INTRODUCTION. 13 
rity by one of the greateft geniufes wh(> 
have followed the fame purfuits. I every 
day burnt frefh incenfe at the feet of his 
ftatue : but the magic of his eloquence did 
not feduce me fo far as to make me admire 
the flights of his imagination ; and I could 
not pardon in the philofopher the exaggera-* 
tions of the poet. 
Befides, and above all, I was continually 
turning my thoughts tovv^ards thofc parts of 
the globe which, having never been explor» 
ed, might, by affording new knowledge, help 
to reftify that already acquired. I confider- 
cd as fupremely happy the mortal who 
fhould have the courage to feek it at the 
fource ; and in this refpcd: the interior part:; 
of Africa appeared to me a Peru. It was a 
coimtry as yet untouched for the naturalift. 
Full of thefe Ideas, 1 perfuaded myfelf that 
the ardor of zeal might make up for want of 
genius ; and that, by being an accurate ob- 
ferver, one might become a great enough 
writer. My enthufiafm fuggefted to me 
that I was the privileged perfon for vv^hora 
tlii$ enterprize was referved. I readily lift- 
ened 
