IGNORANCE OF THE ANCIENTS ABOUT SAILING.
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]
Sus,—I was interested by the plaintive request of one of your reviewers lately for information about the precise degree of knowledge that the Greeks and Romans had of managing ships. It seems to be universally accepted that they simply sailed before a fair wind, and that when the winds were contrary they anchored or rowed. It is certainly astonishing that they never discovered—if they really never did discover—how a boat could be sailed to windward, their knowledge in all other spheres was so thorough and so acute. Most people say that the ancients did not care to experiment, as they disliked the sea and generally hauled their ships out of the water at the end of every summer. But this seems to me to be no explanation. No doubt they hated bad weather, but they were quite ready to meet it and to go through it. A summer storm in the Mediterranean can be terrific, as all who have been through one kno w. Greeks and Romans must have frequently endured the sort of thing that St. Paul so vividly described. Why, then, did they not discover—or did they discover—how to sail " on a wind " ? I had been hoping that some scholar would enlighten me, but so far I have seen no response in the
Spectator.—I am, Sir, &c., NAUTILUS.
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