_ 210 _ world, he heard certain philosophers arguing and coming to the conclusion that there was another world to conquer. In the same way. Caesar was moved to shame at the sight of his tomb, because his deeds did not equal its splendour. Matias de Albuquerque was already older than him [Alexander the Great and had the example of his famous uncle, Afonso de Albuquerque before him. How was it possible that what he had done should seem like anything compared with such a man, whose memory and inspiration he carried in his heart? Firstly, then, he decided to repair the fortress, because it was greatly damaged. He set about rebuilding most of it, since many of the walls had crumbled to nothing. He also repaired the Captain’s residence, and made more store-houses. He made one for hard tack, where he immediately stored a great quantity, as he thought they should always be prepared for emergencies. The supply of water was also of great importance in a fortress, especially in Ormuz. Nothing was cheap there, and it had to be transported; nor were the cisterns in the fortress to be relied upon both because they had their foundations in the mud and because of the proximity of the sea and movement of traffic there which provided a route by which walls could be stolen. The trembling of the ground caused by firing the artillery also damaged the cisterns.
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