The Copy Book

Columbus

Arthur Clough marvels at the vision of a man who could cross the Atlantic without knowing there was a farther shore.

Part 1 of 2

written 1852
In the Time of

Queen Victoria 1837-1901

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Columbus

By Jose Maria Obregon (1832–1902), via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain. Source

‘The Inspiration of Christopher Columbus’ by Jose Maria Obregon, 1856.

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‘The Inspiration of Columbus’ by Jose Maria Obregon (1832–1902). What impressed Clough was not so much the daring adventure itself as this, the astonishing vision of a man willing to attempt a voyage when there was no certainty of finding anything, no idea of how far or how long to sail before turning back. Arguably, others discovered more, and they were certainly more correct in their understanding of what they found; but theirs what not such a leap in the dark, a voyage into the unknown.

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‘The Inspiration of Christopher Columbus’ by Jose Maria Obregon, 1856.

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By Jose Maria Obregon (1832–1902), via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

‘The Inspiration of Columbus’ by Jose Maria Obregon (1832–1902). What impressed Clough was not so much the daring adventure itself as this, the astonishing vision of a man willing to attempt a voyage when there was no certainty of finding anything, no idea of how far or how long to sail before turning back. Arguably, others discovered more, and they were certainly more correct in their understanding of what they found; but theirs what not such a leap in the dark, a voyage into the unknown.

Introduction

In August 1492, Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) of Genoa set out across the Atlantic in ships provided to him by Queen Isabella I and King Ferdinand II of Spain, reaching the Bahamas the following October. Europeans of his day had only the unproven theory of a round globe to guide them, and nearly four hundred years later Arthur Clough was still in awe of Columbus’s daring.

How in God’s name did Columbus get over
Is a pure wonder to me, I protest,
Cabot,* and Raleigh too,* that well-read rover,
Frobisher,* Dampier,* Drake,* and the rest.
Bad enough all the same,
For them that after came,
But, in great Heaven’s name,
How he should ever think
That on the other brink
Of this wild waste terra firma should be,
Is a pure wonder, I must say, to me.

How a man ever should hope to get thither,
E’en if he knew that there was another side;
But to suppose he should come any whither,
Sailing straight on into chaos untried,
In spite of the motion
Across the whole ocean,
To stick to the notion
That in some nook or bend
Of a sea without end
He should find North and South America,*
Was a pure madness, indeed I must say, to me.

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* John Cabot was an Italian adventurer who in 1497 reached the New World (somewhere in modern Canada) and claimed it for his backer, King Henry VIII of England. See The Voyage of John Cabot.

* Sir Walter Raleigh (1554-1618) was a courtier and explorer who backed explorations of the New World, made (unsuccessful) attempts to colonise Roanoke Island, and led an expedition to modern-day Guiana in search of the fabled El Dorado. See posts tagged Sir Walter Raleigh.

* In 1576, Sir Martin Frobisher (1539-1594) led an expedition in search of the Northwest Passage to Asia, reaching Baffin Island. Two further attempts in 1577 and 1578 ended in failure. He played an especially distinguished role in the English defence against the Spanish Armada in 1588.

* William Dampier (1539-1594) explored the coasts of Australia, and was the first man to circumnavigate the globe three times. See Everyone Has His Part, in which he recorded some of his favourable impressions of the Aboriginal peoples.

* Sir Francis Drake (?1542-1596) was a privateer and explorer who in 1577-80 became the first man to lead one ship (the Golden Hinde) in a complete circumnavigation of the globe. During the journey, he sailed English ships into the Pacific for the first time, and visited what is now California (which he claimed for England). See The Voyage of the ‘Golden Hinde’. He spent much of his career harassing the Spanish in the Caribbean, and was a towering figure in the defence of England against the Spanish Armada in 1588. See The Spanish Armada

* What Columbus found on his first adventure was the Caribbean islands, including the Bahamas, Hispaniola and Haiti. Columbus was under the impression that he had landed in Asia; it fell to Florentine explorer Amerigo Vespucci in 1497-1504, acting on behalf of Spain and then Portugal, to show that Columbus had in fact discovered a previously unknown continent — to which he then gave his name, America. North America was the portion of John Cabot, who was backed by Henry VIII and claimed his discoveries in the name of the English King. But the Vikings had got there long before any of them: see Vinland

Précis

Victorian poet Arthur Clough shared in verse his amazement at the audacity of Christopher Columbus. Others, including several Englishmen, had crossed the Atlantic early in the days of exploration, but only Columbus had done so at a time when nobody knew when or if landfall would be made. It was, said Clough, a kind of madness to try. (58 / 60 words)

Victorian poet Arthur Clough shared in verse his amazement at the audacity of Christopher Columbus. Others, including several Englishmen, had crossed the Atlantic early in the days of exploration, but only Columbus had done so at a time when nobody knew when or if landfall would be made. It was, said Clough, a kind of madness to try.

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Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: despite, may, not, otherwise, ought, whereas, whether, who.

Word Games

Sevens Based on this passage

Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.

Why did Clough mention Drake and Raleigh?

Suggestion

Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.

Jigsaws Based on this passage

Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.

Many have crossed the Atlantic. Everyone else knew America was there. Columbus didn’t.

Variation: Try rewriting your sentence so that it uses one or more of these words: 1. Across 2. Except 3. Unique

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