70v

¶ Da l'altra parte persia par che sia
El dicto di quel mare e meço di
E da ponente verso la tu^rchia
[marginal rubric: Tauris] E la gran terra richa di thauri
Da la qual a damasco /e/ tanta via
Quanto da tribixonda insino a li
Che son da vinti giorni e nel suo clima
Savasto anchona firençe si dima

¶ Poi son montagne che per gram paese
Scendon le branche e sum di grande altura
Famose in iscripture puoche intese
Che di saper la gente a puocco cura
Und'escono i gran fiumi ove si prese
Antichamente per la gente pichura
Esser el paradiso de dilicia
Perche le [corr: orig. "la", erased and changed to "le"] terra di molta divitia

¶ De tuti li elementi summamente
E d'ogni cossa molto ben doctata
Intorno d'ogni parte parimente
Di molte terre bene circumdata
Di sopra da tute sta eminente
Che tuto 'l mondo d'intorno si guata
Di cio che si potesse immaginare
Questo paese soleva habundare

Further, Persia appears
on the other shore of that sea, to the south.
Off to the west towards Turkey
is the great and rich land of Taurus.
From there it is as far again to Damascus
as it is from Trebizond—
that is to say twenty days—and Savasto, Ancona, and Florence
are in the same climate zone.^{1See the climate diagram infra. meaning that the climate is the same in these Italian cities as in the Eastern locations cited. We think it refers to latitude, thus the verb, s'adima that suggests height.}

Next there are mountains whose foothills
extend a great distance. They are very high and
much discussed in writings, but they remain obscure
because people do not care to learn.
Great rivers flow from them. This is where
long ago, simple people believed
it to be the Paradise of Delights,
since it is a land of great abundance.

Above all, [this land] is very well endowed
with all things, with all the elements.
In addition, it is well placed,
surrounded by many lands on every side.
It towers over all of them,
overlooking the entire world.
This region once abounded
with everything you could imagine.

¶ Da l'altra parte persia par che sia
El dicto di quel mare e meço di
E da ponente verso la tu^rchia
[marginal rubric: Tauris] E la gran terra richa di thauri
Da la qual a damasco /e/ tanta via
Quanto da tribixonda insino a li
Che son da vinti giorni e nel suo clima
Savasto anchona firençe si dima

¶ Poi son montagne che per gram paese
Scendon le branche e sum di grande altura
Famose in iscripture puoche intese
Che di saper la gente a puocco cura
Und'escono i gran fiumi ove si prese
Antichamente per la gente pichura
Esser el paradiso de dilicia
Perche le [corr: orig. "la", erased and changed to "le"] terra di molta divitia

¶ De tuti li elementi summamente
E d'ogni cossa molto ben doctata
Intorno d'ogni parte parimente
Di molte terre bene circumdata
Di sopra da tute sta eminente
Che tuto 'l mondo d'intorno si guata
Di cio che si potesse immaginare
Questo paese soleva habundare

Further, Persia appears
on the other shore of that sea, to the south.
Off to the west towards Turkey
is the great and rich land of Taurus.
From there it is as far again to Damascus
as it is from Trebizond—
that is to say twenty days—and Savasto, Ancona, and Florence
are in the same climate zone.^{1see the climate diagram infra. meaning that the climate is the same in these Italian cities as in the Eastern locations cited. We think it refers to latitude, thus the verb, s'adima that suggests height.}

Next there are mountains whose foothills
extend a great distance. They are very high and
much discussed in writings, but they remain obscure
because people do not care to learn.
Great rivers flow from them. This is where
long ago, simple people believed
it to be the Paradise of Delights,
since it is a land of great abundance.

Above all, [this land] is very well endowed
with all things, with all the elements.
In addition, it is well placed,
surrounded by many lands on every side.
It towers over all of them,
overlooking the entire world.
This region once abounded
with everything you could imagine.