The Book of Ser Marco Polo : vol.1 / Page 274 (Color Image)

0274	The Book of Ser Marco Polo : vol.1

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INTRODUCTION

nothing. He himself, whilst still somewhat burdened by the

authoritative dicta of " saints and sages " of past times, ven-

tures at least to criticise some of the latter, such as Pliny and

Ptolemy, and declares his intention to have recourse to the in-

formation of those who have travelled most extensively over the

Earth's surface. And judging from the good use he makes, in

his description of the northern parts of the world, of the Travels

of Rubruquis, whom he had known and questioned, besides dili-

gently studying his narrative,* We might have expected much in

Geography from this great man, had similar materials been

available to him for other parts of the earth. He did attempt a

map with mathematical determination of places, but it has not

been preserved.-

It may be said with general truth that the world-maps

current up to the end of the i 3th century had more analogy to

the mythical cosmography of the Hindus than to any thing

properly geographical. Both, no doubt, were originally based in

the main on real features. In the Hindu cosmography these

genuine features are symmetrised as in a kaleidoscope ; in the

European cartography they are squeezed together in a manner

that one can only compare to a pig in brawn. Here and there

some feature strangely compressed and distorted is just

recognisable. A splendid example of this kind of map is that

famous one at Hereford, executed about A.D. 1275, of which a

facsimile has lately been published, accompanied by a highly

meritorious illustrative Essay4

82. Among the Arabs many able men, from the early days

of Islam, took an interest in Geography, and devoted labour to

geographical compilations, in which they often made use of their

own observations, of the itineraries of travellers, and of other

fresh knowledge. But somehow or other their maps were always

far behind their books. Though they appear to have had an

early translation of Ptolemy, and elaborate Tables of Latitudes

and Longitudes form a prominent feature in many of their

geographical treatises, there appears to be no Arabic map in

* Opus Majus, Venice ed. pp. 142, seqq. t Peschel, p. 195. This had escaped me.

+ By the Rev. W. L. Bevan, M.A., and the Rev. H. W. Phillott, M.A. In

Asia, they point out, the only name showing any recognition of modern knowledge is Samarcand.

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