His author, that the island had plenty of streams fit for drinking,
into abundance of rivers adapted for navigation[11]. Oviedo falls into a
similar error in supposing this island of the Carthaginians to have been
the same with that mentioned by Seneca in his fourth book; where he tells
us that Seneca speaks of an island named Atlantica, which was entirely or
mostly drowned in the time of the Peloponnesian war; and of which island
Plato likewise makes mention in his Timaeus: But we have already dwelt too
long on these fables.
Oviedo insists that the Spaniards had the entire dominion of these islands,
which he was pleased to consider as the same with our West Indies. He
grounds this opinion on what is said by Statius and Sebosus, that certain
islands called Hesperides lay forty days sail west from the Gorgonian
islands on the coast of Africa. Hence he argued, that these islands must
necessarily be the West Indies, and were called Hesperides from Hesperes
king of Spain, who consequently with the Spaniards his subjects were lords
of these islands. But I am quite tired of this dispute, and shall now
proceed to the history of the admirals discovery.
[1] In his reasoning, by some error which cannot be now corrected, a
twenty-fourth part, or one hour, is omitted.
