The sovereignty of the sea, fatal to those who possess it. "tained it. Who then would covet a superiority, "the consequences of which are so dismal? Who "would not rather avoid and detest what both se"duces to uncommon guilt, and subjects to inevita ble punishment."*(21) The ancients, accurate and clear-sighted observers, had foreseen that a power, founded on an armed naval force, by which death and destruction could be carried into every quarter, would generate a pride, that would, eventually, grow into intoxication and madness. 23. Every government, like every individual, has its evil genius, which impels it, sooner or later, to the commission of irreparable faults. Sovereigns are, often, in the language of the poet, Frappé de cet esprit de vertige et d'erreur, The exclusive empire of a common element, possesses nothing durable. Of all forms of ambition, that * The more correct and elegant translation of Dr. Gillies is here used, instead of following the loose and inaccurate version of the French.....T. (21) Isocrates, de Pace. + Racine's Athalie. The same sentiment is contained in a line of Apuleius. Quem deus vult perdere ille prius dementat. The worst consequence is, that the people suffer for the follies of their rulers. 1 Quicquid delirant reges plectuntur Achivi.-Hor. Epist. lib. 1. 2.......T. Ambition and injustice produce their own ruin. of ruling over the sea is the most wild; for the lines of dominion and the bounds of property, are, alternately, broken by the vessels of other nations, and continually effaced by the fleets moving over its surface. This sceptre, illegitimate, because it is usurped, is broken against the smallest rock, and soon buried beneath those independent waves over which it tyrannised. In all times, among all nations, in every climate, unjust power has been precarious and unstable. The laws of equity and peace, have a direct tendency to the preservation of the rights and benefits of society. Every invasion of the property of another, every law of force, necessarily draws after it its own destruction. Ambition produces usurpers and tyrants; and tyranny calls for vengeance. In all ages, oppression has been the principal cause of the destruction of empires, founded by injustice and usurpation. 24. It is the right, it is the duty of all nations, to arm themselves against the universal oppressor; to shake off, and break for ever, the yoke of a tyrant, who wishes to hold in chains, the seas, the commerce, and the industry of all nations. Justice has its invariable laws; oppression ought to have its limits. When it arrives at its height, it should be overthrown. Thus, the pride and cupidity of Carthage were expiated by its degradation. Its splendour was followed by humiliation, and that fear with which, by the force of her numerous fleets, she overawed the The destruction of Carthage caused by avarice and ambition. world, was succeeded by contempt. She wished, in vain, to protract the last moments of her credit and renown; the day of vengeance had arrived. The Carthaginians, invincible abroad, were destroyed in Carthage, by Agathocles and Scipio. Her name, her tyrannies, her spoliations, the insolent speeches of her generals, the outrageous pretensions of her negotiators, have been transmitted to posterity, who are happy in being unable to discover where are now the ruins of that proud city.* The same giddy spirit of ambition, induced the different nations of Greece, in their turn, to believe, that they might retain and preserve the maritime empire which they had usurped; but let us cast our eyes towards the wrecks of so many once flourishing cities and kingdoms. In the following sketches, will be seen the consequences of this mad pretension, such as they are presented in the history of every nation that has attempted to arrogate to itself the empire of the seas. * Did the destruction of Carthage by a haughty aud implacable rival, produce any benefit to other nations? They were subjected to the domination and oppression of another power more irresistible, and not less rapacious. There are many readers who will question both the justice and the policy of the measure, and who prefer the moderation of Scipio Nasica, in the memorable debate on this subject in the Roman Senate, to the stern and unrelenting severity of Cato......T. Ancient naval powers. ARTICLE II. Of the ancient States who have claimed the Empire of the Sea. § 1. CLAIMS to maritime empire are of very high antiquity. Eusebius has transmitted to us a chronological series of nations, who, at different times, and for certain periods, antecedent to the famous battle of Salamis, have been considered as possessing the empire of the sea ;(22) but they are indebted for this reputation, to their having rendered themselves formidable, by their piracies, carried on in particular parts of the Mediterranean. From the false ideas that men always form of audacity and strength, those nations have even derived glory from their predatory excursions.(23) Many other nations have, in their turn, disputed the empire of the sea, and its waves have often been tinged with the blood, which the unbridled ambition of ruling over that element has caused to flow. We shall pass rapidly over the different ages of the world, and observe what nations have acquired this ascendancy. (22) Eusebius in Chronic. lib. 2. Appollod. lib. 2. Plin. hist. nat. lib. 7. cap. 56. (23) Latrocinium maris illis temporibus gloria habebatur. Justin. hist. lib. 43. cap. 3. οὐκ ἔχοντός πω αἰσχυνην τούτου τοῦ ἔργου, φέροντος dé Ti xal doğns μaro-Thucydides, lib. 1. §5. This occupation, instead of being regarded as disgraceful, was considered as reputable. Το Tyre.-The Phoenicians the first naval power. Section I. TYRE. § 1. THE Phoenicians, known in the sacred writings, by the name of Canaanites, (24) a word that, in the oriental language, signifies merchants,(25) so much excelled in the knowledge of naval affairs, that the invention of a marine, according to Catullus, has been ascribed to them. Prima ratem ventis credere docta Tyrus. Inhabiting the coast of the Mediterranean, from the island of Aerad to Mount Carmel, they were ad (24) The only name under which the Phoenicians were known, in the early ages, and particularly by the sacred writers, is that of Canaanites. They are so called by Solomon, in Proverbs, ch. 31, v. 24. This appellation was preserved, for a long time, by the Phoenicians, in their colonies. Those who were established on the coast of Africa, called themselves by that name, in the time of St. Augustin, that is, in the fifth century of the Christian era. St. Aug. expos. inchoat. epist. ad Rom. The name of Phoenicians, found among prophane authors, was given to them by strangers. Sanchoniathon, in a fragment of his writings which remains, mentions that Chna (which is an abbreviation of Canaan) is their original name, and was afterwards changed to Phoenicians. The strangers who made this alteration, were, probably, the Egyptians; but it has had the effect to make the ancient name forgotten. Vid. Eusebius prepar. Evangel. lib. 1, c. 9. See also the learned observations of Abbé Barthelemi, in his first letter on some Phoenician medals, inserted in the Journal des Savans, for the month of August, 1760. (25) Braun, de Vest. Sacord. hebreor. p. 251.-Hist. Universelle, tom. 1. p. 219. |