The statement about Publius Crassus[1] is of course not from Posidonius, but is added by Strabo himself. There can be little doubt that this Roman is none other but Cæsar’s famous lieutenant who conquered all Aquitania (Cæsar, B. G., iii, 11-20). He is all the more likely to have passed into Northern Spain, inasmuch as the people of that region had given great assistance to the Aquitani in their struggle against him (B. G., iii, 23). Without doubt he was fully aware of the mineral wealth of that country, as is shown by Cæsar’s remark (iii, 21) on their skill in defending cities, in consequence of their having numerous copper mines and other works in that region. As is plain from Strabo’s words, the Romans already knew how to reach the tin islands by sea, coasting round from the Mediterranean and up from Gades on the old Phœnician track. Crassus, then, by opening up a far shorter route, that of a short sea voyage from the Cassiterides to the coast of Gaul (possibly to the Garonne), at once
- ↑ Mr. Elton (p. 19) has missed completely both grammar and sense: “Publius Crassus conquered the north-west of Spain about a century before Christ, and found the Cassiterides, the situation of which was not up to that time known to the Romans. ‘As soon as he reached them’, says Strabo, ‘he perceived that the mines were very slightly worked, and the natives were peaceable, and already employing their leisure in learning navigation; so he taught all that were willing how to make the voyage, i.e., the voyage from Vigo to Marseilles.’ He adds that this passage was longer than the journey to Britain, by which he appears to mean that it was thought worth while to carry the tin round to Marseilles, even though the merchants of that place had an easier way of getting it by the caravan-route across Gaul.” Here is the original: ὲπειδὴ δὲ καὶ Πόπλιος Κράσσος διαβὰς ἐπ’ αὐτοὺς ἕγνω τὰ μέταλλα ἑκ μικροῦ βάθους ὀρυττόμενα, καὶ τοὺς ἄνδρας εἰρηναίους ἐκ περιουσίας ἤδη τὴν θαλάττην ἐργάζεοθαι ταύτην τοῖς ἐθίλουσιν ἑπέδειξε καῖπερ οὖσαν πλεῖω τῆς διειργούσης τὴν Βρεταννικήν. He misses the point of ἐκ μικροῦ βάθους, which means that the metal, because it lay near the surface, was worked without difficulty. The benevolence of the kindly Roman in teaching the islanders the art of navigation is delightful. Finally, why should a Roman be so anxious to serve the merchants of Marseilles?
