Archimedes, however, in writing to King Hiero, whose friend and near relation he was, had stated that given the force, any given weight might be moved, and even boasted, we are told, relying on the strength of demonstration, that if there were another earth, by going into it he could remove this.
Hiero being struck with amazement at this, and entreating him to make good this problem by actual experiment, and show some great weight moved by a small engine, he fixed accordingly upon a ship of burden out of the king’s arsenal, which could not be drawn out of the dock without great labour and many men; and, loading her with many passengers and a full freight, sitting himself the while far off, with no great endeavor, but only holding the head of the pulley in his hand and drawing the cords by degrees, he drew the ship in a straight line, as smoothly and evenly as if she had been in the sea.
The king, astonished at this, and convinced of the power of the art, prevailed upon Archimedes to make him engines accommodated to all the purposes, offensive and defensive, of a siege.
Source:
Plutarch, John Dryden, and Arthur Hugh Clough. "Marcellus." Plutarch's Lives. New York: Modern Library, 2001. 418. Print.
Further Reading:
Archimedes is probably my favorite historical figure.
It was all about the science and his toys. Nothing else mattered to him. The eureka-bathtube incident, and his death, both show a complete inability to understand even the most basic social concepts.
I wonder if he had Asperger's.