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Show DJSSF.R T1 III. ~ H I S T 0 R Y 0 F M E X I C 0. Acoll:a whofe hifto~y is caJled by M. de Paw an excellent 'W01'k, and who ~as acquainted with the climes of both co?tinents~ and at ~he fame time was not partial to America, nor had any mterell: 111 extollmg it, treating of the American clime, he fpeaks thus (c): '~ When I per" ceived the mildnefs of the air, and fweetnefs of the clunate of many " countries of America, where it is not known what thing winter is " that contraCl:s, or fummer which relaxes with heat; where a mat is " fufficient for defence from every inclemency of the weather; where " it is fcarcely neceifary to alter cloathing through the whole year; (' confidering, I £'1y, all this, I have many times thought, and I even " think at this moment, that if men would difengage themfelves from " the fnares which avarice lays for them, and abandon ufelefs and vexa" tious pretenfions, they might lead in At'nerica a life cuf tranquillity " and pleafurc; for that which the poets fing of the Elyfian fielcis, or " the famous Tempe, and that which Plato told, or feigned, of his " ifland Atlantida, are both to be found in th_ofe lands, &c." Other hiftorians fpeak the fame thing as Acoll:a of America, and particularly of Mexico and its furrounding p~ovinces, the inland countries of which, from the ill:hmus of Panama unto the 40th degree of latitude (for thofe h¥yond that degree of latitude have not yet been difcovered), enjoy a mild air, and a climate favourable to life, excepting a few places, which, either by their being low, are moift and hot, or by bei. I)g very high, are rather fevere in climate. But how many in the old world are not fevere and noxious ? s E C T. III. On the f<!Jalities of the Land of Mexico. IT is certain, fays Mr. de Paw, that America in general has been, and is at prefe1_1t, a very barren country; but it is rather more certain that this is in general a grofs error; and if M. de Paw wifl1es to aifu_re himfelf of it, he may obtain information from many Germans, lately ( c ) Stor. Nat. e Mor. lib. ii. C:I.P• l4• c,0me H t S T 0 R Y 0 F 'ME X 1·0 0. t ~ I • come from Am'et·ica, where 'fome of them have been for many years, and are at prefent in Auftria, in Bohemia, in the Palatinate of the Rhine, and even in Pruffia; or he may re-perufe that excellent work of Acoll:a, and he will find there, in book ii. chap. I 4· that if there is any land in the world to which the name of Paradife may be applied, it is that of America. This is the expreflion of a learned, judicious, and impartial European, born in Spain, one of the bell: countries in Europe; and fpeaking, in book iii of the countries of the Mexican empire, he fays, that New Spain is the bet1: country of all thofe which the fun furrounds. Certainly Acoll:a would not fpeak thus of America in gener~l, and of New Spain in particular, under which name the continent of Spanifh North America is comprehended, if America were in general a barren country. Many other Europeans fpeak not lefs favourably of America, and parti~;ularly of Mexico, whofe teftimony we mut1: omit, to avoid fceming prolix to qur readers (a). :From the fame motive we (hall omit i:llfo wJlttt Mr. de Paw has written againt1: other countries of the new world, as it would be impoffible to examine the coll}plaint~ made by him aga~nt1: each of them, without filling a large volume; we fhall therefore confine our-fcl~ es to what bdongs to Mf xico. · Meffieurs Buffon and de Paw are perfuaded that all the t~ rritory of America is compofed of inacceflible mountains, impenetrable woods and wafies, watry plains and marfl1es. Thofe philofophers have read in the defcri ptions of America, that the famous Andes, or American Alps, formed two large chains of lofty mountains, covered in part with fnow ; that the vaft defart of the Amazons confifts of thick woods; that Guayaquil, and fome other places, are moifi and ·marfl1y; and fo much they have thought fufficient to warrant them to fay, that America is nothing but mountains, woods and marfl1es. Mr. de (d) Thomas Gages, the or~cle of the EngllCh and French, with rcf],ctl to Amcric~, fj1Cr1king of Mexico, fays as follows. " ' Jl ne manque rien a Mc.xiquc d~.: tout ce qui Jl ut t·cnJre une , "illc hcurufe ; ct fi ccs ecrivains ~ui ont cm plo~c leurs ~ lumes :~ loucr lea provinces~ Gre· nadc en Efpaguc ct de Lombanhe ct de 1 ofcamc en Italic dont t)s font des paradis tctt:flres, nuroi nt vu cc nouveau mondc et Ia ville de Mexiguc, its fe dcdiroient bientut 1lc cout ce qu'ils ont dit en favCllr de ces licux Ia." Pane i. chnp. zz. Thus <Wcs ~n nllthqr who could t:car.cely fpcak f;wournbly of auy thiJ1g, rcprefcnt Mcxi.co. M m 2 Paw '2.67 DISSERT. m: "--v---J / |