But amid his wallowings in this slough of stupor, when all else, in him
had been well-nigh submerged by it, two dim lights were preserved towards
which, although foundered up to the chin, he began to struggle; and by
superhuman efforts did at last extricate himself from the theological
stupor and get himself blown clean again by the salt winds before he
died. One light was his religion; not to be confounded with theological
stupor, but quite separate from it in my belief; a certain steadfast and
consuming faith in a Power that could see and understand and guide him to
the accomplishment of his purpose. This faith had been too often a good
friend and help to Christopher for him to forget it very long, even while
he was staggering in the quag with Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the Fathers; and
gradually, as I say, he worked himself out into the region of activity
again. First, thinking it a pity that his flounderings in the slough
should be entirely wasted, he had a copy of his precious theological work
made and presented it to the Sovereigns, with a letter urging them (since
he himself was unable to do it) to undertake a crusade for the recovery
of the Holy Sepulchre--not an altogether wild proposal in those days.
But Ferdinand had other uses for his men and his money, and contented
himself with despatching Peter Martyr on a pacific mission to the Grand
Soldan of Egypt.

The other light left unquenched in Columbus led him back to the firm
ground of maritime enterprise; he began to long for the sea again, and
for a chance of doing something to restore his reputation. An infinitely
better and more wholesome frame of mind this; by all means let him mend
his reputation by achievement, instead of by writing books in a
theological trance or stupor, and attempting to prove that he was chosen
by the Almighty. He now addressed himself to the better task of getting
himself chosen by men to do something which should raise him again in
their esteem.