A portion of this influence was at first limited to the
Mediterranean and the shores of southwestern Africa, but from the sixteenth
century it has widely spread, extending to nations who live at a distance
from the sea, in the interior of continents. Since Columbus was sent to
"unchain the ocean"* (as the unknown voice whispered to him in a dream when
he lay on a sick-bed near
p 311
the River Belem), man has ever boldly ventured onward toward the discovery
of unknown regions.
[footnote] *The voice addressed him in these words, "Maravillosamente Dios
hizo sonar tu nombre en la tierra; de los atamientos de la mar Oceana, que
estaban cerrados con cadenas tan fuertes, te di?— las llaves" -- "God will
cause thy name to be wonderfully resounded through the earth, and give thee
the keys of the gates of the ocean, which are closed with strong chains."
The dream of Columbus is related in the letter to the Catholic monarchs of
July the 7th, 1503. (Humboldt, 'Examen Critique', t. iii., p. 234.)
The second external and general covering of our planet, the aerial ocean, in
the lower strata, and on the shoals of which we live, presents six classes
of natural phenomena, which manifest the most intimate connection with one
another. They are dependent on the chemical composition of the atmosphere,
the variations in its transparency, polarization, and color, its density or
pressure, its temperature and humidity, and its electricity.
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