The only other subject which we would notice as con nected with this period of ancient geography, is the situa tion of the much disputed Thule. Pytheas, a navigator of Marseilles, who lived a short time before Alexander the Great, after having explored the cast, or as he thought the north-east coast of Britain, continued. his voyage, as he says, to the north, that is to the north-east, and after six days fell in with land which lie calls Thule or Thyle, and which lie states to be 46,300 stadialrom the equator. The situation of this place has Tong been a disputed point both with ancient and modern writers, and the difficulty arises from not knowing, in the first place, which of the ancient stadia is here meant, and secondly, what was the precise length of the stadium. The different kinds of stadia in use among the ancients, arc generally reduced, by mo dern geographers, to four, but the respective lengths of these have by no means been accurately determined. 'Without, however, entering into a detail of the various opinions which have been entertained on the subject, we shall merely state that of an eminent writer, which is per haps as accurate as any other. This author (M. Gosselin) supposes, that of the longest stadia 6664 were equal to one degree of the equator, of the second kind 700, of the third 8331, and of the fourth or Egyptian Applying these different measures successively to Pythcas's account, we shall have for the latitude of Thule 69° 27' ; 66° 8' ; 55° 34', and 41° 40'. Of these results the third appears to be the most probable, as it determines Thule to be on the west coast of Jutland, and as it is to Jutland only that Pa thcas's description can at all apply. He says, for example, that there the sea, the earth, and the air, seem to be con founded in one element; a description strikingly appli cable to the downs of Jutland, where the sand is frequently driven about with violent winds, and being scattered over the surface of the marshes, conceals from the unwary tra veller the gulf beneath. His account of the produce of the country is equally applicable ; and the whole is render ed more probable, from there being in Jutland, about a de gree farther north than the situation of Thule, as now de termined, a part of the coast still denominated Thy or Thy land, and in the ancient language of Scandinavia, Thiuland. Other arguments might be urged in favour of this opinion, notwithstanding the scepticism of Strabo, and other ancient geographers ; but more, perhaps, has already been said on the subject than is consistent with the nature of our plan. See Foucnit.
For some time after the commencement of the Christian era, the progress of geographical discovery was neither rapid nor very extensive. The Romans had by this time, indeed, subdued the greater part of the known world, and had consequently a great deal in their power with regard to the advancement of science. But their attention was di rected more to what they already knew,-than what they might still have to discover. They soon began to perceive that conquests were more easily made than retained, and that, by attempting to gain more, they might eventually lose what they already possessed. They had therefore no longer any inducement to extend their researches into fo reign countries for the purpose of conquest, scarcely even for military renown; and thus geography was deprived of the aid which it had formerly derived from a spirit of military adventure, and to which, more than any other circumstance, perhaps, it was indebted for its success. Nor had the Ro mans the same temptation as formerly to explore unknown regions, for the purpose of commerce. Asia continued long to supply them in abundance with every luxury which they could desire, through the ordinary channel; and while that supply kept pace with the demand, it was not to be ex pected that they would give themselves much trouble either about discovering new countries, or exploring new channels of communication with such as were already known to them. Add to all this, that geographical disco
very was approaching that point, when its farther extension could only be looked for in the event of some new and im portant improvement in the art of navigation, or some dis covery in those sciences on which it chiefly depends. But though these circumstances were sufficient to prevent the Romans from extending in any great degree the sphere of geographical knowledge, they were by no means inattentive to the cultivation of the science in general. The civil and military establishments which they were obliged to main tain in all the conquered provinces, and the security which trade enjoyed under a regular and efficient government, gave rise to a closer and more regular intercourse among all the countries which composed the empire, than had ever been known at any former period. Were we indeed to point out the limits of Roman geography, we should probably not include a much greater extent than has been already assigned to that of Strabo. But in point of accuracy and minute detail, the difference is considerably in favour of the former. They were well acquainted with all the coun tries on the Danube and the Vistula, nor was the Rha or \Volga unknown to them, though sometimes confounded with the 'canals or Don. Of the intermediate space, con taining Scythia, Sarrnatia, and Dacia, we have accounts from various Roman writers, though it is obvious that in many things they follow Ilerodotus. Their knowledge of the countries on the southern coasts of the Baltic, as well as Jutland, then called Cimbria Chersonesus, was tolera bly accurate with regard to situation and extent ; but the origin and names of the different nations were by no means well ascertained, and notwithstanding the labours of mo dern geographers and critics, they are still involved in dark ness and confusion. The Romans little thought, in the meridian of their glory, that they were ultimately to fall a sacrifice to the ravages of nations so barbarous as to be without the limits of the civilized world, and so rude as to be incapable of communicating to others any account of their own origin or early history. Of the countries to the north of the Baltic, the Romans knew comparatively little. The southern part of Sweden was denominated Scandia, and was considered as an island of unknown extent. It seems, indeed, to have been the general opinion, that the Baltic was part of the northern ocean, containing an archi pelago of large islands, and it may perhaps be inferred from this opinion, that their geographical knowledge, in this direction, (lid not extend beyond the large lakes in the south of Sweden, and the entrance of the gulf of Bothnia. Proceeding westward, the next country we meet with in the geography of the Romans is Britain, of which we have a very minute account, comprehending not only the main land of England and Scotland, but also Ireland, the Isle of Man,the Western Islandsond the Orkneys. Ptolemy speaks of Thule as situated to the north-east of Britain, by which lie has been understood as meaning one of the Shetland islands. It cannot, however, be inferred from this, that the Romans were really acquainted with these islands. Of Gaul and the other western countries of Europe, it is hard ly necessary to take any notice, the Roman accounts of these being familiar to every body.