ABSTRACT
THE voyage made by the Spaniards round the world in the space of three years is one of the greatest and most marvellous things which have been heard of in our times; and, although in many things we surpass the ancients, yet this expedition far excels every other that has been made up till now. The voyage was described very minutely by Peter Martyr, who belonged to the Council of the Indies of His Majesty the Emperor, and to whom was entrusted the duty of writing this history; and by him were examined all those who remained alive of that expedition, and who reached Seville in the year 152~. But, as it was sent to be printed in Rome, it was lost in the miserable sacking of that city ; and nothing is known even now as to where it is. And he who saw it, and read it, bears testimony to the same ; and, amongst other th~ngs worthy of recollection that the aforesaid Peter noted concerning the voyage, was this, that the Spaniards, having sailed about three years and one month, and the greater part of them, as is usual amongst seafaring men, having noted down the days of the months one by one, found, when they arrived in Spain, that they had lost a day, for the day on which they arrived at Seville, which was the 7th of September, was, by their reckoning, the 6th. And the aforesaid Peter having mentioned this peculiarity to a certain excellent and extraordinary man, who was at that
timeambassadorforhisRepublictoHisMajesty;and, havingaskedhimhowitcouldbe,he,whowasagreat philosopherandlearnedinGreekandLatinliterature,so thatforhissingularlearningandrareexcellence,hewas afterwardspromotedtomuchhigherrank,gavethisexplanation:Thatitcouldnothavefallenoutotherwise,as theyhadtravelledforthreeyearscontinuouslyandalways accompaniedthesun,whichwasgoingwestward.Andhe toldhimbesides,thatthosewhosailedduewestwardstowardsthesun,lengthentheirdayverymuch,astheancients alsohadnoticed.Now,thebookoftheaforesaidPeter havingdisappeared,Fortunehasnotallowedthememory ofsomarvellousanenterprisetobeentirelylost,inasmuch asacertainnoblegentlemanofVicenzacalledMesser AntonioPigafetta(who,havinggoneonthevoyageand returnedintheshipVittoria,wasmadeaKnightofRhodes), wroteaveryexactandfullaccountofitinabook,onecopy ofwhichhepresentedtoHisMajestytheEmperor,and anotherhesenttothemostSereneMotherofthemost ChristianKing,theLadyRegent.SheentrustedtoanexcellentParisianphilosophercalledJacomoFabre,whohad studiedinItaly,theworkoftranslatingitintoFrench.1 Thisworthyperson,Isupposetosavehimselftrouble,made onlyasummaryofit,leavingoutwhatseemedfittohim; andthiswasprinted,veryincorrectly,inFrance,andhas nowcomeintoourhands;andalongwithitaletterfrom onecalledMaximilianusofTransylvania,asecretaryofHis MajestytheEmperor,tothemostReverendCardinalof Salzburg..Andthiswehavewishedtoaddtothisvolume oftravels,asoneofthegreatestandmostremarkablethat therehaseverbeen,andoneatwhichthosegreatphilosophersofold,hearingofit,wouldhavebeenstupifiedand besidethemselves.AndthecityofVicenzamaywellboast, amongtheothercitiesofItaly,thatinadditiontoitsnobility
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and high qualities; in addition to its many rare and excellent geniuses, both in letters and arms, there has been a gentleman of such courage as the aforesaid Messer Antonio Pigafetta, who has circumnavigated the whole globe, and has described it so exactly. There is no doubt that the ancients would have erected a statue of marble to him, and would have placed it in an honourable position, as a memorial and example to posterity of his great worth, and in acknowledgment of so stupendous an enterprise. But if, in this letter or in the sum mary, there be seen any discrepancy of names or things, let no one be astonished ; for the bent of men's minds is various, and one notices one thing and one another, just as the things appear most deserving of attention. Let it suffice if, in the principal things they agree, and many parts which are left out in one can be read at length in the other. Fabulous stories, too, are noted for what they are. This may be safely affirmed by anyone, that the ancients never had such a knowledge of the world, which the sun goes round and examines every twenty-four hours, as we have at present, through the industry of the men of these our times.
