Alexandria daily advertiser. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1803-1808, 1808-03-23
f5g Nc .stsraearia Daily .Sdver'leer.

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49, s.ro,,a essay fsoia the @sltsr, whose
e.'7.,so,,s seem 10 dier tiuan ass ewil'fe'a eSe
~ .oa;est Nor can he refraia ige.h apPiaae-
:, ~. .J.sx,er;fy VITA which ne has rtsrcated
from. his iorine. ground, wAlcA "s'a e.4:0t''.J
.sit,,snee:e. tieis now haore general ~ l'!s
asss, ions--so gc.,eral indeed, Last i.s :, aus,
stss almost al tic evils winph nave .'l.i'1'e"
nnapk;nt, K, the rcri.lcious cfects u fichoS
saaof commerce
,,,on.,h ,iss writer il question las widely
rvs,,,;e;eS tro1nsthe matter IN dasa1e' !uVen!s
I'LL; ert;eay,,r 10 trace hi.sy through MS &C.,
80 ,,,aantess and. having done 80, Will briefly
i,,a,,;fe whether commerce be promotlYe ol
the haDpi;l,,ss OF the human race.
ave cine OF the downfall OF Persia, as a
.r,r.,oi o. ei,e nsrnicious effects or commerce.,
IS. he apprenends. extremely uniofstiia.ssS'.
Var !. isa. fact. well known even to these VINO
are SLIGHTLY vcrsed N history, that fiie
of tho Tersiaas exclude, them non. CONNER
c;al .o,s,i;s Nor Cen he cenGur IN the eo-
)cai,5u, ,t3oa tie ipstitujonspi Lycufsus a
,I,slctS,,frtrv. he aas ever viewed WITH horror
!, co6. 81 laws welsh iogahzed toeit an5 Il
centious Intercourse betw cen Tie sexes; W!lca
rendered necessary tie employment OF an I'M
me.,se number Of slaves; and which m9de the
acquisition of espertness N muraeiihs t''eiI !.
fellow creatures, ~the principal employment Of
the citizens.
isit be true, that g the posscssor CT science
isnot mere biesses: than the llhterate savage,
wiv do the names Of Copernicus and o, New
ton. Of Des Cartes and OF Ruaqn, OF Locke
ana Of Bacon, s1a,id foremost II the rolls OF
faraea why are tGey ranked, by the universal
consent OF, all civilized nations, among the
greatest benefacto-s 81 the human race
byesis is really unable to perceive any
: ssinconsistency in MS remarks rcsPecsinE A
thens- and Sparta :" they are equally apphcs-
bic. ne conceses, to both repuoiics the
Sfarians. for example, carried on az UNJUST
war; against AttGas, before the PERSIAN ihVa-
sion, to crafty their favorite Cieomenes, VINO
wished TO reinstate the tyrant tlippias 10 the
throne. They carried on, at a subsequent
per,oG, an unjust and ruinous war against
ihehes. to CRAFTY Agesilaus, another faVof-
tie. So shamefuly did the, g abuse their
,ower, and trampie on the rights of taelr a.
lies. - that in the four hundred and seSelts
filth wear before Christ, they were deprived
of the command. in the war against Persia,
while that honor was conferred upon AtEens
by the united voice OF Greece. They were II
With exiie, siSiairs even their kings
-:.sdous * innocent: witness the banlshnicnt
r of Denaratus, to CRAFTY the yindictive spirit
Of the ambitious Cleomenes.
Nor does the citing of examples, to prove
that the Athenians were sometimes cruel and
unjust, inyalilate the proposition, that com
merce is promoliee OF civilization. For il
we examine the history Of their Spartan RI
walls, who were destitute Of commerce, We
shall discover, at the first glance, multitude
OF far greater enormities, of enornsities, IL
t,eed,which were unparalleled in the history OF
the age. Among these might be noted the tlc-
quent and unproyoked massacres OF the tn
happy Heiotes, the reduction OF the whole
Messenian people to state Of abie1t slavery,
and the infamous murder of two thousand
Athenian prisoners at4Egospotamos. This, %
might rcioin, {" is the refinement Of your
agricultural state.
The assertion that e Sparta fell by COM
msrce,' is contradicted by the uniform testi-
mony of historians.
Although the per6dy of the Carthagenians
was indeed "proverbiai'' with tie Roman his
torians, am eminent motern writer has given
1t rs his opinions that had the arms of Car
thape been triumphant, Roman faith would
have been proverhial instead of Punic.
The present wretched condition of Spain
and of Portugal, cannot, with propriety, be
attributed to commerce. While the trade of
those Kingdoms was in a fouFishins state, they
were at the height of their power. But ~
sooner was it restrained by number Of the
mos: absurd and oppressive regulations that
ever disgraced code of maritime laws, than
they began to decline And it's fact, as we'll
established as any in the history of modern
Europe, that the commerce and the power of
those Kingdoms have declined together.
Leaving history, however, to speak for it.