N AVIGATIO N. 
PROGRESSIVE pI'STORY of NAVIGATION. 
If the arts and fciences ought to excite an intereft pro¬ 
portionate to the advantages we derive from them, what 
art deferves, more than navigation, to fix our attention ? 
It is that which edablilhes an eafy communication be¬ 
tween the mod didant nations, which introduces civiliza¬ 
tion among the mod barbarous people, and enables us to 
participate in the riches which Nature produces in every 
part of the earth. No other art calls forth more largely 
the faculties of man ; it teaches him to brave numberlefs 
dangers, and gives him the means of furmounting them ; 
it enlarges his ideas, in fhowing him nature under all her 
afpedts, and humanity in all its conditions, from favage 
life to the highed degree of civilization. 
In every dage of fociety, men have eagerly fought, by 
the combination of fuperior Ikill and ingenuity, to attain 
thofe didindt advantages which nature has conferred on 
the different tribes of animals, by endowing them with 
a peculiar ftrudture and a peculiar force of organs. The 
ruded favage learns, from his very infancy, to imitate the 
fwimming of a filh, and plays on the furface of the water 
with an agility and a perfeverance which feem to decline 
with the advancement of civilization. But an art lb con¬ 
fined in its exercife, and requiring fuch a degree of bodily 
exertion, could not be confidered of much avail. It was 
foon perceived, that the fatigue of impulfion through the 
water could be greatly diminilhed by the fupport and 
floating of fome light fubdance. The trunk of a tree 
would bear its rude proprietor along the dream; or, hol¬ 
lowed out into a canoe, and furniflied with paddles, it 
might enable him even to traverfe a river. From this Am¬ 
ple fabric, the dep was not great to the condrudlion of a 
boat or barge, impelled by the force of oars. But it was a 
mighty dride to fix mads and apply fails to the veflel, and 
thus liibditute the power of wind for that of human la¬ 
bour. The adventurous failor, indead of plying on the 
narrow feas, or creeping timidly along the ffiore, could 
now launch with confidence into the wide ocean. Navi¬ 
gation, in its mod cultivated form, may be fairly regarded 
as the confummation of art, and the fublimed triumph of 
human genius, indudry, courage, and perfeverence. 
The poets refer the invention of the art of navigation 
to Neptune; fome of the ancients to Bacchus, others to 
Hercules, others to Jafon,and others to Janus, who is laid 
to have made the fil'd Ihip. Hidorians afcribe it to the 
.rEginetes, the Phoenicians, Tyrians, and the ancient in¬ 
habitants of Britain. Some fuppofe, that the fird hint 
was taken from the flight of the kite ; others, as Oppian, 
from the lhell-fifh or worm called nautilus; others afcribe 
it to accident. 
Scripture refers the origin of fo ufeful an invention to 
God himfelf, who gave the fird fpecimen thereof in the 
ark built by Noah under his cliredtion. For the raillery 
which the good man underwent on account of his enter- 
jprife Ihows evidently enough that the world was then 
ignorant of any thing like navigation, and that they even 
thought it impoflible. 
However, profane hiflory reprefents the'Phcenicians, ef- 
pecially thofe of their capital Tyre, as the fird navigators ; 
being urged to feek a foreign commerce by the narrow- 
nefs and poverty of a flip of ground they pofiefled along 
the coads ; as well as by the conveniency of two or three 
good ports, and by their natural genius for traffic. Ac¬ 
cordingly, Lebanon and the other neighbouring moun¬ 
tains furnilhing them with excellent wood for ihip-build- 
jng, in a fliort time they were maders of a numerous fleet; 
and, condantly hazarding new navigations, and fettling 
r.ew trades, they foon arrived at an incredible pitch of 
opulence and populoufnefs; infomuch as to be in a con¬ 
dition to fend out colonies, the principal of which was 
that of Carthage ; which, keeping up their Phoenician 
fpirit of commerce, in time not only equalled Tyre itfelf, 
but vadly furpafled it; fending its merchant-fleets through 
Jlercules's Pillars, now the ftraits of Gibraltar, along the 
YOk. XVI. No. 1140. 
(513 
weflern coads of Africa and Europe; and even, if we be¬ 
lieve fome authors, to America itfelf. 
The progrefs of the Phoenicians and Carthaginians 
w f as not owing merely to the defire of extending their 
trade from one country to another ; voyages were under¬ 
taken, the foleobjedt of which was to dilcover new coun¬ 
tries, and to explore unknown feas. Such, during the 
profperous ages of the Carthaginian republic, were the 
famous navigations of Hanno and Himilco. Both their 
fleets were equipped by authority of the fenate, and at 
the public expenfe. Hanno was diredted to deer towards 
the fouth, along the coad of Africa; and he feems to have 
advanced much nearer the equinoctial line than any former 
navigator. Himilco had it in charge to proceed towards 
the north, and to examine the weltern coads of the Eu¬ 
ropean continent. Of the fame nature was the extraor¬ 
dinary navigation of the Phoenicians round Africa. A 
Phoenician fleet, we are told, (Herodot. lib. iv. cap. 42.) 
fitted out by Neclio king of Egypt, took its departure, 
about 604 years before the Chridian era, from a port in 
the Red Sea, doubled the fouthern promontory of Africa, 
and, after a voyage of three years, returned by the draits 
of Gades to the mouth of the Nile. Eudoxus of Cyzicus 
is faid (Plin. Nat. Hid. lib. ii. cap. 67.) to have held the 
fame courfe, and to have accomplilhed the fame arduous 
undertaking. However, long after this navigation of 
the Phoenicians and of Eudoxus round Africa, Polybius, 
the mod intelligent and bed-informed hidorian of anti¬ 
quity, affirms, that it was not known, in his time, whe¬ 
ther Africa was a continued continent dretching to the 
fouth, or whether it was encompaffed by the fea. (Polyb. 
Hid. lib. iii.) And it appears from the teflimony of 
Pliny, Strabo, and Ptolemy, that the accounts of thofe 
voyages were not fully credited. Robertfon's Hijl. of Ame¬ 
rica, vol. i. 
Tyre, whofe immenfe riches and power are reprefented 
in fuch lofty terms, both in facred and profane authors, 
being dedroyed by Alexander the Great, its navigation 
and commerce were transferred by the conqueror to Alex¬ 
andria, a new city, admirably fituated for thofe purpofes, 
propofed for the capital of the empire of Afia, which 
Alexander then meditated. And thus arofe the naviga¬ 
tion of the Egyptians, which was afterwards fo cultivated 
by the Ptolemies, that Tyre and Carthage (which lad, 
after having a long time dilputed empire with theRomans, 
was at length fubdued) were quite forgot. 
Egypt being reduced into a Roman province after the 
battle of Adtium, its trade and navigation fell into the 
hands of Augudus; in whofe time Alexandria was only 
inferior to Rome ; and the magazines of the capital of the 
world were wholly fupplied with merchandifes from the 
capital of Egypt. At length, Alexandria itfelf underwent 
the fate of Tyre and Carthage, being furprifed by the Sa¬ 
racens ; who, in fpite of the emperor Heraclius, overfpread 
the northern coads of Africa, See. whence the merchants 
being driven, Alexandria has ever fince been in a languiffi- 
ing date, though dill it enjoys a coniiderable part of the 
commerce of the Chridian merchants trading to the 
Levant. 
The fall of Rome, and its empire, drew along with it 
not only that of learning and the polite arts, but that of 
navigation ; the barbarians, into w'hole hands it fell, 
contented themfelves with the fpoils of the indudry of 
their predeceffors. However, one circumdance prevented 
commercial intercourfe with didant nations from ceafing 
altogether. Condantinople, though often threatened by 
the fierce invaders, who lpread delolation over the red of 
Europe, was fo fortunate as to efcape their deflruCtive 
rage. In this city, the knowledge of ancient arts and 
difcoveries was preferved ;. and commerce continued to 
flourifli there, with the tafle for elegance, and the luxuries 
of foreign countries, when it was almofl extindtin every 
other part of Europe. The citizens of Condantinople did 
not confine their trade to the iflands of the Archipelago, 
or to the adjacent coads of Afia: they took a wider range, 
7 R and, 
