Selected quad for the lemma: opinion_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
opinion_n	great_a	part_n	reason_n	1,999	5	4.5608	3	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A19942	The vvorldes hydrographical discription Wherein is proued not onely by aucthoritie of writers, but also by late experience of trauellers and reasons of substantiall probabilitie. that the worlde in all his zones clymats and places, is habitable and inhabited, and the seas likewise vniuersally nauigable ... whereby appeares that from England there is a short and speedie passage into the South Seas, to China, Molucca, Phillipina, and India, by northely nauigation ... Published by I. Dauis of Sandrudg by Dartmouth in the countie of Deuon. Gentleman. Anno 1595. May 27.	Davis, John, 1550?-1605.	1595 (1595)	STC 6372; ESTC S105205	22,123	50

we be thus blinded seeing our enemies to posses the fruites of our blessednes and yet will not perceiue the same But I hope the eternall maiestie of God the sole disposer of all thinges will also make this to appeare in his good time Cornelius Nepos recyteth that when Quintus Metellus Caesar was proconsull for the Romanes in Fraunce the king of Sweuia gaue him certayne Indians which sayling out of India for merchandize were by tempest driuen vpon the coastes of Germany a matter very strange that Indians in the fury of stormes should ariue vpon that coast it resteth nowe carefully to consider by what winde they were so driuen if they had beene of any parte of Africa how could they escape the ylls of cape Verd or the ylles of Canaria the coastes of Spayne Fraunce Ireland or England to ariue as they did but it was neuer knowne that any the natyues of Afric or Ethiopia haue vsed shippings Therefore they could not bee of that parte of the worlde for in that distance sayling they would haue beene starued if no other shore had giuen them relefe And that they were not of America is verye manifest for vpon all the Est parte of that continent beeing now thereby discouered it hath not at any time beene perceiued that those people were euer accustomed to any order of shiping which appeareth by the ariuall of Colon vpon those coastes for they had his shipping in such wonderfull admiration that they supposed him and his companie to haue descended from heauen so rare strang a thing was shiping in their eyes Therefore those Indians could not bee of America safely to bee driuen vpon the chastes of Germany the distance and impedimentes well considered Then comming neither from Afric nor America they must of necessitie come from Asia by the Noreast or Norwest passages But it should seme that they came not by the Noreast to double the promontory Tabin to bee forced through the scithiā sea and to haue good passage through the narrow straight of Noua Zemla neuer to recouer any shore is a matter of great imposibilitie Therefore it must needes be concluded that they came by the North partes of America through that discouered sea of 950. leages and that they were of those people which Francisco Vasques of Coronado discouered all which premises considered there remaineth no more doubting but that the landes are disioyned and that there is a Nauigable passage by the Norwest of God for vs alone ordained to our infinite happines and for the euer being glory of her maiestie for then her stately seate of London should be the storehouse of Europe the nurse of the world and the renowne of nations in yelding all forraine naturall benefits by an easie rate in short time returned vnto vs and in y e fulnes of their natural perfection by natural participatiō through the world of all naturall and artificiall benefites for want whereof at this present the most part liue distressed and by the excellent comoditie of her seate the mightines of her trade with force of shipping thereby arising and most aboundant accesse and intercourse from all the kingdomes of the worlde then should the ydle hand bee scorned and plenty by industry in all this land should be proclamed And therefore the passage procued and the benefites to all most apparant let vs no longer neglect our hapines but like christians with willing and voluntary spirits labour without fainting for this so excellent a benefit To prooue by experience that the sea fryseth not HAuing sufficiently prooued that there is a passage without any land impediments to hinder the same contrary to the first obiection it nowe resteth that the other supposed impedimentes hee likewise answered And firste as touching the frost and fresing of the seas it is supposed that the frozen Zone is not habitable and seas innauigable by reason of the vehemencie of cold by the diuine creator allotted to y e part of the world we are drawn into y e absurdity of this opiniō by a coniectural reason of the sunnes far distance and long absence vnder the Horyzon of the greatest parte of that Zone whereby the working power of colde perfourmeth the fulnesse of his nature not hauing any contrary disposition to hinder the same and when the Sunne by his presence should comfort that parte of the world his beames are so far remoued from perpendicularitie by reason of his continuall ueerenes to the Horizon 〈◊〉 that the effectes thereof answere not the violence of the winters cold And therefore those seas remayne for euer vndissolued Which if it be so that the nature of cold can congeale the seas it is very likely that his first working power beginneth vpon the vpper face of the waters and so descending worketh his effect which if it were howe then commeth it to passe that shippes sayle by the North cape to Saint Nicholas fiue degrees or more within the frozen Zone and finde the seas free from pester of yse the farther from the shore the clearer from yse And my selfe likewise howe could I haue sayled to the septentrionall latitude of seuentie fiue degrees beeing nine degrees within the frozen Zone betwene two lands where the sea was straightned not fortie leages bro●de in some places and thereby restrained from the violent motion and set of the maine occi●● an● yet founde the same Nauigable and free from yse not onely in the middest of the chanell but also close aborde the estern shore by me 〈◊〉 Desolation and therefore what neede the repetition of authoritics from writers or wrested Philosophical reasons when playne experience maketh the matter so manifest and yet I deny not but that I haue seene in some part of those seas tow sortes of yse in very great quantity as a kind of yse by seamen named yla●●s of yse being very high aboue the water forty and fiftie fadomes by estimation and higher and ●uery of those haue beene seuen times as much vnder the water which I haue proued by taking a ●eece of yse and haue put the fame in a vessell of salt water and still haue found the seuenth part thereof to bee aboue the water into what ●orme soeuer I haue reduced the same and this kind of yse is nothing but snow which falleth in th●se great peeces from the high mountains bordering close vpon the shore depe seas For all the sea coastes of Desolatoin are mountains of equall height with the Pike of Tenerif with verye great vallies betweene them which I haue seene incredible to bee reported that vpon the toppe of some of these ylls of yse there haue beene stones of more then one hu●●reth ●●mes wayght which in his fall that snowe hath torne from the clyffs and in falling maketh such an horible noyse as if their were one hundreth canons shot of at one instant and this kinde of yse is verye white and freshe and with shore winds is many times beaton far of into the seas perhaps twentie

should attempt Nauigation in desperate clymates and through seas congeled that neuer dissolue where the stiffnes of the colde maketh the ayre palpably grosse without certainty that the landes are disioyned All which impediments if they were not yet in that part of the world Nauigation cannot be performed as ordenarily it is vsed for no ordenarie sea chart can describe those regions either in the partes Geographicall or Hydrographicall where the Meridians doe so spedily gather themselues togeather the parallells beeing a verye small proportion to a great circle where quicke and vncertayne variation of the Compasse may greatly hinder or vtterly ouerthrow the attempt So that for lacke of Curious lyned globes to the right vse of Nauigation with many other instruments either vnknowne or out of vse and yet of necessitie for that voyage it should with great difficultie be attayned All which the premises considered I refer the conclusion of these obiections and certainty of this passage to the generall opinion of my louing countrymen whose dangerous attemptes in those desperate vncertainties I wish to be altred and better imployed in matters of great probabilitie To proue a passage by the Norwest without any land impedimentes to hinder the same by aucthoritie of writters and experience of trauellers contrary to the former obiections HOmer an Ancient writer affirmeth that the world being deuided into Asia Africa and Europa is an Iland which is likewise so reported by Strabo in his first book of Cosmographie Pomponius Mela in his third booke Higinius Solinus with others Wherby it is manifest that America was then vndiscouered and to them vnknowne otherwise they would haue made relation of it as of the rest neither could they in reason haue reported Asia Africa and Europa to bee an Iland vnles they had knowne the same to be conioyned and in all his partes to be inuironed with the seas And further America being very neere of equall quantitie with all the rest could not be reported as a parte either of Africa Asia or Europa in the ordenarie lymites of discretion And therefore of necessitie it must be concluded that Asia Africa and Europa the first reueiled world being knowne to bee an Iland America must likewise be in the same nature because in no parte it conioyneth with the first By experience of Trauellers to proue this passage ANd that wee neede not to range after forrayne and ancient authorities whereat curious wittes may take many exceptions let vs consider the late discoueryes perfourmed within the space of two ages not yet passed whereby it shall so manifestly appeare that Asia Africa and Europa are knit togeather making one continent and are wholy inuironed with the seas as that no reasonnable creature shall haue occasion therof to doubt And first beginning at the north of Europe from the north cape in 71. degrees whereby our merchantes passe in their trade to S. Nicholas in Rouscia descending towardes the South the Nauigation is without impediment to the cape of Bona Esperanca ordenarilie traded and daily practised And therefore not to bee gaynesayd which two capes are distant more then 2000. leagues by the neerest tract in all which distances America is not founde to bee any thing neere the coastes either of Europe or Afric for from England the chefest of the partes of Europa to newfoundland being parte of America it is 600. leagues the neerest distance that any part therof beareth vnto Europa And from cape verde in Gynny being parte of Africa vnto cape Saint Augustine in brasill beeing parte of America it wanteth but little of 500. leagues the neerest distance betweene Africa and America Likewise from the sayd North cape to Noua zemla by the course of East and West neerest there is passable sayling and the North partes of Tartaria are well knowne to be handed with the scithian seas to the promontory Tabin so that truely it is apparant that America is farre remoued and by a great sea diuided from any parte of Africa or Europa And for the Southerne partes of the firste reueiled worlde it is most manifest that from the cape of Bona Esperanca towardes the east the costes of Safalla Mosombique melinda Arabia and Persia whose gulfes lye open to the mayne occian And all the coastes of East India to the capes of Callacut and Malacca are banded with a mightie sea vpon the South whose lymattes are yet vndiscouered And from the Cape of Malacca towardes the North so high as the Ile of Iapan and from thence the cost of China being part of Asia continueth still North to the promontory Tabin where the Scithian sea and this Indian sea haue recourse togeather no part of America being nere the same by many 100 leages to hinder this passage For from the Callafornia being parte of America to the yles of Phillippina bordering vpon the coastes of China being parte of Asia is 2100. leages and therefore America is farther seperated from Asia then from any the sea coastes either of Europe or Africa Wherby it is most manifest that Asia Africa and Europa are conioyned in an Iland And therefore of necessity followeth that America is cōtained vnder one or many ylāds for from the septentrionall lat of 75. deg vnto the straights of Magilan it is known to be nauigable hath our west occian to lymet the borders therof and through the straightes of Magillane no man doubteth but that there is Nauigable passage from which straightes vpon all the Westerne borders of America the costs of Chili Chuli Rocha Baldiuia Peru to the ystmos of Dariena and so the whole West shores of Noua Hispania are banded out by a long and mightie sea not hauing any shore neere vnto it by one thousand leagues towardes the West howe then may it be possible that Asia and America should make one contenent To proue the premisses by the attemptes of our owne Countrymen besides others BUt least it should bee obiected that the premises are conceites the acting aucthors not nominated I will vse some boldnes to recyte our owne countrymen by whose paynefull trauells these truthes are made manifest vnto vs. Hoping and intreting that it may not bee offensiue though in this sorte I make relation of their actions And firste to begin with the North partes of Europe it is not vnknowne to all our countrymen that from the famous citie of London Syr Huge Willobie knight gaue the first attempt for the North estren discoueries which were afterward most notably accomplished by master Borrowes a Pylot of excellent iudgemente and fortunate in his actions so farre as Golgoua vayga●s and Noua Zemla with trade thereby procured to S. Nicholas in Rouscia Then succeded master Ginkinson who by his land trauell discouered the Scithian sea to lymit the North coastes of Tartaria so farre as the riue● ob S● that by our Countrymen the North partes of Europe are at full made knowne vnto vs and prooued to ioyne with no other continent to hinder this passage The common