Apprehending That Pompey Would Land And Attack His Camp, He Deserted It And Went On Board His Fleet.

Pompey, however, who always preferred naval enterprizes, attacked the fleet, put it to flight at the first onset, captured most of the ships, and burnt and sunk the remainder.

Augustus with difficulty escaped in a boat; but, instead of returning to his camp, in Sicily, he fled to Italy, attended only by one domestic.

As soon as he recovered from his alarm, he, in conjunction with Lepidus, determined to attack Messina, in which place Pompey had deposited all his stores, provisions, and treasure. The city accordingly was closely invested, both by sea and land. Pompey, in this emergency, challenged Augustus to decide the war by a sea-fight, with 300 ships on each side. Augustus acceding to this proposal, both fleets were drawn up in line of battle, between Mylae and Naulocus; the land forces having agreed to suspend hostilities, and wait the event of the engagement. Agrippa, who commanded Augustus's fleet, fought with great bravery, and was as bravely opposed by Pompey; their respective officers and men emulated their example. For a considerable time, the event was doubtful; but, at last, Pompey's fleet was defeated: only seventeen of his vessels escaped, the rest were taken or burnt. This victory Agrippa obtained at an easy rate, not more than three of his snips being sunk or destroyed. Augustus, who, according to all accounts, behaved in a most cowardly manner during the battle, was so fully sensible of the obligations he was under to Agrippa, that he immediately honoured him with a blue standard and a rostral crown, that is, a crown, the flower-work of which represented the beaks of galleys, and afterwards, when he became emperor, he raised him, by rank and honours, above all his other subjects. According to Livy, and some other authors, the rostral crown had never been given in any preceding wars, nor was it afterwards bestowed; but Pliny is of a different opinion, he says that it was given to M. Varro, in the war against the pirates, by Pompey.

After this signal and decisive defeat of his fleet, Pompey fled from Sicily to Asia, where he attempted to raise disturbances; but he was defeated, taken prisoner, and put to death.

We must now look back to the naval and commercial history of Rome, immediately after the defeat of the pirates by Pompey the Great. The immediate consequence of his success against them was the revival of trade among the people who inhabited the coasts of the Mediterranean; but the Romans, intent on their plans of conquest, or engaged in civil wars, had little share in it The very nature and extent, however, of their conquests, by making them masters of countries which were either commercial, or which afforded articles of luxury, gradually led them to become more commercial. Hitherto, their conquests and their alliances had been confined almost entirely to the nations on the Mediterranean, or within a short distance of that sea:

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