Page:Ta Tsing Leu Lee; Being, The Fundamental Laws, and a Selections from the Supplementary Statutes, of the Penal Code of China.djvu/6

Rh econded in the Wet, by the fortunate era of the retoration of letters, and of the introduction of the mot important of the improvements in navigation in modern Europe.

As a new pirit of curioity and enterprize had been thus excited, and means apparently adequate to its complete gratification dicovered, it might naturally be uppoed that one of the firt objects would have been that of taking advantage of the additional facilities which eemed to have been afforded for a communication with the Chinee empire; that the early accounts, however vague and imperfect, which had been given by caual travellers, of its extent, magnificence, and political importance, would have oon led, in the ordinary coure of events, to an intimate acquaintance and a regularly etablihed intercoure with that remote and recently dicovered, but, at the ame time, highly intereting portion of the civilized world.

At the end, however, of everal centuries, thee expectations are till but very imperfectly realized. This Great Empire, too well aured of the competency of its own natural and artificial reources, to be induced to eek, and, if not too powerful, at least too ditant and compactly united, to be liable to be compelled to enter into alliances and cloe connections with the Powers of Europe, has never as yet, except in a precarious and limited degree, admitted of any species of intercoure with them. It continues to this day wholly regardles and independent of thoe nations of the Wet, whoe general uperiority in policy and in arms has triumphantly extended their power and influence over almot every other exiting ociety of mankind.

A coniderable portion of the intercoure which actually ubits between China and the Nations of Europe owes its origin, as is well known, to the influence of religious motives; and was etablihed under rather favourable aupices, by the indefatigable zeal and appropriate talents of the early miionaries of the Catholic church. Thee eccleiatics, having been for the mot part of the Society of Jeus, Rh