Narrative and Critical History of America, Vol. 1 (of 8): Aboriginal America
History
Narrative and Critical History of America, Vol. 1 (of 8): Aboriginal America
America -- Discovery and exploration; America -- History; United States -- History
The literature of the subject is widely scattered, but a good deal has
been done bibliographically in some works which have been reserved
for special mention here. The earliest is the _Dissertation sur
l’Atlantide_, by Th. Henri Martin,[446] wherein, beside a carefully
reasoned examination of the story itself and similar geographic myths,
the opposing views of previous writers are set forth in the second
section, _Histoire des Systèmes sur l’Atlantide_, pp. 258-280. Gaffarel
has in like manner given a résumé of the literature, which comes down
later than that of Martin, in the two excellent treatises which he has
devoted to the subject; he is convinced of the existence of such an
island, but his work is marked by such care, orderliness, and fulness
of citations that it is of the greatest value.[447] The references
in these treatises are made with intelligence, and are, in general,
accurate and useful. That this is not the case with the work of Mr.
Donnelly deprives the volume of much of the value which it might have
had.[448]
=E.= FABULOUS ISLANDS OF THE ATLANTIC IN THE MIDDLE AGES.—Fabulous
islands belong quite as much to the domain of folk-lore as to that of
geography. The legends about them form a part of the great mass of
superstitions connected with the sea. What has been written about these
island myths is for the most part scattered in innumerable collections
of folk-tales and in out-of-the-way sources, and it does not lie within
the scope of the present sketch to track in these directions all that
has been said. It will not be out of place, however, to refer to a
few recent works where much information and many references can be
found. One of the fullest collections, though not over-well sorted,
is by Lieut. F. S. Bassett,[449] consisting of brief notes made in
the course of wide reading, well provided with references, which are,
however, often so abbreviated as to inflict much trouble on those who
would consult them,—an all too common fault. Of interest is a chapter
on _Les îles_, in a similar work by M. Paul Sebillot.[450] An island
home has often been assigned to the soul after death, and many legends,
some mediæval, some of great antiquity, deal with such islands, or with
voyages to them. Some account of these will be found in Bassett, and
particularly in an article by E. Beauvois in the _Revue de l’histoire
de Religion_,[451] where further references are to be found. Wm.
F. Warren has also collected many references to the literature of
this subject in the course of his endeavor to show that Paradise was
at the North Pole.[452] The long articles on _Eden_ and _Paradise_
in McClintock and Strong’s _Biblical Encyclopedia_ should also be
consulted.
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