The Naming of America. 209' 



The oldest map containing engraved delineations of the 

 new countries was published at Eome in 1508. On this we 

 see the southern portion of our hemisphere which stretches 

 through more than fifty degrees of latitude and sixty of longi- 

 tude, inscribed, " Land of the Holy Cross, or New World." 

 No America was yet dreamed of. Says Roselly de Lorgues, 

 " The discovery having been made under the auspices of the 

 cross, and for the triumph of the cross, the new land was 

 usually designated on maps by the sign and name of the 

 cross. {Terra sanctae Grucis.") Nor yet was there any other 

 western continent in existence, according to the notions of the 

 Eoman mapmaker. His nearest land west of Cuba is Bengal. 

 North of it the nearest land is that explored by the Cabots, 

 which is mapped as a part of Asia, and conterminous with 

 Gog and Magog. This map (llixlG inches) was drawn by 

 Euysch, a German navigator, who is believed to have sailed 

 with Americus. 



It was forbidden to infringe its copyright or that of the 

 geography which contained it, on pain of excommunication, 

 but the price of the work was to be fixed by the Pope's 

 librarian. Such a defense of the public from booksellers, and 

 of authors from pirates is now, alas ! one of the Lost Arts. 



Humboldt arguing that Americus never knew that he had 

 discovered a continent, holds that the words Mundus Novus 

 (new world), in the fifteenth century, meant no more than any 

 region new found, no matter though of small extent. Ad-* 

 mitting the phrase to have been often thus used, it clearly 

 was not as to the case in hand. The title of the first German 

 edition (1505) of the third voyage of Americus is, " Concern- 

 ing a new found region which may well be named a world." 

 Von der neu gefundenen Region die wohl eine Welt genennt mag 

 iverden. Again the Mundus Novus on Raysch's Roman map 

 was well-nigh as extensive as we now know South America to 

 be, and larger than Europe. Bat this map appeared four 

 years before the death of Americus. Can we believe that he 



