68 / 1060
54
.
Royal
Co1nmentaries.
BooK
II.
peat every word often to tbemfelves, and mark
it
with Pebbles, or little Granes
-0f
divers coloursj ofabout the bigoefS of Peafe, called by them
Chuy,
which
ferve
for helps to their Memories; and fuch indull:ry and care they ufe, till at
le~gth
they have perfeetly overcome the
difficulty,
and learned their part or leffon.
Thofe
Spaniard1
to
whom the Young
Tr:dia~s
have
recourf~
for their Learning,
how great foever they are , do not yet d1fdam
to
teach and mform them , giving
them
all
the
encouragement they are able.
So that thefe
Indian1,
though
natu–
rally dull of invention, have
yet
an aptitude
to
imitate
any
tPffig
which
is
pro–
pofed before them.
[ohn CuelttU,
a Scholar, who was a Native of
Medina,
and Canon of the
Ca–
thedral of
Cov:o,
who taught the Grammar to the Children whkh were of
Spa–
nifh
and
Indian
Parents, and to others of bell: quality
in
that City, can
give us
the
moil:
clear
tefhmony thereof: For he \¥as moved to
perform
this charitable
Of–
fice at the intreacy and infiance of the Scholars, whofe Mafters and Tutours,
Jn
exchange
for
better preferments, had forfaken their Charge ;
for
though every
Scholar gave ten pieces
of:
Eight
a
Month
for
his
Learning, yet
it
was but
litcle,
in
refpelt of their fmall number, which perhaps were not
above
17
or
1.8
in
the
whole Town.
I
knew one amongft them who
was
an
Inca,
called
Philp,
and
was
Pupil to a rich and honourable Prieft, named Father
Peter
Sanche~,
who
olr
ferving
the ingenuity of
this
Youth, took pains to
infiruet
him
in
his
Studies ;
in
which
he profited
fo
well, that
he
became
as
good a Grammarian
as
any
that
wqs
of the
Spanifh
and
Indian
Bloud. The change of many Mafters was
a great
obftruetion to their Learning ; for every one of them having
a
different
way
of
Teaching,. they began not: from the rules and principles formerly taught them ,
bur
made them to begin
from
~eir
own methods, and forget what
they
had before
learned, which was a
great
prejudice to their proceedings; unrill
chis
good
Ca–
non undertook to
infirutt
tl-iem
in
the Latin Grammar, which he continued for
the fpace of two years, arnidfr the Tumults and Wars raifed between
D.
Sehaftian
de Caftilla,
and
Francifco Hernandes Giron
;
which were the caufe of
much
bloud,
fire and deftruetion ; and were of chat continuance, that fcarce
was
one
fire ex–
tinguilhed, before another flame broke forth. At
this
tim€
this
Canon
Cmllttt
obfervin~
the great docilicy of his
Scholars,
and their inclinations to
be
improved
in
all Saences ; and the want of able and induftrious Mall:ers to cultivate
the
minds of this people ; would
cry
out, and
fay,
Oh, Children
!
what
pity
it
is
that
I
do not fee a dozen of you Students in the Univerficy of
Salamanca
! And
indeed this good Canon had reafon
fo
to
fay,
becJufe
his
attendance
at
cheChoire
took
him
off from the employment of Teachiug
his
Scholars
wit:h
fuch
fedulicy,
as
to make them perfeet in the Latin
Ton~e
: Howfoever, the little improve–
ments they made were good evidences of their natural wit and underll:anding,
which now
in
thefe days ( praifed be
God)
is
much advanced by chat abundance
of
Learning,
and
light of Sciences, which the Jefuits have introduced amongll
them. And
fo
much
fhall
f
uffice to have difcourfed on chis fubjeCl:,
it
being now
time to return to the Hiftory
of
the Succeffion
of-the
IncM,
and of
their Con-
quefis
and
great Altions.
.
BOOK