In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

I' IV 'I Nicolo Scillacio N I COL 6 Scillacio too was a doctor, but his affinities with Chanca go no further than this shared profession. First and foremost, Scillacio, a Sicilian and doctor and teacher at the University of Pavia, never set foot in America. He did however visit Spain as a young man and was later in Barcelona where he studied a "novelty" of pathology, the so-called Gallic disease, and he was always a great friend of the Spanish. Secondly, Scillacio wrote his epistle to Ludovico il Moro, De insulis meridiani atque Indici maris nuper inventis (13 December 1494),I not in Castilian but in Latin, thus showing that he addressed himself to quite a different audience. I. SECONDHAND INFORMATION AND GROSS BLUNDERS But most of all-as an obvious corollary of the above-he confines himself to repetition and dissemination, contributing nothing of his own. He gets his information from Spaniards, from the obscure William (Guillen) Coma and, perhaps indirectly, Pedro Margarite, and possibly from others, but he is careful to add nothing whatsoever thereto. And when he is recounting marvels and prodigies, such as a certain rock astonishingly rich in gold, he covers himself by adding, "I would be ashamed to write this, unless it were received from a trustworthy source" (p. 92, lines 16-17). His maxim is a passive and slavish prudence: "I have not dared to alter or add anything, beyond what I have heard or learned." 2 In fact Scillacio did add a few contributions of his own in the form of geographical blunders3 and fanciful notions of cosmography, identifying the lands I. Published, apparently, at Pavia in 1494 (c. Merkel, L' opuscolo "De insulis nuper inventis" del messinese Nicolo Scillacio. . [Milan, 1901], pp. 7,117) or in 1495, it was reprinted in an edition of 102 copies by Lenox in New York in 1859, with the translation by 1. Mulligan, and in the Race'olla Colombiana, pt. 3, vol. 2, pp. 83-94, which is the text from which I quote, although criticized on a number of occ;;sions by Merkel, op. cit., pp. 9- 10, 79n41, 82n80. I do not know why Magnaghi, Vespucci (1926), p. 83, says that Scillacio had "translated Columbus's second voyage into Latin." 2. Cited by A. Ronchini, Inlorno a un rarissimo opascolo di Nicolo Scillacio ... (Modena, 1846), p. 8, which is practically the only source of biographical information. See also, once again by Ronchini, Nicolo Scillario e la saa relazione sulla scoperla del Nuovo Continente (Modena, 1875), which however seems to be quite simply a reprint of the 1846 work (Merkel, op. cit., p. 71nl). 3. "Preconceived opinions" and "gross errors" are also mentioned by G. Berchet in a note to his edition of Scillacio in Raccolta Colombina, pt. 3, vol. 2, p. 83. Attention is once again drawn to "further embellishments by the mediocre mind of Scillacio" (and to his meager intelligence) by the wise and scrupulous Merkel. op. cit., pp. vii, 28, 67. 27 28 FROM COLUMBUS TO VERRAZZANO and islands discovered on the other side of the Atlantic with Ethiopia, Arabia, India, and the kingdom of Saba (biblical Sheba) and imagining that Columbus circumnavigated Africa, thus creating a mystery surrounding the second voyage that defeated even Humboldt.4 The truth of the matter is that deep down Scillacio was not tremendously interested in plants and animals and only dealt with them spasmodically and sketchily, certainly not in any systematic fashion. This shows, as has been rightly pointed out, that "the original author of the Relation reworked by Scillacio was a person with little curiosity for the things of nature, even though they had attracted the attention of a man such as Michele da Cuneo who was anything but a scholar and who did not really attach much importance to the strictly scientific aspect of the voyage." 5 2. AMAZEMENT AND ADMIRATION The general impression is one of awe and amazement. What he says of one island is valid for all the Antilles, even if he does not know exactly where that particular island is, whether in Arabia or India! "I would not be wrong in calling this island Felix, whether it were part of Arabia or India" (p. 91, lines 18-19). And regarding the gold to be found there: "It is wonderful to relate and incredible to hear, how rich the region is with blessed gifts" (p. 92, lines 12-13). When dealing with Guadeloupe, Scillacio already comes up...

Share