It is very observable that all the mighty discoveries that have been made
arose from these great men, who joined reasoning with practice, and were
men of genius and learning, as well as seamen. To Columbus we owe the
finding America; to Magellan the passing by the straits which bear his
name, by a new route to the East Indies; to Le Maire a more commodious
passage round Cape Horn, and without running up to California; Sir
Francis Drake, too, hinted the advantages that might arise by examining
the north-west side of America; and Candish had some notions of
discovering a passage between China and Japan. As to the history we have
of Roggewein's voyage, it affords such lights as nothing but our own
negligence can render useless. But in the other voyages, whatever
discoveries we meet with are purely accidental, except it be Dampier's
voyage to the coasts of New Holland and New Guinea, which was expressly
made for discoveries; and in which, if an abler man had been employed in
conjunction with Dampier, we cannot doubt that the interior and exterior
of those countries would have been much better known than they are at
present; because such a person would rather have chosen to have refreshed
in the island of New Britain, or some other country not visited before,
than at that of Timer, already settled both by the Portuguese and the
Dutch.

In all attempts, therefore, of this sort, those men are fittest to be
employed who, with competent abilities as seamen, have likewise general
capacities, are at least tolerably acquainted with other sciences, and
have settled judgments and solid understandings. These are the men from
whom we are to expect the finishing that great work which former
circumnavigators have begun; I mean the discovering every part and parcel
of the globe, and the carrying to its utmost perfection the admirable and
useful science of navigation.