American Men of Action

"begged his way from court to court, to offer to
princes the discovery of a world." And here again was his true
greatness--that he did not despair, that his spirit remained unbroken
and his high heart still capable of hope.

Yet let us not idealize him too much. The eagerness to reach the Indies
was wholly because of the riches which they possessed. The spice trade
was especially coveted, and tradition told of golden cities of fabulous
wealth and beauty which lay in the country to the east. The great motive
behind all the early voyages was hope of gain, and Columbus had his full
share of it. Yet there grew up within him, in time, something more than
this--a love of the project for its own sake--though to the very last, a
little overbalanced, perhaps, by his great idea, he insisted upon the
rewards and honors which must be his in case of success.

With his route well-outlined and his plans carefully matured, Columbus
turned naturally to the King of Portugal, John II., as a man interested
in all nautical enterprise, and especially interested in finding a route
to the Indies. That crafty monarch listened to Columbus attentively and
was evidently impressed, for he took possession of the maps and plans
which Columbus had prepared, under pretense of examining them while
considering the project, placed them in the hands of one of his own
captains and dispatched him secretly to try the route. That captain,
whose name has been lost to history, must afterwards have been chagrined
enough at the manner in which he missed immortal fame, for, after
sailing a few days to the westward, he turned back and reported to his
royal master that the thing could not be done. His was not the heart
for such an enterprise.

Columbus, learning of the king's treachery, left the court in disgust,
and sending his brother, Bartholomew, to lay the plan before the King of
England, himself proceeded to Spain, whose rulers, Ferdinand and
Isabella, were perhaps the most enlightened of the age. Of Bartholomew's
adventu

John Addington Symonds (October 5, 1840 - April 19, 1893) was an English poet and literary critic. He was an early advocate of the validity of male love which included for him pederastic as well as egalitarian relationships, and which he would refer to as lamour de limpossible.

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