i84 ANTIENT METAPHYSICS. Book III. 



wife utterly unknown to the antients and to the moderns till the 

 fixteenth century. And there is another country, fo large that it 

 may be reckoned a half or at lead a third part of the Globe, which 

 was utterly unknown to the antients, and even to the moderns till 

 about the end of the fifteenth century, when it was difcovered by 

 the Spaniards, under Chriftopher Columbus, who undertook the 

 voyage for the difcovery of a fhorter paffage to India, through an 

 ocean very little known at that time, (L mean the Atlantic)^ and made 

 a fettlement in this New World, in which he has been followed by 

 fome other nations of Europe, particularly the Englifh; and all thi« 

 for the love of money. 



The Englifli have the praife to have made great difcoveries, not 

 with any view to trade or money, but folely for the difcovery of 

 this our globe of earth. The difcoveries I mean, are thofe they 

 made in that part of the Great South Sea which is called the Paci- 

 fic Ocean; where they have difcovered a great many iflands, and" 

 one, the largeft in the world, New Holland. Thefe difcoveries were 

 chiefly made by Captain Cooke, who went round the world thrice 

 at the public expence, and with no other view than to enlarge our 

 knowledge of this earth. The Dutch firft difcovered this great 

 ifland, and gave it the name of Neis} Holland. But they knew no- 

 thing of the ftate of the countr)% not fo much as that it was an 

 ifland, which was firft difcovered by Captain Cooke. Before that, it 

 was believed to be a part of a great antarftic continent, which was 

 •fuppofed to exift, refembling the ardlic continent upon which we 

 live. The Britifh have alfo difcovered, by means of this famous 

 navigator, Captain Cooke, another country, without any view to 

 trade or money, and which, I think, is a great curiofity; I mean 

 New Zealand, where the people live not far removed from the na- 

 tural ftate, and in the firft age of civil fociety, uncorrupted by the 

 crimes and vices of fuch focieties as thofe of Europe at prcfent. Of 



their 



