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National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
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| IIIF Color HighRes |
| The Book of Ser Marco Polo : vol.1 |
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Citation Information
'O
J
MARCO POLO Pi:oi,.
heart of the Empire, without acquiring a knowledge of the spoken language.—II. C. The other three languages seem highly probable. The fourth may have been Tibetan. But it is more likely that he counted separately two varieties of the same character (e.g. of the Arabic and Persian) as two " lettres de leur escriptures. "—H. Y. and H. C.
NOTE 2.—[Ramusio here adds : " Ad and cittá, detta Carazan," which, as we shall see, refers to the Yun-nan Province.]—H. C.
NOTE 3.—From the context no doubt Marco's employments were honourable and confidential ; but Commissioner would perhaps better express them than Ambassador in the modern sense. The word u dIii, which was probably in his mind, was applied to a large variety of classes employed on the commissions of Government, as we may see from a passage of Rashiduddin in D'Ohsson, which says that " there were always to be found in every city from one to two hundred Ilchis, who forced the citizens to furnish them with free quarters," etc., III. 404. (See also 485.)
CHAPTER XVI.
How MARK RETURNED FROM THE MISSION WHEREON HE HAD
BEEN SENT.
WHEN Mark returned from his ambassage he presented
himself before the Emperor, and after making his report
of the business with which he was charged, and its
successful accomplishment, he went on to give an
account in a pleasant and intelligent manner of all the
novelties and strange things that he had seen and
heard ; insomuch that the Emperor and all such as
heard his story were surprised, and said : " If this
young man live, he will assuredly come to be a person
of great worth and ability." And so from that time
forward he was always entitled MESSER MARCO POLO,
and thus we shall style him henceforth in this Book of
ours, as is but right.
Thereafter Messer Marco abode in the Kaan's employ-
ment some seventeen years, continually going and coming,
hither and thither, on the missions that were entrusted
to him by the Lord [and sometimes, with the permission
and authority of the Great Kaan, on his own private
affairs.] And, as he knew all the sovereign's ways,
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