ButtheEgyptiankings，beingmastersoftheIsleofCyprus，ofPhoenicia，andofagreatnumberoftownsonthecoastofAsiaMinor，werepossessedofallsortsofconveniencesforundertakingmaritimeexpeditions。Theyhadnooccasiontoforce；theyhadonlytofollowthegeniusandbentoftheirsubjects。
Iamsurprised，Iconfess，attheobstinacywithwhichtheancientsbelievedthattheCaspianSeawasapartoftheocean。TheexpeditionsofAlexander，ofthekingsofSyria，oftheParthiansandtheRomans，couldnotmakethemchangetheirsentiments；notwithstandingthesenationsdescribedtheCaspianSeawithwonderfulexactness：butmenaregenerallytenaciousoftheirerrors。Whenonlythesouthofthisseawasknown，itwasatfirsttakenfortheocean；inproportionastheyadvancedalongthebanksofthenortherncoast，insteadofimaginingitagreatlake，theystillbelievedittobetheocean，thatheremadeasortofbay：surveyingthecoast，theirdiscoveriesneverwenteastwardbeyondtheJaxartes，norwestwardfartherthantheextremityofAlbania。
Theseatowardsthenorthwasshallow，andofcourseveryunfitfornavigation。[55]Henceitwasthattheyalwayslookeduponthisastheocean。
ThelandarmyofAlexanderhadbeenintheeastonlyasfarastheHypanis，whichisthelastofthoseriversthatfallintotheIndus：
thusthefirsttradewhichtheGreekscarriedonwiththeIndieswasconfinedtoaverysmallpartofthecountry。SeleucusNicatorpenetratedasfarastheGanges，andtherebydiscoveredtheseaintowhichthisriverfalls，thatistosay，theBayofBengal。[56]Themodernsdiscovercountriesbyvoyagesatsea；theancientsdiscoveredseasbyconquestsatland。