Years have passed since my last engravings, and I
am no longer the brash young man I was then. Settling in simply in the palace
has greatly enabled my studies, but rest is rarely gotten due to the war that
is now upon us. Roman expansion is threatening the little city of Syracuse that
I hold so dear. More and more my time is devoted to inventing war machines for
my little cousin, the new king. The Romans are holding siege of us, and I have
been shutting myself away in my apartments more and more. Inventions such as my
water screw help keep the city supplied, and my use of levers to launch objects
towards enemy ships in our waters is helping keep the Romans temporarily at
bay, but the devotion to such devices comes at a price. I no longer have time
for my theories. My work with spheres has been put on indefinite hold, and now
I spend my time pouring over calculations for trajectories. Drawings of claws
to lift boats and mirrors to burn ships littler my work table, and I had
completely forgotten the writing I had started in my younger days when I was
just excited to be back at my home. My work now brings no enjoyment to me.
I used to go out to watch my designs be built and used, but for every tree cut
for the arm of one of my catapults I can only hear the screams of the drowning
Roman men. War seems so pointless. Of course, I am heralded in the city as a
hero but I find the work tasteless. The only thing I have found absorbing with
these killing machines are the results I’ve been experiencing with the
differences in the arcs of my machines. I’ve been wondering about this and have
been formulating theories using the summation of infinitesimal differences. I
do not yet know where these findings of mine are headed, but as I am at this
very moment finishing my latest design for the king I will able to have some
time to myself. The young master seems to think the more fantastical a device
the better it will work. This latest piece involves a giant claw to grab Roman
vessels in the water and dash them on the rocks before pushing them back to
deeper waters to sink. This follows the last design involving levers and hooks
to lift the ship from the water and smack drop it back to its demise. I know
that this war is nowhere near over although I have tired of it. I hope I will
have more time to my own devices in the near future.
Pythagoras to Archimedes
ReplyDeleteYour pain is my pain, my dear friend. I pity your predicament, for it is a hard life you are destined to live out. How cruel is the world when great minds like ours can be spent on such a banal task as killing. I, too, have seen the darkness of suffering set over our beautiful world. Hold strong and do not give up your love, for you must hold math as a duty not a love affair. The Gods have gifted you with a fine mind and you must not be disheartened in the face of death. Maintain your strength, and you too, will win out in the end. Tell me truly, do you also find the art of death such a great producer of mathematical applications?
My thoughts and prayers are with you,
Pythagoras
Archimedes,
ReplyDeleteOnce again I must state my apologies. Though my life has its hardships and troubles, I do not believe they can match up to the hells both you and our friend Pythagoras endure. I am sorry that your work has taken such a drastic turn for the worse. Your inventions sound amazing and I would love to see how you come about such ideas. However I am again reminded of the hollowness that war brings. In the end, my father disappeared because he was involved in a war. It's no pretty thing. It rips families apart and twists the lives and morals of others. I do hope you can find some solace through your troubles.
There is always a bright side. Without light, there is no dark,
Kepler