The first falsehood is, that the admiral went to Lisbon to learn cosmography from a brother of his own who was settled in that place. This is utterly contrary to the truth; since he lived in that city before the arrival of his brother, and taught his brother what he knew instead of learning from him. The second falsehood is, that their Catholic majesties Ferdinand and Isabella accepted his proposal at his first coming to Castile, after it had been seven years bandied about and rejected by all men. The third, that he set out upon his discovery with two ships; whereas the truth is, that he had three caravels in his first voyage. The fourth, that his first discovery was Hispaniola; whereas the first land he came to was Guanahani, which he named St Salvador, or St Saviour. The fifth, that the island of Hispaniola was inhabited by cannibals; while the truth is, that its inhabitants were the best and most civilized people in all those parts. The sixth, that he took the canoe or Indian boat which he first saw by force of arms; whereas it is certain that he had no hostilities in the first voyage with any of the Indians, and continued in peace and amity with them until his departure from Hispaniola. The seventh, that he returned by way of the Canary Islands, which is by no means the proper route. The eighth, that he dispatched a messenger from the Canaries to their Catholic majesties; whereas it is certain he was not at these islands on his return, and that he was his own messenger. The ninth, that he went with twelve ships on his second voyage, while he actually had seventeen. The tenth, that he arrived at Hispaniola in twenty days, which is too short a time to reach the nearest islands; and he certainly did not perform the second voyage in two months, and besides went to other islands much farther distant before going to Hispaniola. The eleventh, that he immediately afterwards went from Hispaniola with two ships, whereas he certainly went to Cuba with three vessels. The twelfth falsehood is, that Hispaniola is four hours (difference in longitude) distant from Spain; while the admiral reckoned it to be five. The thirteenth, to add one to the dozen, is that the western point of Cuba is six hours distant from Hispaniola; making a farther distance of longitude from Hispaniola to Cuba, than from Spain to Hispaniola.

By the foregoing examples of negligence, in inquiring into the truth of those particulars which are plain and easy to have been learnt, we may divine what inquiry he made into those which are obscure and in which he contradicts himself, as already proved. But, laying aside this fruitless controversy, I shall only add that, in consideration of the many falsehoods in the Chronicle and Psalter of Justiniani, the senate of Genoa have imposed a penalty upon any person within their jurisdiction who shall read or keep those books, and have ordered that they shall be carefully sought after and destroyed.

To conclude this disquisition, I assert that the admiral, so far from being a person occupied with the vile employments of mechanics or handicraft trades, was a man of learning and experience, and entirely occupied in such studies and exercises as fitted him for and became the glory and renown of his most wonderful discoveries; and I shall close this chapter with an extract from a letter which he wrote to the nurse of Prince John of Castile. "I am not the first admiral of my family, let them give me what name they please. After all, that most prudent king David was first a shepherd, and was afterwards chosen king of Jerusalem; and I am a servant to the same Lord who raised him to so great dignity."

In his person the admiral was above the middle stature and well shaped, having rather a long visage, with somewhat full cheeks, yet neither fat nor lean. His complexion was very fair with delicately red cheeks, having fair hair in his youth, which became entirely grey at thirty years of age. He had a hawk nose, with fair eyes. In his eating and drinking, and in his dress, he was always temperate and modest. In his demeanour he was affable to strangers and kind and condescending to his domestics and dependents, yet with a becoming modesty and dignified gravity of manner, tempered with easy politeness. His regard for religion was so strict and sincere, even in keeping the prescribed fasts and reciting all the offices of the church, that he might have been supposed professed in one of the religious orders; and so great was his abhorrence to profane swearing that I never heard him use any other oath than by St Ferdinand; and even in the greatest passion, his only imprecation was "God take you." When about to write, his usual way of trying his pen was in these words, Jesu cum Maria sit nobis in via; and in so fair a character as might have sufficed to gain his bread by writing.

Passing over many particulars of his character, manners, and disposition, which will appear in the course of this history, I shall now only mention that, in his tender years he applied himself to such studies at Pavia as fitted him to understand cosmography, his favourite science; for which purpose he chiefly devoted himself to the study of geometry and astronomy, without which, it is impossible to make any proficiency in cosmography. And, because Ptolemy, in the preface to his cosmography, asserts that no person can be a good cosmographer without a thorough knowledge of drawing; he therefore learnt to draw, so as to be able to delineate not only the exact outlines of countries, but to express their cosmographical features, whether having plain surfaces or interspersed with hills and vallies.

Having laid a foundation in the before-mentioned sciences, he went to sea, and made several voyages both to the east and west3: But of these, and many other circumstances respecting his early years I have no perfect knowledge. I was so young at his death, that owing to filial respect, I had not the boldness to ask an account from him of the incidents of his youth, and besides I was not then interested in such inquiries. But some account of these things may be gleaned from his letters to their Catholic majesties, to whom he would not dare to write any thing but the truth. In one of these letters, written in the year 1501, he says,

"Most Serene Princes! I went to sea when very young, and have continued to the present day; and this art of navigation inclines those who follow it to be desirous of discovering the secrets of this world. It is now forty years4 that I have been sailing to all those parts of the world which are frequented at present; and I have conversed with many wise and learned men, both clergy and laity, Latins, Greeks, Indians and Moors, and of many other sects and nations. God has been favourable to my inclination, and has given me the spirit of understanding, so that I have become very skilful in navigation, with a competent knowledge in arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy, and both genius and skill to draw maps and charts of this world, with its cities, rivers, islands, and ports, all in their proper places and proportions. During my whole life, I have endeavoured to see and understand all books of cosmography, history, and philosophy; by which my understanding hath been enlightened so as to enable me to sail from Europe to the Indies, and God hath inclined me to put this design into execution. Filled with this desire I came to your highnesses; and after all who had heard an account of my proposed undertaking had rejected it with scorn and contempt as visionary and impracticable; in your highnesses alone I found judgment to believe in the practicability of my proposal, and constancy and spirit to put it into execution."