CARTH AG EH A CARTHUSIANS. 



73 



of the Vandal kings. But the Arabians destroyed it 

 a second time, and few traces now remain of it, ex- 

 cept an aqueduct. 



The government of Carthage, according to the 

 common opinion, in its origin, was monarchical ; af- 

 terwards, it is not known how or when, it became re- 

 publican. The Phoenician states, likewise, had kings, 

 and their government, too, was republican. As no 

 distinct period is mentioned when the government 

 received its form, the constitution seems to have been 

 gradually formed, mostly by and through domestic 

 troubles. The government was composed of the 

 suffetes, the senate, the tribunal of the hundred, and 

 the freemen. The suffetes were at the head of af- 

 fairs, and were commonly called kings, by the Greek 

 authors, and ^consuls by the Romans. They were 

 permanent officers, and not, like the Roman consuls, 

 chosen for short periods. The Carthaginian senate 

 seems to have been a permanent and numerous body, 

 in which there was a smaller committee, composed, 

 probably, of the elder members. As regards the 

 power of the senate, and its relation to the people, 

 we know that the former had the right of deliberat- 

 ing beforehand on all affairs that were to be referred 

 to the people. If the sitffetes agreed with the senate, 

 the business might be referred to the people, or not, 

 as these magistrates saw fit ; but if they disagreed, it 

 was always referred to the people ; and every citizen 

 had the right of expressing his opinions freely. War 

 and peace likewise depended on the decision of the 

 senate. The tribunal of the hundred was chosen 

 from the most respectable families, and was the high- 

 est political tribunal. It seems, also, to have been in 

 possession of supreme civil jurisdiction. A highly 

 remarkable peculiarity of the Carthaginian govern- 

 ment was the separation of the civil and military 

 power at so early a period. The suffetes were never 

 their generals. The latter were chosen by the peo- 

 ple, and, in time of war, had unlimited power in re- 

 gard to military operations. Affairs of state, on the 

 contrary, alliances, and the like, were administered 

 by a committee of the senate, which was associated 

 with the generals. In this respect the Carthaginian 

 constitution was superior to the Roman, in which the 

 union of the two powers cost the state its freedom. 

 The religion of Carthage was a branch of the wor- 

 ship of the stars and of fire, which prevailed in the 

 East. Concerning Moloch (Baal or the Sun), the 

 supreme god of the Phoenicians, the human sacrifices, 

 and other peculiarities of the Phoenician worship, the 

 bishop of Zealand, doctor Frederic Munter, has pub- 

 lished the result of his interesting inquiries, in his 

 Religion of the Carthaginians (Copenhagen, 1821, 

 2d edition, 4to). 



CARTHAGENA ; an ancient town on the coast 

 of the kingdom of Murcia, with considerable trade, 

 one of the three great naval harbours of Spain, and 

 the best port of the Mediterranean. The basin is 

 very deep, even quite close to the town. The hills 

 that surround it, with steep ascents, and an island at 

 the mouth of the harbour, protect the vessels from 

 all winds. The town, with the citadel, is situated 

 on a peninsula in the harbour. It contains 29,000 

 inhabitants, fine wharves, a naval arsenal, a naval 

 school, a mathematical, nautical, and pilot academy, 

 an observatory, a botanical garden, a sail-cloth manu- 

 factory, has some fisheries, and some trade in baril- 

 la, silk, &c. In the neighbourhood of the town 

 the Carthaginians possessea mines of silver of such 

 richness, that Hannibal was enabled to carry on the 

 war against the Romans out of their produce. There 

 are hot springs and s-;lt mines in the neighbourhood. 

 The town was built by the Carthaginian general 

 Asdmbal. 



CARTHAGENA ; a province of Colombia, form- 



ing, with the provinces Santa Martha and Rio Ha- 

 cha, the department Magdalena (see Colombia), bor- 

 dering on the Carribbean sea and the gulf of Darien. 

 The country is composed of mountains and valleys, 

 covered with large and small forests. The variety 

 of plants and trees, as well as fruits, is wonderful. 

 The earth is covered with perpetual verdure. Wheat 

 and other kinds of European grain do not flourish 

 well, but Indian corn and rice are raised in sufficient 

 quantity for the consumption of the inhabitants. The 

 climate is very hot. From May to December, there 

 is a great deal of rain. The variety and beauty of 

 the birds is remarkable. Poultry, pigeons, partridges, 

 and geese, are good and plentiful. The fruits of the 

 country are pine-apples, papayas, plantains, &c. The . 

 principal town is Carthagena. 



CARTHAGENA ; a city and sea-port of Colom- 

 bia, capital of the province of the same name ; lat. 

 10o 25' N. ; Ion. 77 30' W. The population is rat- 

 ed at 24,000. It contains a liandsome cathedral, se- 

 veral churches, convents, and monasteries. The city 

 is situated on a sandy island, which forms a narrow 

 passage on the southwest. The bay is one of the 

 best in the country. It extends seven miles from 

 north to south, and has a safe anchorage, though the 

 many shallows at the entrance make a careful steer- 

 age necessary. There are among the inhabitants of 

 Carthagena very many of Indian descent. The city, 

 like the whole province, is subjected to the inconve- 

 nience of periodical rains. 



CARTHUSIANS ; a religious order, instituted by 

 St Bruno (q. v.), who, in 1086, built several hermit- 

 ages in a desert surrounded by hills and rocks, four 

 leagues from Grenoble, and, with six companions, 

 united the ascetic with the monastic life, like the 

 Camaldulians. The inhabitants of this desert built 

 a church, and, by industry and skill, converted into 

 gardens a place which seemed to have been destined 

 for the haunt of wild beasts only. At the same timej 

 they practised the greatest abstinence, wore coarse 

 garments, and eat only vegetables and the coarsest 

 bread. From their original seat (La Chartreuse), 

 they were called Carthusians, and their monasteries, 

 at first only a few in number, were called Chartreuses. 

 Their fifth general, Guigues (died 1137), prescribed, 

 besides the usual monastic vows, eternal silence and 

 solitude. Mechanical labours and copying of books, 

 together with religious worship, constituted their oc- 

 cupation. They observed a strict temperance, and 

 submitted to bleeding five times a-year. In 1170, 

 they were confirmed by the pope. In the following 

 centuries, they received additional statutes, which 

 forbade altogether the eating of flesh, and allowed 

 them to speak only during certain hours on Thurs- 

 days and the days on which the chapter met. With 

 increasing wealth, however, many embellishments 

 were added to their solitary life, as the great Chart- 

 reuse, near Grenoble, and their elegant palace at 

 Naples, prove. The monks were hi general well in 

 formed, hospitable, and remarkable for their neat 

 ness. Excessive penance was interdicted, but their 

 laws were exceedingly severe against disobedience. 

 Their habit was entirely white within, covered with 

 a black mantle. The lay brothers were distinguish- 

 ed by the beard and a shorter scapulary. The Car- 

 thusian nuns originated in 1616. They were dressed 

 in white, like the monks, with a black veil. They 

 obtained permission to dine in common, and to inter- 

 rupt their silence more frequently. The general of 

 the whole order was always the vicar of the Chart- 

 reuse at Grenoble. In the middle of the 18th cen- 

 tury, the Carthusian monks occupied 172 monasteries, 

 of which 75 were in France, the others mostly in Ger- 

 many and Italy. The Carthusians in Sicily and Spain 

 only have escaped the general abolition of the order. 





