which was so confined:--in our time, the commerce of Britain lays the whole
world under contribution, and surpasses in extent and magnitude the
commerce of any other nation.

The progress of discovery and of commercial intercourse are intimately and
almost necessarily connected; where commerce does not in the first instance
prompt man to discover new countries, it is sure, if these countries are
not totally worthless, to lead him thoroughly to explore them. The
arrangement of this work, in carrying on, at the same time, a view of the
progress of discovery, and of commercial enterprise, is, therefore, that
very arrangement which the nature of the subject suggests. The most
important and permanent effects of the progress of discovery and commerce,
on the wealth, the power, the political relations, the manners and habits,
and the general interests and character of nations, will either appear on
the very surface of our work, or, where the facts themselves do not expose
them to view, they will be distinctly noticed.

A larger proportion of the volume is devoted to the progress of discovery
and enterprise among the ancients, than among the moderns; or,--to express
ourselves more accurately,--the period that terminates with the discovery
of America, and especially that which comprehends the commerce of the
Phoeniceans, of the Egyptians under the Ptolemies, of the Greeks, and of
the Romans, is illustrated with more ample and minute details, than the
period which has elapsed since the new world was discovered. To most
readers, the nations of antiquity are known by their wars alone; we wished
to exhibit them in their commercial character and relations. Besides, the
materials for the history of discovery within the modern period are neither
so scattered, nor so difficult of access, as those which relate to the
first period. After the discovery of America, the grand outline of the
terraqueous part of the globe may be said to have been traced; subsequent