cut the thread of the fabric. What difference now can it make to my neighbor, whether advantage is taken of his ignorance in one way or another, in regard to the quality or the price? The only material point is the value, and that is equally affected in either case. This is the only conclusion to which I find myself able, on much reflection, to arrive. Knowledge of prices is as material to the value of merchandise, as knowledge of its qualities. The knowledge, therefore, as it appears to me, should be common to all contracting parties. I cannot think that a trader is to be like a fisher, disguising his hook with bait; or like a slight-of-hand man, cheating men out of their senses and money with a face of gravity; or like an Indian, shooting from behind a bush, himself in no danger. Trade, traffic, contracts, bargains-all these words imply parity, equivalency, common risk, mutual advantage. And he who can arrange a commercial operation, by which he is certain to realize great profits and to inflict great losses, is a taker of merchandise, but can hardly be said to be a trader in it.

"I am sensible that this is the nice and difficult point in the whole discussion. But, I put it to the calm reflection, and to the consciences of my hearers, whether they would not feel easier in their business, if all use of superior and certain knowledge were entirely excluded from it. Long as this use has obtained, and warmly as it is sometimes defended, yet I ask, if the moral sentiments of the trading community itself would not be relieved by giving it up? This, if it be true, is certainly a weighty consideration. I admit, indeed, as I have before done, that no vague sentiment is to settle the question. But when I find that there is even in vague sentiment something like a hook, that holds the mind in suspense, or will not let the mind be satisfied with departure from it, that circumstance deserves, I think, to arrest attention. I will frankly confess, that my own mind has been in this very situation. I did not see, at one time, how the case of general information and opinion, which it is lawful to use, could be separated from the case of particular knowledge. But I now entertain a different, and a more decided opinion. And the consideration, with me, which has changed uneasiness into doubt, and doubt into a new, and, as I think, corrected judgment, is that which I have last stated—it is the consideration, that is to say, of the very nature of a contract. A contract does not imply equal powers, equal general information, equal shrewdness in the contracting parties; but it does imply, as it appears to me, equal actual knowledge. My neighbor may think himself superior to me in all other respects, and he may tell me so, and yet I will trade with him; we still stand upon ground that I am willing to consider equal. But let him tell me that he knows something touching the manufacture, quality, condition, or relations of the article to be sold, which I do not know, and which affects the value of the article; and I stop upon the threshold; we cannot traffic; there may be a game of hazard which he and I consent to play, but there is an end of all trading. If this be true, then the condition of a regular and lawful contract is, that there be no secrets in it; no secrets, either in the kind or quality of the merchandise, or in the breast or in the pocket of the dealer. Let them all be swept away-let them be swept out, all secrets from all hiding places, from all coverts of subterfuge and chicanery—and this, at least, I am certain of, that business would occasion fewer wounds of conscience to all honorable and virtuous communities."

In a future number, we purpose reviewing the discourse, entitled, "The Moral end of Business," which is treated like all of Mr. Dewey's subjects of discourse, in a bold, able, and original manner. Originality is one of the

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chief characteristics of our author's style; he wisely leaves the narrow and beaten track of most theological writers, who confine themselves to formal rules and scriptural metaphors, and summons to his aid, with a fine poetical taste, whatever is apposite, by way of illustration or ornament, in the visible creation. Thus by the power of genius, subjects, which in themselves seem dry and forbidding to the many, are made to arrest the attention of the most indifferent. It is not in our province to speak of the peculiar religious opinions or belief of any writer whose works may fall under our notice; and in commending the discourses under consideration, we have sought only to pay a sincere thou ̧h humble tribute to genius and talent.

ART. III-HISTORY OF NAVIGATION.

AMONG the various branches of science, which, by the gradual develop ment of human knowledge and ingenuity, have been brought to any degree of perfection, that of NAVIGATION is one of the most ancient.

The poets refer the origin of this art to Neptune, some to Bacchus, others to Hercules and Jason, and others, again, to Janus, who is said to have built the first ship. Some contend, that the first hint was taken from the flight of the kite; and others derive it from accident.

The Scriptures would seem to attribute its introduction to God himself, in furnishing a first specimen of its uses, in the ark constructed by Noah, under his direction-while profane history ascribes it to Eginetes, to the Phonicians, the Tyrians, and the ancient inhabitants of Britain.

The Phoenicians, especially those of their capital city, Tyre, are generally represented as the first navigators; being urged to seek a foreign commerce by the narrowness and poverty of the slip of ground they occupied along the coast, as well as by the possession of two or three good ports, and by their natural genius for traffic. Lebanon, and the other neighboring mountains, furnished them with excellent wood for ship-building, and in a short time they became masters of a numerous fleet. From constantly hazarding new navigations, and entering upon new trades, they soon arrived at an incredible degree of opulence; their country became very populous, so much so as to enable them, at an early period, to send forth colonies to the surrounding coasts. A principal of these was Carthage, which, keeping up a Phoenician spirit of commerce, in time, not only equalled Tyre itself, but greatly sur passed it; sending its merchant fleets, not only throughout the Mediterranean, but even through Hercules' Pillars-now the straits of Gibraltar-along the western coasts of Europe and Africa, and even, as some authors would lead us to believe, to America itself.

Tyre, whose immense riches and power are represented in such lofty terms, both by sacred and profane authors, being destroyed by Alexander the Great, its navigation and commerce were transferred, by the conqueror, to Alexandria, a new city, admirably situated for those purposes, and proposed to be the capital of the EMPIRE of ASIA, the establishment of which Alexander then meditated. Thus arose the navigation of the Egyptians, afterwards so famed, under the patronage of the Ptolemies, that even Tyre and Carthage were almost forgotten.

Egypt being reduced to a Roman province, after the battle of Actium, its

trade and navigation fell into the hands of Augustus. At this time, Alexandria was only inferior to Rome: and the magazines of the metropolis of the world were wholly supplied with merchandise from the capital of Egypt. But at length Alexandria itself underwent, in a degree, the fate of Tyre and Carthage. Surprised by the Saracens, who, in spite of the Emperor Heraclius, overspread the northern coasts of Africa, her merchants were driven to foreign fields of enterprise, and she sank into comparative insignificance and obscurity. She has ever since been in a declining state, though even at the present day, in possession of a considerable part of the commerce of the Christian merchants trading to the Levant.

The

The nations of Roman Britain, and the tribes of Caledonia and Ireland, had inherited, from their earliest ancestors, many of the ruder arts of navigation. Their vessels were large open boats, framed of light timbers, ribbed with hurdles, and lined with hides. These were furnished with masts and sails, the latter being formed of hides, while the tackle was of thongs sails used even among the Veneti, so late as the days of Cæsar, were also of hide. They were never furled, but only bound to the mast. But these slight sea-boats and their furniture, were soon changed, by the provincials, for the more substantial vessels, and more artificial sails of the Romans.

The fall of Rome, and its empire, drew along with, not only the decline of learning and the polite arts, but that of navigation also; the barbarians, into whose hands it fell, contenting themselves with the spoils of the industry of their predecessors. No sooner, however, were the more brave among those nations well settled in their new provinces-some in Gaul, as the Franks; others in Spain, as the Goths; and others in Italy, as the Lombards than they began to learn the advantages of navigation and commerce, and the methods of excelling in them, from the people they had subdued; and this, with so much success, that in a little time, some of them became able to give new lessons, and set on foot new institutions for its advantage. It is thus that the invention and use of banks, book-keeping, exchanges, &c., is usually attributed to the Lombards.

It is not certain which of the European nations, after the settlement of their new masters, first betook themselves to navigation and commerce. Some think it was the French; though the Italians seem to have the best claim to it, and are generally considered as the restorers of these, as well as of the polite arts, which had been banished with them, from the time the empire was torn asunder. The people of Italy, particularly those of Venice and Genoa, have the glory of this restoration; and it is to the advantage of their situations for navigation and commerce, that they, in a great measure, owe this glory.

A great number of marshy islands, in the upper part of the Adriatic, separated from one another by narrow channels only, but those well screened, and almost inaccessible, became, at an early period. the residence of a few fishermen, who supported themselves by a small trade in fish and salt, found in some of these islands. Thither the Veneti, a people inhabiting that part of Italy along the coasts of the Gulf, opposite, retired, when Alaric, king of the Goths, and afterwards Attila, king of the Huns, ravaged Italy. Little imagining that this was to be their fixed residence, these new settlers did not think of composing any body politic; and each of the numerous islands of this Archipelago continued, a long time, under its separate masters, and each made a distinct commonwealth. When, however, unexpectedly as it were to themselves, their commerce had become considerable enough to give jeal

lousy to their neighbors, they began to think of uniting in one body. This union, first begun in the sixth century, but not completed till the eighth, laid the sure foundation of the future grandeur of the state of Venice. From this time, her fleets of merchant vessels were sent to all parts of the Mediterranean; and particularly to Cairo, a new city, built by the Saracens on the eastern bank of the Nile, where they secured the spices and other choice produce of the Indies. Venice continued thus to flourish and increase, in her commerce, her navigation, and her conquests, till the league of Cambray, in 1508, when a number of jealous princes conspired to her ruin. This was the more easily effected, from the diminution of her East India commerce, of which the Portuguese had secured to themselves one part, and the French another. Genoa, which had given herself to navigation at the same time with Venice, and with equal success, was long a dangerous rival, disputing with her the empire of the sea, and sharing with her the trade of Egypt, and other parts, both in the east and west.

Jealousy soon began to be excited between them; and the two republics coming to blows, there was almost a continual war for three centuries, before the superiority of either was determined. Towards the end of the fourteenth century, the battle of Chioza ended the strife; the Genoese, who, till then, had usually the advantage, having lost all, the Venetians themselves, almost reduced to despair, at one happy blow, secured to themselves, beyond all expectation, the empire of the sea, and the dominion in commerce.

About the same time that navigation was revived in the southern parts of Europe, a new society of merchants was formed in the north, which carried commerce to the greatest perfection of which it was capable, previous to the discovery of the East and West Indies; and formed a new scheme of laws, for its better regulation. This society constitutes the famous "League of the Hanse Towns," commonly supposed to have begun about 1164.

In examining the reasons why commerce has passed, successively, from the Venetians, Genoese, and Hanse Towns, to the Portuguese and Spaniards, and from these again, to the English and Dutch; may be established as a maxim, that the relation or union between commerce and navigation is so intimate, that the fall of the one inevitably draws after it that of the other; and that they will always flourish or decay together.

The art of navigation has been considerably improved, in modern times, both in regard to the form of the vessels, and the methods of working them. The use of rowers is now entirely superseded, by the improvements made in the formation of the sails, rigging, &c., by which ships not only sail much faster than formerly, but are managed with the greatest facility. It is also probable, that the ancients were neither so well skilled in finding the latitude, nor in steering their vessels, in places of difficult navigation, as the moderns. But the greatest advantage which the moderns have over the ancients, is in the Mariner's Compass, by which they can find their way with as great facility in the midst of an immeasurable ocean, as the ancients could have done, by creeping along the coast, and never venturing beyond the sight of land. Some, indeed, contend, that this is not a modern invention, but that the ancients were acquainted with it. They say, that it was impracticable for Solomon to have sent ships to Ophir, Tarshish, and Parvaim, without this useful instrument. They insist, that it was impossible for the ancients to have been acquainted with the attractive virtues of the magnet, and yet be ignorant of its polarity. Nay, they affirm that this property of the magnet is plainly

mentioned in the book of Job, where the loadstone is mentioned by the name of topaz, or the stone that turns itself.

However this may be, it is certain that the Romans, who conquered Judea, were ignorant of the polarity of the needle; and it is very improbable, that such a useful invention, if once it had been commonly known to any nation, would have been forgotten, or should have been entirely concealed from so shrewd a people as the Romans, and those so much interested in its discovery.

Among those who think that the mariner's compass is a modern invention, it has been much disputed who was the inventor. Some give the honor of it to Flavio Gioia, of Amalfi, in Campania, in the fourteenth century; while others say, that it came from the east, and was earlier known in Europe. But, at whatever time it was invented, it is certain, that the mariner's compass was not commonly used in navigation before 1410, at which time the science was considerably improved, under the auspices of Henry, duke of Visco, brother to the king of Portugal. In 1485, Roderic and Joseph, physicans to king John II. of Portugal, together with one Martin, of Bohemia, a native of the island of Fayal, and pupil of Regismontanus, calculated tables of the sun's declination, for the use of sailors, and recommended the Astrolabe, for taking observations at sea. Of the instructions of Martin, Christopher Columbus is said to have availed himself, and to have improved the Spaniards in the knowledge of navigation.

The discovery of the Variation of the Needle, is claimed by Columbus, and by Sebastion Cabot. Columbus certainly observed this, without having heard of it from any person, on the 14th September, 1492: and it is probable that Cabot might have observed it about the same time. There was no variation, at that time, at the Azores, where some geographers have thought proper to place the first meridian. The use of the Cross-staff now began to be introduced among sailors. This ancient instrument is described by John Werner, of Nuremberg, in his annotations on the first book of Ptolemy's Geography, printed in 1514, and recommends it for observing the distance between the moon and some star, in order to determine the longitude.

At this time, the art of navigation was very imperfect, on account of the inaccuracies of the Plane Chart, which was the only one then known, and which, by its erroneous principle, must have geatly misled the mariner, especially in voyages far distant from the equator. Its precepts were probably at first only set down on the Sea Charts, as is the custom at this day: but at length there were two Spanish treatises published, in 1545; one by Peter de Medina, the other by Martin Cortes, which contained a complete system of the art as far as it was then known. These seem to be the oldest writers who fully handled the art; for Medina, in his dedication to Philip, prince of Spain, laments that so many ships daily perished at sea, because there were neither teachers of the art, nor books by which it might be learned; and Cortes, in his dedication, boasts to the Emperor, that he was the first who had reduced navigation into a compendium, valuing himself much on what he had performed. Medina defended the plane chart; but was opposed by Cortes, who showed its errors, and endeavored to account for the variation of the compass, by supposing the needle to be influenced by a magnetic pole, (which he called the point attractive,) different from the pole of the world.

Medina's book was soon translated into Italian, French, and Flemish, and served for a long time as a guide to foreign navigators. Cortes, however,