The style is plain, but not elegant, nor perfectly grammatical." &c.* -Another has expatiated on the lessons of piety and experience which distinguish the happy sobriety of its page; whilst, in the opinion of a third, it supplies one of the finest records of resources for the shipwrecked, and of expedients under desertion for the support and recreation of unassociated and unprotected man, that have ever in any age or country been presented to mankind. JOHNSON said to Piozzi, 66 was there ever any thing written by mere man, that was wished longer by its readers, except DonQuixote, the Pilgrim's progress, and Robinson-Crusoe?" Thus diversified in its merits, and accomplished in each, is this extraordinary history; to whose enchanting influence certainly England is indebted for one of its ablest circumnavigators, the late Captain FLINDERS, of the royal navy; and for one among the most brilliant of its nautical worthies, Admiral Sir WILLIAM SIDNEY SMYTHE. By merit thus manifold, and universally acknowledged, the "Adventures" maintain their celebrity and attraction at this day undiminished, after the passing away of so many generations, during which, works of great promise and capacity have fallen into oblivion or disrepute ; whilst the name of ROBINSON CRUSOE Continues to be heard with fresh delight, his history is found classed in the ranks of english literature, and has even become a standard book of instruction in the school of morals. It has been with a view, therefore, of rendering it still more deserv ing of the situation which it justly occupies, and more conducive to the important uses which it is essentially qualified to serve, that the present edition was at first projected. It is conceived that there is one peculiarity of merit in this work, which, amidst all the notice and applause it has received, has been much overlooked, if not undervalued; and it is time that the attention of the reader should be called to it; this, to specify it, is in a nautical point of view; under which aspect, the Adventures of ROBINSON CRUSOE will be found to furnish allusions and facts of a geographical, scientific, and historical nature, that only ask for the aid of illustration in the places where they occur, to become advantageous avenues to laudable curiosity and beneficial research. That there are not merely occasions afforded for such explanatory comments, but that they are really wanted to make the work accomplished, to the full extent of that instruction and amusement which its nature and execution prepare it to yield, sufficient evidence is supplied from ✦ See BEATTIE'S Dissertations moral and critical, 4to. On fable and romance, 556. the text, or constituent matter of the volume. Thus in one place,* we find the following observation :- I shall not pester the reader with descriptions of places, journals of our voyages, variations of the com.. pass, latitudes, meridian distances, trade-winds, and the like; such as almost all the histories of long navigations are full of-" However expedient, in the first instance such omissions might be thought, or however (as was probably the idea) it might have tended to embarrass the original account, and "pester the reader," had such digressions been interwoven in the body of the narrative; it cannot be questioned, on the score of general knowledge, that the entire absence of such technical descriptions is, in reality, a matter of just regret in a book of education, and that the supply thereof has become an important desideratum, in the present advanced state of the sciences and arts: this it was imagined, might be commodiously furnished by annotations of an apposite and popular nature, so contrived and introduced as to bring the naval pupil gradually acquainted with a species of learning of the highest consequence to his destination: the dryness of which, it was imagined, would be effectually relieved by the familiar and unrepulsive form in which it is presented to him, as it were by the way-side, in the progress of his intellectual journey. It is remarked in another place in allusion to an harbor somewhere on the coast of China: +-" I do not particularly remember the name of the port, having lost this, together with the names of many other places set down in a little pocket-book, which was spoiled by the water on an accident which I shall relate in its order-" The deficiency which this accident has created, in a topographical view, is really a general loss to every reader; but it is especially so to a youth whose profession demands an accurate and extensive acquaintance with the navigation, the havens, islands, sholes, and other characteristics of the shores and waters of the diversified occan: hence the evident utility of the sea-chart, or delineation of the surface of the earth in plano after MERCATOR's projection, which has been constructed for this edition with great care, and is offered to the public with an assurance that it will be found, in every instance, minutely faithful, according to the latest and most authentic discoveries. Hence, also, in connection with this department of knowledge, the engravings which have been provided to embellish the pages of our interesting adventures, will appear to have an interest and value, both for the utility of the objects which they delineate, and the exact fidelity of the execution, which, it is presumed, will not be the less + Page 397. Page 343. In wood by JOHN BERRYMAN. manifest, or the less appretiated, when contrasted with the rude and unprofitable fictions which have hitherto disfigured this admirable work. Again. To illustrate our argument and undertaking once more, on the strength of what is literally advanced in the body of the work: The hero of the "Adventures" makes it a distinct subject of notice, in a passage of his history,* that he had not the advantage of any acquaintance with botany, and deplores his ignorance in this respect as one who was justly conscious of a prejudice hence resulting to the perfection of his details: the want thus created is undoubtedly a diminution of the sources of pleasure and utility of which the subject matter is suscep tible, and strongly invites the application of a remedy this has been attempted, by appropriate expositions collected from the best botanical writers, with an assiduous regard to classification, to constituent distinct tions, and to the natural and philosophical uses, and medicinal pro perties of plants; and it is conceived that hereby a source of refined and animating improvement has been brought under the view of the juvenile reader, calculated in itself not only to enlarge the mind, but to elevate some of the best affections of the heart, and lift it up in wonder of, and adoration to, an all-wise and beneficent creator; for, of this science it may with truth be said, in the elegant language of the academy,-Plantae numerosissimae quibus obvestit globum terraqueum deus optimus maximus, sunt totidem documenta infinitae sapientiae, natae in gloriam sui creatoris et in commodum hominis cujus est cas intueri."+ It remains only to offer some explanation, or, if that be needful, some apology, in so far as concerus the language, or phraseology, which enters occasionally into the annotations, and as to the typographical execution of this book. Should any of his readers be tempted, in the first respect to object to the frequent use of classical quotation in that department of the Editor's labors, as savoring of learned conceit, or otherwise offensive, we will beg leave to remind them briefly of the answer which was once made by the greatest literary judge of the age, to a similar objector, who, having charged this practice with pedantry, was silenced with this reply: "No, sir," said JOHNSON, "it is a good thing: there is community of mind in it: classical quotation is the parole of literary men all over the world." The study of the classics ought less to be re garded as an exercise of the intellect, than as a discipline of huma nity. The peculiar advantage of this mode of education, consists, not so much in strengthening the understanding, as in softening and refining the taste. It gives men liberal views; it accustoms the mind to take an interest in things foreign to itself: to love virtue for its own sake, to prefer fame to life, and glory to riches, and to fix our thoughts on remote and permanent, instead of narrow and fleeting objects. It teaches us to believe, that there is something really great and excellent in the world, surviving all the shocks of accident, and fluctuations of opinion, and raises us above that low and servile fear, which bows only to present power, to upstart authority, to the interest and fashion of the moment. Rome and Athens filled a place in the history of mankind, which can never be occupied again. They were two cities set on a hill which could not be hidden; all eyes have seen them; and their light shines, like a mighty sea-mark, into the abyss of time. "Still green with bays each antient altar stands, Above the reach of sacrilegious hands: Secure from flames, from envy's fiercer rage, Whose honors with increase of ages grow, As streams roll down, enlarging as they flow !" It is this feeling, more than any thing else, which produces a marked difference between the study of the antient and of the modern languages; and which, from the weight and importance of the consequences attached to it, stamps every word with a monumental firmness. By conversing with the mighty dead, we imbibe sentiment with knowledge. We become strongly attached to those who can no longer either hurt or serve us, except through the influence which they exert over the mind. We feel the presence of that power which gives immortality to human thoughts and ac tions, and we catch the sacred flame of enthusiasm from all nations and ages. It is hard to find in minds otherwise formed, either a real love of excellence, or a belief that any excellence exists, superior to their own. Every thing is brought down to the vulgar level of their own ideas and pursuits. Persons without education certainly do not want either acuteness or strength of mind in what concerns themselves, or in things immediately within their observation; but they have no power of ab straction, no general standard of taste or scale of opinion. They see their objects always near, and never in the horizon. Hence arises that egotism which has been remarked as the characteristic of self-taught men, and which degenerates into obstinate prejudice, ar petulant fickle ness of opinion, according to the natural sluggishness or activity of their minds. For they become either blindly bigoted unto the first opinions they have stricken out for themselves, and incorrigible to conviction; or, dupes of their own vanity and shrewdness, are everlasting converts to every crude suggestion that presents itself, and the last opinion is always the true one. Each successive discovery flashes upon them with equal light and evidence, and every new fact overturns their whole system. It is among this class of persons whose ideas never extend beyond the feeling of the moment, that we find individuals who are very honest men, with a total want of principle; and who unite the most hardened effrontery and intolerance of opinion to endless inconsistency and self-contradiction. If, in another view, any exception should be taken on the score of perspicuity in the terms made use of, in places especially where the notes are scientific, and still more where they embrace recent discoveries in chemistry; the Editor looks for his vindication in this instance, to the essential expediency of the plan itself, and to the approved practice of the most able writers, and only competent judges in the case; which he cannot any otherwise illustrate so satisfactorily, as in the words of a celebrated proficient in practical philosophy, and which are applicable to the language of all the sciences universally. "We have the approbation," says Dr. HENRY, " by the most distinguished metaphysicians of the age, of the connection of new doctrines with new and more accurate language: for my own part, I adopt them [meaning the terms of the new nomenclature], not from a belief that they are perfect; but because they are better adapted than any hitherto offered, for explaining and classing phenomena; and with this qualifica tion, I strongly recommend them to general acceptance."* In an age when every art, and especially that of typography, is carried to a perfection and cost, which have generated a taste that savors somewhat of fastidiousness, an apology may be deemed necessary for presenting this edition to the public in a type less ostentatious and fashionably broad, than is wont to greet the pampered eye of an english reader in the present day; the offense, if such it be, is not surely precluded from all title to indulgence, though it might be presuming too far, to look for a free and unreserved pardon: if the purchaser finds not here all that gratification which may satisfy the luxurious habits of our times, is it too much to express an hope that there are some things in our * Elements of Chemistry: preface p. 32. |