Telliamed, or, The world explain'd : containing discourses between an Indian philospher and a missionary, on the diminution of the sea, the formation of the earth, the origin of men & animals : and other singular subjects, relating to natural history & philosphy ; a very curious work.

  • Maillet, Benoît de, 1656-1738. Telliamed. English
Date:
1797
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Telliamed, or, The world explain'd : containing discourses between an Indian philospher and a missionary, on the diminution of the sea, the formation of the earth, the origin of men & animals : and other singular subjects, relating to natural history & philosphy ; a very curious work. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    Holland which are contiguous to them, daily un* dergo alterations and augmentations pernicious to the entrance and arrival of fhipping, Ojlend, which in the Dutch wars with the Spaniards, was fo large and fo commodious a harbour, is now good for nothing. You will perhaps object, that the Dutch have endeavoured to fill it up : But have the other ports of that coaft itaffered lefs ? How much has it coft to keep that of Dunkirk in fuch a fituation as to be of any ufe ? St. Omer, now confiderably diitant from the fea, was hard by it a few years ago. Who can reafonably doubt, but in time it will be the fame with Venice ? Very foon that city will be on the continent, which daily approaches it by the enlargement of the land. Several iflands are already formed in the bafon which furrounds that beautiful city ; and notwithftanding the care to make it deep, the flime colle&ed in it will daily render the fea farther and farther diitant from it.— It is already a difficulty for large veifels to pafs the mouths of Malamock and enter and come out of thefe arfenals, notwithftanding the repeated labours to keep them deep. The Lower Lombard] is a new acquifition made on the fea ; and the plains of Italyi from Boulogne to the Adriatic, have been but for a few ages left by that fea. The borders of Italy on one fide of that fea, and the Roman ground on the other, have confiderably advanced to each other within thefe fifteen hundred years. The places near the Baltic on the fide of Germany and Gottenbourg, are recent conquefts made upon the fea. The heaths found in fo many parts of Europe, fuch as Germany and France, are plains of fand without any fertility, becaufe, fince the fea left them, they have not had time to acquire that qua- lity : But they will, in procef* of time become