^5 
progress in the arts was as ancient as the 
singular form of their governmentSj which 
were unfavourable to individual liberty. 
The New Continent, like that of Africa 
and Asia, presents several points of a pri- 
mitive civilization, of which the mutual re- 
lations are as unknown as those of Meroe, 
Thibet, and China. The civilization of 
Mexico emanated from a country situate 
towards the north ; in South America, the 
great edifices ofTiahuanaco have served as 
models for the monuments which the Incas 
erected at Couzco. Amidst the extensive 
plains of upper Canada, in Florida, and in 
the deserts bordered by the Orinoco, the 
Cassiquiare, and the Guainia, dykes of a 
considerable length, weapons of brass, and 
sculptured stones, are indications that those 
very countries were formerly inhabited by 
industrious nations# which are now tra- 
versed only by tribes of savage hunters. 
The unequal distribution of animals over 
the surface of the globe has had a consider- 
able influence on the fate of nations, and 
