Chapter One, Excerpt 3 of 3
The Energy Circuit of the Classical World

Briefly sketched, the method by which Rome swept the seas verges on the burlesque. Ignorant of naval maneuvers, and with no chance to learn, the Romans simply transformed an encounter at sea into something like a land battle as possible and fought it their own way. Between victories, the Romans generally wrecked their own fleets by inexpert seamanship. The expense bore heavily on Rome.

Nor did Rome resort to state absolutism on the plea of emergency; there was no seizure of private means. It should be noted that though Roman military discipline strict, and esteem appropriate to conduct in the field, a Roman general, or his troops, stood in less fear of penalties from their own government than the Punic commanders. On the other hand, if the secret of the development and longevity of the Roman empire inhered in military aptitude, the conquering regime of Napoleon should have struck root and flourished for an equal duration.

“If Rome in due time forced the locks of the Atlantic, there was a reason. Still, it was a Greek who went through alone. Moreover, the personal character of Pytheas is so relevant that fiction could scarcely invent him. He was a scientist as well as a merchant adventurer. Though admitted to have made valuable contributions to the science of astronomy, he was accused of lying about what he saw with his own eyes, by men who had never been there at all. What should be marked is the form of opposition he was obliged to encounter.”