OCEAN, THE UNIVERSAL HIGHWAY 209 



the Phoenicians made the great Middle Sea peculiarly 

 their own, and did indeed realize its value as a means 

 of communication between all the most important 

 countries of the then civilized world. But it was a 

 long time, owing doubtless to their hazy notions of 

 the terrors that lay beyond, before they ventured to 

 pass the pillars of Hercules and entrust their frail 

 craft to the mighty waves of the Atlantic. The spirit 

 of exploration, however, was peculiarly theirs, and in 

 due time they ventured, little by little, keeping, we 

 may be sure, very close to the land all the while, as 

 far as Britain. And I do not think it at all fanciful 

 to suppose that they did then sow the seed that 

 should so long afterwards bear such wonderful fruit. 

 I should also be inclined to give them the credit, too, 

 of having inoculated the Portuguese and Spaniards 

 with their own strong desire to roam over the sea, 

 enduring all the trials and dangers which that roaming 

 entailed, for the sake of the amazingly rich rewards 

 that were occasionally gained, but more especially for 

 the gratification of that love of wandering into the 

 unknown, which is one of the strongest instincts of 

 mankind. 



There is yet another important item to the credit 

 of the Phoenicians, which must on no account be 

 omitted. They sought the sea-road as peaceful traders, 

 carrying the wares for which their manufactures were 

 famous to barter for the desirable commodities of other 

 countries. They were neither pirates (for piracy had 

 not then been invented) nor restless adventurers, bent 

 on aggression wherever they were strong enough. It 

 is true that for the motive-power of their vessels they 

 used slaves, and in so doing inflicted cruelties upon 



