44 AN HISTORICAL DISQUISITION

SECT. „JIut while the monarchs of Egypt and Syria.

I. labored with emulation and ardor to secure totheir subjects all,the advantages of the Indian trade,a power arose in the West which proved fatal tdboth. Tlie Romans, by the vigor of their militaryinstitutions, and the wisdom of their political con-duct, having rendered themselves masters of allItaly and Sicily, soon overturned the rival repub-fi-C. st. lie of Carthage, subjected Macedonia, and Greece,extended their dominion over Syria, and at lastturned their victorious arms against Egypt , theonly kingdom remaining of those established bythe successors of Alexander the Great. After aseries of events, which belong not to the subjectof this Disquisition, Egypt was annexed to theRoman empire, and reduced into the form of aRoman province by Augustus. Aware of its greatimportance, he, with that provident sagacity whichdistinguishes his character, not only reserved it asone of the provinces subject immediately to Impe-rial authority, but by various precautions, wellknown to every scholar, provided for its security.This extraordinary solicitude seems to have pro-ceeded not only from considering Egypt as oneof the chief granaries on which the capital depend-ed for subsistence,' but as the feat of that lucrativecommerce which had enabled its ancient monarchsto amass such enormous wealth, as excited theadmiration and envy of other princes, and pro-duced , when brought into the treasury of theempire, an alteration in the value of property, andthe state of manners, in Rome itself.