Hero E-Book

melissa amy

• Herausgeber: Amy Melissa
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

Long ago in the land of Egypt there lived as slaves to the Egyptians a
race of white people called the Hebrews. There were so many of them that
the Egyptians began to be afraid that they would over-run the land. So
the cruel king, or the Pharaoh, as he was called, commanded that all the
baby boys of the slave race should be thrown into the River Nile. But
one little child escaped this fate, for his poor slave mother disobeyed
the king and hid her baby in her hut. When he was three months old, his
mother was afraid she could not keep him quiet any longer. So she made a
basket, and plastered it inside with pitch, so that it would be
water-tight and float like a boat. Into this basket-boat she put her
baby.

Leseprobe

Hero

Amy Melissa

Long ago in the land of Egypt there lived as slaves to the Egyptians a

race of white people called the Hebrews. There were so many of them that

the Egyptians began to be afraid that they would over-run the land. So

the cruel king, or the Pharaoh, as he was called, commanded that all the

baby boys of the slave race should be thrown into the River Nile. But

one little child escaped this fate, for his poor slave mother disobeyed

the king and hid her baby in her hut. When he was three months old, his

mother was afraid she could not keep him quiet any longer. So she made a

basket, and plastered it inside with pitch, so that it would be

water-tight and float like a boat. Into this basket-boat she put her

baby.

The mother set the strange little boat on the edge of the River Nile,

among the tall reeds called bulrushes, very near the place where she

knew the king’s daughter came every day to bathe. It was a cool spot,

well guarded and safe from the terrible crocodiles that lived in the

Nile. After making sure that the little boat would not sink, the mother

went back to her work, leaving her daughter Miriam to see what became of

her baby brother.

Just as the wise mother had planned, the princess soon came with her

ladies-in-waiting, and spied the cradle basket rocking on the waves near

the shore. She told one of her maidens to bring it to her. The king’s

daughter knew too well of her father’s command to drown or kill all the

boy babies of the Hebrew slaves. So when she found a baby crying there,

she pitied the poor mother who had obeyed the king by putting him in the

river, still fondly hoping to save his life.

When the Pharaoh’s daughter saw the babe, she said, “This is one of the

Hebrews’ children!” There was a pleading look in the face of the little

child. He seemed to ask the princess to take him in her arms. The

princess herself was married but she had no children. That baby, smiling

through his tears, touched her mother-heart. How could she help saving

his little life from her father’s cruel law by claiming him as her own?

Just then Sister Miriam bowed before the princess and said, “Shall I go

and call to thee a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the

child for thee?”

The king’s daughter was, pleased and said, “Yes, go.” So the happy

sister ran and brought her mother to the great stone palace of the

Pharaohs. Then the princess said, as if the mother were only a child’s

nurse, “Take this child away and nurse it for me, and I will give thee

thy wages.”

So, besides saving his life, that mother was royally paid for taking

care of her own son instead of working as a slave out in the hot sun.

Besides, she had a good chance to tell him, as he grew up, of the one

true God. What if her boy should save his father’s people from slavery,

when he became a man in the palace of the Pharaohs?

In due time the daughter of the king adopted the young Hebrew as her own

son, and named him Moses, which means “Saved,” because she had rescued

him out of the river. When Moses was old enough he went to live with

his royal mother, where he was educated in all the wisdom of the

Egyptians, who at that time, nearly four thousand years ago, were the

most learned people in the world. Although he studied in the college of

the priests, who believed in the Sun, the Moon and many other gods,

Moses never forgot what his mother had taught him about the true God.

Young Prince Moses had a great deal to do while he was growing to

manhood. He is said to have become commander-in-chief of the Egyptian

army that conquered the black and savage race living a thousand miles up

the Nile.

In the Bible story are these words:

“And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he

went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens: and he

spied an Egyptian smiting an Hebrew, one of his brethren.

“And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw there was no

man, he slew the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.

“Now when Pharaoh heard this, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses

fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midian.”

This Pharaoh was not the father of Moses’ foster mother, who was now

dead. It is said that this king was afraid Moses would drive him from

the throne and become Pharaoh himself.

For forty long years the exiled prince lived in Midian, studying,

planning, and writing. It was during this time that he made the great

decision of his life. He resolved to save his own people, the million

Hebrews who were slaves to the Egyptians.

At last, Moses and his brother Aaron appeared before the Pharaoh, and

announced that God had demanded that the king should let the children of

Israel go free. It was a hard thing to ask, for the Egyptians still

needed the great army of slave men to build great pyramids and temples.

The king refused, and consented, and refused again, until plague after

plague was sent upon the land of Egypt. At last, when the king’s son,

and the oldest child of every Egyptian family in the whole country had

died in one night, the terrified and heartbroken king called for Moses

and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up and get you forth from among my

people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go.”

“And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their

kneading troughs being bound up in their clothes upon their

shoulders.”

This going out of the Hebrew people bound for the Promised Land, nearly

four thousand years ago, is called “the Exodus.” To this day it is

celebrated by the Jews every year as the Passover.

When the Pharaoh realized that the great stone temples and pyramids of

Egypt might never be finished, he was afraid because he had let the

slave people go. So he ordered out his horses and chariots and drove

hard after them till he caught them in camp beside the Red Sea. The

frightened Hebrews began to cry and accuse Moses of deceiving them and

leading them out into a great trap, to be killed like a million helpless

sheep, by Pharaoh’s army.

But Moses told the wailing crowds not to be afraid. Before the king’s

horses and men caught up with them a strong east wind came up and kept

the tide from running in, thus leaving a bare sand bar right in front of

them across that arm of the Red Sea. Moses commanded the people to march

over as on dry land, an order which they lost no time in obeying. Then

the Pharaoh and his horsemen came up behind and drove hard after them

upon the sand bar. But the heavy chariots stuck in the mud beneath the

sand, and when the Egyptians reached the middle the wind changed, and

the tide, which had been held back so long, rushed in and drowned

Pharaoh and his army. Then Miriam and Moses and Aaron led these million

freed slaves in a grand victory chorus of song about their hairbreadth

escape.

But the people were always scolding and complaining against Moses, the

dear, gentle leader who had saved them from their cruel bondage. It was

his patient love for his thankless people, while through forty years

they wandered in the wilderness, that gave Moses the name of being the

meekest man that ever lived.

At Mount Sinai Moses received from God and gave to the people the Ten

Commandments, written on two tablets of stone. He spent his time during

the long years of wandering in the wilderness in planning the laws and

religion for his beloved people. He himself never entered the Promised

Land, but died in the wilderness, somewhere on a mountain called Nebo.

The Bible makes this statement of his death:

“So Moses the servant of the Lord died there. And he buried him in a

valley, but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.”

DAVID, THE GIANT-KILLER KING

Nearly three thousand years ago a bright, handsome Hebrew lad was

playing a harp while watching his father’s sheep on the hills of

Bethlehem.

One dark night there was a great stir among the sheep, and David saw a

bear making off with one of the lambs. There were no guns in those days,

but David had a sling, and he could fling a pebble almost as swift and

straight as a boy can shoot a bullet to-day. So David ran and killed the

bear by driving a stone through the big brute’s eye into its brain. When

he took the trembling lamb back to its mother, what should he see but a

lion starting off with a sheep in his huge jaws. There was no time to

gather pebbles. Grabbing a jagged rock in one hand, David seized the

great beast by the mane with the other, and aimed quick blows at the

lion’s eyes, breaking his skull before the lion could drop his prey and

fight back.

That was a great night’s work for one lone lad. After quieting his

frightened flock, David took his harp and made up a song of thanks to

the God of Israel for saving him alive from the jaws of the lion and the

paws of the bear.

Not long after this, David’s old father sent out to the hills for him.

When the youth came down to the house, he found Samuel, Prophet of God

and Judge of Israel, waiting for him. David’s seven older brothers stood

around eyeing him strangely, as the prophet said, “This is he,” and

baptized him by pouring oil on his head.

“What did the prophet anoint me for?” David asked his father.

“To be king of Israel instead of Saul.”

“But I am only a boy, and King Saul is so big and strong head and

shoulders taller than other men. Why did not the prophet anoint our

Eliab? He is almost as tall as the king himself.”

“The Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward

appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.”

After that David went back and herded his father’s sheep, but his

brothers were jealous of him because he had been anointed to be king.

As had often happened in the days of the Judges, the heathen Philistines

came up and made war against the people of Israel, and the eldest three

of David’s brothers were in the king’s army. Many weeks went by, but no

word came from the camp. So the father sent David down with provisions

for the brothers and a present for their captain.

The shepherd boy found the two armies in camps opposite each other,

across a narrow valley. Every one was excited over Goliath, a giant who

came down every day into the valley from the army of the Philistines and

challenged the king of Israel and all his men. Goliath was nearly eleven

feet tall. He wore a bronze helmet about as big as a bushel measure, and

his spear was like a weaver’s beam. Even King Saul and David’s tall

brother Eliab were much too small to fight with the Philistine giant.

David could not bear to hear Goliath calling the king and his soldiers

cowards and repeating wicked words about the God of Israel. So he went

and told Saul he would like the chance to go down and fight the

insulting giant.

The soldiers laughed at this, and Eliab told his young brother to go

home and mind his “few sheep in the wilderness.” But David would not be

put off. He told how God had helped him kill a lion and a bear in one

night. The lad was so earnest that the king consented to let him try.

The only weapons David took were his staff and his sling. On his way to

meet the giant he stopped at the brook and picked up five smooth

pebbles. Both armies looked on breathless at the strange combat. Great

Goliath laughed at little David, as if the king of Israel were playing a

joke on him. He cursed David by all the gods of the Philistines, and

yelled:

“Am I a dog, that thou shouldst come to fight me with a stick? For this

I will feed thy little carcass to the birds.”

Then David shouted back to Goliath, “I come in the name of the God of

Israel whom thou hast defied.”

All the Israelites and Philistines saw the boy make a quick motion with

his sling, and heard a thud. The giant dropped his heavy spear, threw up

his huge hands and fell, with a groan and a great clatter of armor, face

downward on the ground.

David’s first pebble had done the work. It had gone swift and straight

through the eye-hole in Goliath’s brass helmet and sunk deep into his

low, brutal forehead, killing him almost instantly.

“And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead they arose and

fled. The children of Israel returned from chasing after the

Philistines, and they spoiled (looted) their tents.”

King Saul was so thankful that his own life had been saved, and that the

people were spared from being slaves to the Philistines, that he made

David come and live in his palace as a younger brother to his son,

Jonathan. This prince was not jealous like David’s own brothers. David

and Jonathan became such good friends that, though this happened nearly

three thousand years ago, people say yet that two boys or men who are

very friendly with each other are “like David and Jonathan.”

After a time Saul and Jonathan were both killed in a battle with the

Philistines. Then David became king of Israel. He proved to be one of

the best of rulers. He wrote many of the Bible Psalms and played on his

harp as he sang them. He planned to build a great house of worship for

the God of Israel in Jerusalem, but, because he had been a man of war,

he felt unworthy to do such sacred work. So he left the temple to be

built by his son Solomon, the wisest king that ever ruled over Israel.

HOMER, THE HERO POET OF ANCIENT GREECE

Long, long ago, when the world was young, and before men began to write

books, a kind of men called “bards” used to wander about the land of

Greece, from town to town and from court to court, playing the harp and

singing of the deeds of the heroes of Greece. As years went on there

came to be very many such tales sung by the bards, and handed down from

father to son. At last, there came a day when men learned to write. Then

the person whom we call Homer, the earliest and greatest poet in the

history of the world, gathered together these hero tales and wrote them

in beautiful poetry. This work of collecting these scattered stories of

the exploits and adventures of the

Greek gods and heroes and making them into one great hero poem, called

an “epic,” was done nearly three thousand years ago.

Although nobody really knows anything surely about the life of this

ancient Homer, the story goes that he was blind, and that he was very

poor, as poets often are. After his death, when his two great poems had

made him famous, seven different cities in Greece claimed each to have

been his home. But the facts of his life matter very little when

compared with the wonderful stories that he left for all the world to

read. His epics were imitated by the greatest poets of Rome, Italy, and

England, and have been translated many times into both poetry and prose.

There were two of these epics the “Iliad,” picturing the siege and

downfall of ancient Ilium, or Troy; and the “Odyssey,” describing the

ten years’ wanderings of Odysseus, or Ulysses, on his way back home

after the destroying of Troy by the Greeks.

The war against Troy, which lasted ten years, was started because Paris,

son of Priam, the old king of Troy, carried off from her home, Helen,

the lovely wife of one of the Grecian kings. The “Iliad” tells of the

bold deeds of many heroes on both sides. The strongest fighter in Troy

was Hector, another son of King Priam. Achilles was the greatest hero on

the side of the Greeks. One of the most beautiful scenes in art as well

as in poetry is that of Hector saying good-bye to his wife and baby boy,

and one of the best known examples of friendship is that of Achilles for

his friend Patroclus.

The great gods and goddesses for the early Greeks believed in many

gods all took sides in the struggle for Troy. Apollo, Minerva, and Juno

helped the Greeks; Mars and Venus helped the Trojans. They chose the

side of the people who had especially served and worshiped them, using

their mighty power to help and direct in the long war.

After nine years the Greeks pretended that they were going to give up

the struggle and sail away to their homes. They built a huge wooden

horse to leave as a peace offering, telling the Trojans that it was a

gift for them to offer to their gods. The Trojans were only too willing

to think that the Greeks were giving up the fight. They would not listen

to the princess Cassandra, who warned them of danger, saying, “I fear

the Greeks, even when they bring gifts.” In spite of her words the city

fathers accepted the strange present and trundled the big horse within

their walls. That night some Greek soldiers who were hidden inside the

hollow wooden figure jumped out of their hiding place, opened the six

gates of Troy, and let in the Grecian army. The great warriors waiting

outside swarmed in and soon captured the city.

Helen, the stolen queen, sailed back home and lived there in her little

Grecian kingdom for many years after her rescue by her royal husband and

his brother, another king, with the help of the Greek heroes and the

gods who sided with them.

Among the Greeks who fought at Troy was Ulysses. His journeyings on the

way from Troy to Ithaca, the rocky island where he was king, form a

wonder story of ancient life and travel. Ulysses’ ships were driven

about to many strange places. First he came to the land of the lotus

eaters, where some of his men ate the lotus flowers and forgot their

homes and friends. The rest of them came next to the country of the

Cyclops, giant monsters with only one eye in the middle of their

foreheads. The chief Cyclops caught the Greeks, shut them up in the cave

where he kept his sheep, and ate two of them for his supper every day.

Ulysses was clever enough to think of a way by which he and his men

might escape. While the giant was out of the cave he sharpened a stake

by burning it in the coals, and when the Cyclops fell asleep after his

hearty supper, Ulysses and four of his men drove this sharp stake into

his one eye, blinding him. Then the leader tied each of his men under

one of the Cyclops’ sheep, and himself clung to the long hair beneath

the largest ram. When the sheep crowded out of the cave the giant did

not know that they were carrying his prisoners with them. Before he

discovered the trick the Greeks were safe on their ship.

After another voyage, Ulysses and his men landed on the island of Circe,

a beautiful witch who turned the men all into swine and made them stay

with her a long time. But Apollo and Minerva helped Ulysses undo the

spell of the charmer. Circe warned Ulysses against the Sirens, who would

tempt them by their singing only to destroy them all, and against Scylla

and Charybdis a risky place for a ship to pass, between a great rock

and a dangerous whirlpool.

The wife of Ulysses also was beset with many trials and dangers. She was

surrounded by neighboring princes, each of whom wished to marry her and

become king of Ithaca. She kept on with her weaving, putting these

suitors off by telling them she would give them her answer when she

finished her weaving but each night she unraveled all the weaving she

had done in the daytime.

During the twenty long years of Ulysses’ absence, Penelope’s young son

grew to manhood and started out to find his father. He reached home,

after a vain search, just at the time when Ulysses came back. The king

of Ithaca was disguised by the goddess Minerva as an old beggar, so that

no one recognized him but his good old dog.

Ulysses arrived at his palace at the very moment when, the suitors

having become too urgent, Penelope brought out Ulysses’ bow and agreed

to marry the man who could bend it and shoot an arrow through six rings

placed in a long line, as her heroic husband had been known to do. The

feeble looking beggar was allowed to look on while the princes tried

frantically to win the hand and the throne of the fair Penelope. One

after another failed in the desperate attempt. Then the seemingly aged

stranger asked them to let him try to bend the great, stiff bow and

shoot the heavy arrow. They laughed at and insulted him, but he took the

bow, bent it with ease, and shot the long arrow straight through all the

rings, just as Ulysses used to do.

Penelope gave a cry of joy, for she knew then that the stranger was none

other than her long-lost husband. Ulysses’s disguise suddenly

disappeared, and with his son’s aid he shot the impudent suitors who had

tormented his wife all those years.

After 9 years the Greeks fictive that they were reaching to hand over

the struggle and sail away to their homes. They engineered a large wood

horse to go away as a peace offering, telling the Trojans that it absolutely was a

gift for them to supply to their gods. The Trojans were all too willing

to suppose that the Greeks were discarding the fight. they'd not listen

to the aristocrat Cassandra, who warned them of danger, saying, “I concern

the Greeks, even once they bring gifts.” In spite of her words the town

fathers accepted the strange gift and trundled the massive horse among

their walls. That night some Greek troopers who were hidden inside the

hollow wood figure jumped out of their concealing place, opened the six

gates of Troy, and let within the Greek army. the nice warriors waiting

outside swarmed in and shortly captured the city.

Helen, the purloined queen, sailed back home and lived there in her very little

Grecian kingdom for several years when her rescue by her royal husband and

his brother, another king, with the assistance of the Greek heroes and also the

gods who sided with them.

Among the Greeks who fought at Troy was Ulysses. His journeyings on the

means from Troy to Ithaca, the rocky island wherever he was king, type a

marvel story of ancient life and travel. Ulysses’ ships were driven

on the brink of several strange places. initial he came to the land of the lotus

eaters, where a number of his men Ate the lotus flowers and forgot their

homes and friends. the remainder of them came next to the country of the

Cyclops, giant monsters with just one eye within the middle of their

foreheads. The chief Cyclops caught the Greeks, shut them up in the cave

wherever he unbroken his sheep, and Ate 2 of them for his supper each day.

Odysseus was clever enough to consider some way by that he and his men

would possibly escape. whereas the large was out of the cave he sharpened a stake

by burning it in the coals, and once the Cyclops fell asleep when his

hearty supper, Ulysses and 4 of his men drove this sharp stake into

his one eye, blazing him. Then the leader tied every of his men below

one among the Cyclops’ sheep, and himself clung to the long hair beneath

the biggest ram. once the sheep jam-pawncked out of the cave the large did

not understand that they were carrying his prisoners with them. Before he

discovered the trick the Greeks were safe on their ship.

when another voyage, Odysseus and his men landed on the island of Circe,

an exquisite witch who turned the lads all into artiodactyl and created them keep

together with her an extended time. however Apollo and Minerva helped Odysseus undo the

spell of the charmer. Circe warned Ulysses against the Sirens, who would

tempt them by their singing solely to destroy them all, and against mythical being

and Charybdis a risky place for a ship to pass, between an excellent rock

and a dangerous whirlpool.

The better half of Ulysses additionally was beset with several trials and dangers. She was

enclosed by neighboring princes, every of whom needed to marry her and

become king of Ithaca. She unbroken on with her weaving, swing these

suitors off by telling them she would offer them her answer once she

finished her weaving but every night she unraveled all the weaving she

had drained the daytime.

throughout the twenty long years of Odysseus’ absence, Penelope’s young son

grew to manhood and began resolute notice his father. He reached home,

when a vain search, simply at the time when Ulysses came back. The king

of Ithaca was disguised by the divinity Minerva as an previous beggar, so

nobody recognized him however his good previous dog.

Odysseus acquired his palace at the terribly moment when, the suitors

having become too urgent, Penelope brought out Ulysses’ bow and united

to marry the person who might bend it and shoot an arrow through six rings

placed during a long line, as her heroic husband had been well-known to do. The

feeble trying beggar was allowed to appear on whereas the princes tried

frantically to win the hand and also the throne of the truthful Penelope. One

when another failing within the desperate attempt. Then the ostensibly aged

interloper asked them to let him attempt to bend the great, stiff bow and

shoot the serious arrow. They laughed at and abused him, but he took the

bow, bent it with ease, and shot the long arrow straight through all the

rings, even as Odysseus wont to do.

Penelope gave a cry of joy, for she knew then that the stranger was none

then again her long-lost husband. Ulysses’s disguise suddenly

disappeared, and along with his son’s aid he shot the impudent suitors who had

tormented his better half all those years.

SOCRATES, THE “GRAND previous MAN” OF Ellas

Athenian was the son of a sculptor of Athens within the days of Pericles, a

ruler who inspired art and culture and created his town illustrious for its

learning and beauty. As a boy, Socrates was educated by his father to

carve statues. Nearly 1000 years afterward, a soul in Greece

delineate a gaggle of figures, referred to as “The Graces,” graven by the

vernal Socrates. however the young man wasn't happy with being a

sculptor. whereas he was acting at his carving, his active mind unbroken

attempting to seek out out the explanation for everything.

In Athens at now there have been not solely several painters and sculptors,

however numbers of men referred to as philosophers, who gave all their time to

thinking out the which means of what they saw within the world around them, and

trying to show that assuming to such folks as would hear them.

These philosophers differed wide from each other in their views. Some

of the items they thought would appear terribly queer to U.S. to-day, however they

were doing their best to seek out out the truth.

a gaggle of philosophers who control an equivalent views was referred to as a “school.”

the colleges of philosophy weren't just like the schools of to-day. They were

merely gathering places, in some one’s house, or on a street corner, or

during a public porch, or in a grove, wherever men who likable to suppose came

along for speak and debate. rather than kids sitting quietly at

desks, a faculty was created of grown men walking about and talking a

nice deal.

Athenian found that he was way more curious about taking note of what the

philosophers thought than he was in carving statues. thus he gave up his

work along with his father and went resolute visit the colleges. however as he went

from one school to another, he might see that nobody of them was right

in each way. He determined that he couldn't learn the $64000 truth from

them. thus he resolved to run the streets and raise queries of the folks

he met there. He was thus anxious to grasp that he might learn from anyone

he talked with, whether or not man, woman, or child. He met several men who

thought they were philosophers once they were not, for it absolutely was

thought of an excellent issue to be called a illustrious thinker, and every one men

aimed toward it.

once Athenian met a person who claimed to be wise, he would raise queries

as if he himself failed to know anything, and he would thus lead on from

one thing to another until generally he created the person say the terribly

opposite of what he had aforesaid before, creating him shamefaced of himself. This

means of drawing out the reality by queries and proving the wrongness of

some ways in which of reasoning is thought to-day because the “Socratic method.”

The Greeks were nice believers in beauty. They thought no matter is

beautiful should be right. however Athenian saw handsome men and exquisite

ladies leading wrong lives, and he made such folks angry by speech so.

Socrates himself was aloof from handsome. He was short and thick-set. His

head was bald and his eyes bulged go in a humorous way. His nose was

broad and flat; his lips were thick and his ears stood out, creating him

appear as if the clowns the Greeks laughed at in their nice out-door

theaters.

quite this, Athenian was poor. He had learned, whereas a young man,

that those that had most of the supposed treats of life were the

most unhappy. thus he created up his mind that the simplest quite wealth lay in

not wanting much. He failed to look after skinnygs|goodies|good items|delicacies|kickshaws|treats} to eat. He went

barefoot, and wore an equivalent thin garment each summer and winter.

The Greeks were keen on art for the sake of art. however Athenian believed

in right living, and wanted art just for heart’s sake for the sake of

doing smart and creating folks happy. He additionally believed that to grasp is to

live, which so as to measure right one should initial know what's right.

He claimed to possess a definite force or voice among that showed him

what was right. He was the primary of all the wise men of the heathen

world to believe that this morality ought to be an accurate ethical guide

to right living.

Even the gods the Greeks worshiped did things of the worst kind; they

were spiteful, cruel, and wicked. therefore the folks failed to suppose it wrong

to act as their gods did. They did not perceive what Athenian meant

once he aforesaid he had a voice among himself that told him what he should

or shouldn't do. thus they thought he was attempting to form them believe

a wierd god, once they had too several already.

Socrates was an excellent lover of his country. once the Greeks visited war

he went within the ranks as a personal soldier, and fought sort of a hero. In

one battle he saved the lifetime of a rich, handsome, sensible young man

who was very fashionable in Athens. This youth before long learned to like the

homely previous philosopher and studied with him. 2 alternative great men were

pupils of Athenian. one among these became one of the best historians

and also the other an excellent philosopher. They were each authors, and that they

wrote all that's well-known to-day concerning Socrates, who failed to leave any

writings to indicate what he believed and taught.

Of course, the majority did not perceive Socrates, and then they created

him the riant stock of the town. however several young men, crystal rectifier by the youth

whose life Socrates had saved, came to him to find out a way to live and be

helpful and happy.

however the those who were jealous of his influence over the young men of

the town defendant the previous thinker of teaching them of alternative gods and

so corrupting their minds. they'd him arrested, but his students

followed him to the prison, wherever he unbroken on teaching them the correct means

to live. Athenian was tried by a law-court of subject judges and

defended himself terribly ably. The story of his daring defense is told during a

book referred to as the “Apology of Socrates,” by a illustrious Greek author named

Plato. He spoke of his aim to indicate folks how very little they knew so

they could learn more, and told his judges that he supposed to travel on in

an equivalent means if they spared his life. He was condemned to die, however,

and thirty days when the trial they gave him a cup of poison referred to as

hemlock to drink. when he had taken this he went on reprimand his

students of the hope of a happier life on the far side the grave. This was four

hundred years before the birth of Christ. Athenian came nearer the

Christian belief than the other philosopher of that ancient time who had

no data of the Bible and its teachings.

ALEXANDER, THE BOY WHO CONQUERED the globe

Alexander was the son of Philip, king of Macedon, a rustic to the north

of Greece. His father was an excellent general in addition as a king. Young

Alexander was a strong, active, handsome lad. A story is told of his

“breaking” a wild horse that had been conferred to Philip by a

neighboring king. This horse was named Bucephalus the Greek word for

“Bullheaded.” He reared, bit, snorted, and pawed the air, if anybody

tried to mount him. King Philip was outraged at being given such a

present, and was on the brink of remand the “bullheaded beast,” as too

dangerous to the life or limb of anyone who tried to ride him. however

Alexander noticed that the horse was frightened even at his own shadow.

He begged his father to let him conquer such a splendid animal. The lad

was such a lot in earnest that the king determined to let him try.

The young aristocrat showed no concern as he walked up beside Bucephalus and

patted him on the neck. He wished to stay the horse from being

frightened, as his fright was the reason for his wildness. By degrees the

boy managed to show the nice brute’s head toward the sun so he

couldn't see his shadow. Throwing off his velvet mantle, Alexander

suddenly sprang on the horse’s back. rather than attempting to restrain or

guide the frightened steed, the boy let him go as quick as he would

across the plain. once Bucephalus grew tired, the shrewd rider began to

flip his head this manner which, whereas speaking kindly and patting him

soothingly. once they came back from their long run, Bucephalus obeyed

the prince’s word and bit as a gentle, well-trained horse should. It

is claimed that the large beast learned to kneel for aristocrat Alexander to

mount, and that he carried his young master with pride through many an

battle.

The king was thus happy with the courageousness and knowledge Alexander displayed

in subjugation Bucephalus that he aforesaid to his son, “You ought to have a

larger kingdom than geographic area to rule.”

As if to meet this wish, Philip visited war with many of the

neighboring kings and left his sixteen-year-old son to rule over Macedon

whereas he was absent. Then Alexander was allowed to command bound

firms of the Macedonian army; during this he showed wondrous courage

and wisdom.

Philip was dead once Alexander was twenty. Then the kings whom the

father had conquered tried to throw off the rule of geographic area. They said,

“This new king is barely a boy.” however Alexander answered once he detected it,

“They suppose i'm a boy; i'll show them that i'm a man.” And he

did not only by defeating the kings and armies his father had beaten,

but by subjugation the opposite states around Macedon whose kings had turned

in to assist Alexander’s enemies.

At now the best monarch in Asia was Darius, king of the

Persians. He sent many nobles of his realm to hunt the friendly relationship of

Alexander, king of Macedon. These men were shocked once they saw that

the young ruler wasn't curious about their stories of the wealth and

splendor of the large countries of Darius. Instead, Alexander needed to

hear about the extent of their kingdom, about its completely different peoples, and

about the placement of the rivers, roads, and cities. the lads from Persia

aforesaid to members of the court of Macedon, “Our previous king is rich ; however

your young king is great .”

Alexander, each king and general, had a wierd thirst for power. He

left a real friend to manage his kingdom in Europe and began east,

with solely atiny low army, to overcome the large countries on the continent

of Asia. King Darius laughed at the terribly plan of “a mere boy,” with thus

few soldiers, returning to conquer him and also the greatest and richest empire

within the world. He came to fulfill the Macedonian army with an armed host

concerning 10 times as giant as Alexander’s. “That boy” before long routed and

scattered the hosts of the Persians, and King Darius had to fly for his

life, feat his better half and her mother behind, as Alexander’s prisoners.

The young master was kind to those and to all or any alternative prisoners of war.

This was all different from the custom then; for ancient conquerors

killed or created slaves of these whom they defeated in battle. Alexander

gained 2 nice victories over Darius and captured other kingdoms and

walled cities when long sieges and hard battles.

whereas in Asia he came to a temple wherever there was a puzzle that nobody

had solved. This was a wierd knot during a long animal skin strip. This knot,

it had been prophesied for centuries, might ne'er be undone except by

the one who was to overcome Asia. Alexander felt that he should unloose

this terrible tangle in how or other. So, once he was brought into

the temple, which was at an area named Gordium, he took his arm and

cut the surprisingly knotted thong in pieces! Ever since then when anybody

meets and solves in a stunning way what appears to be associate degree not possible

problem, he's aforesaid to possess “cut the complex knot,” as Alexander did in

the temple at Gordium.

The young master marched down into Africa, and not solely took

possession of Egypt, the best kingdom of

that large region, however built, close to one of the mouths of the wide stream

Nile, a town to that he gave his own name. That city, Alexandria, is

still one of the biggest cities on the continent of Africa.

It became necessary for Alexander to steer his army farther eastward into

Asia. once his nice successes he began to indulge his appetites, in

consumption and drinking and in different harmful ways. Once, during a match of sottish

anger, he killed his best friend. This created him shamefaced and unhappy when he

came to himself and complete what he had done.

owing to his several victories Alexander is named “the Great.” once he

was solely twenty-six, he had conquered all the vital nations within the

world of his day. it absolutely was because he had currently nothing to try then

he gave thanks to evil passions. he's aforementioned to possess “wept as a result of there

were no additional worlds to conquer.” He became unwell and died as a results of

his excesses, going away no kid or relative to rule over the good

kingdoms he had acquired.

though Alexander the good had conquered the world, he couldn't

govern himself. many years before his day, Solomon, the wise,

wealthy king, wrote in his Proverbs:

“He that's slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth

his spirit than he that taketh a city.”

FOUR acquainted SAYINGS OF JULIUS CÆSAR

Julius Cæsar was born at Rome over 2 thousand years ago, concerning

100 years before Christ. His family belonged to a noble kin of

the patricians. The individuals of Rome were divided into 3 classes. Of

these the patricians were highest in rank and fewest in number. There

were more within the middle class, that at that point was for the most part created

from free men who might vote and hold office. rock bottom category and by

way the biggest variety were the slaves.

over half the Roman slaves were white, several having blonde hair

and blue eyes. These had been brought as captives from the northern

countries and sold in Rome. a number of the slaves, particularly those that

came from the Greek lands within the East, were additional refined than the

ignorant, brutal Roman masters for whom they'd to try to to the toughest and

dirtiest styles of work. Worse than this, the Roman law allowed cruel

masters to whip, torture, and even kill these educated men and women.

By right of the may of her marvellous armies, Rome created herself

“Mistress of the World.” that the patricians and therefore the freemen looked with

contempt upon different nations and aforementioned to themselves, “To be a Roman is

larger than to be a king.” The patricians were the proudest Romans, and

the Cæsars were among the haughtiest patricians. Their family belonged

to the rich, upper crust once little Julius was born.

Of course, there was no such factor because the religion in Julius

Cæsar’s day. the sole believers within the one true God were the Jews, who

lived in the very little, far country currently referred to as the Holy Land. the simplest

educated Romans believed in Jupiter, Juno, Apollo, Venus, and lots of different

deities who, they imagined, were ruling over them, and who were as

ungenerous and cruel as the Romans themselves.

there have been no public faculties for kids in Rome. rather than millions

of written books, there have been a number of rolls of parchment on that Latin

words were written terribly slowly by hand. rather than mistreatment paper to jot down

on, the Romans damaged their letters ANd messages on tablets of wax

with massive needles. As there were no newspapers then, the individuals learned

what was occurring within the world by word of mouth from speakers in the

Forum, an open town sq. with a stone platform, around which thronged

thousands of listeners.

the very best ambition of the vernal Julius Cæsar was to talk well to

the individuals within the Forum and to win their friendship. He grew to be a

tall, handsome, good young man. He wasn't rich, and whereas his

friends junction rectifier lives of ease and pleasure, this young Cæsar studied hard.

He learned to scan and speak Greek, as a result of then the best poems,

orations, and plays were in this language. He traveled thousands of

miles, to Balkan country and Asia Minor, to be told to be a decent speaker and

writer. And tho' he was a patrician, his real sympathy lay with the

poor and therefore the middle category, whose aspect he took virtually from boyhood.

The Romans ruled themselves, in some ways, because the individuals of the

u. s. do to-day. That is, their consuls, or governors, were

electoral by the patricians and therefore the free men. typically the patricians

were in power; at other times, the people of the center class succeeded

in electing their leaders. however in those cruel times the winning party

sometimes killed the chiefs on the opposite side, and treated all of them as

if they were enemies at war. The uncle of Julius Cæsar had been one among

the chiefs overthrown in such a civil war, and therefore the young man transmitted

his uncle’s love for the explanation for the common people.

the primary deed of Cæsar that brought him into public notice materialized

whereas he was traveling within the East. A crew of pirates, or ocean robbers,

captured him and command him captive till an outsized total of money, or a

ransom, ought to be paid. Julius Cæsar succeeded in raising the quantity and

paid it to them to line him free. however before he left the pirates he told

them that if he ever caught them he would have his revenge. Then he went

and picked up men and ships, caught his former captors, won back his

ransom money, and ordered the ring-leaders crucified. Crucifixion was

the Roman penalty for pirates and different thieves.

From the time Julius Cæsar was thirty years old, he was perpetually in

one workplace or another within the Roman republic. One early position was that

of director of shows and sports. The Romans had theaters, with seats of

stone rising one behind another from the central space, just like the seats

during a circus or faculty stadium. Here thousands of individuals might see and

hear actors, poets, orators, and debaters. one among these theaters was therefore

massive that eighty thousand people could witness the games at one time.

rather than soccer and baseball, the Romans had running races and

wrestling matches by athletes and fighters who came from all components of

the world. Most of them were slaves. Among them were men referred to as

gladiators, who fought one another with swords till one or the other was

killed. The cruel Romans liked this a part of the game best.

Julius Cæsar provided such splendid shows and games that he created himself

very fashionable with the individuals. He was electoral to at least one workplace once

another; and finally, after being sent as a sort of governor to Spain,

was chosen one among the 2 diplomats. The office of consul was the very best

in Rome, and was somewhat almost like our president. once his term

expired, Cæsar was made governor over the Gauls, a [*fr1] savage people

who lived within the country that's currently northern Italy, Switzerland, and

France.

throughout the 9 years whereas Cæsar was in Gaul, he had to fight several

battles and conquer many dangerous tribes. Besides that, he crossed to

the island of Britain, now referred to as England. however Cæsar was kind to his

enemies and prisoners. His “Journal,” that tells of his wars in Gaul,

is scan to-day united of the best and best books ever written.

His marvellous victories and nice kindnesses made Cæsar the idol of the

people. however he had enemies at home, ANd a rival, another nice general

named Pompey. The Senate were on the aspect of Pompey, and lastly they

appointed that if Cæsar didn't surrender his command and dismiss his army

by an explicit day, he would be referred to as an enemy of the country. Pompey and

the Senate were against the poorer classes, and Cæsar knew that if he

yielded to the present command, the common people, whose friend he was, would

lose their freedom. therefore rather than disbanding his army he marched it to

the borders of Italy. He stopped on the bank of a bit stream referred to as

the Rubicon. Anyone who crossed that river with a military was thought of

an enemy of Rome. once Cæsar determined to cross the river and advance with

his army against the city, he exclaimed, “The die is cast!” His words

meant that he might no additional return than a die, once thrown out of the

dice-box, is taken back. Nowadays, when a person decides to try to to

one thing which can bring nice loss to him if he doesn't win, and from

that he cannot draw back, once he has begun, he's aforementioned to possess

“crossed the Rubicon.”

Cæsar’s fortunes, however, didn't desert him, and he succeeded in

driving Pompey away and eventually capture him. at intervals 3 years,

once several victorious battles in Balkan country and Egypt and Asia Minor, he

came back to Rome in triumph. By now the Senate were willing to try to to

something for him that he wanted, and therefore the adoring individuals selected him

Dictator for 10 years. That meant that though he wasn't referred to as king

he had virtually identical power as a king.

2 of Cæsar’s sayings are usually quoted. Once, once he was following

Pompey, he started on a voyage when a storm gave the impression to be returning up. The

sailors were afraid to cross the sea, however he aforementioned to them, “You carry

Cæsar ANd his fortunes!” They set sail promptly and reached the opposite

aspect in safety. At once more he caught an escaping army in Asia. He

proclaimed this ending in 3 words: “Veni, Vidi, Vici,” the which means

of which was, “I came, I saw, I conquered.”

By his policy of kindness to the individuals as dictator, Cæsar therefore won their

love that they came even to worship him united of their gods. The month

within the year within which he was born was at now named in his honor,

for our word Gregorian calendar month could be a shortened style of Julius. He ruled Rome well

and created several helpful changes. One factor that he did was to rearrange the

calendar, which before this time was terribly clumsy. it absolutely was he who divided

the year into months of numerous days each, noticeably because it is split

now.

The climax of Cæsar’s quality was reached once he was offered a

crown, to indicate that the individuals of Rome wanted him to be their king. He

refused this honor 3 times in public. however not all the boys of Rome

shared during this admiration of Cæsar, for one party, a number of whom had been

his friends, felt that his growing power wasn't smart for Rome. They

wished their country to be a republic, and to not be dominated by a king. therefore

they began to plot against Cæsar.

On the fifteenth of March, forty four B. C., even as Cæsar was getting ready to take his

seat within the presence of the Roman Senate, a gaggle of men gathered spherical

and commenced plunging their daggers into his body. Among them was Marcus

solon, for whom Cæsar had done several kindnesses. once Cæsar saw Brutus

together with his dagger raised to stab him to the heart, he exclaimed with a sad

smile, “And 1000 too, solon!” Then, covering his face together with his mantle,

he fell down and died. Of the twenty-three knife wounds that were found

in Cæsar’s body, Shakspere wrote that the stab of Brutus was “the most

unkindest cut of all.”

though Cæsar was dead to stay him from bearing the name of king,

the mightiest monarchs of recent times took the name of Cæsar because the

highest title a king might have as the “Kaiser” of Federal Republic of Germany and therefore the

“C-zar” of Russia. once these 2 recent Cæsars were put down, there

remained no ruler in Europe who believed in governing by the cruel Roman

law that “Might makes Right.”

HEROES OF the center AGES

THE CHRISTMAS CROWNING OF Charlemagne

concerning twelve hundred years ago, thousands of Saracens, who were among

the followers of Mohammed, crossed the slim strait from continent into

Spain. the globe was then taking off of these centuries of mental object and

worry that are called the Dark Ages. The dark-skinned individuals Arabs

and continentns who followed Mohammed, went concerning changing people by

creating them prostrate themselves with their faces turned toward the East

and repeat the Mohammedan creed. those that refused to bow down and

repeat this creed were killed. in fact everybody was noticeably afraid

of missionaries who used such ways as these, and huge components of Asia

and Africa had return beneath Mohammedan control. after they reached the

shores of Spain, they thought they were aiming to convert and conquer

Europe, too.

The Saracens marched north through Spain and into the country of the

Franks, whose nice-great-great-grandchildren are the land of

to-day. Here the ending of the invaders ceased to be therefore easy, for they

were met by an explicit Duke Charles, who beat them during a great battle close to

Tours and drove them back. For his bravery in saving Europe from these

dark-skinned enemies, Duke Charles was named Martel, the Franks’ word

for “hammer.”

Charles the Hammer had a son, Pepin, who was referred to as the Short, as a result of

he wasn't a tall man. however tho' he was small, Pepin had a big, brave

heart. He fought for his country against the Lombards, a savage individuals

in North Italy, and he was rewarded for his valiancy and success by being

created king of the Franks.

once Pepin was topped by the Pope, he had a thereforen Charles, twelve years

old. This Charles was so formidable that, even whereas a boy, he began to

dream of capture different nations, and turning into king not solely of France

but of other lands as well. at some stage in his boyhood he unreal of what

he would do if he were king. it absolutely was not a few years once his father’s

death, when he became king in fact, before Charles Martel’s grandchild had

conquered numerous nations within the south so many savage tribes in the

north of Europe that he became a king of kings, or emperor, and received

the title of Charlemagne, which implies Charles the Great.

maybe the simplest factor that Charlemagne ever did was to stay Alcuin, a

scholar from Britain, at his court as a trusty friend and teacher. In

those days such men in different kings’ palaces were simply chaplains or

spiritual teachers, however Alcuin tutored the king, the queen, and therefore the

princes grammar, spelling, arithmetic, and other common branches. This

Palace college tested to be such a decent factor that the emperor ordered

that not solely any kid of a nobleman, but even of the poorest peasant,

might return thereto if the boy showed talent for learning. The books within the

Palace college were written terribly slowly with a pen, typically in bright

inks and gold. As there have been no public libraries in those days, Alcuin

searched the globe for books for his pupils. These parchments were rare

and extremely costly. rather than Charles’s kids aiming to school, the

Palace college went with the children, because the emperor captive from place to

place and from palace to palace.

Charlemagne’s armies were junction rectifier by brave knights referred to as paladins. The

foremost of those paladins were Roland and Oliver, who fought in combats

and tournaments. They were each of heroic size, eight feet tall, and

performed identical feats, so one couldn't be distinguished from

the other. A story is told of those 2 having fought 5 days on AN

island within the stream Rhine while not either of them gaining the smallest amount

advantage over the other; therefore now, once two men are equal in some nice

struggle, individuals exclaim “A Roland for an Joseph Oliver!”

Roland, conjointly referred to as Orlando, was the chief hero, and Oliver looks to

are his reflection or shadow. Roland was a kinsman of Charlemagne.

he's delineated in the “Song of Roland” as having a wonderful horse, a

miraculous saber, ANd a magic horn, that he blew so it might be

detected thirty miles. the best story told of him is that he commanded

the rear guard of Charlemagne’s army as they were coming back from European country

through a pass within the range Mountains. set on by 100,000 Saracens,

Roland blew his magic horn so that his uncle the emperor heard it eight

miles away.

within the advancing guard with Charlemagne, however, lurked an evil genius,

who told the anxious emperor that Roland’s horn was not a symbol of

distress, however that his kinsman was looking stags within the mountains. Roland

fought till the 100,000 Saracens were slain, and he had solely fifty of

his 20,000 troopers left. Then 50,000 additional Saracens came out of the

mountains and killed the brave shielder and his fifty men. whereas Roland

was dying of his wounds, this legend goes on, he threw his magic blade

into

a poisoned stream. Another version of the story is that Roland died of

starvation whereas making an attempt to search out his way, wounded and alone, through the

mountains to catch up with the army.

Charlemagne and his fearless paladins rode and fought all told components of

Europe, beating the savage Germans {beyond|on the way side} the Rhine, and capture

tribes and peoples everywhere Europe virtually as far as Constantinople, the

nice capital of the jap Empire. lastly the dream of the

twelve-year-old lad at his father’s crowning came true, once Charlemagne

himself was crowned at Rome, the town of the Cæsars, as Emperor of the

Western World, on Christmas Day, within the year of our Lord 800.

It is written that the crowning of Holy Roman Emperor was ready as a

surprise to him by the Pope and his individuals in Rome. whereas Charles and

his sons were move before a shrine terribly ahead of time that Christmas

morning, Pope Leo appeared within the nice church with a crown of gold set

with several precious gems, and placed it on the pinnacle of the kneeling king,

so proclaiming him Emperor of the Western World. In a second the

Pope, the cardinals, the priests, and also the people rose from their knees

and musical these words:

“To Charles the Augustus, topped of God, the good and pacific emperor,

long life and victory!”

Holy Roman Emperor was a wise and good emperor who did many things to assist his

people. He engineered a beacon at Boulogne to guide ships to port,

inspired farming and created wise laws. He was kind to students and his

favorite recreation was reprehension them. He spoke many languages terribly

well and wrote an excellent deal. Among his writings were a grammar, poems in

Latin and plenty of letters.

ALFRED, the best OF THE SAXON KINGS

Over one thousand years ago, the king of the West Saxons on the island

of Britain, currently England, had four sons. AElfred, the youngest of these,

was his father’s favorite. once this boy was solely five, his royal father

sent him to Rome to be confirmed by the Pope. once Alfred came back his

queen-mother died, and also the father created a pilgrimage, or spiritual

journey, to Rome, taking young patrician Alfred, with several court gentlemen,

soldiers, and servants.