PREFACE
(XXXII.)
He who first made a ship and clave therewith the deep, troubling the
waters with roughly hewn oars, who first dared trust his alder-bark to
the uncertain winds and who by his skill devised a way forbidden of
nature, fearfully at the first essayed smooth seas, hugging the shore
in an unadventurous course. But soon he began to attempt the crossing
of broad bays, to leave the land and spread his canvas to the gentle
south wind; and, as little by little his growing courage led him on,
and as his heart forgot numbing fear, sailing now at large, he burst
upon the open sea and, with the signs of heaven to guide him, passed
triumphant through the storms of the Aegean and the Ionian main.