I suppose there are few words in use which at once suggest so much romantic adventure as the words pirate and piracy. You instantly conjure up in your mind a wealth of excitement, a clashing of lawless wills, and there pass before your eyes a number of desperate dare-devils whose life and occupation are inseparably connected with the sea. The very meaning of the word, as you will find on referring to a Greek dictionary, indicates one who _attempts_ to rob. In classical times there was a species of Mediterranean craft which was a light, swift vessel called a _myoparo_ because it was chiefly used by pirates. Since the Greek verb _peirao_ means literally “to attempt,” so it had the secondary m…
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