Scxviii 
APPENDIX. 
Instruments of 
Avar. 
his peculiar office assigned to him, as appears from the Argonautics 
of Apollonius and Flaccus. We there find one employed in rearing 
the mast, another in fitting the yards, a third in hoisting the sails, 
and the rest employed fore and aft in the ship, each in his proper 
place. Hence, they had different titles to distinguish them, taken 
from the parts of the ship where they were stationed, and the offices 
which they were in the habit of performing. 
There was a class of men inferior to the rest of the crew, which 
was not confined to any particular station or duty, but was ready on 
all occasions to attend the other seamen, and supply them with 
whatever they wanted. 
“ The whole ship’s crew,” says Potter, “ were usually wicked and 
profligate fellows, ivithout any sense of religion or humanity, and there- 
fore reckoned by Juvenal among the vilest of rogues * f” 
It does not, however, follow, because Juvenal here alludes to sailors 
of the worst description, that he considered every ship’s company in 
the light of thieves and deserters. 
The soldiers who served at sea were armed after the same manner 
with those designed for land service ; only that among them there 
seems to have been a greater number of heavy-armed men than was 
considered to be necessary on shore ; for we find in Plutarch, that 
of Themistocles’ ships, four only were light-armed. Indeed, it 
highly imported them (says Potter) to fortify themselves in the best 
manner they could, since there was no possibility of retiring, or 
changing places ; but every man was obliged to fight hand to hand, 
and maintain his ground till the battle was ended ; wherefore their 
whole armour, though in form usually the same with that employed 
on land service, yet exceeded it in strength and firmness. Besides 
this, we find also some instruments of war used at sea, which were 
never employed on shore ; the principal of which were : — spears of 
an unusual length, sometimes exceeding twenty cubits ; instruments 
of iron crooked like a sickle and fixed to the top of a long pole, 
wherewith they cut in sunder (continues our author) the cords of the 
* ItiA’enies aliquo cum percussore jacentem, 
Permixtum nautis aut furibus aut fugitivis. — (Sat. viii.) 
