104 / 1060
88
Royal Commentaries.
,
BooK
Ill.
any
other Gods, though fome
W
ricersmaintain a different opinion. \7Vhen the
Spaniards
firlt entred the City of
Coz.co,this Figure of the Sun fell to the lot of
a
certain Nobleman
ca
led
Macio Serra de Leguipmo,
whom
I
knew,
and
left
*
A Game at
there alive when I came thence
for
Spain;
he was fo great
a
Ga efier at .,, Pri–
Cards.
rnero, and all other Games ; that though the Image was very great, yet
he
made a
fhifc
to
lo[e
it
in
one Nights play; whence that Proverb came, as
Acofttt
fays,
Play for
the
Sun
bef'!re the
Day
6reak.f.
Sometime after\\
hich,
t e
Common–
Council of the City taking notice, how much this Son or Member of theirs
was
given to play,
and
how much he loll, thought fit, as the beft expedient
to
wean
him
from th"t ' ' ice, to chu_fe him
Ale.aide,
or. Chief Jufiice
iz:i
Ordinary,
for
the
f
p-ace of a year : In execution of wluch employment he applied
hirnfeJf
with
fo
much diligent:e and care
in
the difcharge of his crufr, that being a Gentle-
. Jnan of excellent parts, he took not a Card
in
hand for rhe whole year follow–
ing
5
the City obferving this his aetive diligence, continued
him
in
Office for
a
year longer, and afterwards kept him confl:antly employed
in
one publick charge
or other
5
fo
that this
Macio SeYra
difufiog
his
courfe of Gaming, came
at
lengrh
to abhor
it,
calling to mind the many dangers, troubles and inconveniences
to
which
it
had betrayed him; \Yhich ferves as a pregnant example to demon–
frrate to us, how much idlene£ contributes to
ice, and employment unto Ver–
rue. But to
remrn
to our Hifrory, we fay, that
a
Calculate
may
in fome mea–
fore be made of the Riches of that City, when an Image of Gold of
that
pro–
portion and value fell to the
lot
and 111are of one fingle perfon. On each fide
of this Image the Bodies of the dead
lncM
were
placed , embalmed '
·ith fuch
r<i re Art ( we know not bow) that they feerned
frill
Ji
ing : their pofiures were
fic-ing on Chairs of Gold, erecred on thofe ' "ery Frames of Gold on
which
they
ufually fate when they were alive : their Faces were turned towards the people;
onely
Hua_;·na
Capac,
as
if
he
had merited
a
fupereminence over
all
the others,
was placed with
his
Face towards the
igure of the Sun, as if he had been the
moft beloved, and greateft Favourite of
all
his Race ; and indeed his
V
ertues
and Royal Endowments, which appeared
in
him
from his Infancy were fuch, .as
procured
for
him a degree above the reft, and a place amongfi: die Gods which
they adored. Thefe Bodies, with
\·~;hat
Treafure they were able, the
Indians
con–
cealed
in
foch fecret Vaults, that none of them came to appear uotill this year
of
1559,
wh~n
the
Licenciado
Polo
made a difcovety of five of them, three
wher~
of were Kings, and the other two
\~·ere
Qgeens.
The principal Gate opened to the North, as
it
is
at prefent ; befides which
there were feveral other
fmaJl
Dieors
for
better convenience
of
the Temple
5
all
which were lined on the infide with Plates of Gold, as alfo the Jambs or
Pofu
of
the Doors.
On
the
top
of rhe Temple without, on the highell:
Wall,
was
a
large ·Circle
of
Gold
in
form of
a
Crown, of above a Yard
in
breadth, which
,
encompaffed the
whole
Temple,
.
.
•
C H :AP.