481 / 1070
BooK
I.
Royal
Commentaries.
455
camac)
whom he htith fent to vijit m with vengeance ancl deftruétion.
And
if
it be fo
both 1 and my Vajfals do offer our felves to death, and to what punifhment foever
Jºf'
wi!L i,/.
fti[t upon m; not for fear, or out of any dread we have ofyour Menaces or Arms, but in
compliance with the Commands enjoyned m by
my
Fathe.r
Húayaa Capac
at the time of hi;
death; which wM, that we fhould ferve and honour a Nation with Beards liktyour felves,
which n
1
ere to ente-,- into thefe parts after his days, andofwhich he prophe(ie,d fomeyears 6efore
your Ships coafted about our Countrey, and whom he dec!ared to be Men
of
better Law,, o/
more rejined Cuftoms, more wife and more valiant than our (elves.
.
·
wherefore to fulji!l the Prophecy and Teftament
of
my Father, we ftyle you
Viracochas;
,mderftanding thereby, thatyott are the Meffenger,
of
the Great God
Viracocha,
who(eWi/l
and Pleafare, juft !ndignation, Arms and Pow~, we are unable to rejift; andyet we are af–
fared, that he is al! Goo!,nefs and Merey : And for that reafonyou, who are hiJ Minifters
11nd Executioners of his Will, ought to abftt1in from fuch Robberies, Slaughter and Violence.r:,
,uyou have committed in
Tumpiz
and the adjacent Col!nt',-ies.
'
In the next place, your Interpreter acquaints me of fi've great Perfonages, whom 1 am to
ackz,owledge,
The fi,rft is God; who is three and one, that is four, whom
JOH
cal/ the Crea–
tor
ef
this Vniverfe; 1?hich perht1ps
máy
be the [ame, whom we call
Pachacamac
andVi–
r:icocha.
The fecond i-s the Father of al! Mankjnd, on whom al! other Men have heaped
their Sins.
The thirdyou ca/L ¡efm Chrift, who WM the onely Pcrfan excepted, who did not
caft hi-s Sins on "rhe fi,rft Man, but that he ibed,
The fourth y
ou na7?1t:
i-s
the Pope.
The
fifth i-s
Charles,
whom, in comparifon -¡:vith others, you call the mo.ft Powerfult Monarch of
the Vniverfe, and the Supreme Lord of a/!: But then
if
Charl~
be the Prince and Lord
of
the World, what need wM there fot the Pope to give a newGrant, and another Commiffi–
on to makt War upon me, and Vfurp my Kingdoms
?
for confequently the Pope m":ft be agrea•
ter Prince than he, and the moft powerfu/1
of
ª'!Y
in the World.
But I cannot but moft ad·
.
mire at whatyou fay, that 1 am obliged to pqy Tribute to
Ch
arlesonely, and not to others;
the which you alledge without giving me any reafon, and indeed J.ca~net conc~ive on what fcore
J
am obliged to pay it
;
for
if
1 we-t'e bound to pay Tribute and Service to
any,
methink¿
it
fhould be to that God, who,.JOU [ay, created afl things, and to thar- firft Man, who wM the
Father of a/l Manbind, and to that ¡efm Chrijl who had no Sins to impute unto him
;
and,
•
in fine,
if
Tribute were to be give~, it fhoulá rat~er be unto the Pope, who hath Power and
.Authority to dijpofe of my Kingdoms, and my Perfo.n.
And
if
you fay that 1 owe nothing
unto any of thefe, 1fhould Í71?agine that 1 owe much-Iefs unto
Charles,
who
WM
never Lord
of thefe Count
ries, nor ever faw them.
And if the Pope's Grant andConceffion be obligatoi:J,
.to me, it were
ju.ftand reafonable to declare it to me, beforeyou threaten me with War, and
Fire, and Sword, and Death
;
for I am not
fo
void of underftanding and fmfe,
M
vot to
obey the Pope, in cafeyou can fhew me reafon, and jujfice, and caufe for it,
,
Moreover, 1 dejire to be informed who that good Man refm Chrift
WM,
who,y·o~ fay, ne~
ver laid hi-s Sins on another, but that he dyed,
1
wou!d glad!y
kziow,
whether he zlyed of
,,e
natural death, or by the hands of his Enemies
;
and whether he
wM
numbred amongft the
Gods before his death, or afterwards.
.
Andfarther I dejire to be informed, whether thefe five which you highly honour, are adored.
byyou for Gods
;
for if it be fa, you hold more for Gods, than we, who ackt,owledge no other
than the
P.tchacamac,
who is the Supreme, and the Sf!n, who is inferiour to h.im, and thc
Moon, who is his Sifter and Wife.
In which Joubtfull J2.!!eftions 1 heartify dejire to be
truly refalved
bJ
fome other rpore able and faithfu/L lnterprete-r, that fo 1 mqy be made moré
_ca¡abl; thereby to k¿zow and obeyyour
will
and Commands,
...~1-- -) ·'
CH A
p;