I Shall Therefore Conclude This Introductory Discourse With Desiring The
Reader To Excuse The Inaccuracies Of Style, Which Doubtless He
Will
frequently meet with in the following narrative; and that, when such occur,
he will recollect that it is the
Production of a man, who has not had the
advantage of much school education, but who has been constantly at sea from
his youth; and though, with the assistance of a few good friends, he has
passed through all the stations belonging to a seaman, from an apprentice
boy in the coal trade, to a post-captain in the royal navy, he has had no
opportunity of cultivating letters. After this account of myself, the
public must not expect from me the elegance of a fine writer, or the
plausibility of a professed book-maker; but will, I hope, consider me as a
plain man, zealously exerting himself in the service of his country, and
determined to give the best account he is able of his proceedings.[18]
JAMES COOK.
Plymouth Sound, July 7, 1776.
[1] It is scarcely conceivable, that any men of science in the end of
the 18th century, should have insisted on mathematical reasons for the
supposition of a southern counterpoise; and therefore, as is mentioned
by Mr Wales, in his introduction to the account of the astronomical
observations made during this voyage, it must be held, that the
opinion which induced his majesty to order the voyage, for the purpose
of discovering a continent or large islands towards the South Pole,
was founded on mere probability. That there is no necessity for such
an existence, is very certain, for the preservation of the earth's
motion on its axis can be readily accounted for without it; yet,
reasoning from analogy, and considering the successful experiment of
Columbus, there seemed sufficient grounds, independent of the alleged
discoveries of Bouvet and others, to expect that some lands might be
found there. After this, it required little additional excitement of
fancy to believe, that if there, and if found, they might be no less
important to the discoverers, than America was judged to be to the
Spaniards. Men are not easily cured of their prejudices, when the
foundations on which they are built, derive validity from the hope of
interest. It is impossible to tell what kind and degree of advantages,
certain sanguine specialists anticipated from the Terra Australis.
Excepting the article of the prolongation of life ad infinitum, it is
questionable, if the philosopher's stone, when discovered, could have
accomplished more; and even with respect to that, it might have been
imagined, that the soil and climate would so materially differ from
any other before known, as to yield some sovereign elixir or plant of
life-giving efficacy. That it was charitably hoped, they would be no
less serviceable in another particular, of perhaps fully greater
consequence, may be inferred from a passage in Dr Hawkesworth's reply
to Mr Dalrymple, appended to his Account of Cook's First Voyage, &c.,
second edition.
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