[Review of his Physical description of New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land, 1845] / [Sir Paul Edmond de Strzelecki].

  • Strzelecki, Paul Edmund de, 1797-1873
Date:
[between 1840 and 1849?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: [Review of his Physical description of New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land, 1845] / [Sir Paul Edmond de Strzelecki]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    7/40 (page 491)
    Inverness. The ‘felix qui patriis aevum transegit in agris’ is a being well nigh lost to the world, and not likely to be ever re¬ stored to us again. All these are mighty changes, and of high import to the future destinies of man. The large part we have in them makes it most fitting that this part should be worthily performed, and as becomes a nation having instruments of great power in its hands. It would be difficult to class in anyway travellers so numerous, and carrying with them such various and complex interests and motives, as those whom we annually send from our shores. Busi¬ ness and idleness—the pursuit of knowledge or that of pleasure— fortune and misfortune—health and sickness—are all concerned in furnishing cause for these migrations. For our present pur¬ pose, however, it is enough to divide them into such as go abroad without any power or design of adding to the information of others, whatever may be their own particular gain; and those who travel with higher objects and resources, seeking to extend the domain of human knowledge, and thence to win honourable fame to themselves. It is not very easy indeed to bring that numerous and increasing body, the authors of books of travels, under this simple classification. We fear, however, it must be avowed, that the great majority of these works, whatever their profession, do in fact add little to the sum of our knowledge; and that vanity and book-craft are much concerned in their production and ephemeral existence. Facts transcribed more or less openly from prior sources of information, and fringed with descriptions of scenery and exaggerated anecdotes of personal adventure, form the great staple of most of these volumes. They are like in this to the palimpsest manuscripts of the Vatican and Ambrosian libraries, that if the superficial writing be removed, the more valuable characters come out from underneath, the obvious work of other hands and a former time. What may best be alleged for these books is, that they are a source of harmless pleasure to many; and that in reviving recollections, and repeating in various forms the knowledge already gained, they tend to keep it floating on the surface and more accessible for daily use. There are no absolute gaps in the world; and we rise by steps from these lighter tourists and authors of the day to the higher labours, in whatever shape they be recorded, of men who bring to their travels matured knowledge, the genius of discovery, or the power of patient and laborious research. We most willingly recognise the many travellers of our own country who belong to this higher class; and contemplating the total surface ot the globe as the arena, we believe there is no nation which has gained so much, or will transmit to posterity such various records of suc- VOL. LXXVI. NO. C LIT. 2 L Cessful