Scxviii APPENDIX.

Instruments of Avar.

his peculiar office assigned to him, as appears from the Argonautics of Apollonius and Flaccus. We there find one employed in rearing the mast, another in fitting the yards, a third in hoisting the sails, and the rest employed fore and aft in the ship, each in his proper place. Hence, they had different titles to distinguish them, taken from the parts of the ship where they were stationed, and the offices which they were in the habit of performing.

There was a class of men inferior to the rest of the crew, which was not confined to any particular station or duty, but was ready on all occasions to attend the other seamen, and supply them with whatever they wanted.

“ The whole ship’s crew,” says Potter, “ were usually wicked and profligate fellows, ivithout any sense of religion or humanity, and therefore reckoned by Juvenal among the vilest of rogues * f” It does not, however, follow, because Juvenal here alludes to sailors of the worst description, that he considered every ship’s company in the light of thieves and deserters.

The soldiers who served at sea were armed after the same manner with those designed for land service ; only that among them there seems to have been a greater number of heavy-armed men than was considered to be necessary on shore ; for we find in Plutarch, that of Themistocles’ ships, four only were light-armed. Indeed, it highly imported them (says Potter) to fortify themselves in the best manner they could, since there was no possibility of retiring, or changing places ; but every man was obliged to fight hand to hand, and maintain his ground till the battle was ended ; wherefore their whole armour, though in form usually the same with that employed on land service, yet exceeded it in strength and firmness. Besides this, we find also some instruments of war used at sea, which were never employed on shore ; the principal of which were : — spears of an unusual length, sometimes exceeding twenty cubits ; instruments of iron crooked like a sickle and fixed to the top of a long pole, wherewith they cut in sunder (continues our author) the cords of the * ItiA’enies aliquo cum percussore jacentem, Permixtum nautis aut furibus aut fugitivis. — (Sat. viii.)