T H E D R E A M

"I perceive," he said, "that you are even now gazing upon the seat and home of men. If it seems small to you—as it truly is—then you should always look upon these heavenly realms and despise those human things. For what fame can you achieve through the speech of men, or what glory is worth seeking? You see that the Earth is inhabited in rare and narrow places, and that between these very 'spots' where people dwell, vast wildernesses are scattered. And those who inhabit the Earth are not only so separated that nothing can flow between them from one group to another, but they stand relative to you partly slantwise original: "obliquos"; this refers to people living in the same hemisphere but at a different latitude, partly transverse transverse original: "transuersos"; this refers to people living in the other hemisphere but at the same latitude, and partly even directly opposite original: "aduersos"; these are the "Antipodes," people living on the exact opposite side of the globe. From these people, you can certainly expect no glory.

You see, moreover, that this same Earth is wreathed and surrounded by certain 'girdles' original: "cingulis"; these are the five climate zones (Arctic, Antarctic, Torrid, and two Temperate zones) described in ancient geography. Of these, you see that two—which are most distant from each other and supported on either side by the poles of the heavens—are frozen with frost; however, that middle and largest one is scorched by the heat of the sun. Two zones are habitable. Of these, the southern one—where those who dwell there plant their feet opposite yours Referring to the inhabitants of the Southern Hemisphere—has nothing to do with your race.

Now, as for this other zone lying to the north where you dwell: see how small a portion of it belongs to you. For all the land inhabited by you—narrow at the poles and wider at the sides—is a small sort of island surrounded by that sea which you on Earth call the Atlantic, the Great Sea, or the Ocean. Yet you see how small it is, despite such a grand name. From these very lands that are known and cultivated, has your name, or that of any of us, been able to cross this Caucasus Mountains which you see, or swim across that river Ganges? Who in the remaining parts of the East, or the farthest reaches of the setting sun, or the regions of the North or South, will ever hear your name? With these regions cut away, you surely see in what narrow straits your glory seeks to spread itself. Even those who do speak of us, how long will they continue to do so? Furthermore, even if the [future] offspring...