That the idea was not original with Columbus takes nothing from his
fame; his greatness lies in being the first fully to grasp its meaning,
fully to believe it, fully to devote his life to it. For the last
measure of a man's devotion to an idea is his willingness to stake his
life upon it, as Columbus staked his. The idea possessed him; there was
room in him only for a dogged determination to realize it, to trample
down such obstacles as might arise to keep him from his goal. And
obstacles enough there were, for many years of waiting and
disappointment lay before him--years during which, a shabby and
melancholy figure, laughed at and scorned, mocked by the very children
in the streets, he "begged his way from court to court, to offer to
princes the discovery of a world." And here again was his true
greatness--that he did not despair, that his spirit remained unbroken
and his high heart still capable of hope.
Yet let us not idealize him too much. The eagerness to reach the Indies
was wholly because of the riches which they possessed. The spice trade
was especially coveted, and tradition told of golden cities of fabulous
wealth and beauty which lay in the country to the east. The great motive
behind all the early voyages was hope of gain, and Columbus had his full
share of it. Yet there grew up within him, in time, something more than
this--a love of the project for its own sake--though to the very last, a
little overbalanced, perhaps, by his great idea, he insisted upon the
rewards and honors which must be his in case of success.
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