And here also:—
“Of all the parts of the world which do from this charter entitle themselves to the government of Christ, America’s plea, in my opinion, is the strongest. For when once Christopher Columbus had added this fourth to the other three parts of the foreknown world, they who sailed farther westward arrived but where they had been before. The globe now failed of offering anything new to the adventurous traveller,—or, however, it could not afford another New World. And probably the consideration of America’s being the beginning of the East and the end of the West was that which moved Columbus to call some part of it by the name of Alpha and Omega. Now if the last Adam did give order for the engraving of his own name upon this last earth, ’twill draw with it great consequences, even such as will in time bring the poor Americans out of their graves and make them live.”[312]
Again he says:—
“May it not with more or equal strength be argued: New Jerusalem is not the same with Jerusalem; but as Jerusalem was to the westward of Babylon, so New Jerusalem must be to the westward of Rome, to avoid disturbance in the order of these mysteries?”[313]
Then quoting Latin verses of Cowley[314] and English verses of Herbert,[315] he says: “Not doubting but that these authorities, being brought to the king’s scales, will be over weight.”[316]
Afterwards he adduces “learned Mr. Nicholas Fuller,” who “would fain have it believed that America was first peopled by the posterity of our great-grandfather Japheth, though he will not be very strict with us as to the particular branch of that wide family.”[317] The extract from this new authority is remarkable for its vindication to Columbus of the name of the new continent: “Quam passim Americam dicunt, vere ac merito Columbinam potius dicerent, a magnanimo heroë Christophoro Columbo Genuensi, primo terrarum illarum investigatore atque inventore plane divinitus constituto.”[318] This designation Fuller adopts: thus, “Hinc ergo Columbina primum”; and again, “Multo is quidem propior est Columbinæ”; then again, “America, seu verius Columbina”; and yet again, “Repertam fuisse Columbinam.”[319] This effort draws from our prophet a comment:—
“But why should a learned man make all this Dirige for Columbus’s name? What matter is it how America be called? For Flavio of Malphi in Naples hath in great measure applied the virtues of the loadstone to the mariner’s compass in vain, the Portugals have found the length of Africa’s foot in vain, the Spaniards sent out the Italian dove in vain, Sir Francis Drake hath sailed round the world and made thorow lights to it in vain, and Hakluyt and Purchas have with endless labor acquainted Englishmen with these things in vain, if, after all, we go about to turn the American Euphrates into a Stygian Lake. The breaking of this one instrument spoils us of the long-expected and much-desired consort of music.”[320]
Very soon thereafter he breaks forth in words printed in large Italic type and made prophetic:—
“Lift up your heads, O ye Gates [of Columbina], and be ye lift up, ye Everlasting Doors, and the KING of Glory shall come in.”[321]