Ambergris was constantly being found on the steep shores of Sicily.

Sponges were growing in the tranquil waters in the shadow of the great rocks of Mallorca and the Isles of Greece.

Naked men without any equipment whatever, holding their breath, were still descending to the bottom as in primitive times, in order to snatch these treasures away.
The doctor gave up his geographic descriptions to discourse on the history of his sea, which had indeed been the history of civilization, and was more fascinating to him.

At first miserable and scanty tribes had wandered along its coasts seeking their food from the crustaceans drawn from the waves--a life similar to that of the rudimentary people that Ferragut had seen in the islands of the Pacific.

When stone saws had hollowed out the trunks of trees and human arms had ventured to spread the first rawhides to the forces of the atmosphere, the coasts became rapidly populated.
Temples were constructed on the promontories, and maritime cities--the first nuclei of modern civilization--came into existence.