A Good Speed to Virginia 《順行維吉尼亞》

主題 Topic	Voyage and Exploration of England
書刊名 Title	A Good Speed to Virginia 《順行維吉尼亞》
作者 Author	Robert Gray
出版社 Publisher	London: Printed by Felix Kyngston for VVilliam Welbie
出版年 Year	1609
語言 Language	English
裝訂 Binding	□ 平裝 Paperback　　　　□ 精裝 Hardcover
頁數 Pages
ISBN (10 / 13)
Bibliography Reference	(STC, Duff, GW . . .)
來源網址 Web Link	http://name.umdl.umich.edu/A02059.0001.001
劇本簡介撰稿者	李祁芳、林柏豪
撰寫日期 Date	13 Dec. 2016

A.   簡介 Introduction (within 100 words, Chinese or English)

羅伯特‧格雷(Robert Gray)受維吉尼亞公司(Virginia Company)資助以撰寫關於美洲開發的利處及優點。為了吸引更多的投資人及股東跨洋西進至維吉尼亞，格雷寫了許多關於此地的人文風情，也說明了英格蘭政府如何在海外進行殖民。政治上，是為鞏固詹姆士國王(King James I)在美洲的政權；經濟上，則是為了要提升國家整體發展。對當時的海外探勘，格雷的著作著實有許多貢獻。  

B.   文本摘錄 Extracts (4-6 Pages)

The heauens saith Dauid, euen the heauens are the Lords, & so is the earth, but he hath giuen it to the children of men. Psa. 113. 16. Yet notwithstāding the fatherly prouidēce, & large bountie of God towards man, so improuident and irrespectiue is man, that he had rather liue like a drone, and féede vppon the fruites of other mens labors, wherunto God hath not entituled him, then looke out and flie abroad, like the Bée to gather the pleasures and riches of the earth, which God hath giuen him to enioy: whece vpon it comes to passe, that although the Lord hath giuen the earth to the children of men, yet this earth which is mans fee-simple by deede of gift frō God, is the greater part of it possessed & wrongfully vsurped by wild beasts, and vnreasonable creatures, or by brutish sauages, which by reason of their godles ignorance, & blasphemous Idolatrie, are worse then those beasts which are of most wilde & sauage nature. As Ahab therfore sometimes said to his seruants, 1. King. 22. 13. Know ye not that Ramoth Gilead was ours, and we stay & take it not out of the hands of the King of Aram? So may man say to himselfe: The earth was mine, God gaue it me, and my posteritie, by the name of the children of men, and yet I stay & take it not out of the hands of beasts, and brutish sauages, which haue no interest in it, because they participate rather of the nature of beasts then men.
The Christian part of the world did plainly bewray this improuident and irrespectiue neglect of Gods prouidence and bountie. When Christopher Columbusmade proffer to the Kings of England, Portugall, and Spaine, to inuest them with the most precious and richest veynes of the whole earth, neuer knowne before: but this offer was not onely reiected, but the man himself, who deserues euer to be renowned, was (of vs English especially) scorned & accoūted for an idle Nouellist. Some thinke it was because of his poore apparell, and simple lookes, but surely it is rather to be imputed to the improuidency & imprudencie of our Nation, which hath alwayes bred such diffidence in vs, that we cōceit no new report, bee it neuer so likely, nor beléeue any thing be it neuer so probable, before we sée the effects. This hath alwayes béene reported of the English, by those that haue obserued the nature of nations: Bodin. lib. 5. de Repub. cap. 1. reporteth, that the English were alwayes accounted more warlike, valorous, and couragious, then the French, but the French went alwayes beyond them in prudence, and pollicie. And to expresse the same, he vseth the words of Ennius. Bellipotentes sunt magis quam sapients potentes. And it may be that this might be reported of vs English, in those times when our Country was not pesteced with multitude, nor ouercharged with swarmes of people, for peace and plentie breed securitie in men: neither is it necessarie for anie man to beléeue reports, though probable, nor to follow strange proiects be they neuer so likely, so long as he hath home inbred hopes to relie vpon, and assured certainties to satisfie his future expectation.
In those dayes this Kingdome was not so populous as now it is, Ciuell warres at home, and forreine wars abroad, did cut off the ouer-spreading branches of our people. Our coūtry thē yéelded vnto all that were in it a surplussage of all necessities: it yeelded preferment in due correspondencie, for al degrees & sorts of men. The commons of our Country lay free and open for the poore Commons to inioy, for there was roome enough in the land for euery man, so that no mā néeded to encroch or inclose from another, whereby it is manifest, that in those dayes we had no great néed to follow strange reports, or to seeke wilde aduentures, for séeing we had not onely sufficiencie, but an ouerflowing measure proportioned to euerie man. Religion and pietie taught vs, that séeing our lot was fallen vnto vs in a faire ground, and that we had a goodly heritage, rather to be content with our own, then either politikèly or ambitiously to vndertake vncouth enterprises, vnto which necessitie did no way vrge vs.
But nowe God hath prospered vs with the blessings of the wombe, & with the blessings of the brests, the sword deuoureth not abroad, neither is there any feare in our streets at home; so that we are now for multitude as the thousand of Manasses, and as the ten thousads of Ephraim, the Prince of peace hath ioyned the wood of Israel and Iudah in one troe. And therefore we may iustly say, as the children of Israel say here to Ioshua, we are a great people, and the lande is too narrow for vs: so that whatsoeuer we haue béene, now it behooues vs to be both prudent and politicke, and not to deride and reiect good profers of profitable and gainefull expectation, but rather to imbrace euery occasion which hath any probabilitie in it of future hopes: And seeing there is neither preferment nor employment for all within the lists of our countrey, we might iustly be accounted as in former times, both impru∣dent and improuident, if we will yet sit with our armes foulded in our bosomes, and not rather séeke after such aduentures whereby the glory of God may be aduanced, the territories of our kingdome inlarged, our people both preferred and employed abroad, our wants supplyed at home, his Maiesties customes wonderfully augmented, and the honour and renown of our Nation spred and propagated to the ends of the world. Many examples might be produced to mooue vs hereunto, but because they were the practises of rude and barharous people, they are no exemplarie presidents for christians: but forasmuch as euery example approued in the scripture, is a precept, I thought good to handle this conference betwéene the tribe of Ioseph a family in the Israel of God, & Ioshua a faithfull and godly Prince ouer the whole commonwealth of Gods Israel: which to my séeming, is much like that plot which we haue now in hand for Virginia; for here the people of Ephraim and of the halfe tribe of Manasses, are a great people, and so are we: and by reason of the multitude of their people, the land is too narrow for them; and so stands our case, whereupon they repaire to haue his warrant and direction to inlarge their oers, and so haue many of our Noble men of honorable minds, worthy knights, rich marchants, & diuerse other of the best dispositiō, solicited our Ioshua, and mightie Monarch, that most religious & renowned King Iames, that by his Maiesties leaue, they might vndertake the plantation of Virginia. Lastly, as Ioshua not onely giues leaue, but also a blessing to the childrē of Ioseph in their enterprises, so hath our gratious Soueraigne granted his frée Charter to our people, for ye vndertaking of their intended enterprise and aduenture, so that from this example, there is both sufficient warrant for our King to graunt his chacter for the plantation of Virginia, and sufficient warrant also for our people to vndertake the same. And therefore for the better satisfying of some, and for the encoraging of all fortes of people concerning this proiect for Virginia, let vs more fully examine the particulars of this discourse betweene the children of Ioseph and Ioshua. First we gather from the text, that the cause why the children of Ioseph desired to inlarge their borders, was the multitude and greatnesse whereunto they were growne.