(Pp. 360-362).
In the French edition of Malcolm's History of Persia (II. 141),
Marco is styled "pretre Venetien"! I do not know whether this is due
to Sir John or to the translator.
[Polo is also called "a Venetian Priest," in a note, vol. i., p. 409,
of the original edition of London, 1815, 2 vols., 4to. - H. C.]
XII. CONTEMPORARY RECOGNITION OF POLO AND HIS BOOK.
[Sidenote: How far was there diffusion of his Book in his own day?]
75. But we must return for a little to Polo's own times. Ramusio states,
as we have seen, that immediately after the first commission of Polo's
narrative to writing (in Latin as he imagined), many copies of it were
made, it was translated into the vulgar tongue, and in a few months all
Italy was full of it.
The few facts that we can collect do not justify this view of the rapid
and diffused renown of the Traveller and his Book. The number of MSS. of
the latter dating from the 14th century is no doubt considerable, but a
large proportion of these are of Pipino's condensed Latin Translation,
which was not put forth, if we can trust Ramusio, till 1320, and certainly
not much earlier. The whole number of MSS. in various languages that we
have been able to register, amounts to about eighty.
