[340] las columnas de ningún Hércules. The pillars of Hercules is the name applied to the Strait of Gibraltar in Greek mythology. Hercules, among his other feats, separated the mountains Calpe, the promontory of Gibraltar in Spain, and Ábila, ancient name of a mountain in Morocco. Calpe and Ábila are the pillars of Hercules. Previous to Columbus’ time, it was thought that these pillars were the end of the world and the barrier to exploration.
[341] la tierra... California, i.e., from Tierra del Fuego (land about the Straits of Magellan) to upper California.
[342] El inca Garcilaso. He was the son of one of the conquistadores of Peru and a princess of Inca descent. He wrote Comentarios Reales del Perú and La Florida del Inca.
[343] sin salir de casa, i.e., de la Argentina.
[344] Betis, ancient name of the Guadalquivir, a river in Andalusia, southern Spain.
[345] Góngora. He was the chaplain of Philip III of Spain; his writings have given rise to the term Gongorism, which is applied to a metaphorical and far-fetched style. Cf. euphuism in English.
[346] Bufón, Buffon, French naturalist (1707-1788).
[347] un ave. With feminine words beginning with an initial stressed a it is common to use an old apocopated form of the feminine article, which looks like the modern masculine form of the article.
[348] “fruta del monte”. Peaches are so common in the province of Buenos Aires that they are called “fruit of the woods”. In this connection Darwin says: “Among the introduced kinds may be enumerated poplars, olives, peach, and other fruit trees; the peaches succeed so well that they afford the main supply of firewood to the city of Buenos Aires.”—The Voyage of the Beagle.
[349] ab initio, from the beginning; a stock Latin quotation.