test empires, on account of the extent of its dominions both by
sea and land; its mighty armies; its fleets, elephants, and riches; while
the Carthaginians were even superior to other nations, by their courage
and greatness of soul; as, notwithstanding their being deprived of arms
and ships, they had sustained, for three whole years, all the hardships
and calamities of a long siege; seeing, I say, this city entirely ruined,
historians relate, that he could not refuse his tears to the unhappy fate
of Carthage. He reflected, that cities, nations, and empires, are liable
to revolutions no less than private men; that the like sad fate had
befallen Troy anciently so powerful; and, in later times, the Assyrians,
Medes, and Persians, whose dominions were once of so great an extent; and
very recently, the Macedonians, whose empire had been so glorious
throughout the world. Full of these mournful ideas, he repeated the
following verses of Homer:

{~GREEK CAPITAL LETTER EPSILON WITH PSILI AND OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER EPSILON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA WITH PSILI AND PERISPOMENI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}, {~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH PSILI AND OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER NU~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER PI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER TAU~}{~GREEK KORONIS~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH PSILI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMEGA WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA~} {~GREEK CAPITAL LETTER IOTA WITH PSILI AND OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH DASIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ETA WITH VARIA~},
{~GREEK CAPITAL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH VARIA~} {~GREEK CAPITAL LETTER PI~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER RHO~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH OXIA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER MU~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA~}, {~GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH VARIA~} {~GREEK SMALL LETTER LAMDA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA~}{~GREEK SMALL LETTER OMICRON WITH VARIA~}{~GREEK