OF THE HILLS OF GOLD THAT ANTS KEEP; AND OF THE FOUR STREAMS THAT
COME FROM TERRESTRIAL PARADISE.
Towards the east of Prester John's land is a good and great isle called
Taprobane, and it is very fruitful; and the king thereof is rich, and is
under the obeisance of Prester John. And there they always make their
king by election. In that isle are two summers and two winters; and men
harvest the corn twice a year; and in all seasons of the year the
gardens are in flower. There dwell good people, and reasonable; and many
Christian men among them, who are so rich that they know not what to do
with their goods. Of old time, when men passed from the land of Prester
John unto that isle, men made ordinance to pass by ship in twenty-three
days or more; but now men pass by ship in seven days. And men may see
the bottom of the sea in many places; for it is not very deep.
Beside that isle, towards the east, are two other isles, one called
Orille, the other Argyte, of which all the land is mines of gold and
silver. And those isles are just where the Red Sea separates from the
Ocean Sea. And in those isles men see no stars so clearly as in other
places; for there appears only one clear star called Canopus. And there
the moon is not seen in all the lunation, except in the second quarter.
In the isle, also, of this Taprobane are great hills of gold, that ants
keep full diligently[415].
And beyond the land, and isles, and deserts of Prester John's lordship,
in going straight towards the east, men find nothing but mountains and
great rocks; and there is the dark region, where no man may see, neither
by day nor night, as they of the country say. And that desert, and that
place of darkness, lasts from this coast unto Terrestrial Paradise,
where Adam, our first father, and Eve were put, who dwelt there but a
little while; and that is towards the east, at the beginning of the
earth. But this is not that east that we call our east, on this half,
where the sun rises to us; for when the sun is east in those parts
towards Terrestrial Paradise, it is then midnight in our parts on this
half, on account of the roundness of the earth, of which I have told you
before; for our Lord God made the earth all round, in the middle of the
firmament. And there have mountains and hills been, and valleys, which
arose only from Noah's flood, that wasted the soft and tender ground,
and fell down into valleys; and the hard earth and the rock remain
mountains, when the soft and tender earth was worn away by the water,
and fell, and became valleys.
Of Paradise I cannot speak properly, for I was not there. It is far
beyond; and I repent not going there, but I was not worthy. But as I
have heard say of wise men beyond, I shall tell you with good will.
Terrestrial Paradise, as wise men say, is the highest place of the
earth; and it is so high that it nearly touches the circle of the moon
there, as the moon makes her turn. For it is so high that the flood of
Noah might not come to it, that would have covered all the earth of the
world all about, and above and beneath, except Paradise. And this
Paradise is inclosed all about with a wall, and men know not whereof it
is; for the wall is covered all over with moss, as it seems; and it
seems not that the wall is natural stone. And that wall stretches from
the south to the north; and it has but one entry, which is closed with
burning fire, so that no man that is mortal dare enter. And in the
highest place of Paradise, exactly in the middle, is a well that casts
out the four streams, which run by divers lands, of which the first is
called Pison, or Ganges, that runs throughout India, or Emlak, in which
river are many precious stones, and much lignum aloes, and much sand of
gold. And the other river is called Nile, or Gyson, which goes through
Ethiopia, and after through Egypt. And the other is called Tigris, which
runs by Assyria, and by Armenia the Great. And the other is called
Euphrates, which runs through Media, Armenia, and Persia. And men there
beyond say that all the sweet waters of the world, above and beneath,
take their beginning from the well of Paradise; and out of that well all
waters come and go. The first river is called Pison, that is, in our
language, Assembly; for many other rivers meet there, and go into that
river. And some call it Ganges, from an Indian king, called Gangeres,
because it ran through his land. And its water is in some places clear,
and in some places troubled; in some places hot, and in some places
cold. The second river is called Nile, or Gyson, for it is always
troubled; and Gyson, in the language of Ethiopia, is to say Trouble, and
in the language of Egypt also. The third river, called Tigris, is as
much as to say, Fast Running; for it runs faster than any of the others.
The fourth river is called Euphrates, that is to say, Well Bearing; for
there grow upon that river corn, fruit, and other goods, in great
plenty.
And you shall understand that no man that is mortal may approach to that
Paradise; for by land no man may go for wild beasts, that are in the
deserts, and for the high mountains, and great huge rocks, that no man
may pass by for the dark places that are there; and by the rivers may no
man go, for the water runs so roughly and so sharply, because it comes
down so outrageously from the high places above, that it runs in so
great waves that no ship may row or sail against it; and the water roars
so, and makes so huge a noise, and so great a tempest, that no man may
hear another in the ship, though he cried with all the might he could.
Many great lords have assayed with great will, many times, to pass by
those rivers towards Paradise, with full great companies; but they might
not speed in their voyage; and many died for weariness of rowing against
the strong waves; and many of them became blind, and many deaf, for the
noise of the water; and some perished and were lost in the waves; so
that no mortal man may approach to that place without special grace of
God; so that of that place I can tell you no more.