, his
prodigious muscular strength enabling him to beat down and destroy
for a time all who attempted to oppose him. At last, however,
(42:02):
he received a terrible wound in the head, which for
the moment entirely disabled him. He was rescued from his
peril by his friends, though stunned and fainting under the blow,
and was borne off from the scene of conflict, with
the blood flowing down his face and neck a frightful spectacle.
(42:24):
On being carried to a place of safety within his
own ranks, he soon revived, and it was found that
he was not dangerously hurt. The enemy, however, full of
rage and hatred, came up as near as they dared
to the spot where Peirus had been carried, and stood there,
(42:45):
calling out to him to come back if he was
still alive, and filling the air with taunting and insulting
cries and vociferations of challenge and defiance. Peirus endured this
mock for a few moments as well as he could,
but was finally goaded by it into a perfect frenzy
(43:08):
of rage. He seized his weapons, pushed his friends and
attendants aside, and in spite of all their remonstrances and
all their efforts to restrain him, he rushed forth and
assailed his enemies with greater fury than ever. Breathless as
he was from his former efforts, and covered with blood
(43:30):
and gore, he exhibited a shocking spectacle to all who
beheld him. The champion of the Mamertines, the one who
had been foremost in challenging Pearis to return, came up
to meet him with his weapon upraised. Pearis parried the blow,
and then, suddenly bringing down his own sword upon the
(43:52):
top of his antagonist's head, he cut the man down.
As the story is told, from head to foot making
so complete a division that one half of the body
fell over to one side and the other half to
the other. It is difficult, perhaps to assign limits to
(44:13):
the degree of physical strength which the human arm is
capable of exerting. This fact, however, of cleaving the body
of a man by a blow from a sword was
regarded in ancient times as just on the line of
absolute impossibility, and was considered consequently as the highest personal
(44:35):
exploit which a soldier could perform. It was attributed at
different times to several different warriors, though it is not
believed in modern days that the feat was ever really performed.
But whatever may have been the fate of the Mamartine
champion under Peis's sword, the army itself met with such
(44:58):
a discomfiture in the that they gave Pearis no further trouble,
but retiring from the field, left him to pursue his
march to Tarentum for the remainder of the way in peace.
He arrived there at last with a force in numbers
about equal to that with which he had left Tarentum.
(45:19):
For Sicily, the whole object, however, of his expedition, had
totally failed. The enterprise in fact, like almost all the
undertakings which Paris engaged in, though brilliantly and triumphantly successful
in the beginning, came only to disappointment and disaster in
(45:40):
the end end of chapter seven,
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