long the western
coast of _Africa_, to their final discovery of the farthest parts of
_China_ and _Japan_: All their battles by sea and land, with their
expeditions, sieges, and other memorable actions: The whole interspersed
with descriptions of the places and countries they discovered, visited,
or conquered; including accounts of the manners, customs, government,
and religion of the natives. This author is remarkable for a concise and
clear narrative, and for judicious reflections on the conduct of the
Portuguese kings, ministers, governors, and commanders, as well as for
his remarks on many other occasions. These are always just, and have
often an air of freedom that might not have been expected under an
arbitrary government: But in matters regarding religion, he often
discovers a surprising reverse of character, full of weak and puerile
credulity, the never-failing consequence of education and publication
under the influence of that eternal and abominable stain of the
peninsula, the _Inquisition_.

[Footnote 64: Astley, I. 87.]

This work of De Faria has gone through various impressions in Portugal,
where it is esteemed a curious and accurate performance, though on some
occasions it is alleged that he has placed too much reliance on _Mendez
Pinto_, a dealer in bare-faced fiction. The first impression of the
Portuguese Asia was printed at Lisbon in 1666, in 3 vols. small folio,
and it has been often reprinted, and translated into Spanish, Italian,
French, and English.

The English translation used on the present occasion, and we know of no
other or later edition, was made by Captain John _Stevens_, and
published at London in 1695, in 3 vols. 8vo. dedicated to Catherine of
Portugal, Queen Dowager of England. In his Preface, Mr Stevens informs
the reader, that he had reduced the work to considerably less size than
the _Spanish original_, yet without omitting any part of the history, or
even abridging any material circumstances; having cut off long speeches,
which were only added by the author as rhetorical flourishes, and
omitted many tedious lists of the names of officers who were present at
the principal actions, and extended reflections of the author which
were only useful to increase the size of the work. In this account of
the work by the translator, the _Spanish_ is mentioned as the original.
Indeed the Portuguese and Spanish original editions appear to have both
appeared contemporaneously in 1666.[65]

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