51 / 1070
BooK
11.
Royal Commentaries.
exaél: the feverity of it, for being ordaíned by the Wifedom of
the.Í;cas,
aod ,the
concurrence of Wife men , it ought neither to be rnntroUed~ or rendred m~re
€quicable by th€ fenfe and praétice of particular Judges, who are,capable ofoe~
ing corrupted, or overcome by favour or af(~élion
to
a párty. _ · . . _.
•,
.l\nd chough it may feem very barbarous and unreafonable thac every offence
fhould be punifhed wich Deach, and that there fhould be no difference between
the cr.imes of a higher, and che faulcs of a leífer nacure; yec q~n(idérin& che be–
nefic which che Pub,lick received thereby, and that che Evi1s, rarher than d1e Per~
fons, were taken away ; fuch a -coníl:itution ought not to bé eíl:ei:med bnjuíl:
or
irracional : For in regard that men naturally !ove
Ji.fe, and .feai: and abhor dei:!th;
they _íl:ud~ouíly. fled froin the appea_rance o( any tbing ~hich 11:ight bring cherrt
withm che danger of 1t
~
fo
rhat_
m
ali. th!s great Emp111e, wh1Ch reachei5.
i-300
Leagues in lengtl1~ rnnfübpg of d1vers Nac1ons and Laqgqag_es, we fcarce
1
ha,ve
beard. in the fpace of a whole year, fo ·much as of che pum!hment of a fingl<r
perfon: and
to
-rbis obedience and fubmiílion
to
Law, che 'opinion 0f the
SanfütY. of
i~
cHd
mudil ava_il ; and the belief, that it was delivereq
b;:
d;e
Sun, .vho was rheir God, and by revelacion infpired into che_minqs of
rpé
Incas
bis chjld~en ;
fo
encreafed che veneration and honour they had:for it, tqaé
tione ·~@uld bf;.veíl:e~med
a
bre,?ker of the Law, but who alfo therewicl;í
was
gµHc.y¡
of facriJege or vibl,;1cion of cbe holy and divine San,~Hon. Hence
it
was:
that,many
fiiic.H.nga
~emorfe of'confcience within themíelvés;> in fenfe ,of' fom&
~Cr~tfauJts tpey
h¡i~
6
«01nmitteq, ~ílVe 'ofcen, WiCbOUti_ accufati9n, prefef!CeO thellJ,–
feives before che
Tn
unals of Juíhce, confeffing pubhckJy their offences;
~Y
rea.:
fon
of
whicb
,¡
Gife~f
es,- .
deacqs and. difüeífes 1.-iad befallen tqeiu People and
)fa.
~iO~';
-3,tlq
clier.efs>¡¡; delíred 'rbac ch,úr lives 1:pight be offered to the~~ G(ild,
as
an
~,cp1atiolil,rana an a~tQ}1em½nt for
tlwiJ¡
fin. . Tfais fi;m ofconfeffion was che groi!!n4
~f
th~,mi~*e
QÍ
c~Cqin
Spanifo.
Hiftorians, who repott_ thac Auricular conf~moq
wa~
1
pi;aéhfe9 ·am911~ ch~
/naians
;
whereas
I
am certaljl, th,ac fu:nong!l: cho(e of
Prr1t,
(for
I,
crea.e
ü,M\º
~ther)
it
was never accuílomary
tp
ina~~ other Con(eífioqs.
tt-ia1'rfüch
a?
n¡e~€cPJ1~hcJi.,
N@
Appe~ls (a~ we have f~1d) were allowab1e ·
~
any
cafo
1
wha(foev~t-, fo¡-,ex7~ry,pepple háving
i.tsprpper.Judge, no Procefs was to con,·
~iie kJnger th*l):~-V.6,days before ic was finally determined : oneiy in obtcure
áh_
éi
diflicÚli: cafes, ,ih@.Jn~!rer- was brnught ~efore.che_ Supe¡-iour,Governour, \~ho
i;efi·
ded in che capital City, rather than before che common Tuage of the Province.
The Inferiour Judges rendi:ed every month an account
to
their Superiours of all
che Law·fuits which were brought before them, and of che Sentences chey gave
in- ene decerfuiñation thereof; to eñe end, that they might f-ee and judge·whecher
true Sentence were giver:i, and the Laws rightly adminiíl:red. This information
from one to another carne at length to the
Inca
;
and in regard they were noc as
yet arrived to the knowledge pf Letters, chey g,We theíe Inforrnations to the
In–
cas
and his fupreme Council by way ·of Knots of divers colours tied-in a
filkeo
twil1, che colours being as
fo
many cyphers, denoring che crimes they had puni.
fhed, and rhe ,bignefs of them , and .manner of making them -qp ftgnifi~d that
Law which wa.s e~ecuted ('as -we fhall hereafter inore partkularlv declare ,and
in chis manner by way of Knots, they kept all_their accounts
fo
exaétly, ,¡nd fuin–
med chem up with fuch readineís, that
to
che great admiration of che
Sp11niards,
their befr Arirhmeticians could noc exceed rhem.
Ir is an opinion, and held for a certain truth amongíl: them, that there never
y-t~~r#Jcg.
of che R9r4l Bloud that was puni~ed, or that any
9(
chem did
ever
·<,J?IWJÜt
a
€rime, :whichincurredrthe penalt.y .of the Law: For that tqe pr~nciples
t[iey
.rec~ived- from
th(*
Parencs, the example of their Anc~(l:5mrs, and
tl
1
e
~o:ri–
.mgp
.'l?~J1ef of cqe, vy;_,qdd, chat rhey v.:ere che Progeny of -c~e Sun, borq
to
!ª~
O~ua,othflrs, ,to cá,oe;g9od, and to refram the people from V1ee, were coqQqe,ra-:–
tions thac made fuch impreffions in them, that they were rather che o~nament
than the fcandaJ.,if.G<?;verl}ment,, difdaining to íl:oop to fuch baíe and mean
<J,él:Í·
ons"
ap
were tra1¡11gr.effions of tlJ,eir Law: The trutl-i is, they wanted ~he tempt,¡t–
tions which ochers had to offend ;- for neither che defirt'! of women, or i-j¡:hnef5;
or
,i;~venge could be mot~ves ro them : For in cafe any one of them enterrairiecl
a paaion for ch~,.Be~ucy of a Wornan, it was but to fend
fo~;
h,er ; and fhe crn:¡!4
not be denied, nay rather her Parepts would receive che propofal wirh htµnble
ackno
1
wledgments,' -that che
Jnr;a
w.ould vouGbfafe
to
ca,íl:
bis
ey.e Qn his ha!)dm~id
that
was
bis
Slave.
The like
1nay be
faid a_s
to
che defue
of V{ealth, they hí!d no
. F
2.
·
necéffities