to escape the cruelty of her brother Pygmalion, king of Tyre, who had murdered her husband Sichæus, sailed with a company of faithful adherents, to the coast of Africa, and there having landed, founded a city, that afterwards vied with the most powerful and magnificent on earth. The city of Carthage stood at the bottom of a gulf, on a peninsula, near the place where now stands the city of Tunis; and the territory of Carthage was about the same that now constitutes the kingdom of Tunis. Carthada, or Carthage, in the Phœnician and Hebrew language, means a new city. Al 2. Many of the neighboring people, invited by the prospect of lucre, repaired to Carthage, to sell to these foreigners the necessaries of life, and shortly after incorporated themselves with them. These inhabitants, who had been thus gathered from different places, soon became numerous. though the early history of this people is necessarily, like that of most ancient states, involved in much obscurity, yet there is reason to believe the city was continually enlarging her borders, and adding to her wealth. At the time of her greatest splendor, the city itself occupied the space of twentythree miles in circumference, was surrounded by three walls, and contained seven hundred thousand inhabitants. 3. The Carthaginians were indebted to the Tyrians, not only for their origin, but for their manners, language, customs, laws, religion, and their great application to commerce, as will appear in every part of their history. They spoke the same language with the Tyrians, and these the same with the Canaanites and Israelites, that is, the Hebrew tongue, or at least a language that was entirely derived from it. And the Carthaginians were never forgetful of the country from whence they came, and to which they owed their origin. They sent regularly every year to Tyre a ship freighted with presents as an acknowledgment paid to their ancient country; and they never failed to send thither the first fruits of their revenues-nor the tithes of the spoils taken from their enemies, as offerings to Hercules, one of the principal gods of that city. 4. Monarchy is supposed to have been the original govern What circumstances gave rise to the building of Carthage ?-What was the condition of Carthage at the time of her greatest splendor? What was the language of the Carthaginians? ment of Carthage; neither is it known at what period it assumed the form of a republic. It is, however, generally allowed, that the republic consisted of the people, a very nu merous senate, and two suffetes, or presiding magistrates. These suffetes corresponded in rank and power with the consuls at Rome and kings at Macedon; but were not, like the latter, chosen for life. They were elected from among the richest citizens, that they might be the better able to support their dignity with splendor. The election of a senator depended upon the voice of the people, and the sena tors themselves; but the manner of their being chosen is unknown. When the votes of the senate were unanimous, they possessed the power of giving laws, from which there was no appeal. But when the suffrages were divided, or when the suffetes stood alone, the decision was referred to the people, who then gave the final decree. 5. The commerce of Carthage was the principal cause of her greatness and wealth-her fleets covered every coast; and by having the sovereignty of the sea, for more than six centuries, she monopolized, in no small degree, the commercial interests of the whole world. But what commerce was to the wealth of Carthage, Hannibal was to her military glory. Under him, she acquired a name more durable than brass. At the age of nine years, he is said to have taken an oath of eternal enmity to the Romans; and the indefatigable perseverance with which he ever aimed at their destruction proved his sincerity. He subdued all the nations of Spain that resisted the Carthaginian power; and after eight months' siege, took the city of Saguntum. This city was in alliance with the Romans; and its inhabitants were so attached to the Roman interests, that, rather than fall into the hands of their enemies, they set fire to their houses and other effects, and perished in the flames. 6. The capture of Saguntum is more celebrated for its being the commencement of the second Punic war, than for the magnitude of the city, or the force necessary to its reduc tion. It is nevertheless sufficiently memorable, when taken in connexion with the battle of Cannæ, that immediately followed it, to give Hannibal a place among the most distinguished warriors. The victory of Cannæ is not only one To what may the greatness and wealth of Carthage be attributed -Under what general did the Carthaginians obtain a military name of the most splendid achievements in the Carthaginian hero, but it is also one of the most splendid achievements recorded in the history of warfare. The whole army of Hannibal did not exceed 50,000; but so well directed were all his movements, that no less than 40,000 Romans were slain. This victory, although complete, proved of little use to the Carthaginians. The Romans, to free themselves from Hannibal, determined on invading his own dominions. When Carthage saw her coasts invaded, she recalled Hannibal, as it had been calculated by the Romans that she would. 7. Hannibal left Italy, which he had kept under perpetual alarms for sixteen years, with the greatest reluctance. He seemed aware of the reverse of fortune that soon awaited him. Shortly after his return to Africa, the two hostile armies met at Zama, where was a general engagement. The Roman victory was complete-23,000 Carthaginians were slain, and as many more taken prisoners. After this decisive battle, Hannibal seemed convinced of his own inability to revenge his country's wrongs; and therefore employed himself in persuading the neighboring princes to make war against the Romans. But not succeeding in his attempts, and the Roman senate being apprised of his designs, and sending to Bithynia to demand him of Prusias, Hannibal terminated his own life by poison. 8. The city and republic of Carthage were destroyed by the termination of the third Punic war, 147 years before Christ. The city was in flames during seventeen days; and the news of its destruction caused the greatest joy at Rome. The Roman senate immediately appointed commissioners, not only to raze the walls of Carthage, but even to demolish and burn the very materials of which they were made; and in a few days, that city, which had once been the seat of Commerce, the model of magnificence, the common storehouse of the wealth of nations, and one of the most powerful states in the world, left behind no traces of its splendor, of its power, or even of its existence. The history of Carthage is one of the many proofs that we have of the transitory nature of worldly glory; for of all her grandeur, not a How many of the Romans were killed in the battle of Cannæ ?→→ How many of the Carthaginians were slain and taken prisoners in the battle of Zama ?-What were the circumstances of Hannibal's death? When was the city of Carthage destroyed? wreck remains. Her own walls, like the calm ocean, that conceals for ever the riches hid in its unsearchable abyss, now obscure all her magnificence." THE WARRIOR'S WREATH. BEHOLD the wreath which decks the warrior's brow "Tis red-but not with roseate hues; "Tis wet-but not with heavenly dews; "Tis drench'd in tears by widows, orphans shed. In deep distress, Despairing, shed the scalding tear. I hear, 'mid dying groans, the cannon's crash, The crystal flood, Heaven's altars and the verdant plains! Scenes of domestic peace and social bliss Towns sack'd, whole cities wrapt in flame! Is this the bay Which warriors gain-is this call'd FAME ! |