rful and hearty co-operation between a number of
"equal citizens." The Carthaginians, following the example of Egypt and
western Asia, insisted upon the unreasoning (and therefore unwilling)
obedience of "Subjects" and when these failed they hired professional
soldiers to do their fighting for them.

You will now understand why Carthage was bound to fear such a clever and
powerful enemy and why the plutocracy of Carthage was only too willing
to pick a quarrel that they might destroy the dangerous rival before it
was too late.

But the Carthaginians, being good business men, knew that it never
pays to rush matters. They proposed to the Romans that their respective
cities draw two circles on the map and that each town claim one of these
circles as her own "sphere of influence" and promise to keep out of the
other fellow's circle. The agreement was promptly made and was broken
just as promptly when both sides thought it wise to send their armies
to Sicily where a rich soil and a bad government invited foreign
interference.

The war which followed (the so-called first Punic War) lasted
twenty-four years. It was fought out on the high seas and in the
beginning it seemed that the experienced Carthaginian navy would defeat
the newly created Roman fleet. Following their ancient tactics, the
Carthaginian ships would either ram the enemy vessels or by a bold
attack from the side they would break their oars and would then kill the
sailors of the helpless vessel with their arrows and with fire balls.
But Roman engineers invented a new craft which carried a boarding bridge
across which the Roman infantrymen stormed the hostile ship. Then there
was a sudden end to Carthaginian victories. At the battle of Mylae their
fleet was badly defeated. Carthage was obliged to sue for peace, and
Sicily became part of the Roman domains.

Twenty-three years later new trouble arose. Rome (in quest of copper)
had taken the island of Sardinia. Carthage (in quest of silver)
thereupon occupied all of southern Spain. This made Carthage a direct
neighbour of the Romans. The latter did not like this at all and they
ordered their troops to cross the Pyrenees and watch the Carthaginian
army of occupation.

The stage was set for the second outbreak between the two rivals. Once
more a Greek colony was the pretext for a war. The Carthaginians were
besieging Saguntum on the east coast of Spain. The Saguntians appealed
to Rome and Rome, as usual, was willi