of the Argonauts is seriously and not jocosely reputed to have been carried up to heaven; and yet, what did it accomplish? If we reflect a little, it left the town of Argos to go through the Euxine to Etes and Medea; what its crew of heroes did,-Hercules, Theseus, and Jason,nobody knows; nor is anybody able to state precisely what the famous golden fleece was. Children in the primary schools learn the distance that separates Greece from the Euxine; it is less that the finger nail of a giant.

Let us now try to explain how the Spaniards have completed the circuit of the globe, for the fact is difficult to believe. There is, however, one proof: let Your Holiness have a terrestrial sphere marked with the different continents brought. Starting from the Pillars of Hercules, otherwise called the Strait of Gibraltar, and bending to the left, the Fortunate Isles, vulgarly called the Canaries, will first be encountered. Continuing directly south between these islands and the African coast, several islands belonging to the Portuguese and called by them the Archipelago and Cape Verde Islands are found; these are the Medusean Gorgades of the Latins. Let us now give our closest attention, for it is just here that our astonishment awakens. To the left of these western islands the Portuguese passed the equatorial line, crossing the Tropic of Capricorn, and advanced to the extreme point of the Mountains of the Moon; this point is called by them the Cape of Good Hope. Between the equator and this cape some reckon twenty-four, others twenty-two degrees. After doubling this promontory they sailed to the east, passing the entrance to the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, across the mouths of the Indus and Ganges to the Golden Chersonesus, to which they gave the name of Malacca. At this point one half of the terrestrial globe has been encircled, and, of the twenty-four hours which, according to the calculations of cosmographers, the sun takes to complete its circuit, twelve are gone. Let us now measure the

remaining half; and for that purpose we must return to the Gorgades Islands. Leaving this archipelago on the left, our fleet of five ships took the opposite direction from that followed by the Portuguese ships. Out beyond the land we call our continent and whose extremity belongs to the Portuguese, advancing as we have already described more than fifty degrees towards the antarctic pole,-I do not give the precise figures, for the calculations differ somewhat, the Spaniards sailing west, as the Portuguese had sailed east, arrived east of the Moluccas, which lie not far from the country where Ptolemy placed Gatigara and the great gulf, the gateway to China. What shall I say of the great gulf and Gatigara? The Spaniards claim they did not find them where Ptolemy placed them; but I do not insist on this point, for perhaps I shall speak later more fully concerning it.

Let us return to the tour of the world. We have here, therefore, another route leading to the Golden Chersonesus and just opposite to that discovered by the Portuguese. The Victoria, that Queen of Argonauts, returned by the first route, passing in view of the Golden Chersonesus and following the track of the Portuguese. When she arrived at the Cape Verde Islands she was destitute of everything. A boat, manned by thirteen men, was sent to ask the Portuguese for fresh water and provisions, offering to pay for them; but the officials who imagined their right eyes plucked out if any other than their own prince gets a little revenue out of spices, seized the barque and detained the crew. This was a violation of the treaty concluded when the world was divided by Pope Alexander VI. The royal officers of the Archipelago even sought to capture the ship, which would have been easy enough, had not the Spaniards, suspecting the arrest of their companions, raised anchor and fled, before the Portuguese could take them, leaving their thirteen companions in the hands of the enemy.

Out of sixty who had embarked at the Moluccas, there only remained thirty-one. Let us acknowledge that the King of Portugal later ordered the release of the thirteen prisoners.

My narrative would be indeed a long one, were I to describe the dangers they courted: the famine, the thirst, long watches, and extreme fatigue they suffered, pumping night and day the water that poured through great holes in the ship. It may suffice to recall that this ship was more full of holes than the best sieve, and these eighteen men more fatigued than the most exhausted horses. They claim to have sailed fourteen thousand leagues, from one point to another. The circumference of the globe, however, is less that eight thousand leagues; but they were ignorant of any more direct course or other track to those desired islands than that followed by the Portuguese.

It is planned to profit by an undertaking so well begun. What will finally be decided, what treaty may be signed with the Portuguese, who claim to have been seriously injured by this voyage, I shall later make known to you. The Portuguese affirm that the Moluccas lie within the limits assigned to them by the division made by Pope Alexander VI., between the kings of Castile and Portugal, and they point out that villages, districts, and farms carry their produce to the markets of the Moluccas, Calicut, and Cochin, and that everywhere peasants bring to the towns and fortresses, whatever they produce and cultivate. We claim, on the contrary, that the Moluccas were usurped by the Portuguese, since they lie outside the line drawn from pole to pole separating the east from the west. You understand, morcover, this question perfectly well, since it has been more than once discussed in your presence.

It only remains for me to mention a fact which will astonish my readers, especially those who suppose they

have a perfect knowledge of celestial phenomena. When the Victoria reached the Cape Verde islands, the sailors believed the day to be Wednesday, whereas it was Thursday. They had consequently lost one day on their voyage, and during their three years' absence. I said: "Your priests must have deceived you, since they have forgotten this day in their ceremonies and the recitation of their office." They answered: "Of what are you thinking? Do you suppose that all of us, including wise and experienced men, could have made such a mistake? It often happens that an exact account is kept of the days and months, and moreover many of the men had office books and knew perfectly what had to be recited each day. There could be no mistake, especially about the office of the Blessed Virgin, at whose feet we prostrate ourselves each moment, imploring her assistance. Many passed their time reciting her office and that of the dead. You must, therefore, look elsewhere for an explanation, for it is certain that we have lost one day."

Some gave one reason and some another, but all agreed upon one point, they had lost a day. I added: "My friends, remember that the year following your departure, that is to say, the year 1520, was a bissextile year, and this fact may have led you into error." They affirmed that they had taken account of the twenty-nine days in the month of February in that year, which is usually shorter, and that they did not forget the bissextile of the calends of March of the same year. The eighteen men who returned from the expedition are mostly ignorant, but when questioned, one after another, they did not vary in their replies.

I

Much surprised by this agreement, I sought Gaspar Contarino, ambassador of the illustrious republic of Venice at the court of the Emperor. He is a great sage 'A learned Venetian, afterwards created Cardinal by Paul II. He died in 1552.

in many subjects. We discussed in many ways this hitherto unobserved fact, and we decided that perhaps the cause was as follows. The Spanish fleet, leaving the Gorgades Islands, proceeded straight to the west, that is to say, it followed the sun, and each day was a little longer than the preceding, according to the distance covered. Consequently, when the tour of the world was finished,-which the sun makes in twenty-four hours from its rising to its setting, the ship had gained an entire day; that is to say, one less than those who remain all that time in the same place. Had a Portuguese fleet, sailing towards the east, continued in the same direction, following the same route first discovered, it is positive that when it got back to the Gorgades it would have lost a little time each day, in making the circuit of the world; it would consequently have to count one day more. If on the same day a Spanish fleet and a Portuguese fleet left the Gorgades, each in the opposite direction, that is to say one towards the west and the other towards the east, and at the end of the same period and by different routes they arrived at the Gorgades, let us suppose on a Thursday, the Spaniards who would have gained an entire day would call it Wednesday, and the Portuguese, who would have lost a day would declare it to be Friday. Philosophers may discuss the matter with more profound arguments, but for the moment I give my opinion and nothing more.

I have said enough about the tour of the world, the spice islands, the lost day, and the newly discovered countries. I now return to the country of Temistitan and I will sum it up as succinctly as possible, for this heavy labour wearies me. Old age creeps on and Your Holiness has already almost seen me fall into its rapacious clutches. With rapid flight it seeks to push me into the destroying arms of its decrepit sister; and yet I would have wished to pass more slowly through the paths of this grove.'

ac si per hujus lucis semitas placidius esset deambulandum.