ans of the
merchants who traded from country to country, both by sea and on the
land. In fact, the knowledge which one country possessed of the
geography and the manners and customs of another, was almost wholly
confined to the reports which these merchants circulated. When
military expeditions invaded a territory, the commanders, or the
writers who accompanied them, often wrote descriptions of the scenes
which they witnessed in their campaigns, and described briefly the
countries through which they passed. These cases were, however,
comparatively rare; and yet, when they occurred, they furnished
accounts better authenticated, and more to be relied upon, and
expressed, moreover, in a more systematic and regular form, than the
reports of the merchants, though the information which was derived
from both these sources combined was very insufficient, and tended
to excite more curiosity than it gratified. Herodotus, therefore,
conceived that, in thoroughly exploring the countries on the shores
of the Mediterranean and in the interior of Asia, examining
their geographical position, inquiring into their history, their
institutions, their manners, customs, and laws, and writing the
results for the entertainment and instruction of his countrymen, he
had an ample field before him for the exercise of all his powers.

He went first to Egypt. Egypt had been until that time, closely shut
up from the rest of mankind by the jealousy and watchfulness of the
government. But now, on account of some recent political changes,
which will be hereafter more particularly alluded to, the way was
opened for travelers from other countries to come in. Herodotus was
the first to avail himself of this opportunity. He spent some time in
the country, and made himself minutely acquainted with its history,
its antiquities, its political and social condition at the time of his
visit, and with all the other points in respect to which he supposed
that his countrymen would wish to be informed. He took copious notes
of all that he saw. From Egypt he went westward into Libya, and thence
he traveled slowly along the whole southern shore of the Mediterranean
Sea as far as to the Straits of Gibraltar, noting, with great care,
every thing which presented itself to his own personal observation,
and availing himself of every possible source of information in
respect to all other points of importance for the object which he had
in view.

The Straits of Gibraltar w