d for
96,000 pesos; so that the crown was paid, and the treasurer had a very
pretty fortune with which to begin the world a-new. Such were the arts and
intrigues of those men by whom the admiral Columbus was oppressed, and
such the dirty contrivances by which they supported each other. Yet these
things were done under the administration of King Ferdinand, who was
esteemed one of the wisest monarchs of his time; and matters were even
worse conducted under the emperor Charles V. though certainly the greatest
prince in every respect that ever sat on the throne of Spain.

The inference I would draw from all this is, that at all events, and under
all administrations, discoveries ought ever to be attempted and encouraged,
because they carry in themselves such incitements for their completion,
that they hardly ever fail to prove beneficial at the end, whatever
mistakes or mismanagements may occur at their commencement. Some ascribe
this to chance, and others, with more sense and decency, to Providence.
However this may be, great occasions are certain to bring forth great
spirits, if they do not produce them; and when once the way is laid open,
and a few instances have shewn that things are practicable that had been
thought impossible for ages, mighty things are performed. Emulation is a
noble principle, and one of the most valuable secrets in government is to
excite this; for every thing that finds favour from the great, or that
meets with popular encouragement, is almost always carried to a great
degree of perfection. When a spirit is once raised, even the most
disastrous reverses are not able to extinguish it. Thus the numbers of
Spaniards who perished in the first attempts to colonize the continent, by
shipwreck, famine, and disease; and the unfortunate catastrophes of Hojeda,
Nicuessa, and Cordova, had no effect to deter others from embarking in
similar enterprises. As all agreed that gold and pearls were to be
acquired in these parts; the thirst of gain in some, and the desire of
glory in others, soon overcame the terrors of such unfortunate examples,
and many attribute the miscarriage of those attempts to the imprudence or
misconduct of the commanders; and as slanders always find an easy belief,
so the imputations on the dead served to encourage the living, and men
were easily led to believe that their own superior abilities or their
better fortune would carry them through, where former adventurers had
failed.

There we