It Is Very Observable That All The Mighty Discoveries That Have Been
Made Arose From These Great Men, Who Joined Reasoning With Practice,
And Were Men Of Genius And Learning, As Well As Seamen.
To Columbus
we owe the finding America; to Magellan the passing by the straits
which bear his name, by
A new route to the East Indies; to Le Maire
a more commodious passage round Cape Horn, and without running up to
California; Sir Francis Drake, too, hinted the advantages that might
arise by examining the north-west side of America; and Candish had
some notions of discovering a passage between China and Japan. As
to the history we have of Roggewein's voyage, it affords such lights
as nothing but our own negligence can render useless. But in the
other voyages, whatever discoveries we meet with are purely
accidental, except it be Dampier's voyage to the coasts of New
Holland and New Guinea, which was expressly made for discoveries;
and in which, if an abler man had been employed in conjunction with
Dampier, we cannot doubt that the interior and exterior of those
countries would have been much better known than they are at
present; because such a person would rather have chosen to have
refreshed in the island of New Britain, or some other country not
visited before, than at that of Timer, already settled both by the
Portuguese and the Dutch.
In all attempts, therefore, of this sort, those men are fittest to
be employed who, with competent abilities as seamen, have likewise
general capacities, are at least tolerably acquainted with other
sciences, and have settled judgments and solid understandings.
These are the men from whom we are to expect the finishing that
great work which former circumnavigators have begun; I mean the
discovering every part and parcel of the globe, and the carrying to
its utmost perfection the admirable and useful science of
navigation.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 86 of 180
Words from 24255 to 24574
of 50938
