vessels, and other instruments employed in several acts of religion, the sacrifices, feasts, vows, and ob lations, oracles and predictions; and under the title of political government, the comitia or assemblies, the different offices of magistracy, the laws and judgments, and so of all the rest.

There are abundance of curious points, and such as certainly deserve to be taken notice of, which a master that has some knowledge in this study may observe to his scholars, as occasion offers, and in which in time will supply them with an abundance of useful and agrecable points of knowledge at no great expence of pains. A few examples will explain my meaning, and shew how serviceable the study of Antiquities may be towards exciting the curiosity of youth, and inspiring them with a taste for learning, or even to instil into them the useful principles of morality and religion. I shall here confine myself to one single article relating to arts, and shall treat only of a very small part of them.

FACTS AND REFLECTIONS RELATING TO THE

INVENTION OF ARTS.

It is of great moment, as we read, to observe carefully the origin of arts and sciences, their different progress, their declension and fall; the rare and curious facts which occur upon this subject; the illustrious men who have excelled in them; the princes who have made the study of them flourish, by giving protection and encouragement to such persons as have distinguished themselves by their skill in any art; nor must we omit the discoveries which have escaped the enquiries of the ancients, and been reserved for latter ages. I shall here speak only to the two last articles, and content myself with pointing out some few examples, to which I shall add something upon measures and coins.

I. DIS

1. DISCOVERIES UNKNOWN TO THE ANCIENTS.

In the description of battles, with which authors abound, youth often find the cavalry mentioned, but seldom observe one thing, which is very surprising in itself, and scarce comprehensible; which is, that anciently the horsemen never made use of stirrups. They must either, when grown heavy with age, have been. put upon their horses by their grooms, if they had any; or have taken the advantage of a higher ground, or of some stone, or a trunk of a tree. [s] Plutarch observes, that Gracchus placed stones at certain distances upon the great roads, to assist horsemen in mounting on horseback.

We are with reason surprised that the ancients never made use of glass for their windows. Glass however was in use amongst them; without mentioning the looking glasses and large panes, which were the ornaments of their chambers, they made vases, cups, and goblets of glass, which perfectly imitated crystal, and were none of the least ornaments of the buffets. What could be more easy than to glaze their windows with it? and yet this was what the ancients never did.

They likewise never used any linen for their shirts, which however is so neat and wholesome; and this was one of the reasons which made bathing so absolutely necessary amongst them.

It is also proper to observe to pupils, that several of the most necessary inventions of life, such as watermills, windmills, spectacles, the compass, printing, and a great many others of the like nature, were unknow to the ancients; and that we owe the greatest part of these rare and valuable inventions, to the barbarous ages in which that stupidity and ignorance still prevailed, which the eruption of the northern people, enemies and destroyers of all the works of art, had spread all over Europe. How many discoveries have been made in astronomy by means of the telescope? how great a change has the compass made in navigation?

[s] In Vit. Gracch.

It is highly proper upon this occasion, to observe, that the invention of arts ought not to be attributed to human industry alone, but to a peculiar providence, which usually concealing itself under such circumstances as seem to be the effect of chance, conducts mankind by degrees to wonderful discoveries, in order to procure for them, at appointed seasons, the necessities and conveniences of life. This is a truth confessed by the heathens themselves; and [] Tully, running over what was the most useful and valuable in nature, owns that all this world would have remained in oblivion, and buried in the bowels of the earth, if God had not disclosed the knowledge and use of it

to man.

To confirm this reflection, and render the truth more evident, it may be proper to explain at large to youth, the particular circumstance of the compass; and such an account cannot but be very pleasing to them. The compass then, they may be told, is a small box, in which there is inclosed a needle, that has been touched by a loadstone, and so supported, that it may easily be turned every way. This needle, by virtue of the loadstone which has touched it, always constantly directs itself so as to fix very near upon the meridian line, turning one of its extremities towards the north, and the other towards the south, and by this means discovers to the pilot the course he steers. The ancients, before the invention of the compass, could not sail very far in the open sea, as they had no other guidance than the sun and stars; and when this assistance failed them, they went on by chance, and knew not what course the vessel took; for which reason they never removed very far from the coasts, nor ventured to undertake any long voyages, The compass has removed these difficulties, as it constantly shews where the north and south lie, let the weather be what it will, by day or night; and by a necessary consequence, shews which is the east and which is the west, and certainly points out the course the vessel is to take.

[] Cic. lib. i. de Divin. n. 116.

The

The discovery of the new world, and consequently the salvation of abundance of souls depended upon the invention of the compass; and it is surprising it should have lain so long concealed, for it has been known in Europe but about three hundred years. The ancients were perfectly acquainted with one of the two specific virtues of the loadstone, to wit, that of attracting and supporting iron; how came they not to discover the other, of fixing and turning itself always towards the north and south, which now appears to us so easy and natural a discovery? Who does not clearly see, that God, who makes men attentive to the effects of nature, or heedless of them, according to his own designs or good pleasure, had reserved this inportant discovery in his eternal decrees, for the season in which he was pleased that the gospel should be transported into those countries, which till then were inaccessible to our ships, as they were separated from us by immense tracts of sea, which could not be crossed over, as God had not yet taken away the obstacle to our entrance into them?

In speaking of the vessels of the ancients to the pupils, it will be proper to inform them, that the learned differ much about the manner in which the ranks of oars were disposed. There are some, says F. de Montfaucon, who will have them placed longways, almost in the same manner as the ranks of oars are now placed in galleys; others, and amongst this number himself, are of opinion that the ranks of the biremes, the triremes, the quinqueremes, or pentiremes, and the rest, which have been multiplied to the number of forty in certain vessels, were set one above another, not perpendicularly, for this would be impossible, but obliquely, and as it were by steps; and this they prove by abundance of passages from ancient authors. But what is till more decisive in fayour of this opinion, the ancient monuments, and especially the column of Trajan, represent these ranks one above another; yet adds F. Montfaucon, the best of our seamen all say, that this is impossible. All those, says he, whom I have discoursed upon this

Q 3

subject,

subject, some of which are persons of the first distinction, and of abilities known to the whole world, agree in the same opinion.

Without any great skill in matters relating to the sea, it is easily conceived, that there must have been an almost insuperable difficulty in the working of vessels of extraordinary bigness, such as were those of [u] Ptolemy, Philopater king of Egypt, and Hiero. king of Syracuse. The vessels of Hiero, built by the direction of Archimedes, had one of them twenty ranks of oars, and the other forty. This last was two hundred and eighty cubits long, thirty-eight broad, and about fifty cubits high. The oars of those who held the highest rank, were thirty-eight cubits long. It appears by the column of Trajan, that in the biremes and triremes, there was only one rower, to every oar. It is not easy to decide for the rest. Thus [] Plutarch observes, that the vessel of Ptolemy, which was more like an immoveable building, than a ship, was only for pomp and show, and not for use. Livy says almost the same thing of the ship of Philip king of Macedon, which had sixteen ranks of oars. [y] Jussus Philippus naves omnes tectas tradere; quin & regiam unam inhabilis prope magnitudinis, quam sexdecim versus remorum agebant. Vegetius reckons only among ships of a reasonable bigness, and fit for war, the quinqueremes, and those of less rank; and there is scarce mention made of any others amongst authors. It seems farther evident, that from the time of Augustus, they scarce ever made use of vessels with more ranks of oars, than the triremes and the biremes.

But to pass a right judgment upon the working of these vessels of such extraordinary bigness, a man must have seen them with his own eyes. [x] We read of the ships of Demetrius king of Syria, which had sixteen ranks of oars. Before his time there never had been seen any thing like them. Their agility, says Plutarch,

[] A description of them may be seen in Athenaus, lib. v. [x] In Vit. Demetr.

[y] Lib. xxxiii. n. 39. [2] Plut. in Vit. Demetr. Diod, Sic. lib. xx.