Their intercourse with Japan
has already been noticed.
From these results of the grand project formed by Prince Henry, and carried
on by men animated by his spirit, (results so important to geography and
commerce, and which mainly contributed to raise Europe to its present high
rank in knowledge, civilization, wealth, and power,) we must now turn to
the discovery of America, the second grand cause in the production of the
same effects.
For the discovery of the new world we are indebted to Columbus. This
celebrated person was extremely well qualified for enterprizes that
required a combination of foresight, comprehension, decision, perseverance,
and skill. From his earliest youth he had been accustomed to regard the sea
as his peculiar and hereditary element; for the family, from which he was
descended, had been navigators for many ages. And though, from all that is
known respecting them, this line of life had not been attended with much
success or emolument, yet Columbus's zeal was not thereby damped; and his
parents, still anxious that their son should pursue the same line which his
ancestors had done, strained every nerve to give him a suitable education.
He was accordingly taught geometry, astronomy, geography, and drawing. As
soon as his time of life and his education qualified him for the business
he had chosen, he went to sea; he was then fourteen years old.
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