THE PRINCIPLE OF HOPE

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at the peak of a discovery, but above the abyss of the end of the world. A primary and constant accompanying factor in Columbus is, however, the belief in an Eden
that can be found, and that ultimately has been found; it now lay in a Christian realm. And from the riches which it would inevitably bring in the future, from the goldbearing
river of Pison which emerges into the surroundings of Paradise, a final crusade was to be equipped if the admiral had his way, and the earthly Jerusalem
conquered. After which Eden and Canaan, the tree of life and Mount Zion would have all been situated together on the summit of Christianity. The fact that Eden then
later only turned out to be the Antilles, that no white gods but criminals like Cortez and Pizarro then penetrated into the continent beyond, that the earthly paradise as a
whole is not a fact but a problem of hope and a latency: this does not rob the intention pursued by Columbus of its strength and dignity.
South land and the utopia of Thule
A simpler dream of navigation appears in a more corporeal form, the southern one. Like migratory birds, coming from the colder countries, it is directed towards the
sun. The east too was always simultaneously conceived in terms of the most favourable latitude, as much midday sun, much summer. And the further south it was, the
more unexpectedly Italian, Arabian lustre seemed to increase. The climatic torment of the tropics was well­known of course, but it did not have a deterrent effect;
because it was mitigated by distance or the brief astonished visit. It was not known, however, that the cold increases again in the southern hemisphere too. But this
remained undiscovered at least until Magellan had penetrated south into the vicinity of the stormily icy Cape Horn. Nevertheless, the inclination towards increasing
warmth and light, which is so deeply ingrained in human nature, persisted, that inclination towards a profane Eden so to speak, requiring no faith. And not even the
driving magical additive was wholly lacking: the seat of the source of life in general was presumed to lie in the south, which knows the early spring earlier and from
which the summer approaches. The direction in which an officer of Columbus himself, Ponce de LeÓn, sought this mythical source of life is instructive in this respect.
Namely not at the eastern point of an earthly paradise, but in the tropics as such, right where he was; and a Red Indian legend was enough for him to expect the waters
of eternal youth in Florida. As