"Upon his chin there grew a bushy beard;
His person shaggy and weird
Resembled a bear, but an unlicked bear at that."—T.
[528] Claudius Ptolemæus, known as Ptolemy (fl.. 150), the famous Alexandrian astronomer, geographer and mathematician:
"Ptolemy believed that the sun, planets and stars revolved round the earth. His error in calculating the circumference of the globe warranted Columbus in supposing that the distance from the western coast of Europe to the eastern coast of Asia was about one-third less than it actually is; and thus encouraged the enterprise which led to the discovery of America" (Jebb: Greek Literature, Part III. Chap. II.: From Augustus to Justinian).—T
[529] Racine, Mithridate, Act III. sc. i.:
Doutez-vous que l'Euxin ne me porte en deux jours
Aux lieux où le Danube y vient finir son cours.
"Do you doubt that the Euxine will take me in two days
To the spot where the Danube its last tribute pays."—T.
"We are told that, on hearing these verses from Mithridate, an old soldier, who had waged war in those countries, exclaimed aloud:
"'Yes, certainly, I doubt it.'
"He was quite right." (La Harpe: Cours de Littérature, Part II. Book i. Chap. 3.)-B.
[530] Chateaubriand: Martyrs, Book VII.—T.