CONCERNING ANCIENT INDIA.

7

of Sefoflris, they refumed their ancient maxims,and many ages elapfed before the commercialconnexion of Egypt with India came to be of fuchimportance as to merit any notice in thisDifquifition 7 .

The hiftory of the early maritime operations ofPhenicia are not involved in the fame obfcuritywith thofe of Egypt . Every circumRance in the cha-racter and fituation of the Phenicians, was favor-able to the commercial fpirit. The territory whichthey poffeffed, was neither large nor fertile. It wasfrom commerce only , that they could deriveeither opulence or "power. Accordingly, the tradecarried on by the Phenicians of Sidon and Tyre,was extenfive and adventurous ; and, both in theirmanners and policy, they refemble the great com-mercial Rates of modern times, more than anypeople in the ancient world. Among the variousbranches of their commerce, that with India maybe regarded as one of the moft confiderable andmoR lucrative. As by their fituation on the Mediter-ranean , and the imperfect Rate of navigation,they could not attempt to open a diredt commu-nication with India by fea; the enterprifing fpiritof commerce prompted them to wreR from theIdumseans fome commodious harbours towards thebottom of the Arabian Gulf . From thefe they held aregular intercourfe with India , on the one hand,and with the EaRern and Southern coaRs of Africa on the other. The diRance, however, from the Ara­ bian Gulf to Tyre was confiderable, and rendered

7 See NOTE I.

?4

SECT.

I.