loo Before Chrifl 2 1 8 — 201. 



made his famous paffage over the Alps, and rulhed hke a torrent upon 

 Italy with an army of only twenty thoufand foot and fix thoufand horfe 

 (a°. 218); but they were moflly approved veterans, trained to war under 

 three fucceflive great generals. Ai'my after army of the Romans was 

 defeated, and almoft all Italy was delivered from the Roman yoke by 

 Hannibal, who if envy had not prevented him from being properly 

 fupported from Carthage, would probably, in fpite of the determined 

 perfeverance of the Romans, have extinguilhed their power, and prevent- 

 ed their eagles from taking the wide flights over the world, which they 

 did, as foon as they were delivered from the oppofition of Carthage. 

 But in the courfe of fifteen years the vigour of his army, he having al- 

 moft no refources for recruiting or fupporting it, but what he drew 

 from his conquefts in Italy, was exhaufl:ed, while that of the Romans 

 was dayly improving. By the influence of the fame envious fadion the 

 Carthaginian army in Spain was left to fi:ruggle againft the power of the 

 Romans and the fluduating diliiffedion of the natives. New Carthage, 

 Saguntum, and every other pofl: in that extenfive country, fell under the 

 Roman dominion. Emboldened bythefe fuccefles, the Romans carried the 

 war into Africa (a". 204), and Hannibal was obliged to abandon Italy in or- 

 der to defendCarthage* (a°. 203). AtZama that great generalwas defeated 

 by the great Roman general Scipio (a". 202) : and that battle, which, Poly- 

 bius fays, conferred upon the Romans the fovereignty of the world, com- 

 pelled the Carthaginians to fue for peace (a". 201). One of the articles of 

 the peace obliged them to pay to the Romans ten thoufand Euboic talents 

 (jC^ ,937,500 fterling) in fifty years. But perhaps the mofi mortifying 

 article was that, which obliged them to referve only ten triremes, and 

 to deliver the reft of their fhips of war to the Romans, all which, to the 

 number of five hundred as we are told, Scipio burnt in their fight ; a 

 condud not very eafily to be accounted for, (as the Romans might now 

 be luppofed to know the value of fiiips) and which feems even to go 

 beyond the madnefs of Alexander in burning his own palace at Perfe- 

 polis. The Carthaginians are faid to have been in great diftrefs on fee- 

 ing the deftrudion of their fleet ; but they would have had much more 

 caufe for lamentation, if Scipio had made a more rational ufe of them 

 by carrying them home and ftationing them in the ports of Italy. 

 Some other articles were contrived by the Romans to afford a fubjedt of 

 perpetual quarrels between the princes of Africa in dependent alliance 

 with them and the Carthaginians, in order to furnifli a pretence for re- 



• If Hanno's party liad been defeated Iji their of iiidudrioiis farmers, nianufafturers, merchants, 



envious obftruflions of Hannibal's meafiirts, it is and navigators, conferring mutual benefits upon 



more tlian probable, tliat the Roman republic each-other, while they were enriching and polilh- 



would have been cxtingiiiflied : that portion of the ing the world ; mariy centuries would have been 



inhabitants of tiie eartli, which was afterwards ex- added to the authentic hillory of aftive commerce, 



iihingly called the Roman lunrld, inilead of a fo- which would have been illuRrated by the genuine 



ciety compofed of one tyrant and many millions of records of the Carthaginians, and nlfo of their 



flavcs, would have conltituted many communities Phceiiician anccflors. 



