ASIA. AS Asia exceeds Europe and Africa in the extent of its territe ries, it is also superior to them in the serenity of its air, the fertility of its soil, the deliciousness of its fruits, the fragrance and balsamic qualities of its plants, spices, and gums; the salubrity of its drugs; the quantity, variety, beauty, and value of its gems; the richness of its metals, and the fineness of its silks and cottons. It was in Asia, according to the sacred records, that the all-wise Creator planted the garden of Eden, in which he formed the first man and first woman, from whom the race of mankind has descended. Asia became again the pursery of the world after the deluge, whence the descendants of Noah dispersed their various colonies into all the other parts of the globe. It was in Asia that God placed his chosen people, the Hebrews, to whom, by the prophets, and other holy men, he gave the Oracles of Truth. It was here that the great and merciful work of our redemption was accomplished by the Son of God; and it was from hence that the light of his glorious gospel was carried with amazing rapidity into all the known nations, by his disciples and followers. Here the first Christian churches were founded, and the Christian faith miraculously propagated, and cherished, by the preaching of the gospel, and the blood of innumerable martyrs. It was in Asia that the first edifices were reared, and the first empires founded, while the other parts of the globe were inhabited only by wild animals, On these accounts, this quarter claims a superiority over the rest: but a great change has happened, especially in that part of it called Turkey, which has lost its ancient splendor, and from the most populous and best cultivated spot in Asia, is become almost a wild and uncultivated desert. Extent. This division of the earth extends from the Hellespont, the most westerly point, lon. 26 E. to East Cape, in about 190 degrees E. lon. from London, being 7583 miles in length. In breadth it is 5250 miles. Asia is limited, on the east, by a strait which divides it from America, and which, in honor of the discoverer, is called Behring's strait. The northern and southern boundaries are the Arctic and Indian oceans, in which last, many large islands, particularly that of New-Holland, now more classically and properly styled Australasia, affords a vast additional extent to this quarter of the globe. The western limits of Asia have already been defined. Divisions. Though Pinkerton's arrangement will be followed in the description of the different parts of Asia, it will be useful here to insert Hassel's table of divisions, though implicit confidence is not to be placed in their correctness. |