given by Appian of the treasure of the Ptolemies is still more
extraordinary: the sum he mentions is 740,000 talents, or £191,166,666,
according to Dr. Arbuthnot's computation; we should be disposed to doubt
the accuracy of this statement, did we not know that Appian was a native of
Alexandria, and did he not moreover inform us, that he had extracted his
account from the public records of that city. When we consider that this
immense sum was accumulated by only two of the Ptolemies, Ptolemy Soter and
Ptolemy Philadelphus, and that the latter maintained two great fleets, one
in the Mediterranean, and the other in the Red Sea, besides an army of
200,000 foot, and 40,000 horse; and that he had 300 elephants, 2000 armed
chariots, and an armoury at Alexandria, stocked with 300,000 complete suits
of armour, and all other necessary weapons and implements of war,--we shall
form some idea of the extent and fruitfulness of Egyptian commerce, from
which the whole, or nearly the whole, of this immense wealth must have been
derived.

Having thus brought our historical sketch of the progress of discovery and
commercial enterprize among the Egyptians down to the period of the
conquest of Egypt by the Romans, we shall, in the next place, revert to the
Romans themselves, in whom, at the date of their conquest of this country,
the geographical knowledge and the commerce of the whole world may justly
be said to have centered. As, however, we have hitherto only adverted to
the Romans, in our account of the discoveries and commerce of the
Carthaginians, it will be proper to notice them in a much more detailed and
particular manner. We shall, therefore, trace, their geographical
knowledge, their discoveries and their commerce, from the foundation of
Rome, to the period of their conquest of Egypt; and in the course of this
investigation, we shall give a sketch of the commerce of those countries
which successively fell under their dominion--omitting such as we have
already noticed: by this plan, we shall be enabled to trace the commerce of