Instead
of trying to see the bigness and the wonder of his belief, they looked
at Columbus suspiciously and said that they could find no mention of a
_round_ world in the Bible, and it was heresy to believe anything
that could not be found in the Bible. Others, believing in the sphere,
still could not find in Christopher's reference to the rumors current in
Madeira sufficient reason for giving him ships to test the truth of
those rumors.
Certainly the majority looked upon him as either a heretic or a foolish
dreamer, or perhaps a bold adventurer trying to get money from their
king; but happily a few believed in him, argued on his side, and became
his steadfast friends. The most noted of these was the learned monk,
Diego de Deza. He was intelligent, broad-minded, and generous; and
though he was not able to prevail upon the other professors nor upon the
king, still it must have helped Columbus's cause to have such a
distinguished churchman for his friend.
In the spring of 1487 the monarchs left Salamanca without giving a
definite answer to the anxious man. They were about to begin a campaign
against the Moors in Malaga, down on the Mediterranean coast, and
thither Columbus followed them. Once, when there was a lull in the
siege, he was summoned to the royal tent.
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