Page:The principal navigations, voyages, traffiques and discoveries of the English nation 16.djvu/303

 and islands, the aforesaid king Philadelphus with his armies went on the side of Troglodytica, and in an hauen called Berenice caused the ships to arriue which came out of India, being a place of more suretie and lesse perill; from whence they might easily carrie the warres to the citie of Coptus, and so to Alexandria.

And by this meane Alexandria grew so famous and rich, that in those daies there was no citie of the world comparable to it. And to speak briefly and particularly of the abundance of trafficke there vsed, it is left written for an assured truth, that in the time of king Ptolemey Auletes father vnto Cleopatra, it yeelded in customes vnto him yeerly seuen millions and a halfe of gold, although the trafficke was not then scant twenty yeeres old, by way of that citie.

But after that this prouince and countrey became subiect to the Emperours of Rome, as they were greater in power, and neerer in couetousnes, so they enhansed the customes: so that within a little time the citie yeelded double the foresaide summe. For the traffike grew so exceeding great, that they sent euery yeere into India 120 ships laden with wares, which began to set saile from Myos-Hormos about the middle of Iuly, and returned backe againe within one yeere.

The marchandise which they did carry amounted vnto one million two hundred thousand crownes, and there was made in returne of euery crowne an hundred. In so much that by reason of this increase of wealth the matrones or noble women of that time and place, spent infinitely in decking themselues with precious stones, purple, pearles, muske, amber, and the like: whereof the writers and historians of that age speake very greatly.

Cornelius Nepos, alleaged by Plinie, maketh a report of a king of Egypt, that raigned in his time called Ptolemæus Lathyrus, from whom one Exodus fled vpon occasion, and the better to auoid and escape his hands he passed through the Arabicke gulfe, and the sea, all along the coast of Africa and the Cape of Bona Sperança, till he came vnto the Island of Cadiz: and this nauigation by that course was in those daies as often vsed as now it is, if we may giue credit to the histories. Which appeereth the more