AGATHOCLES
AGATHOCLES was the son of a potter. When he became
lord and was proclaimed king of Sicily, he was wont to
place earthen and golden vessels together, and show them
to young men, telling them, Those I made first, but now
I make these by my valor and industry. As he was besieging a city, some from the walls reviling him, saying, Do
you hear, potter, where will you have money to pay your
soldiers—he gently answered, I'll tell you, if I take this
city. And having taken it by storm, he sold the prisoners,
telling them, If you reproach me again, I will complain to
your masters. Some inhabitants of Ithaca complained of
his mariners, that making a descent on the island they had
taken away some cattle; But your king, said he, came to
Sicily, and did not only take away sheep, but put out the
shepherd's eyes, and went his way.