But There Never Is Any True Glory For Them Unless The
Happiness Of Nations Is The Object Of Their Enterprises.
In the task
which he recommended, the grandeur of the object was joined to utility.
To augment the lands
Known to civilised mankind by a new world, and to
enrich the old world with the natural products of the new - this would be
the effect of the fresh discoveries that he anticipated. What comparison
could there be between such a project and the conquest - it might be the
unjust conquest - of some ravaged piece of territory, of two or three
fortresses battered by cannon and acquired by the massacre, the ruin, the
desolation, and the regrets of the vanquished people; bought, too, at a
price a hundred times greater than would suffice for the entire voyage of
discovery proposed. He pointed out that the task could only be taken in
hand by a government; it was too large for individuals. But the result
was certain. In truth, to succeed in the complete discovery of the Terres
Australes, it was not necessary to have any other end in view than
success: it was simply necessary to employ proper means and sufficient
forces.
De Brosses discussed the probably most advantageous situation for
settlement in the South Seas, though in doing so he was hampered by
insufficient knowledge. Relying upon the reports of Tasman, he considered
New Zealand and "la terre de Diemen" - that is, Tasmania - too distant and
too little known for an experiment; whilst the narratives of Dampier did
not make those parts of New Holland that he had visited - the west and
north of Australia - appear attractive.
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