to refine, adhere to fyftems of fuperftition founded on the crude conceptions of early ages. From the genius of the Mexican religion we may, however, form a moft juft conclufion with respect to its influence upon the character of the people. The aspect of fuperftition in Mexico was gloomy and atrocious. Its divinities were clothed with terror, and delighted invengeance. They were exhibited to the people under deteftable forms, which created horror. The figures of ferpents, of tygers, and of other deftructive animals, decorated their temples. Fear was the only principle that infpired their votaries. Fafts, mortifications, and penances, all rigid, and many of them excruciating to an extreme degree, were the means employed to appeafe the wrath of their gods, and the Mexicans never approached their altars without fprinkling them with blood drawn from their own bodies. But, of all offerings, human facrifices were deemed the moft acceptable. This religious belief, mingling with the implacable spirit of vengeance, and adding new force to it, every captive taken in war was brought to the temple, was devoted as a victim to the deity, and facrificed with rites no lefs folemn than cruel. x) The heart head were the portion confecrated to the gods;

and

x) Cort. Relat. ap. Ramuf. iii. 240, &c. B. Diaz. c. 82. Acofta. lib. v. c. 13. &c. Herrera, dec. 3. lib. ii. c. 15. &c. Gomara Chron. c. 80, &c. See NOTE XXXI.

the warrior, by whofe prowefs the prifo ner had been feized, carried off the body to feaft upon it with his friends. Under the impreffion of ideas fo dreary and terrible, and accufomed daily to fcenes of bloodshed rendered awful by religion, the heart of man muft harden, and be fteeled to every fentiment of humanity. The fpirit of the Mexicans was accordingly unfeeling, and the genius of their religion fo far counterbalanced the influence of policy and arts, that, notwithstanding their progrefs in both, their manners, inftead of foftening became more fierce. To what circumftances

it was owing that fuperftition affumed fuch a dreadful form among the Mexicans, we have not fufficient knowledge of their history to determine. But its influence is vifible, and produced an effect that is fingular in the hiftory of the human fpecies. The manners of the people in the New World who had made the greatest progrefs in the arts of policy, were the moft ferocious, and the barbarity of fome of their cuftoms exceeded even those of the favage ftate.

Pretensions of Peru to an high antiquity uncertain.

The empire of Peru boafts of an higher antiquity than that of Mexico. According to the traditionary accounts collected by the Spaniards, it had fubfifted four hundred years, under twelve fucceffive monarchs. But the knowledge of

their ancient ftory, which the Peruvians could communicate to their conquerors, must have been both imperfect and uncertain. z) Like the other American nations, they were totally unacquainted with the art of writing, and deftitute of the only means by which the memory of paft tranfactions can be preferved with any degree of accuracy. Even among people to whom the ufe of letters is known, the æra where the authenticity of hiftory commences, is much pofterior to the introduction of writing. That noble invention continues long fubfervient to the common bufinefs and wants of life before it was employed in recording events, with a view of conveying information from one age to another. But in no country did ever tradition alone carry down hiftorick knowledge, in any full continued ftream, during a period of half the length that the monarchy of Peru is faid to have fubfifted.

Defects in their fecords by Quipos.

The Quipos, or knots on cords of different colours, which are celebrated by authors fond of the marvellous, as if they had been regular annals of the empire, imperfectly supplied the place of writing. According to the obfcure defcription of them by Acofta, a) which Garci

z) See NOTE XXXII. a) Hift. lib. vi, è, 8.

laffo de la Vega has adopted with little variation and no improvement, the Quipos feem to have been a device for rendering calculation more expeditious and accurate. By the various colours different objects were denoted, and by each knot a diftinct number. Thus an account was taken, and a kind of regifter kept, of the inhabitants in each province, or of the feveral productions collected there for publick ufe. But as by these knots, however varied or combined, no moral or abstract idea, no operation or quality of the mind could be represented, they contributed little towards preferving the memory of ancient events and inftitutions. The Mexican paintings and fymbols, rude as they were, conveyed more knowledge of remote tranfactions, than the Peruvians could derive from their boafted quipos. Had the latter been even of more extenfive use, and better adapted to fupply the place of written records, they perifhed fo generally, together with other monuments of Peruvian ingenuity, in the wreck occafioned by the Spanish conqueft, and the civil wars fubfequent to it, that no acceffion of light or knowledge comes from them. All the zeal of Garcilaffo de la Vega, for the honour of that race of monarchs from whom he defcended, all the induftry of his refearches, and the fuperior advantages with which he carried them on, opened no source of information unknown to the Spanish authors who wrote before him. In his

1

Royal Commentaries, he confines himself to illuftrate what they had related concerning the antiquities and inftitutions of Peru; b) and his illuftrations, like their accounts, are derived entirely from the traditionary tales current among his countrymen.

Very little credit then is due to the minute details which have been given of the exploits the battles, the conquefts, and private character of the early Peruvian monarchs. We can reft upon nothing in their story, as authentick, but a few facts, fo interwoven in the fyftem of their religion and policy, as preferved the memory of them from being loft; and upon the defcription of fuch cuftoms and inftitutions as continued in force at the time of the conqueft, and fell under the immediate obfervation of the Spaniards. By attending carefully to these, and endeavouring to feperate them from what appears to be fabulous, or of doubtful authority, I have laboured to form an idea of the Peruvian government and manners.

Origin of their civil policy.

The people of Peru, as I have already obferved, c) had not advanced beyond the rudeft form of favage life, when Manco Capac, and his confort Mama ocollo, appeared to inftru&t and civilize them. Who these extraor

b) Lib. i. c. 10.

c) Book vi.