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ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



plored, its scenery described, its productions 

 collected, its botanical peculiarities ascertained, 

 and its geological structure investigated. The 

 geography of the globe would be brought to per 

 fection ; its beauties, harmonies, and sublimities 

 displayed, and the useful productions of every 

 clime transported to every country, and culti 

 vated in every land. Science would, of course, 

 be improved, and its boundaries enlarged ; new 

 physical facts would be discovered for confirming 

 and illustrating its principles, and a broad foun 

 dation laid for carrying it to perfection. While, 

 at present, every traveller in quest of scientific 

 knowledge in foreign lands, is limited in his ex 

 cursions, and even exposed to imminent danger, 

 by the rancour of savage tribes and the jealousy 

 of despotic governments in such a state of 

 things, every facility would be given to his 

 researches, and all the documents of history, and 

 Ihe treasures of nature and art, laid open to his 

 inspection. He would be conducted, as a friend 

 and brother, through every city and rural scene ; 

 the processes of arts and manufactures, the 

 curiosities of nature, and the archives of litera 

 ture and science, would belaid open to hi? view; 

 and he would return to his native land loaded 

 with whatever is curious and useful in nature 

 and art, and enriched with new accessions to 

 his treasures of knowledge. The knowledge 

 and arts of one country would thus be quickly 

 transported to another; agricultural, manufactur 

 ing and mechanical improvements would be 

 gradually introduced into every region ; barren 

 wastes would be cultivated, forests cut down, 

 marshes drained, cities founded, temples, schools 

 and academies erected, modes of rapid commu 

 nication between distant countries established, 

 mutual interchanges of affection promoted, and 

 &quot; the once barren deserts made to rejoice and 

 blossom as the rose.&quot; 



We should then behold the inhabitants of 

 distant countries arriving on our shores not 

 with tomahawks, clubs, spears, muskets, and 

 other hostile weapons, but with the symbols of 

 peace and the productions of their respective 

 climes. We should behold the Malayans, the 

 Chinese, the Cambodians, the Burmese, the 

 Persians and the Japanese, unfurling their ban 

 ners on our coasts and rivers, unloading their 

 cargoes of tea, coffee, pilks, nankeens, em 

 broideries, carpets, pearls, diamonds, and gold 

 and silver otnaments and utensils traversing 

 our streets and squares in the costume of their 

 respective countries, gazing at our shops and 

 edifices, wondering at our manners and customs, 

 mingling in our assemblies, holding intercourse 

 with our artists and philosophers, attending our 

 scientific lectures and experiments, acquiring a 

 knowledge of our arts and sciences, and return 

 ing to their native climes to report to their coun 

 trymen the information they had received, and 

 Jo introduce amonj; them our discoveries and 



improvements. &quot; We should behold the tawn 

 Indians of Southern Asia forcing their way 

 up its mighty rivers in their leathern canoes, tt&amp;gt; 

 the extremities of the north, and displaying on 

 the frozen shores of the icy sea, the riches of the 

 Ganges ; the Laplander covered with warm fur 

 arriving in southern markets, in his sledge drawn 

 by rein-deer, and exposing for sale the sable skins 

 and furs of Siberia ; and the copper-coloured 

 American Indian traversing the Antilles, arid 

 conveying from isle to isle his gold and emeralds.&quot; 

 We should occasionally behold numerous cara 

 vans of Arabians, mounted on thsir dromedaries 

 and camels, and tribes of Tartars, Bedouins, and 

 Moors visiting the civilized countries of Europe, 

 laden with the rarities and riches of their res 

 pective countries, admiring the splendour of our 

 cities and public edifices, learning our arts arid 

 manufactures, acquiring a knowledge of our 

 literature and sciences, purchasing our commo 

 dities, procuring specimens of our philosophical 

 instruments, steam-engines, and mechanical 

 powers inviting agriculturists, artists, mechan 

 ics, teachers, ministers of religion, mathemati 

 cians and philosophers, to settle among them, for 

 the purpose of improving i heir system of husband 

 ry, rearing cities, towns and villages, disseminat 

 ing useful knowledge, and introducing the arts and 

 enjoyments of civilized society at the same 

 time inviting them to contract marriages with 

 their sisters and daughters, and thus, by new 

 alliances, to reunite the branches of the human 

 family, which, though descended from one com 

 mon parent, have been so long disunited, and 

 which disunion, national prejudices and antipa 

 thies, as well as climate and complexion, have 

 tended to perpetuate. And, while we were thus 

 instrumental hi imparting knowledge and im 

 provements to olher nations, we ourselvos should 

 reap innumerable advantages. Our travellers 

 and navigators, into whatever regions they might 

 wish to penetrate, would feel secure from every 

 hostile attack, and would recognise in every one 

 they met a friend and a brother, ready to relieve 

 their necessities, to contribute to their comfort, 

 and to direct them in their mercantile arrange 

 ments and scientific researches. Our merchants 

 and manufacturers would find numerous empo 

 riums for their goods, and new openings for 

 commercial enterprise, and would import from 

 other countries new conveniences and comforts 

 for the use of their countrymen at home. 



From such friendly intercourses we should 

 loarn, more particularly than we have yet done, 

 the history of olher nations, and the peculiar 

 circumstances in which thev have existed, par 

 ticularly of those tribes which have been consi 

 dered as moving beyond the range of civilizeo 

 society. All that we at present know of the 

 history of many foreign nations, consists of a 

 few insulated sketches and anecdotes, picked 

 up at random by travellers who passed only a few 



