ὡς οὖν προσέβαλον οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι διχόθεν, ἔκπληξις ἦν τῶν Συρακουσίων καὶ σιγὴ διὰ δέος, μηδὲν ἂν ἀνθέξειν πρὸς βίαν καὶ δύναμιν οἰομένων τοσαύτην. σχάσαντος δὲ τὰς μηχανὰς τοῦ Ἀρχιμήδους ἅμα τοῖς μὲν πεζοῖς ἀπήντα τοξεύματά τε παντοδαπὰ καὶ λίθων ὑπέρογκα μεγέθη, ῥοίζῳ καὶ τάχει καταφερομένων ἀπίστῳ, καὶ μηδενὸς ὅλως τὸ βρῖθος στέγοντος ἀθρόους ἀνατρεπόντων τοὺς ὑποπίπτοντας καὶ τὰς τάξεις συγχεόντων,
When, therefore the Romans assaulted them by sea and land, the Syracusans were stricken dumb with terror; they thought that nothing could withstand so furious an onset by such forces. But Archimedes began to ply his engines, and shot against the land forces of the assailants all sorts of missiles and immense masses of stones, which came down with incredible din and speed; nothing whatever could ward off their weight, but they knocked down in heaps those who stood in their way, and threw their ranks into confusion.
ταῖς δὲ ναυσὶν ἀπὸ τῶν τειχῶν ἄφνω ὑπεραιωρούμεναι κεραῖαι τὰς μὲν ὑπὸ βρίθους στηρίζοντος ἄνωθεν ὠθοῦσαι κατέδυον εἰς βυθόν, τὰς δὲ χερσὶ σιδηραῖς ἢ στόμασιν εἰκασμένοις γεράνων ἀνασπῶσαι πρῴραθεν ὀρθὰς ἐπὶ πρύμναν ἐβάπτιζον, ἢ διʼ ἀντιτόνων ἔνδον ἐπιστρεφόμεναι καὶ περιαγόμεναι τοῖς ὑπὸ τὸ τεῖχος πεφυκόσι κρημνοῖς καὶ σκοπέλοις προσήρασσον, ἅμα φθόρῳ πολλῷ τῶν ἐπιβατῶν συντριβομένων.
At the same time huge beams were suddenly projected over the ships from the walls, which sank some of them with great weights plunging down from on high; others were seized at the prow by iron claws, or beaks like the beaks of cranes, drawn straight up into the air, and then plunged stern foremost into the depths, or were turned round and round by means of enginery within the city, and dashed upon the steep cliffs that jutted out beneath the wall of the city, with great destruction of the fighting men on board, who perished in the wrecks.
πολλάκις δὲ μετέωρος ἐξαρθεῖσα ναῦς ἀπὸ τῆς θαλάσσης δεῦρο κἀκεῖσε περιδινουμένη καὶ κρεμαμένη θέαμα φρικῶδες ἦν, μέχρι οὗ τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἀπορριφέντων καὶ διασφενδονηθέντων κενὴ προσπέσοι τοῖς τείχεσιν ἢ περι· ολίσθοι τῆς λαβῆς ἀνείσης. ἣν δὲ ὁ Μάρκελλος ἀπὸ τοῦ ζεύγματος ἐπῆγε μηχανήν, σαμβύκη μὲν ἐκαλεῖτο διʼ ὁμοιότητά τινα σχήματος πρὸς τὸ μουσικὸν ὄργανον,
Frequently, too, a ship would be lifted out of the water into mid-air, whirled hither and thither as it hung there, a dreadful spectacle, until its crew had been thrown out and hurled in all directions, when it would fall empty upon the walls, or slip away from the clutch that had held it. As for the engine which Marcellus was bringing up on the bridge of ships, and which was called sambuca from some resemblance it had to the musical instrument of that name,
ἔτι δὲ ἄπωθεν αὐτῆς προσφερομένης πρὸς τὸ τεῖχος ἐξήλατο λίθος δεκατάλαντος ὁλκήν, εἶτα ἕτερος ἐπὶ τούτῳ καὶ τρίτος, ὧν οἱ μὲν αὐτῇ ἐμπεσόντες μεγάλῳ κτύπῳ καὶ κλύδωνι τῆς μηχανῆς τήν τε βάσιν συνηλόησαν καὶ τὸ γόμφωμα διέσεισαν καὶ διέσπασαν τοῦ ζεύγματος, ὥστε τὸν Μάρκελλον ἀπορούμενον αὐτόν τε ταῖς ναυσὶν ἀποπλεῖν κατὰ τάχος καὶ τοῖς πεζοῖς ἀναχώρησιν παρεγγυῆσαι.
while it was still some distance off in its approach to the wall, a stone of ten talents’ weight was discharged at it, then a second and a third; some of these, falling upon it with great din and surge of wave, crushed the foundation of the engine, shattered its frame-work, and dislodged it from the platform, so that Marcellus, in perplexity, ordered his ships to sail back as fast as they could, and his land forces to retire.
βουλευομένοις δὲ ἔδοξεν αὐτοῖς ἔτι νυκτὸς, ἂν δύνωνται, προσμῖξαι τοῖς τείχεσι· τοὺς γὰρ τόνους, οἷς χρῆσθαι τὸν Ἀρχιμήδην, ῥύμην ἔχοντας ὑπερπετεῖς ποιήσεσθαι τὰς τῶν βελῶν ἀφέσεις, ἐγγύθεν δὲ καὶ τελέως ἀπράκτους εἶναι διάστημα τῆς πληγῆς οὐκ ἐχούσης. ὁ δʼ ἦν, ὡς ἔοικεν, ἐπὶ ταῦτα πάλαι παρεσκευασμένος ὀργάνων τε συμμέτρους πρὸς πᾶν διάστημα κινήσεις καὶ βέλη βραχέα, καὶ διὰ τὸ τεῖχος οὐ μεγάλων, πολλῶν δὲ καὶ συνεχῶν τρημάτων ὄντων, οἱ σκορπίοι βραχύτονοι μέν, ἐγγύθεν δὲ πλῆξαι παρεστήκεσαν ἀόρατοι τοῖς πολεμίοις.
Then, in a council of war, it was decided to come up under the walls while it was still night, if they could; for the ropes which Archimedes used in his engines, since they imparted great impetus to the missiles cast, would, they thought, send them flying over their heads, but would be ineffective at close quarters, where there was no space for the cast. Archimedes, however, as it seemed, had long before prepared for such an emergency engines with a range adapted to any interval and missiles of short flight, and through many small and contiguous openings in the wall short-range engines called scorpions could be brought to bear on objects close at hand without being seen by the enemy.
ὡς οὖν προσέμιξαν οἰόμενοι λανθάνειν, αὖθις αὖ βέλεσι πολλοῖς ἐντυγχάνοντες καὶ πληγαῖς, πετρῶν μὲν ἐκ κεφαλῆς ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς φερομένων ὥσπερ πρὸς κάθετον, τοῦ δὲ τείχους τοξεύματα πανταχόθεν ἀναπέμποντος, ἀνεχώρουν ὀπίσω.
When, therefore, the Romans came up under the walls, thinking themselves unnoticed, once more they encountered a great storm of missiles; huge stones came tumbling down upon them almost perpendicularly, and the wall shot out arrows at them from every point; they therefore retired.
κἀνταῦθα πάλιν αὐτῶν εἰς μῆκος ἐκτεταγμένων, βελῶν ἐκθεόντων καὶ καταλαμβανόντων ἀπιόντας ἐγίνετο πολὺς μὲν αὐτῶν φθόρος, πολὺς δὲ τῶν νεῶν συγκρουσμός, οὐδὲν ἀντιδρᾶσαι τοὺς πολεμίους δυναμένων, τὰ γὰρ πλεῖστα τῶν ὀργάνων ὑπὸ τὸ τεῖχος ἐσκευοποίητο τῷ Ἀρχιμήδει, καὶ θεομαχοῦσιν ἐῴκεσαν οἱ Ῥωμαῖοι, μυρίων αὐτοῖς κακῶν ἐξ ἀφανοῦς ἐπιχεομένων.
And here again, when they were some distance off, missiles darted forth and fell upon them as they were going away, and there was a great slaughter among them; many of their ships, too, were dashed together, and they could not retaliate in any way upon their foes. For Archimedes had built most of his engines close behind the wall, and the Romans seemed to be fighting against the gods, now that countless mischiefs were poured out upon them from an invisible source.
οὐ μὴν ἀλλʼ ὁ Μάρκελλος ἀπέφυγέ τε καὶ τοὺς σὺν ἑαυτῷ σκώπτων τεχνίτας καὶ μηχανοποιοὺς ἔλεγεν οὐ παυσόμεθα πρὸς τὸν γεωμετρικὸν τοῦτον Βριάρεων πολεμοῦντες, ὃς ταῖς μὲν ναυσὶν ἡμῶν κυαθίζει ἐκ τῆς θαλάσσης, τὴν δὲ σαμβύκην ῥαπίζων μετʼ αἰσχύνης ἐκβέβληκε, τοὺς δὲ μυθικοὺς ἑκατόγχειρας ὑπεραίρει τοσαῦτα βάλλων ἅμα βέλη καθʼ ἡμῶν;
However, Marcellus made his escape, and jesting with his own artificers and engineers, Let us stop, said he, fighting against this geometrical Briareus, who uses our ships like cups to ladle water from the sea, and has whipped and driven off in disgrace our sambuca, and with the many missiles which he shoots against us all at once, outdoes the hundred-handed monsters of mythology.
τῷ γὰρ ὄντι πάντες οἱ λοιποὶ Συρακούσιοι σῶμα τῆς Ἀρχιμήδους παρασκευῆς ἦσαν, ἡ δὲ κινοῦσα πάντα καὶ στρέφουσα ψυχὴ μία, τῶν μὲν ἄλλων ὅπλων ἀτρέμα κειμένων, μόνοις δὲ τοῖς ἐκείνου τότε τῆς πόλεως χρωμένης καὶ πρὸς ἄμυναν καὶ πρὸς ἀσφάλειαν.
For in reality all the rest of the Syracusans were but a body for the designs of Archimedes, and his the one soul moving and managing everything; for all other weapons lay idle, and his alone were then employed by the city both in offence and defence.
τέλος δὲ τοὺς Ῥωμαίους οὕτω περιφόβους γεγονότας ὁρῶν ὁ Μάρκελλος ὥστʼ, εἰ καλῴδιον ἢ ξύλον ὑπὲρ τοῦ τείχους μικρὸν ὀφθείη προτεινόμενον, τοῦτο ἐκεῖνο, μηχανήν τινα κινεῖν ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς Ἀρχιμήδη βοῶντας ἀποτρέπεσθαι καὶ φεύγειν, ἀπέσχετο μάχης ἁπάσης καὶ προσβολῆς, τὸ λοιπὸν ἐπὶ τῷ χρόνῳ τὴν πολιορκίαν θέμενος. τηλικοῦτον μέντοι φρόνημα καὶ βάθος ψυχῆς καὶ τοσοῦτον ἐκέκτητο θεωρημάτων πλοῦτον Ἀρχιμήδης ὥστε, ἐφʼ οἷς ὄνομα καὶ δόξαν οὐκ ἀνθρωπίνης, ἀλλὰ δαιμονίου τινὸς ἔσχε συνέσεως,
At last the Romans became so fearful that, whenever they saw a bit of rope or a stick of timber projecting a little over the wall, There it is, they cried, Archimedes is training some engine upon us, and turned their backs and fled. Seeing this, Marcellus desisted from all fighting and assault, and thenceforth depended on a long siege. And yet Archimedes possessed such a lofty spirit, so profound a soul, and such a wealth of scientific theory, that although his inventions had won for him a name and fame for superhuman sagacity,
μηθὲν ἐθελῆσαι σύγγραμμα περὶ τούτων ἀπολιπεῖν, ἀλλὰ τὴν περὶ τὰ μηχανικὰ πραγματείαν καὶ πᾶσαν ὅλως τέχνην χρείας ἐφαπτομένην ἀγεννῆ καὶ βάναυσον ἡγησάμενος, εἰς ἐκεῖνα καταθέσθαι μόνα τὴν αὐτοῦ φιλοτιμίαν οἷς τὸ καλὸν καὶ περιττὸν ἀμιγὲς τοῦ ἀναγκαίου πρόσεστιν, ἀσύγκριτα μὲν ὄντα τοῖς ἄλλοις, ἔριν δὲ παρέχοντα πρὸς τὴν ὕλην τῇ ἀποδείξει, τῆς μὲν τὸ μέγεθος καὶ τὸ κάλλος, τῆς δὲ τὴν ἀκρίβειαν καὶ τὴν δύναμιν ὑπερφυῆ παρεχομένης·
he would not consent to leave behind him any treatise on this subject, but regarding the work of an engineer and every art that ministers to the needs of life as ignoble and vulgar, he devoted his earnest efforts only to those studies the subtlety and charm of which are not affected by the claims of necessity. These studies, he thought, are not to be compared with any others; in them the subject matter vies with the demonstration, the former supplying grandeur and beauty, the latter precision and surpassing power.
οὐ γὰρ ἔστιν ἐν γεωμετρίᾳ χαλεπωτέρας καὶ βαρυτέρας ὑποθέσεις ἐν ἁπλουστέροις λαβεῖν καὶ καθαρωτέροις στοιχείοις γραφομένας, καὶ τοῦθʼ οἱ μὲν εὐφυΐᾳ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς προσάπτουσιν, οἱ δὲ ὑπερβολῇ τινι πόνου νομίζουσιν ἀπόνως πεποιημένῳ καὶ ῥᾳδίως ἕκαστον ἐοικὸς γεγονέναι· ζητῶν μὲν γὰρ οὐκ ἄν τις εὕροι διʼ αὐτοῦ τὴν ἀπόδειξιν, ἅμα δὲ τῇ μαθήσει παρίσταται δόξα τοῦ κἂν αὐτὸν εὑρεῖν οὕτω λείαν ὁδὸν ἄγει καὶ ταχεῖαν ἐπὶ τὸ δεικνύμενον.
For it is not possible to find in geometry more profound and difficult questions treated in simpler and purer terms. Some attribute this success to his natural endowments; others think it due to excessive labour that everything he did seemed to have been performed without labour and with ease. For no one could by his own efforts discover the proof, and yet as soon as he learns it from him, he thinks he might have discovered it himself; so smooth and rapid is the path by which he leads one to the desired conclusion.
οὔκουν οὐδὲ ἀπιστῆσαι τοῖς περὶ αὐτοῦ λεγομένοις ἐστίν, ὡς ὑπʼ οἰκείας δή τινος καὶ συνοίκου θελγόμενος ἀεὶ σειρῆνος ἐλέληστο καὶ σίτου καὶ θεραπείας σώματος ἐξέλειπε, βίᾳ δὲ πολλάκις ἑλκόμενος ἐπʼ ἄλειμμα καὶ λουτρόν, ἐν ταῖς ἐσχάραις ἔγραφε σχήματα τῶν γεωμετρικῶν, καὶ τοῦ σώματος ἀληλιμμένου διῆγε τῷ δακτύλῳ γραμμάς, ὑπὸ ἡδονῆς μεγάλης κάτοχος ὢν καὶ μουσόληπτος ἀληθῶς.
And therefore we may not disbelieve the stories told about him, how, under the lasting charm of some familiar and domestic Siren, he forgot even his food and neglected the care of his person; and how, when he was dragged by main force, as he often was, to the place for bathing and anointing his body, he would trace geometrical figures in the ashes, and draw lines with his finger in the oil with which his body was anointed, being possessed by a great delight, and in very truth a captive of the Muses.
πολλῶν δὲ καὶ καλῶν εὑρετὴς γεγονώς λέγεται τῶν φίλων δεηθῆναι καὶ τῶν συγγενῶν ὅπως αὐτοῦ μετὰ τὴν τελευτὴν ἐπιστήσωσι τῷ τάφῳ τὸν περιλαμβάνοντα τὴν σφαῖραν ἐντὸς κύλινδρον, ἐπιγράψαντες τὸν λόγον τῆς ὑπεροχῆς τοῦ περιέχοντος στερεοῦ πρὸς τὸ περιεχόμενον.
And although he made many excellent discoveries, he is said to have asked his kinsmen and friends to place over the grave where he should be buried a cylinder enclosing a sphere, with an inscription giving the proportion by which the containing solid exceeds the contained.
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