![]() ![]() Paul departed in a ship of Alexandria, "whose sign was Castor and Pollux." It is this primitive custom of the seaman adorning the prow of his ship with the effigy of some favorite hero, whether of gods or of men, that has come down to the present day. After his shipwreck on the island of Melita (Malta) St. That this beautiful tissue has been wrought upon a foundation of sober truth there can be no doubt and it is curious to observe how one, at least, of the superstitions of the period, or rather the trace thereof, has been transmitted through all these ages even to our own times. Their images were borne on some part of the ship or were painted on the side of the prow. It was for this reason that they were regarded with reverential awe by the mariners of the East, who never failed to invoke their aid in the hour of danger. On the death of these youths they were placed in the constellation Gemini, and ever after had power over winds and waves. Among the heroes we find the names of Castor and Pollux, brothers to that fair Helen whose beauty has been embalmed in deathless song. The voyage is replete with incident, and mortals and immortals associate on the most familiar terms. ![]() To the music of his voice Orpheus added the notes of his lyre, in unison with which the heroes kept time by the dip of the oar. Tiphys, to whom the invention of the rudder is attributed, was steersman. Mopsus took auguries, and, when the omens were favorable the heroes embarked. Fifty of the most celebrated heroes of Greece join in the expedition and from the name of the ship are called Argonauts. Directed to seek the Golden Fleece in distant Colchis, in the Euxine, he ordered Argus to build a ship of fifty oars, which is named Argo after the constructor. Of such a nature is the story of Jason, who commanded the first naval expedition of which tradition speaks (1263 B.C). It is as if the words of Moses that "the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair and they took them wives of all which they chose," found literal interpretation. The earth and sky seemed blended in one, and the inhabitants of each meet, as it were, on common ground. A sort of mirage pervades that distant horizon which strangely distorts the figures as they come in view. Passing thence to the prehistoric age, one may easily become bewildered in the misty sources of tradition. The history of navies reaches far back to the earliest known records. Writers in this country, however, especially those of the naval profession, are rather inclined to restrict the word fleet to its technical sense, and attach to it a definite meaning and one equivalent to the French armee navale, "an assemblage of at least twelve line-of-battle ships (vaisseaux) or ships of equal military value." The same term is common to the French Navy: "Depuis peu," says Admiral Paris, "on a adopte les mots 'La Flotte' pour designer la totalite des batiments qui constituents l'efifectif des forces navales disponible soit de paix soit de guerre du pays." 3rd that "if any officer, mariner or soldier, or other person of the fleet, shall give, hold or entertain intelligence to or with an enemy or rebel," etc. Thus in the Articles of War of the British Navy, which date back to the time of the Restoration, it is declared by Art. The word fleet, from the Saxon flot, is used in England as synonymous with navy. The word navy has been frequently used to express an assemblage of vessels of any description but in the absence of a qualifying term, such as mercantile or commercial navy, it is understood by common acceptation to mean the entire fleet of war vessels belonging to the state, together with all that pertains to their building, repairing, equipping, navigating and fighting. Modern navies are maintained essentially in the interests of peace and civilization, and are indispensable instruments in the accumulation of wealth and power contributing as they do to the security of the state at home and to the conservation of its commerce, its honor and respect abroad. A navy is designed, primarily, for the preservation of peace by the exercise of that wholesome moral influence inseparable from a judicious exhibition of adequate material force: also for policing the ocean highways, patrolling its own coasts exploring distant seas for the benefit of commerce and navigation sharing the labors in the fields of science, standing guard on the frontiers of civilization, and for the offensive and defensive operations of war. A navy, from the Latin word navis, a ship, is the aggregation of vessels of war, including materiel and personnel, maintained by a state. ![]()
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