2^3

fables of Ancient Coins,

his Fleet, which the Tauntines plundered, killing their Comman-der, and fo arm’d the Romans against them, by whom they weresubdued. The Spinet œ, as we laid before, were descended fromthe Pelafgi , and settled at the Mouth of the River Pa, which wascalled from them Spinetick. Thus the three Seas of Italy, the Inferiortowards the South-East, the Ionian towards the South, and theAdriatick on the North-East side, were antiently commanded bythese three different Nations: the first by the Tyrrhenians , the se-cond by the Tarentines, and the third by the Spinet £. The Liburni-ans, who lived on the opposite Coast, that of I llyria, were greatNavigators, and addicted to Pyracy; they possessed themselves ofseveral Islands in the Adriatick , were the Inventors of a light fortof Vessels called Lihurni, which came to be much in use in, thetime of Augustus. All those Nations were severally subdued by theRomans , who for a long time, tho’ they were possessed of theirPorts, did not profit much by Trade. The Books of Vdrroconcerning Navigation are lost, which no doubt would have giv-en us great light in those matters. The Romans tho’they had nogreat Genius for Trade, yet were not entirely neglectful of it.The Establishment of the Prafe&i Annonæ was very ancient, theirBusiness was to supply the City with Corn, which they transportedat first from Sicily and Sardinia , and afterwards from Africa • un-der the first Emperors from Ægypt , and in the Declension of theEmpire from Marseilles and Gaul. In the year of Rome Z5 9 therewas a College of Merchants instituted, called the College of Mer-curials, from Mercury the God of Commerce. We do not readof any great Improvements made in Commerce by that Society:The destruction of Carthage and Corinth did not increase the Tradeof Italy so much as one would have imagined; -but when thosetwo great Cities were rebuilt, Augujlus apply’d himself more se-riously to Affairs of Trade and Navigation; he sent large Squa-drons into the Ocean beyond the Cimbrick Promontory on theCoast of Africk towards the Line ; to the Pahs Maotis and the A-rabick Gulph or the Red Sea. The African Trade was manag’d at

Utica.