cruel
passions; and it is rare to meet with any conspicuous virtue among them
without some blemish; with any virtue of a noble, generous, and amiable
kind, and supported by enlightened and steady principles, such as is every
where found among the Greeks and Romans. The reader will perceive that I
here speak only of the heathen virtues, and agreeably to the idea which
the Pagans entertained of them.

I meet with as few monuments of their skill in arts of a less noble and
necessary kind, as painting and sculpture. I find, indeed, that they had
plundered the conquered nations of a great many works in both these kinds;
but it does not appear that they themselves had produced many.

From what has been said, one cannot help concluding, that traffic was the
predominant inclination, and the peculiar characteristic of the
Carthaginians; that it formed, in a manner, the basis of the state, the
soul of the commonwealth, and the grand spring which gave motion to all
their enterprises. The Carthaginians, in general, were skilful merchants;
employed wholly in traffic; excited strongly by the desire of gain, and
esteeming nothing but riches; directing all their talents, and placing
their chief glory, in amassing them; though at the same time they scarce
knew the purpose for which they were designed, or how to use them in a
noble or worthy manner.

SECT. VIII. THE CHARACTER, MANNERS, AND QUALITIES OF THE CARTHAGINIANS.--In
the enumeration of the various qualities which Cicero(560) assigns to
different nations, as their distinguishing characteristics, he declares
that of the Carthaginians to be craft, skill, address, industry, cunning,
_calliditas_; which doubtless appeared in war, but was still more
conspicuous in the rest of their conduct; and this was joined to another
quality that bears a very near relation to it, and is still less
reputable. Craft and cunning lead naturally to lying, duplicity, and
breach of faith; and these, by accustoming the mind insensibly to be less
scrupulous with regard to the choice of the means for compassing its
designs, prepare it for the basest frauds and the most perfidious actions.
This was also one of the characteristics of the Carthaginians;(561) and it
was so notorious, that to signify any remarkable dishonesty, it was usual
to call it _Punic faith, fides Punica_; and to denote a knavish, deceitful
disposition, no expression was thought more proper and emphatical than
this, a Carthaginian disposi