an express treatise on the direction of
the loadstone; but nobody ever saw that treatise, nor was it ever heard
of by any of the rest of his commentators. We have in our hands some of
the best performances of antiquity in regard to geography, and any man
who has eyes, and is at all acquainted with that science, can very easily
discern how far they fall short of maps that were made even a hundred
years ago. The celebrated Vossius, and the rest of the admirers of the
Chinese, who, by the way, derived all their knowledge from hearsay, may
testify, in as strong terms as they think fit, their contempt for the
Western sages and their high opinion of those in the East; but till they
prove to us that their favourite Chinese made any voyages comparable to
the Europeans, before the discovery of a passage to China by the Cape of
Good Hope, they will excuse us from believing them. Besides, if the
ancients had all this knowledge, how came it not to display itself in
their performances? How came they to make such difficulties of what are
now esteemed trifles? And how came they never to make any voyages, by
choice at least, that were out of sight of land? Again, with respect to
the Chinese, if they excel us so much in knowledge, how came the
missionaries to be so much admired for their superior skill in the
sciences? But to cut the matter short, we are not disputing now about
speculative points of science, but as to the practical application of it;
in which, I think, there is no doubt that the modern inhabitants of the
western parts of the world excel, and excel chiefly from the labours and
discoveries of these great and ingenious men, who applied their abilities
to the improvement of useful arts, for the particular benefit of their
countrymen, and to the common good of mankind; which character is not
derived from any prejudice of ours, either against the ancients or the
Oriental nations, but is founded on facts of public notoriety, and on
general experience, which are a kind of evidence not to be controverted
or contradicted.

We are still, however, in several respects short of perfection, and there
are many things left to exercise the sagacity, penetration, and
application of this and of succeeding ages; for instance, the passages to
the north-east and north-west are yet unknown; there is a great part of
the southern continent undiscovered; we are, in a manner, ignorant of
what lies between America and Japan, and all beyond t