Among the treasures of the library at Seville, there
is nothing more interesting than a copy of this work annotated by
Columbus himself: from this very copy it was that Columbus
obtained confirmation of his belief that the passage across the
ocean to Marco Polo's land of Zipango in Asia was short. But for
this error, based upon a text supposed to be inspired, it is
unlikely that Columbus could have secured the necessary support
for his voyage. It is a curious fact that this single
theological error thus promoted a series of voyages which
completely destroyed not only this but every other conception of
geography based upon the sacred writings.[37]
[37] For this error, so fruitful in discovery, see D'Ailly, Ymago
Mundi; the passage referred to is fol. 12 verso. For the passage
from Esdras, see chap. vi, verses 42, 47, 50, and 52; see also
Zockler, Geschichte der Beziehungen zwischen Theologie und
Naturweissenschaft, vol. i, p. 461. For one of the best recent
statements, see Ruge, Gesch. des Zeitalters der Entdeckungen,
Berlin, 1882, pp. 221 et seq. For a letter of Columbus
acknowledging his indebtedness to this mistake in Esdras, see
Navarrete, Viajes y Descubrimientos, Madrid, 1825, tome i, pp.
242, 264; also Humboldt, Hist. de la Geographie du Nouveau
Continent, vol. i, pp. 68, 69.
V. THE CHARACTER OF THE EARTH'S SURFACE.
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