Chap. XIV. ANTIENT METAPHYSICS. 185 



their noble and magnanimous behaviour to us I liavc faid a good 

 deal in Vol. IV. of this work *. 



But, befides the difcovery of fo many particular countries, we 

 have made a difcovery with refpedt to this globe we inhabit, 

 which may be faid to comprehend the whole Geography of the 

 earth. It is the difcovery that our earth is furrounded, and as it were 

 inclofed, by an Ocean, c^iftinguifhed in its different parts by different 

 names, fuch as the North Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, 

 or Great South Sea, and the Eaftern Ocean, all connected together, 

 and communicating with one another; the confequence of which is, 

 that we are able to circumnavigate our globe, which has been done 

 by feveral of our navigators, particularly by Captain Cooke, who, 

 as I have faid, went thrice round it. So that by means of the three 

 great Oceans I have mentioned, and their communication with leffer 

 Teas in the inland countries, fuch as the Mediterranean, for example, 

 and the Baltic, we are able to fail to almoft every part of our earth, 

 even to within not many degrees of either of the Poles, which We 

 feem to be prevented from approaching by ice only. 



By thefe means, I think, we have acquired a greater degree 

 of natural knowledge than the antients could have had, not only 

 of our earth in general, and of the fituation of the feveral parts 

 of it with rcfpedl to one another, but of the feveral animals in- 

 habiting it, of whom we have difcovered feveral fpeciefes utterly 

 unknown to the antients : And particularly we have acquired, 

 what is certainl)--, with rcfpedl to us, the mofl: valuable knowledge 

 we can have of animals ; I mean the knowledge of the animals 

 of our own fpccies ; of whom, by our voyages to fo many parts 

 of the earth and by our fettlemcnts there, wc have difcovered a 

 wonderful variety, greater than could have been imagined of the 



Vol. VI. A a fame 



* l?agc 57. 



