Page:Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1827) Vol 1.djvu/55

CHAP. 1.
-----or country of the Moors, which, from the ancient city of Tingi, or Tangier, was distinguished by the appellation of Tingitana, is represented by the modern kingdom of Fez. Salle, on the ocean, so infamous at present for its piratical depredations, was noticed by the Romans as the extreme object of their power, and almost of their geography. A city of their foundation may still be discovered near Mequinez, the residence of the barbarian whom we condescend to style the emperor of Morocco; but it does not appear that his more southern dominions, Morocco itself, and Segelmessa, were ever comprehended within 'the Roman province. The western parts of Africa are intersected by the branches of mount Atlas, a name so idly celebrated by the fancy of poets^[1]; but which is now diffused over the immense ocean that rolls between the ancient and the new continent^[2].

The Mediterranean with its islands. Having now finished the circuit of the Roman empire, we may observe, that Africa is divided from Spain by a narrow strait of about twelve miles, through which the Atlantic flows into the Mediterranean. The columns of Hercules, so famous among the ancients, were two mountains which seemed to have been torn asunder by some convulsion of the elements; and at the foot of the European mountain the fortress of Gibraltar is now seated. The whole extent of the Mediterranean sea, its coasts, and its islands, were comprised within the Roman dominion. Of the larger islands, the two Baleares, which derive their names of Majorca and Minorca from their respective size, are subject at present, the former to Spain, the latter to Great Britain. It is easier to deplore the fate than to describe the actual condition of Corsica. Two Italian

1. The long range, moderate height, and gentle declivity of mount Atlas, (see Shaw's Travels, p. 5.) are very unlike a solitary mountain which rears its head into the clouds, and seems to support the heavens. The peak of TenerifF, on the contrary, rises a league and a half above the surface of the sea, and, as it was frequently visited by the Phoenicians, might engage the notice of the Greek poets. See BufFon, Histoire Naturelle, tom. i. p. 312; Histoire des Voyages, tom. ii.
2. M. de Voltaire, (tom. xiv. p. 297.) unsupported by either factor probability, has generously bestowed the Canary islands on the Roman empire.