But It Seems To Me A Needless And
Useless Task To Speak About Places Which Are Visited By People Every
Day.
For there are so many who sail all about that sea constantly, Venetians,
and Genoese, and Pisans, and many
Others, that everybody knows all about
it, and that is the reason that I pass it over and say nothing of it.
Of the manner in which we took our departure from the Court of the Great
Kaan you have heard at the beginning of the Book, in that chapter where we
told you of all the vexation and trouble that Messer Maffeo and Messer
Nicolo and Messer Marco had about getting the Great Kaan's leave to go;
and in the same chapter is related the lucky chance that led to our
departure. And you may be sure that but for that lucky chance, we should
never have got away in spite of all our trouble, and never have got back
to our country again. But I believe it was God's pleasure that we should
get back in order that people might learn about the things that the world
contains. For according to what has been said in the introduction at the
beginning of the Book, there never was a man, be he Christian or Saracen
or Tartar or Heathen, who ever travelled over so much of the world as did
that noble and illustrious citizen of the City of Venice, Messer Marco the
son of Messer Nicolo Polo.
Thanks be to God!
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