N 



68^ 



OCEAN. 



REMARKS 



N 



THE 



Brosses, * of a great Southern continent, founded on. the argu- 

 ment, that in cafe there fhould be no more land in the Southern. 



L 



hemifphere, than what we knew before, it would be infufficient to 



r 



counterpoife the weight of lands in the Northern. An ingenious 



X 



author, whofe difmterefled, zeal for the promotion of geography,, 

 navigation and difcoveries is not lefs confpicuous, than his many 

 virtues as a man,, a citizen and a friend, has lately -f endeavoured. 

 to fet thefe arguments in a ftronger light. Our prefent circumna- 



vigation lias, I believe, put it beyond doubt, that there is no land 

 on this lidc of 60° in the Southern hemifphere, if we except the 

 few inconfiderable fragments we found in the Southern atlantic 



If therefore we fhould even fuppofe, that the whole fpace 



ocean 



from 6q° and upwards,, where we have not b 



be intirely 



pied by land, this would be ftill too inconfiderable to counterpoife 

 the lands of the Northern hemifphere. I am therefore apt to fuf- 



pe6t, that nature has provided againil this defedl, by placing per- 

 haps at the bottom of the Southern ocean fuch bodies as by their 



the deficiency of lands ^ if this 



fpeciiic weight will compenfate 



But there 



fyflem of the wanted counterpoife be at all necelTary.- 



may perhaps be other methods to obviate this defed:, of which our 



knowledge and experience h 



z:^ 



yet informed 



Sect, 



* Modern Unin)crfal Ilifory^ Folio Edit, vol, V. p. 2, note C, or 8vo edit, Yol. XL p-2 75 



Voyages aux Terr cs Aufir ales ^ Vv.L I. p. 1 3. - 



f BalrympUscolk^uon of nwyagcs to the Sotith-Sca^ vol, p. 



