7

Chap. 1.] Hyäraulic machines of the Ancients not lost.

Every part of the eastern World has often had its inhabitants torn fro mit bv war, and their places occupied by others. This practice of conque-rors was sometimes modified, as respeeted the peasantry of a subduedcountry, but it appears timt from very remote ages, mechawks were inva-riably carried off. The Phenicians, in a war with the Jews , deprived themof every man who could forge iron. a “ There was no smith found through-out all the land of Israel ; for the Philistines said, lest the Hebrews makeswords and spears.” Shalmanezer, when he took Samaria , carried thepeople “away out of their own land to Assyria , and the king of Assyria ,brought men from Babylon, and from Cuthah, and from Ava, and fromHamath , and from Sepharvaim, instead of the children of Israel ; and theypossessed Samaria , and dwelt in the cities thereof.” b When Nebuchad-nezzar took Jerusalem , he carried off, with the treasure of the temple, “ allthe craftsmen and smiths.” Jeremiah says he carried away the “carpen-ters and smiths, and brought them to Babylon.” Diodorus says, the pa-laces of Persepolis and Susa were built by meehanics thatCambyses car-ried from Egypt . c Ancient history is full of similar exampies. Alexan-der practised it to a great extent. After his death, there was found amonghis tablets, a resolution to build several cities, some in Europe and some inAsia ; and his design was to people those in Asia with Europeans, andthose in Europe with Asiatics. d In this manner some of the most usef'ularts, necessarily became common to all the nations of old; and their per-petuity in some degrree secured, especially such as related to the tillageand irrigation of the soil.

We are inclined to believe that the hydraulic machines of the Assy-rians, Babylonians , Persians and Egyptians , have all, or nearly all, comedown to us. Most of them have been continued in uninterrupted use inthose countries to the present times ; while others have reached us throughthe Greeks and Romans, Saracens and Moors ; or, have been obtainedin modern days from China and Hindostan.

It is remarkable that almost all machines for raising water, originated'with the older nations of the world; neither the Greeks, (if the screw ofConon be excepted, and even it was invented in egypt, ) nor the Romans,added a single one to the ancient stock; nor is this surprising; for withfew exceptions, those in use at the present day, are either identical with,or but modifications of those of the ancients.

It is alleged that Archytas of Tarentum , 400, B. C. invented “hydrau-lie machines,” but no account of them has reached our times, nor do weknow that they were designed to raise water. They consisted probably,in the application of the windlass or crane, (the latter it is said he invent-ed) to move machines for this purpose. Had any important or useful ma-chine for raising water, been devised by him, it would have been continuedin use; and would certainly have been noticed by Vitruvius , who was ac- quainted with his inventions, and who mentions him several times in hiswork. 1 b. chap. i., and 9 b. chap. 3. e

We have arranged the machines described in this work in five classes;to each of which, a separate book is devoted. A few chapters of thefirst book, are occupied with remarks on wateb; ob the origin of ves-

a l Sam. chap. xiii, 19, 22. b 2 Kings chap. xvii, 23, 24. c Goguet, Tom. iii, 13.''Diodorus Siculus , quotedby Robertson. India page 191. See Wilkinson’s Ancient Egyptians , 1 vol. 206.

“Archytas made an automaton pigeon of wood which would fly. It was this probably,which gave the idea to the modern mechanician of Nuremburgh, who constructed aneagle, which flew towards Charles V. on his entrance into that city.