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BooK·
VII.
Royal
Commentariei.
unto their Subje&, and not be beholding
to
tq_e Tongue of another; believing ·
alfo
thac their Subje& with much more chearfulnefs received the grarious
Speeches of their Prince from bis own mouth, than ..yhen they were conveyed
to them by the breath of their Officers : but the chief Reafon and Ground of
chis policy wás in reference to foreign Nations, who for wam ofcommon·Speech
and Dialeét, were fubjeB: to rnifunderíl:andings, whence Enmities and cruel Wars
·arofe amongíl: them; for appeaGng which, and reconciling i:heir Affeétions, no–
thing feemed more probably conducing than a communicacion in fp,eech,_ where-
by
ali
Mifunderílandings mighc be obviated, and che People be induced to Iove
eacli other, as if they were of che fame Family and Parentage. With chis arti-
\
fice the
/ne.u
reconciled different Nations in a íl:riB: alliance, who had befare been
divided in their Iaolatry, Cuíl:oms and Manners of Living, and
fo
effeétual hath
this Expedient been, that Nacions who have haced each other, have thereby been
allured into amity and friendíhip by iv The which good eff~ét being obferved
by many Countries, who had not as yec actained the happinefs of being Subjeéts
co
this Ernpire, was a means to invite them to the Stúdy ofchis general Language
of
Couo
;·
che which chey having learned, and thereby Nacions of diflerenc
Tongues underfianding each ocher, cheir Affeétions were reconciled by it, being
fi-om mortal Enemies become Confederates\and Allies. Howfoever by chis new
.Governmen"f of che
Spani11rds,
many• of che Nations who afreéted the
Co~-
can
Tangue, have now forgotcen ir, the which
B!aJ, Va/era
,onfüms in chefe
words :
·
JI
,
" le was che Cornmand, fays he, of che
Incai,
thac all Nations íhould fpeak
" the farne Language, chough now in chefe ~ys, by whofe faulc I know not,
•
" the fume hach been lofr aod forgoqen in many Provinces; the which hach
" proved a great interrupcion to che fpreading of the Gofpel, which_
,hath much
" increafed in che adjacent pares
o[co~co,
where that Tongu«· is ufed, and where.
" chac people are much more civil, ano dqciblé than in other,pares. .Th,efe are
che
words of
Bl.u Valera,
to which he adds in a.notl;ier Chapt~r,
'' Thac the ge-
,, neral Language of
Peru
oughc noc to
be
loíl:, bue rather ·faught and kepo up
" by
praétice arnongíl: che people,
fo
chat che Preachex~,of che Gofpel may have ·
" bue one Tongue to learn , and not be forced for every Province to fiudy a
" different Speech, which would
be
a task and labour nono be overcome.
•
I.
v
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j
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•
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CH A P.i