527 



Ferdinand, " gold is a thing so much the more 

 necessary to your majesty, because, in order to 

 fulfil the ancient prediction, Jerusalem is to be 

 rebuilt by a prince of the Spanish monarchy. 

 Gold is the most excellent of metals. What 

 becomes of those precious stones, which are 

 sought for at the extremities of the globe ? They 

 are sold, and are finally converted into gold. 

 With gold we not only do whatever we please in 

 this world, but we can even employ it to snatch 

 souls from Purgatory, and to people Paradise." 

 These words, of such simple candour, bear the 

 stamp of the age in which Columbus lived ; but 

 we are surprised to see the most pompous eulo- 

 gium of riches written by a man, whose whole 

 life was marked by the most noble disinterest- 

 edness. 



The conquest of the province of Venezuela 

 having begun at it's western extremity, the 

 neighbouring mountains of Coro, Tocuyo, and 

 Barquisimeto, first attracted the attention of the 

 Conquistador es. These mountains join the Cor- 

 dilleras of New Grenada (those of Santa Fe, 

 Pamplona, La Grita ; and Merida) to the littoral 

 chain of Caraccas. It is a land so much the 

 more interesting to the geognost, as no map 

 has yet made known the mountainous ramifica- 



metallo sopra gli altri excellentissimo, e dell* oro si fanno 

 li tesori e chi lo tiene fa e opera quanto vuole nel mondo, e 

 finalraente aggionge a mandare le anime al Paradiso." 



