THE SbURCE OF THE NILE. 95 



Prince Henrv, from his early years, had been paflioii- 

 ately acidised to the lludy of what is generally known by 

 the name of matbematicsy that is, geometry, aftronomy, and 

 confequently arithmetic. He was of a liberal turn of mind, 

 devoid of fuperllition, haughtinefs, or pallion ; the Arab 

 and the Jew were admitted to him with great freedom, as 

 the only mafters who were capable of inllruding him in 

 thofe fciences. It was in vain to attempt to rival Venice in 

 pofleffion of the Mediterranean trade: no other way re- 

 mained but to open the commerce to India by the Atlantic 

 Ocean, by failing round the point of Africa to the market 

 of fpices in India. Full of this thought, he retired to a 

 country palace, and there dedicated the whole of his time 

 to deliberate inquiry. The ignorance and prejudices of the 

 age were altogether againft him. The only geography then 

 known was that of the poets. It was the opinion of the 

 Portuguefc, that the regions within the tropics were totally 

 uninhabited, fcorched by eternal fun-beams, while boiling 

 oceans waOied thefc burning coalls ; and, tliercfore, they 

 concluded, that every attempt to explore them was little- 

 better than downright madnefs, and a braving, or tcmptingj 

 of Providence 



But, on the other hand, he found great materials to com- 

 fort him, and to make him perfift in his refolution. For 

 Greek hiftory, to which he then had accefs, had recorded 

 two inftances, which Ihewcd that the voyage was not only 

 po{rible,but that it had beenaaually perfoi-med, firft by the 

 Phoenicians, under Necho king of Egypt, then by Eudoxus,, 

 during the time of Ptolemy Lathyrus, who, after doubling 

 the fouthern Cape of Africa, arrived in fafety at Cadiz. Han« 

 no, too, had failed from Carthage through the Straits, and 



J reached: 



