I ESTEEM myself highly honoured in
being permitted to dedicate and present
the Life of to
Your Majesty. It was owing to Your
Majesty's Royal patronage and bounty, that this illustrious Navigator was enabled to execute those vast undertakings, and to make those extraordinary discoveries, which have contributed so much to the reputation of the British empire , and have reflected such peculiar glory on Your Majesty's reign. Without Your Majesty's munificence and encouragement, the world would have remained destitute of that immense light which has been thrown on geography, navigation, and the most important sciences. To Your Majesty, therefore, a Narrative of a the Life and Actions of Captain Cook is with particular propriety addressed.
It is impossible, on this occasion, to
avoid extending my thoughts to the
other noble instances in which Your
Majesty's liberal protection of science
and literature has been displayed. Your
Majesty began Your reign in a career so
glorious to princes : and wonderful has
been the increase of knowledge and taste
in this country. The improvements in
philosophical science, and particularly
in astronomy; the exertions of experimental
and chemical enquiry, the advancement
of natural history, the progress
and perfection of the polite arts , and
the valuable compositions that have been
produced in every department of learning, have corresponded with Your Majesty's gracious wishes and encouragement, and have rendered the name of Britain famous in every quarter of the globe. If there be any persons who, in these respects, would depreciate the present times, in comparison with those which have preceded them , it may falsely be asserted that such persons have not duly attended to the history of literature. The course of my studies has enabled me to speak with some confidence on the subject; and to say, that Your Majesty's reign is eminently distinguished by one of the greatest glories that can belong to a monarch.
Knowledge and virtue constitute the
chief happiness of a nation : and it is
devoutly to be wished that the virtue
of this country were equal to its knowledge. If it be not so, this does not arise from the want of an illustrious example in the person of Your Majesty , and that of Your Royal Confort??. The pattern which is set by the King and Queen of Great Britain, of those qualities which are the truest ornaments and felicities of life, affords a strong incitement to the imitation of the same excellencies; and cannot fail of contributing to the more a extensive prevalence of that moral conduct on which the welfare of society so greatly depends.
That Your Majesty may possess every
felicity in Your Royal Person
and Family, and enjoy a long and prosperous reign, over an enlightened , a free , and a happy people, is the sincere and ardent prayer of
SIR,
YOUR MAJESTY'S MOST FAITHFUL, AND MOST OBEDIENT, SUBJECT AND SERVANT,
Crown Street, Westminster, June 13, 1788