THE ENGLISH VOYAGES 



lished as their own.' He is careful to ascertain and record 

 the name of the historian of each voyage, as well as the 

 name of the voyager, so that every man may ' answer 

 for himself, justify his reports, and stand accountable 



Arrangement, for his own doings/ The classification and arrangement 

 of the voyages follow a like practical method. First, 

 as being the oldest, come the voyages to the South and 

 South East; then the North Eastern voyages, the 

 earliest of which were made under our Saxon Kings ; 

 and lastly, not without a purposed climax, the 

 voyages to the West and ' the beginnings and pro- 

 ceeding of the two English Colonies planted in Virginia.' 

 The voyages to the South West ('whereof I think the 

 Spaniard hath had some knowledge') were in fact by 

 far the most numerous, but they are given a small rela- 

 tive importance in Hakluyt's scheme. The West Indies 

 have a place in his epic not unlike the place of Carthage 

 in Virgil's poem ; they are visited by the founders of 

 the British Empire on the way to a greater destiny. 



Haklup as To estimate Hakluyt's labours as an editor, it would 



be necessary to collate his Voyages in detail with the 

 printed and manuscript originals, where these are re- 

 coverable. A good beginning has been made by the 

 Hakluyt Society; and the complete task, however 

 troublesome, will be no more than a just tribute to 

 those great charges and infinite cares, watchings, toils, 

 travels, and wearying out of his weak body, from which 

 the Preacher long ago found rest. A comparison of 

 some of his Voyages with the full originals, printed by 

 the Hakluyt Society, reveals him as a conscientious 

 Editor, wholly free from the vanity of self-assertion. 

 He follows his authorities word for word and takes few 



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