36915New Atlantis.
other part of enter courſe, which might be by our ſailing to other Nauons,
I muſt yield you ſome other cauſe: For I cannot ſay (if I ſhould ſay traly)
but our ſhipping for number, ſtrength, Mariners, Pilon, and all things that
appertain to Navigation, is as great as ever; and thereſore why we ſhould
ſit at home, I ſhall now give you an account by it ſalf, and it will draw nearer
to give you ſatisfaction to your principal Queſtion.
I muſt yield you ſome other cauſe: For I cannot ſay (if I ſhould ſay traly)
but our ſhipping for number, ſtrength, Mariners, Pilon, and all things that
appertain to Navigation, is as great as ever; and thereſore why we ſhould
ſit at home, I ſhall now give you an account by it ſalf, and it will draw nearer
to give you ſatisfaction to your principal Queſtion.
There reigned in this I ſland about One thouſand nine liundred years
“ago, a King, whoſe memory of all others we moſt adore, not ſuperſtitiouſly,
“but as a Divine Inſtrument, though a Mortal Man; his name was Salomona,
“and we eſteem him as the Law-giver of our Nation. This King had alarge
“heart inſerutable for good, and was wholly bent to make his Kingdom and
“People happy: He therefore taking into conſideration, how ſufficient and
“ſubſtantive this Land was to maintain it ſelf with out any aid (at all) of the
“Foreigner, being Five thouſand ſix hundred miles in circuit, and of rare
“fertility of ſoil in the greateſt part thereof; and finding alſo the ſhipping of
“this Countrey might be plentiſully ſet on work, both by Fiſhing, and by
“Tranſportations from Port to Port, and likewiſe by ſailing unto ſome ſmall
“Iſlands that are not far from us, and are under the Crown and Laws of this
“State; and recalling into his memory the happy and flouriſhing eſtate
“wherein this Land then was, ſo as it might be a thouſand ways altered to
“the worſe, but ſcarce any one way to the better; thought nothing wanted
“to his Noble and Heroical Intentions, but onely (as far as Humane fore-
“ſight might reach) to give perpetuity to that which was in his time ſo happily
“eſtabliſhed; therefore amongſt his other Fundamental Laws of this King-
“dom, he did ordain the Interdicts and Prohibitions which we have touch-
“ing entrance of ſtrangers, which at that time (though it was after the cala-
“mity of America) was ſrequent, doubting novelties and commixture of
“manners. It is true, the like Law againſt the admiſſion of ſtrangers, with-
“out licence, is an ancient Law in the Kingdom of China, and yet continued
“in uſe; but there it is a poor thing, and hath made them a curious, igno-
“rant, fearful, fooliſh Nation. But our Law-giver made his Law of another
“temper. For firft, he hath preſerved all points of humanity, in taking or-
“der and making proviſion for the relief of ſtrangers diſtreſſed, whereof you
“have taſted. At which Speech (as reaſon was) we all roſe up and bowed our ſelves.
He went on. “That King alſoſtill deſiring to joyn Humanity and Policy to-
“gether, and thinking it againſt Humanity to detain Strangers here againſt
“their Wills, and againſt Policy, that they ſhould return and diſcover their
“knowledge of this State, he took this courſe. He did ordain, that of the
“Strangers that ſhould be permitred to Land, as many (at all times) might
“depart as would, but as many as would ſtay, ſhould have very good con-
“ditions and means to live from the State. Wherein he ſaw ſo far, that
“now in ſo many Ages, ſince the Prohibition, we have memory not of one
“Ship that ever returned, and but of thirteen perſons onely at ſeveral times
“that choſe to return in our Bottoms. What thoſe ſew that returned, may
“have reported abroad, I know not; but you muſt think, whatſoever they
“have ſaid, could be taken where they came, but ſor a dream. Now for
“our travelling from hence into parts abroad, our Law-giver thought fit al-
“together to reſtrain it. So is it not in China, for the Chineſes fail where they
“will, or can; which ſheweth, that their Law of keeping our Strangers, is
“a Law of puſillanimity and fear. But this reſtraint of ours hath one onely
“exception, which is admirable, preſerving the good which cometh by
“communicating with ſtrangers, and avoiding the hurt; and I will
“ago, a King, whoſe memory of all others we moſt adore, not ſuperſtitiouſly,
“but as a Divine Inſtrument, though a Mortal Man; his name was Salomona,
“and we eſteem him as the Law-giver of our Nation. This King had alarge
“heart inſerutable for good, and was wholly bent to make his Kingdom and
“People happy: He therefore taking into conſideration, how ſufficient and
“ſubſtantive this Land was to maintain it ſelf with out any aid (at all) of the
“Foreigner, being Five thouſand ſix hundred miles in circuit, and of rare
“fertility of ſoil in the greateſt part thereof; and finding alſo the ſhipping of
“this Countrey might be plentiſully ſet on work, both by Fiſhing, and by
“Tranſportations from Port to Port, and likewiſe by ſailing unto ſome ſmall
“Iſlands that are not far from us, and are under the Crown and Laws of this
“State; and recalling into his memory the happy and flouriſhing eſtate
“wherein this Land then was, ſo as it might be a thouſand ways altered to
“the worſe, but ſcarce any one way to the better; thought nothing wanted
“to his Noble and Heroical Intentions, but onely (as far as Humane fore-
“ſight might reach) to give perpetuity to that which was in his time ſo happily
“eſtabliſhed; therefore amongſt his other Fundamental Laws of this King-
“dom, he did ordain the Interdicts and Prohibitions which we have touch-
“ing entrance of ſtrangers, which at that time (though it was after the cala-
“mity of America) was ſrequent, doubting novelties and commixture of
“manners. It is true, the like Law againſt the admiſſion of ſtrangers, with-
“out licence, is an ancient Law in the Kingdom of China, and yet continued
“in uſe; but there it is a poor thing, and hath made them a curious, igno-
“rant, fearful, fooliſh Nation. But our Law-giver made his Law of another
“temper. For firft, he hath preſerved all points of humanity, in taking or-
“der and making proviſion for the relief of ſtrangers diſtreſſed, whereof you
“have taſted. At which Speech (as reaſon was) we all roſe up and bowed our ſelves.
He went on. “That King alſoſtill deſiring to joyn Humanity and Policy to-
“gether, and thinking it againſt Humanity to detain Strangers here againſt
“their Wills, and againſt Policy, that they ſhould return and diſcover their
“knowledge of this State, he took this courſe. He did ordain, that of the
“Strangers that ſhould be permitred to Land, as many (at all times) might
“depart as would, but as many as would ſtay, ſhould have very good con-
“ditions and means to live from the State. Wherein he ſaw ſo far, that
“now in ſo many Ages, ſince the Prohibition, we have memory not of one
“Ship that ever returned, and but of thirteen perſons onely at ſeveral times
“that choſe to return in our Bottoms. What thoſe ſew that returned, may
“have reported abroad, I know not; but you muſt think, whatſoever they
“have ſaid, could be taken where they came, but ſor a dream. Now for
“our travelling from hence into parts abroad, our Law-giver thought fit al-
“together to reſtrain it. So is it not in China, for the Chineſes fail where they
“will, or can; which ſheweth, that their Law of keeping our Strangers, is
“a Law of puſillanimity and fear. But this reſtraint of ours hath one onely
“exception, which is admirable, preſerving the good which cometh by
“communicating with ſtrangers, and avoiding the hurt; and I will
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