There was one man who was true to the Admiral to the end. He was wounded with him, but survived. He it was that saw that the Admiral had forgotten himself at the hour of the final conflict. It was Pigafetta, the Italian, whose narrative we are following.
This hero of the pen says of him to whom he gave his heart:
"One of his principal virtues was constancy in the most adverse fortune."
"It was God who made me the messenger of the new heavens and new earth, and told me where to find them," said Columbus. "Maps, charts, and mathematical knowledge had nothing to do with the case."
As sublime an inspiration is seen in the words of Pigafetta in regard to Magellan:
"No one gave to him the example how to encompass the globe." His sight was the inner eye, the pure vision of a consecrated purpose in life.
No hero of the sea has ever been more noble! His purpose in life was everything; he had the faith of a Christian Knight; he was as nothing to himself, but to others all, and he died giving his own body for a shield to his men. His name will always be associated with what is glorious in the history of the Philippines.
Magellan was dead, but a good purpose lives in others. Magellan dead, Del Cano yet lives, and the Italian historian has other scenes to record.
The farol of Magellan will go on; it will never cease to shine, and the cast-out name of the Christian Knight will become a fixed star amid the lights that have inspired the world.