HISTORY OF MARINE ARCHITECTURE.

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wished to intimidate and awe their enemies by the superior size and formidableappearance of their gallies, which of course became unwieldy, and fell a nobleprey to those of their antagonists, which being lighter, and of smaller dimen-sions, were much more easily manoeuvred in squadrons, or divisions, if occasionrequired, as well as separately directed, independent of each other, to theattack of their weightier foes ; while others, falling into the contrary absurdityof building their gallies so light as to be unstable, and almost totally unfit forthe purposes of war, rendered them die ignoble victims to a ridiculous caprice,,and the superior strength of their antagonists.

Anthony, at the decisive battle of Actium, fell a sacrifice to the first principle ;and the Carthaginians, long before that time, owing to the ingenuity of theRomans in inventing the corvus, did the same to the latter. Experience,,therefore, the best of all preceptors, effected the reform.. The Romans who,from their inexperience as marine architects, in the time of Duilius, had ex-posed themselves, in some measure, to the scoff of their adversaries, very soon,amended their system, and, with that prompdtude which marks the greatand powerful mind, combined, as far as was possible perhaps, the variousprinciples which rendered their gallies as perfect as their necessities appearedto require. It has been indeed objected against their skill in this science bycritical enquirers, that although their vessels, according to their different classesor rates, exceeded those of every other country in the universe, both in swift-ness and in strength, yet, as they appeared extremely addicted to the use oflarge gallies, they were the better able to acquire a victory than to pursue it.In opposition to this charge, it may be answered, that it certainly ought to bethe first and leading principle of every country going to war, to establish thatkind of force which is competent to the task of withstanding and overthrowingthe attempts of its antagonists. To pursue them when routed, could at leastbe only a secondary consideration, as the first must inevitably be effected erethe latter became necessary. The circumstances therefore tend, in great mea-sure, to augment that high opinion which the generality of mankind haveentertained of the wisdom and judgment possessed by that once celebrated;people. The Greeks, their predecessors in naval empire and fame, and par-ticularly the Athenians, the most conspicuous, and esteemed, perhaps withgreat truth, the most judicious people among all the rival states into which thatquarter of the world was then divided, manifested the same ideas, and held,forth the first example for the practice..

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