500 



the little good, however, which these wars with 

 the Caribbees (the Bedoueens of the rivers of 

 Guyana) produced, was a slight compensation 

 for the evils that followed in their train, by 

 rendering the manners of the tribes more fero- 

 cious, and diminishing their population. We 

 cannot doubt, that the physical aspect of Greece, 

 intersected by small chains of mountains, and 

 mediterranean gulfs, contributed at the dawn of 

 civilization to the intellectual development of 

 the Greeks. But the action of this influence of 

 climate, and of the configuration of the soil, is 

 felt in all it's force only among a race of men, 

 who, endowed with a happy disposition of the 

 mental faculties, receive some exterior impulse. 

 In studying the history of our species, we see, at 

 certain distances, these foci of ancient civiliza- 

 tion dispersed over the Globe like luminous 

 points; and we are struck by the inequality 

 of improvement in nations inhabiting analo- 

 gous climates, and whose native soil appears 

 equally favoured by the most precious gifts of 

 nature. 



Since my departure from the banks of the 

 Oroonoko and the Amazon, a new era unfolds 

 itself in the social state of the nations of the West. 

 The fury of civil discussions will be succeeded by 

 the blessings of peace, and a freer development 

 of the arts of industry. The bifurcation of the 

 Oroonoko, the isthmus ofTuamini, so easy to 



