Page:Ancient Accounts of India and China.djvu/20

 xvi PREFACE. not fuppofe it, and therein we have where- withal to commend his Sincerity : For it is to be obferved that of about five hun- dred and fifty Cities to be found in him, (for Copies vary as to the exact Number) he gives no one Pofition for exa£t, except that of Hamaoi Hamath. After this we may guefs what Ailiffcance we are to hope from this fo applauded Work, towards the Reformation of our Eafiern Geography; as alfo the Account we are to make of Po- iitions which vary fo many Degrees of Longitude from each other, and are not much better agreed as to Latitude.

The Decription of each Country at firiptromof t he Head of the Tables, is more valuable, trL mon to anc * ma Y ^ e °f f° me ^ e > particularly for be valued tracing out the Courfe of the great Rivers, the Ni/e, the Tigris, the Euphrates, Oxus, and a few others. The Accounts of the feveral Cities in thefe Tables, are very concife and exact enough ; they do not contain the Fables common in the other Arabian and Perfian Geographers, not ex- cepting Tacuti himfelf, fo often cited with Commendation, who tho' he divides his Work into Climates, does not oblige us with one Pofition. We ran If what has hitherto been faid concern* extras no- } n g tne little; Help we are to expect from thingthtre- Abu! f eda be tme as Joubtlefs it is I it IS from toil- n .* A J 'f-rM k r lufiratethe "dJ more certain That he can iupply us Geography with no Light as to China in particular; of China, to be perfectly fatisfied of this, we need no other Teftimony than his own; for thus