26 Before Chrill 897—880. 



itime and commercial tranfaclions of many nations through a long fuc- 

 ceflion of ages *. 



897 — Jehofaphat king of Judah, in conjuncStion with Ahaziah king 

 of Ifrael, made an attempt to revive the commerce, which had flouriih- 

 ed fo greatly in the reign of Solomon. But the fhips, which they built 

 at Eziongeber, being wrecked in the harbour, the undertaking was 

 abandoned. We are not told, that they had any afliftance from the 

 Phoenicians in fitting out their fleet. [I Kings, c. 2 2 — II Chron. c. 20.J 



Thus it appears, that the commercial fplendour of the Ifraelites was 

 a blazing meteor, which flione out and paffed away with the reign of 

 Solomon. 



890 — At this time the dominion of the fea is afcribed to the Phry- 

 gians. The opulence of Pelops and Midas, princes of this country, 

 feveral centuries before this time has already been obferved. 



880 It was probably about this time, that Homer flouriflied, whofe 



inimitable poems laid the foundation of the literary pre-eminence uni- 

 verfally allowed to the Greeks in all fucceeding ages. But the prefent 

 work is only concerned with the many notices refpeding trade and ma- 

 nufactures to be found in his poems, fome of which have been remark- 

 ed in their proper places, and with his admirable geographical know- 

 lege. The ^gean fea with its iflands and both its fliores, the neigh- 

 bouring parts of the Mediterranean coafts, and Egypt, were well known 

 to him from his own judicious obfervations made during his voyages 

 and travels. He is faid to have made voyages as far as Spain and Tuf- 

 cany ; \Herodoti Vita Homeri~\ and the other weflern parts of the Medi- 

 terranean fea were known to him by converfation with Phoenician fea- 

 men. He even knew, that the land is everywhere furrounded by the 

 fea. In fliort, he is honoured with the title of Prince of geographers by 

 Strabo, one of the greatefl geographers of antiquity, from whofe work, 

 collated with Homer's own, the reader may obtain a proper idea of the 

 knowlege of this wonderful man f. Such, however, was the tardy pro- 

 grefs of information in thofe ages, that the great empires of the Eafl, 

 and even the commercial famx and opulence of Tyre, which had flou- 



• Thcfc laws may with great probability claim taken the abflradl given in the text. The higii 

 the honour of a ftill higher antiquity, as the Rliod- rtfpedl in wliich the Rhodian Liw was held in the 

 ian3 were partly of Phoenician origin ; and no moll flouridiinn; ages of the Roman empire is well 

 <ioubt tlic cliief mcreliants were of the Phccnician illudrated by the emperor Antoninus, who, on a 

 race, and derived their culloms and mercantile re- complaint agalnil liie plunderers of a wreck, an- 

 gulations from their mother country. fwcred, ' I indeed am fovereign of the world, but 



My refpeft for the karntd Prefident Goguet * tlie Rhodian law is fovereign of the fea, and by 



makeii me wi(h that he had condefcended to give ' it your caufe mull be determined.' 



hill reafons for queftioning the genin'iicnefs of the f The reader may alfo confult Black-weifi En- 



Khodian laws, which have come down to us as ijuiry into the life and 'uiriiingi of Homer, feS, 9. 



iicorporated in the Roman law, whence I have and 11. i 



