"A true Cynic respects only purity and virtue. All else is vanity."
"And the supposed purity of philosophers is nothing but snobbery," Zeno said.
"Snobbery?" Izates said in a quiet voice. "How does reverence for the purity of thought and logic translate into snobbery?"
"It isn't purity to which most philosophers aspire," Zeno explained. "It's respectability. Most of them are impoverished men of less than noble background, and they want desperately to be accepted as peers of the aristocracy. That's why they can't stand the thought of philosophers getting their hands dirty."
Izates peered narrowly at him. "Now it's you that sound like a Cynic."
Zeno grinned. "I was born one. You had to study. Besides," he turned serious again, "think of it! They've built a boat that can take men beneath the water and back to the surface safely!"
"And what have they accomplished thereby? They can see nothing because the boat is entirely sealed. They can stay underwater only a short time and merely risk drowning for nothing."
"But it has never before been done by mortal men," Zeno protested.
"Then it is novelty for the sake of novelty and therefore just a vulgar show, meant to impress the credulous mob."
"No, it is meant to sink enemy ships and seems to have performed the task well."
"Nonsense!" Izates performed one of the more common Greek rude noises. "Men have been sinking ships since before the time of Odysseus. The process is always much the same. Do the sailors drown more thoroughly because their ship was destroyed by an unseen craft? Does the ship sink more precipitately for being rammed by a submarine vessel?"
"As I understand it, the sinkings were accomplished more by a sawing action than by ramming. Apparently, ramming is unadvisable in one of these ships. It makes even the usual galleys leak, and this might be disastrous when you are submerged already."
"That is rank sophistry and unworthy of you. Military toys!" Izates grumped. "As if the old-fashioned methods of mutual extermination were not lethal enough already. Demetrius Poliorcetes loved to play with such grotesque machines and whatever became of him?"
"Not all the new inventions of the Archimedean school are military in nature," Zeno said. "There are men experimenting with mirrors and lenses who say they can vastly improve our study of the stars and heavenly bodies."
"Well, I suppose that is proper," Izates admitted grudgingly. He was keenly interested in astronomy. "As long as they leave the manufacture of these new instruments to craftsmen, and confine themselves to making observations and speculating upon them. I am skeptical of how much help these instruments shall prove, anyway. Our ancestors did well enough with only their own two eyes. How much does making a star seem bigger tell us? Their courses will remain the same. Their place in the heavens will be unchanged. The rising and setting of the major constellations will occur with the same regularity as was observed by the astronomers of Babylon and Egypt thousands of years ago."
"But look at this!" Zeno said with a note of triumph that Izates recognized. His friend had been leading up to this all along.
"You've set an ambush for me," he grumbled.
Zeno drew a folded papyrus from the pouch at his waist. "This came from our friend Gabinius. It was among the most recent reports from Marcus Scipio to the Senate. Gabinius says that it is a mystery to him, but that we might find it amusing." He unfolded it portentously and began to read.
"Among the intriguing new developments are those of the Cypriote, Agathocles. I have written of him before: He is the experimenter with mirrors, who invented the device for observing around corners and over walls. This device proved very useful on the underwater boats.
"His newest creations involve parabolic mirrors and lenses of finely ground glass, which by some seemingly magical property cause distant objects to appear closer. He has used some of these devices to study the stars and the moon, and the astronomers who have looked through these things have been astonished. They say that, not only do the stars appear nearer, but they can actually see more stars than are visible to our eyes alone. Agathocles says that he is frustrated by the impurities and other imperfections in his lenses, and works feverishly with his Babylonian glass workers to create clearer, more refined glass and finer grinding and polishing agents to perfect his lenses.
"I am sure that these things must have some sort of military application. Reconnaissance, both at sea and on land, comes to mind. I shall set Agathocles to work devising small, portable viewing devices."
Zeno refolded the parchment. "What do you think of that?"